Markell
"So, let me make sure I'm hearing you correctly, you asked your girlfriends baby dad if they still fucking around?" Markell looked at Quincy for clarification as they picked up basketballs around the empty gym
Quincy sighed, "No not exactly, I more so asked if they had anything going on."
Markell sucked his teeth, "Nigga that's basically the same thing. What would possess you to ask him that though? That's something you should be asking your girl, not her child's father. Especially considering the fact that it was your first time meeting him."
Although Markell and Quincy have been friends for a few years, Quincy always kept his love life private. So when he came to Markell venting about what took place between him and his girlfriends baby father, Markell was genuinely surprised but nevertheless he was a listening ear.
"I don't even know man." Quincy shrugged his shoulders as he placed the last orange ball in the black bag and tied it close, "Shit was getting awkward, my girl had left the table to go to the restroom, and honestly it was a thought that had been floating in the back of my head for a minute."
"So what, you think she cheating on you?" Markell questioned
Quincy frowned, "Hell nah. This is just my first time dating someone with a kid and what if he decides one day that he wants his family back? Where does that leave me?"
Markell nodded his head in understanding, he could see where Quincy was coming from. It seemed as if he was scared.
"Listen man, I understand what you saying but honestly I think you just need to have an honest conversation with your girl. Express how you feel, get the reassurance that you need, but most importantly have a talk with yourself. Make sure that you are truly ready to date someone with a child because that's a lot. Have you met her kid yet?" Markell asked as he and Quincy walked to the back of the gym to put the basketballs away
"Nah not yet." He answered, "Her dad invited me to a competition she got this coming Saturday so imma pop out and meet her then. You think I should apologize to ole boy?" Quincy looked at him
"Hell yeah, it doesn't need to be no big sappy dramatic ass apology, but you should definitely let him know that you didn't have any ill intentions behind the question you asked."
Quincy laughed, "You a fool, but I appreciate you for keeping it a hundred with me man."
"Aye, I don't know no other way to be." Markell dapped him up as they both prepared to leave the gym
It was Friday afternoon and practice had ended a little over twenty minutes ago, after a rigorous workout and non stop drills with the boys, the men were both ready to go their separate ways, go home, and indulge in a much needed shower and nap.
"That's exactly why I fuck with you man, but imma keep you updated on everything. Maybe once everything settles down, I can introduce you to my girl." Quincy suggested as they walked outside to the parking lot
"Sounds like a plan Q." Markell nodded his head, "I'll catch up with you on Monday, have a safe weekend."
The men said their goodbyes before getting into their cars and leaving the school's parking lot. As Markell turned onto the main road in the direction of his house, his phone started ringing. He looked down at the caller id to see Jordan calling him. Without hesitation, he swiftly answered the call as it connected to his car's Bluetooth.
"Wassup Jordan." He answered
"Man you gotta get over here to Noah's spot." Jordan sighed heavily into the phone
Markell could hear the urgency in Jordan's voice and scrunched his face up in confusion as he prepared to make a U turn.
"What's going on?" He questioned as he made his way to Noah's apartment
"Just get here as soon as you can, he needs us right now Kels." Jordan said somberly
"I'm on the way." Markell responded before ending the call
As he got on the highway and made his way to Noah's place, Markell couldn't help but wonder what in the hell was going on.
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Markell made it to Noah's apartment in less than fifteen minutes. He used his key remote to lock his car doors as he made his way inside of the luxury apartment building and headed towards the elevator. His nerves started to get the best of him as he entered the elevator and pushed the number three for the third floor. As the elevator reached the third floor, Markell took a deep breath before getting off and walking straight to Noah's door. He knocked twice before the door was swung open by Domonique.
"Dom what the fuck is going on?" Markell asked surprised by his presence
Dom shook his head, "That's what we trying to figure out, come in here man."
Domonique opened the door wider so that Markell could enter the apartment, he closed and locked the door behind him as he followed Dom's lead. Markell couldn't help but notice that the kitchen was a mess as they passed by it, dishes were piled up in the sink, the trash overflowed the trash can, empty pizza boxes and other to go food containers scattered the counters, and a rotten smell stunk up the place.
"You got here quick as hell." Jordan said as they entered the living room
Markell looked around in disgust, the living room looked just like the kitchen, a mess. Maybe even worse. Empty shot glasses, beer bottles, and a bottle of half drunken whiskey sat on the living room table. Markell heard snoring and noticed Noah knocked out sleeping on the couch. He wore a pair of gray sweatpants, a white t-shirt that had stains all over it, and had one sock on his left foot while his right foot was bare. Drool spilled from his mouth as he slept, his glasses were on the floor, and his usual nicely shaped goatee and fresh haircut was now wild and outgrown. Noah looked horrible.
