Belated Blessings

Chapter 40: Game Changer

He then stopped by Zykese's room and left him with a promise to take him and Kiya to Freddy's once Kiya was feeling better for their progress reports. They hugged and then Zach made his way back towards the front door. I thought I was home free until he paused with his hand on the door. "You okay, you need anything," Zach said seemingly staring into my soul.

"I'm good; all is well. Thank you for picking them up and tell Elise I said thank you for the scholarship info. Between that and my Pell grant, the only thing I have left to pay for are books," I said hoping to change the subject.

"That's great Nay. I know I don't say this often, but I'm proud of you," Zach said sincerely.

"Thank-"

"Ma!," Zykese screamed. I whipped my body around in the direction of his voice, and that's when shit hit the fan. A faint clank was heard in the quiet entryway, and I froze. I closed my eyes wishing the moment away. In my frozen state, Zach reached down to pick up the culprit. I heard a small gasp leave him, but I refused to turn around and meet his eyes.

"Ma," Zykese called out again and then there was a shuffling down the hall. A few seconds later he appeared in the doorway and then the contents of his stomach launched themselves out of his body onto the floor.

"I don't feel well," he said leaning against the door frame in exhaustion. I moved to tend to him, but Zach sidestepped me and made it to him before I could. I moved again to comfort my obviously sick son but Zach stiff-armed me while gently pushing me to the side.

"You shouldn't be around this in your... condition. I'm going to get him, and this mess cleaned up, and then I'm taking them home with me," he said definitively and then turned on his heels ushering Zykese down the hall and into the bathroom. Bile began to rise in the back of my throat. I'm not sure if it was from the vomit that was now giving off the foulest smell or the nervousness from Zach's reaction. I swallowed hard and shook off the feeling and went into the linen closet to get an old towel. Just as I closed the closet, Zach was coming out of the bathroom. He took the towel from my hand and grabbed a few cleaning supplies from under the sink before beginning to work on cleaning the mess. Not once did he say a word or even look at me.

He paused his cleaning effort and went back to the bathroom to retrieve Zykese. Five minutes later, Zykese emerged from the bathroom dressed in plaid pajama pants and a matching shirt. He went solemnly into his room as Zach returned to finish cleaning up the spot. After making sure that he had gotten it all up, he placed the towel in the trash and began to spray Lysol throughout the house. I nearly choked from the harsh smell of the disinfectant spray.

"You'll probably have to spray again once we leave, " he mumbled coming into the room. He stood in front of me as I sat perched on the armrest of the sofa. He rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet before he finally lifted his head and his eyes met mine.

"So, you're pregnant," he said, and I slightly recoiled. It was not the tone he used it was just deja vu of when I told him I was pregnant with Kiya. He was nonchalant and unattached because at the time he didn't believe Kiya was his and he knows for a fact that the current child I was carrying was not his either.

"Yep," I said popping the p while lowering my eyes staring at nothing in particular.

"Congratulations," he said, and I withdrew my eyes from nothing in particular and looked up at his face which was graced with a small smile. I'm not sure why he was smiling while all hell was breaking loose within my body. I didn't want any more children. I wanted my children to all have the same father, and since Zach was with Elise, I knew that my baby making days were over. But here I was standing in front of my children's father, the man I've loved for over a decade while carrying the seed of a man I wasn't even sure I liked, let alone loved.