Page 30 of Typa
“Okay.”
“Happy birthday,” they said in unison, then pushed each other.
I laughed. They were brothers and their mannerisms were a lot alike. They reminded me of how the twins and I used to be. We behaved like triplets when we were little. It was obvious we weren’t since they were identical.
“Thanks, y’all.”
They smiled and all left out. As I turned to my side, I could feel myself drifting back to sleep.
“So, for your birthday, I think we should go out of town somewhere and celebrate.”
“You’re already planning? That’s three months away.”
“Yeah. I wanna do it up big for you, baby. You deserve it just for putting up with me. We can do whatever you wanna do, then fuck all night. I swear, I’m gon’ end up putting a baby in you.”
I lowered my head slightly, but I could see his frown in my peripheral. He lifted my head by placing his hand under my chin. He stared into my glossy eyes. “Hol’ on. Why you looking like that, Maui? Are you saying what I think you saying?”
“What do you think I’m saying?”
“Are you pregnant, baby?”
I took a deep breath and felt a tremble come out with it. I didn’t want to tell him. He already had a kid that he was waiting for a paternity test from. He slid his hands on either side of my face, gently stroking my cheeks with his thumbs, waiting for my response.
“Yes.”
His lips crashed into mine, and his tongue slid into my mouth. He pulled away and began stripping my clothes off me. “Why were you nervous to tell me?” he asked while unfastening my bra and kissing my neck.
“I didn’t know if . . . you wanted a baby or not.”
He sat up and stared into my eyes. “When it comes to you, nothing is off limits. My wants come second to yours, lil mama. I’m happy you trust me. I promise I’m gon’ take care of y’all for the rest of my life. You have my word on that, Maui. I’ll never abandon y’all.”
“What about your other baby?”
“When I find out whether he’s mine or not, I’ll proceed from there. If he’s mine, I’m gon’ take care of him. Okay? You have nothing to worry about.”
I sat straight up and immediately grabbed my belly. I was cramping. I hadn’t felt cramps like this in a couple of days. Closing my eyes, I prayed that everything would be fine. If God didn’t want me with Mythic, I wish he’d give me a sign. Well, maybe He had already. I just wished He would take him from my heart, because being without him was going to kill me.
TWELVE
MYTHIC
It wasmy baby’s birthday, and I couldn’t get through to her. Per Legend Semien’s romance 101, I sent flowers, hoping it would get me some type of response from her. She was twenty-five years old now. This was a moment we should have spent together, out of town, enjoying the sights and each other. We talked about this day two or three months ago.Fuck!
I felt like I was going crazy. I wanted to pop up over there so fucking bad, but I had a feeling her new nigga would be there. He didn’t know that he was just a placeholder. She was only entertaining him because I wasn’t there. My mind was running ragged trying to figure out a way to get in her family’s good graces again, but I kept coming up empty. Maybe I would have to entertain my previous thoughts and just let go. At some point, she would have to see me. I wasn’t going to allow her to keep my child from me.
Vanessa and Caleb were at the house for at least three hours yesterday, and I appreciated her staying that long and keeping me company. I wasn’t really trying to get out, because I didn’t want Adrian seeing me and trying to get at me. I had my weapon on me, but my ass would end up in jail for life for killing his ass,and whoever was with him, in broad daylight. God was really watching out for me, because they hadn’t found their way here. Most people in Liberty knew where my parents lived because of my mom’s business and because Legend Semien was famous.
That nigga was like an A-list celebrity around these parts. People would approach him all the time for autographs. He ate that shit up too. Today, Cachet had called me to see how everything was going and to get an update on the drama. I told her she needed to major in communications and start her own gossip column because she was always trying to get some tea. That lil girl stayed in my business. She was the first to know I was selling drugs. I thought I was bribing her not to tell Mama and Dad, and her ass was taking my money, knowing she’d already told them.
I threatened to whup her ass for that, and her lil ass told them that too. I swore she kept Epic and me in trouble, ol’ tattling ass. I chuckled to myself as I thought about our conversation earlier. She wanted shit blow by fucking blow. Although the shit I was telling her was nowhere near funny, she had me chuckling at her foolishness.
Making my way downstairs, I could hear my mama talking to someone through the door. When I got closer, I heard them say my name and her tell them I wasn’t here.What the fuck?I supposed I’d thought their asses up. What really pissed me off was that they didn’t have a reason to come for me. I’d gotten all my business squared away, whether Adrian thought I did or not. He could suck a diseased dick.
I slid around the corner to see her still peeking through the window. “Did they leave?”
She nearly jumped out of her skin. “You scared the shit out of me. Yeah, they left. Thank God your dad put your truck in the garage.”
“I may need to take Carter’s advice and get some reinforcement around here. I didn’t think they would have the balls to come here. You okay?” I asked as I put my arm around her.