"What's going on with him? What the hell is going on with this apartment, it's dirty as hell. Where is Rayne? This shit is completely off." Markell rambled as he looked around in confusion
"Questions we don't have any damn answers too." Dom answered, "This nigga has been off the grid for about a week, not answering no phone calls or texts so I decided to check on him today. He wasn't answering the door when I knocked so I used my spare key to get in, and I found him like this. That was about an hour ago, I called Jordan and he called you. We can't get this nigga to wake up."
"And we know he ain't dead cause his ass is snoring loud as hell." Jordan added
"This shit ain't like him at all." Markell looked at Noah, "Y'all tried to get in touch with Rayne?"
"Multiple times, but her phone just goes straight to voicemail." Domonique answered
"We gotta wake him up." Markell said before going to the kitchen
He navigated through the mess and went towards the cabinet to grab a cup. After turning the kitchen sink on and making sure the water was cold enough, Markell filled the cup to the rim before turning the sink off and returning back to the living room with the cup in his hand.
"What you about to do?" Jordan asked curiously as he looked at Markell
Markell didn't even answer as he splashed the cup full of water on Noah's face. Instantly Noah jumped up from the couch in complete shock.
"What the fuck!" He yelled in a groggy voice as he shook his head and looked around in confusion
"Noah, what the fuck is going on?" Markell asked him as he looked into his red bloodshot eyes
"Man, what the hell are y'all doing here?" Noah looked at his friends before sitting back down on the couch and rubbing his temple, he had a headache from hell
"Nigga we haven't heard from you in over a week, we came to check on you. What's going on?" Jordan asked his voice filled with concern
"Yeah, this place is a mess and it fucking stinks. You stink too, when's the last time you took a shower?" Dom eyed him
"Chill Dom." Markell interjected
The three men stood in front of their friend silently as they waited for an answer to their questions. Noah sat on the couch staring at his hands, embarrassed that his friends had to see him like this.
"Rayne lost the baby." He announced quietly as he continued to stare at his hands, his voice just above the whisper
"Oh damn man, I'm sorry." Jordan gave his condolences as he sat down next to Noah
"What the fuck." Dom spoke up in shock, "I'm sorry too man, what happened?"
Noah shrugged his shoulders, "Doctor never gave us an exact reason. Rayne woke up in the middle night bleeding like crazy, I took her to the ER and they told us she had a miscarriage."
Markell's heart broke for his brother, he had never lost a child but he knew how bad losing someone you love hurts and he hated to see Noah go through the pain of grief.
"I'm sorry Noah, I know you hurting right now. Why didn't you call us? You know we got you." Markell questioned
"Because this is my problem!" Noah snapped as he looked at Markell, "My baby, my loss, my problem. This isn't some shit that we can fucking go through together. Rayne didn't even wanna go through this with me, she fucking left!" He yelled as tears filled his eyes
"What you mean she left?" Jordan asked
"She went to her parents house a few days ago, I haven't heard from her since. I know this shit is eating her up, but we took this loss together not just her, she just fucking up and left me here. This shit is fucked up y'all!" Noah cried out as he looked at his friends
He placed his head in his hands as he continued to cry. His shoulders moved up and down as he sobbed quietly. Nothing was said between the men as they listened to their brother cry and even released tears of their own.
"What the fuck do we do?" Dom whispered to Markell
Markell looked at him, "Love on him, help him, and lift him up. That's all we can do." He answered with no hesitation
Domonique nodded his head.
"Can y'all just leave? I-i-i don't want y'all to see me like this. I'm fucked up right now." Noah sniffled and wiped his tears
"Nah, we ain't going nowhere Noah, you've been alone for the past few days, we here now and we staying." Markell said as he walked over to Noah
"Come on get up." He tugged on Noah's arm, "Dom go turn the shower on for me, make sure the water is hot." He directed
Dom made his way down the hall to the bathroom and within a few seconds, the shower water could be heard.
With the help of Jordan, Markell was able to get Noah on his feet. From the smell of his breath, Markell could tell Noah had been drinking and was most likely drunk. The two men placed Noah's arms around their necks as they guided him to the bathroom.
"We gotta get you cleaned up so you can sober up man." Markell said as they entered the well decorated bathroom
"Aye I love this nigga and all but I am not washing no grown ass man off." Dom said as he stepped out of the bathroom
"I can wash my own ass nigga." Noah flicked him off, "Just grab me a washcloth and towel out the closet."
"I got you." Jordan left the bathroom and returned quickly with the washcloth and towel
"Get yourself cleaned up." Markell said to Noah before they left the bathroom so Noah could have his privacy
"I can't believe they lost the baby man." Jordan shook his head as they walked back into the living room, "He was really looking forward to being a dad."
