Twenty-one Houses [Ryan Destiny & Keith Powers]

16.

I was in the middle of a deep sleep when it was interrupted by something soft brushing against my lips. I opened my eyes to be greeted by Jay hovering over me.

I shot out of bed, nearly headbutting him in the process. "What're you doing here?" I said in shock. Jay placed his finger over my lip and pressed me back into the bed. "How did you know where to find me?"

"Relax, Nurse Maddie reached out to me." He started, taking off his backpack. Jay slipped into the bed and moved me to my side so he could lay behind me. "She told me everything." He continued, "about your uncle, school, the baby." He said, slipping his hand under my pajamas and onto my belly. His touch alone made me melt. His hands were warm, and he was gentle. "Ken, I missed you so much." He said, grabbing my hand to kiss it.

I didn't know what to say; I didn't know whether to be angry or happy.  Before I could say a word, Jay held my chin and turned my head to face his. He placed a gentle kiss on my lips and began massaging my belly. His touch felt so good. that it was hard for me to express my anger towards him.

Before I knew it, we were both naked, and Jay was kissing every inch of my body. He turned me over to my side and examined my body. "Pregnancy looks good on you." He said, getting behind me in a spooning position. Wrapping his hand around my thigh, and lifted my leg before slipping himself inside of me. My body immediately tensed up. "Damn, you been missing me, huh?" Jay asked as he began to move slowly inside me. I could tell he was trying to be more careful than usual. He would occasionally place his hand on my belly to support me when he sped up his pace. The sound of his skin slapping against mine turned me on even more. I hadn't felt this touch in months, and my body couldn't handle it. He lightly circled my boobs with his tongue. Even though they were painful, his sucking them made me feel amazing.

"You're so fucking beautiful," Jay grunted. He moved his arm to prop up my thigh so he could hold my hand. "Shit, mama, this pregnancy got you soaking wet." Jay moaned in my ear, stretching out each word he spoke. He bit my earlobe and traced the side of my neck with kissing. "I love you so much, I always have, and I always will." He grunted, picking up his pace again.

"Jay, I can't; I'm about to cum." I screeched, using my free hand to cover my mouth so I wouldn't be too loud.

"Cum then, baby girl." He said, slowing down to give me longer strokes. "Just cum" he whispered in my ear before kissing it.

I held onto my pillow and felt a warm sensation down my leg. I moved my hand to grab Jay but felt nothing but my pregnancy pillow wrapped around me. I rolled out of bed, and it was empty. There was no one else in the room but me. I was a fool to think Jay would ever try to find me. He was gone, and I still haven't accepted it.

I felt the tears building up, and before I could try to hold them back, they came pouring out. I shuffled over to Ms.Maddie's room and opened the door without bothering to knock. She was sitting down on her bed, flipping through channels with rollers in her head. She looked over at me and smiled, but the smile immediately turned into worry. Ms.Maddie hopped out of bed and came to my aid.

"Oh, honey, what's wrong? She asked, guiding me over to her bed. I used my palms to wipe my never-ending tears.

"I miss him so much. Why won't he call me?" I whined, and Mrs.Maddie took a deep breath.

"Kennedy, not this again; you need to relax. You're stressing yourself and the baby."

Ms. Maddie rubbed my back and looked at me. "Your hormones are everywhere." She said after a long pause, and I started to cry even harder.
Ms.Maddie sighed and moved closer to me on the bed. "I don't think you miss Jay. I think you miss what Jay did or was doing that got you pregnant in the first place."

"What" I sniffled, trying to catch my breath. Ms.Maddie got up and went to the nightstand to get me a box of Kleenex.

"It's weird talking about this with you." She said, handing me the box of tissues. Ms.Maddie placed both hands on her hips and took a deep breath. "Your hormones are probably making you miss more than just Jay." Ms.Maddie paused and stared at me. I blew my nose and looked up at her. "Oh c'mon, you know his" she paused and hovered her hand around her pelvic area.

There was a brief silence as we both looked at each other before abruptly laughing. "Don't you know anyone else that can help you with that?" Ms.Maddie asked, sitting next to me, and I stopped laughing and looked at her.

"Ew, no," I said, still slightly giggling.

"What'd mean ew?" She said, snapping her neck at me. "Oh, was Jay the only guy you." Ms.Maddie paused and stared at me again.

"Had sex with, just say it sex," I said, raising my voice every time I said sex. I'm already pregnant, so you don't have to act like that." There were moments when things would get awkward with Ms.Maddie and me, but besides that, I enjoyed living with her. She treated me like a younger sister, which I loved. It was refreshing to talk to her about certain things without her acting like she was my mother.

"You're still so young; I don't like bringing up sex around you. It's inappropriate." Ms.Maddie said, trying to avoid facing me.

"I turn seventeen in a couple of weeks." I looked down at my belly. "And yes, Jason was the only guy I had sex with."

Ms.Maddie looked at me with her eyebrows furrowed together. "Well, that doesn't help; who's gonna fix your problem." She said before placing her hand over her mouth to refrain from giggling.

"I don't need sex," I said, resting my whole body down on the bed. I need real food."

I was diagnosed with Hyperemesis gravidarum a couple of months ago, which was extreme nausea and vomiting during pregnancy. It made it impossible for me to be able to eat anything without throwing up. I had to get nutrients for the baby throw IVs and tube feed, which made me miserable all the time. I felt terrible because the back and forth hospital trips were all coming at the expense of Ms.Maddie. On top of that, I would occasionally lash out at her because of how stressed I was.

"After you have the baby, you can eat all the food you want." Ms.Maddie said, helping me get out of bed. "Now come on, let's get you in the shower, then we can watch a movie."