“Serenity.. that grown ass man had no business sleeping with you. You’re 17. He’s 25. That shit is not okay. He knows better.”
“But he loves me! He’s just scared right now.. He’s not ready to be a parent, and neither am I.”
Pee was already a parent. He has three kids by three different women. Messiah was going to kill this perverted ass nigga. “We’ll talk later, okay, Ren? Stop crying. Everything will be okay.” I assured her. She nodded, then hung up.
“Journey…tell me everything now. And don’t lie to me.”
“Okay.. they’ve been messing with each other since she was 15. This isn’t the first time he’s gotten her pregnant, either. The first time he was able to take her to get an abortion at that hood clinic out west. They closed it down now. This time, she has no choice but to go to an actual clinic. I told her to leave him alone because there’s no reason a man that old should have any interest in someone our age. You always told me that. She didn’t want to listen to me. I’m sorry for dragging you into this, but she had no one else to tell.”
“He groomed her. What she thinks they have is not love. I’m going to help her, but this better never happen again. I’m serious, Journey. This shit is not okay.” I rose from the couch and grabbed Sage from her playpen. I didn’t wait for her to respond before I headed upstairs to my room. I prayed this didn’t cause any problems in my relationship before it even started.
Sage babbled as we sat in my bed. My daughter is gorgeous. Her eyes were big and round. They fit her chubby face perfectly. She looked just like a baby doll. She had my pretty brown skin, but her nose came from her father. I rolled my eyes at the thought of him. His sister had reached out to Messiah, begging him to see her. Alexis wasn’t a bad person, but his entire family smiled in my face, knowing he had a whole family. This nigga had the nerve to whoop my ass every chance he got. My blood boiled just thinking about it. But, in the end, I got the last laugh.
FRIDAY
Blessing had been actingweird as hell these past few days. She’d blamed it on her period, but deep down, I knew there was something else bothering her. The episode ofStats & Souldropped a couple of days ago, and it worked in our favor. The blogs had been devouring it, and Mariah was no longer the victim. I was just glad the bullshit was finally over.
Today I was heading to Georgia with my mother to meet with the director of the mental hospital to identify the man who could be my father. I asked if we could see a picture and save us the trip if it wasn’t him, but they claimed it was against policy.
“Bless.. what’s wrong?” I asked, snapping her out of her thoughts. She’d been spaced out for the past few minutes.
“Saint.. We need to talk. I cannot keep this shit from you and ruin what we have going on.” She responded. Her words caused my stomach to drop.
I sat down on the bed, pulling her into my lap. Her soft body relaxed against me. “Whatever it is, I promise I won’t be mad.”
“When I tell you this, it has to stay between us. Okay?” I nodded. “Serenity is pregnant-”
“What the fuck do you mean Serenity is pregnant?!” I cut her off before she could continue. My blood immediately started to boil.
“Saint, please. Let me talk and don’t interrupt me.”
“Aight.”
“She’s pregnant by the guy she’s been seeing, and she’s not ready to be a mother. Her best option is to terminate the pregnancy, and she asked me to take her. I told her that I couldn’t do that, but I’d come with her to talk to you and Mama.”
I almost smiled when she referred to my mother as mama. “Who’s the father?”
“I’ll let her tell you that. Please don’t say anything to her yet. She’s really fragile right now. Just wait til she’s ready.”
“Hell naw, Blessing. She had no business having unprotected sex. She knew the fucking consequences. This shit is not cool. On my mama, I’m killing whoever got her pregnant.” I removed her from my lap and went into the bathroom, slamming the door behind me.
“SAINT!” Blessing yelled, following behind me. She pushed the door open, putting her hands on her hips. “Look, I know you’re upset, but she’s a teenager. She’s going to make mistakes. You can’t hold this shit against her. At least she’s smart enough to get an abortion instead of being a teen mother. Just let her talk to you.”
I sighed, running a hand across my face. “You’re right. I’m just so disappointed in her. I didn’t even know she was havingsex, bruh. I know she’s almost 18, but damn. Nobody wants to know their little sister is having sex. Mama gave her ass too much freedom. Ever since she got that car, she can’t stay her ass in the house.”
“You’re her brother. She’s never going to tell you things like this. Journey tells me everything because we’re sisters. Serenity doesn’t have a big sister she can go to. I guess I’m the closest thing she has to a big sister. That’s why she was comfortable enough to talk to me about it. Everything is gonna be okay. Now, finish packing.”
“Thank you for not hiding this from me, baby.” I leaned down and pecked her lips. “And thank you for being a safe space for her.”
“I lov- I care about you too much to keep something like that from you.”
I chuckled. I noticed her slip-up, but decided not to bring it up. Shit, I love her ass too, and she’d know it soon.
“Is there anything else I can get you?” The stewardess asked after handing me a glass full of bourbon.
“No, I’m good. Thank you.” I took a sip of my drink and glanced over at my mother. She was sleeping on the sofa. I chartered a luxury private jet from my homeboy Gavin. Gavin owns a luxury rental service with some of the best jets, cars, and even yachts. I took another sip of the cool brown liquor and relaxed in my seat. The flight was only two hours, and we were an hour away from landing. I couldn’t even pretend like I wasn’t nervous. This visit could potentially change our entire lives.
In the back of my mind, I was still seething about Serenity being pregnant. My sister is too smart to be this reckless. I wasn’t even aware that she had a fucking boyfriend. I wasn’t mad that she was having sex. It was rare for people in her age range not to be having sex. This new generation is different. Social media and music so easily influence them. This is her senior year. She should be focused on graduating and enjoying her teenage years. Scheduling an abortion should be the last thing she’s worried about.