"I know." Markell agreed, "But it just wasn't their time. God makes no mistakes, it's gonna be hard for them for a while but I know they'll be alright. Like I told Dom, we just need to love on him and help him out."
"For sure." Jordan responded, "Let's clean this place up man, I'll start here in the living room."
"I got the kitchen." Dom said as he headed off in that direction
"Cool, I'll straighten up his bedroom and make sure he's straight, get him some clothes to put on and some aspirin to take. I know his head gotta be banging from all the drinking he's been doing." Markell eyed the many empty liquor bottles and beer cans on the table
"Sounds like a plan." Jordan began to grab the empty bottles and take them to the kitchen as Markell made his way down the hall to Noah's bedroom, as he passed the bathroom he couldn't help but hear Noah crying over the shower water
________________________________________________________________________________
It took no more than an hour for the men to clean up Noah's apartment, the once foul smell that invaded the place was now replaced with a sweet vanilla one and cleaning products. A vanilla candle was lit in the living room and in the kitchen. All of the men took turns going home to pack a bag of clothes to spend the night with Noah, Markell had gotten back about thirty minutes ago and was checking on the dinner he prepared for the men. If Angela didn't teach him anything else, she made sure to teach her son how to cook.
"Dinner should be ready in about ten more minutes." Markell announced as he walked into the living room
Noah, who was now clean and sober, sat on the couch on his phone. Jordan sat on the smaller chair flipping through channels on the TV, and Dom laid stretched out on the floor staring at the ceiling.
"Good cause I'm fucking hungry, I haven't ate since this morning." Dom looked over at Markell
"What did you cook anyways?" Jordan asked as he took his eyes off the TV screen
"Baked pork chops, broccoli and cheese, and some yellow rice." Markell answered as he sat near Noah on the couch
He made sure not to sit too close to him, he wanted to be respectful of his personal space.
"Kels you know I don't eat no pork." Jordan mugged him
"Chill out nigga, I baked you a few pieces of chicken." Markell assured him
Jordan smiled, "Appreciate you."
Markell nodded his head before looking over at Noah, "You good?"
"Trying to get in touch with Rayne." Noah stared at his phone as his fingers quickly tapped across the screen, "She don't even have to hold a conversation with me, I just need to know that she's okay."
Before Markell could respond, Noah's phone dinged.
"She sent me a fucking thumbs up emoji, what the fuck does that even mean? How do I even respond to this shit?" Noah blew out a breath of frustration
"Relax Noah." Markell told him, "Just let her know that you love her and leave it at that for now."
Noah's fingers dashed across his phone screen before he locked his phone and tossed it onto the living room table.
"I need a drink." He got up from the couch and made his way to the kitchen
Markell followed after him, "You already drunk all the liquor you had in the house, and it's after 9 so the liquor stores are closed. I think you need to chill out on the alcohol anyway Noah."
"I didn't ask you what you thought Markell." Noah slammed the refrigerator door closed, "I just need something to take the edge off, take this pain away."
"I hate to break it to you Noah, but the pain you feeling is never going to go away. It'll just be easier to manage with time." Markell spoke truthfully as he walked to the oven to take the pork chops and chicken out
He sat the pans on the counter before grabbing four plates out of the cabinet and piling them with food.
Noah adjusted his glasses on his face, "I don't know how imma do this shit Kels, I really don't. My life went left within a matter of days, I don't know how I'm going to bounce back from this."
"God and patience." Markell said simply as he passed Noah a plate of hot food, "I keep telling you we got you, cause we do."
"Since MP days nigga, since we drew blood and shook hands, we got you forever, through whatever." Domonique chimed in as he entered the kitchen and Markell passed him a plate
"And don't you ever forget that Noah, our word is bond. One day at a time, big dawg, alright?" Jordan followed up as he grabbed his plate from Markell
The four men sat at Noah's kitchen table as they began to indulge in the home cooked meal.
"This shit good as hell." Dom said with a mouth full of food, "Thanks Kels"
"Close your mouth nigga." Jordan shook his head, "But this definitely hitting the spot, appreciate you Markell."
Noah ate his food in silence before taking a sip of gatorade and clearing his throat, "I appreciate y'all. Y'all didn't have to come over here and clean my spot up or cook dinner, or literally drag my ass to the shower. But y'all did and I really love y'all for that."
"Of course." The men said in unison as they looked at Noah
"I'm just in a really dark place right now y'all and I pray I find my way out of it, losing our baby makes me feel like I lost a part of myself." Noah stared at his empty plate, "I don't think I'm ever going to get that part of me back either and I gotta figure out how to deal with that. I know we made a pact when we were kids and promised that we would always be there for each other through whatever, but to be honest with y'all, I think this is some shit I gotta go through on my own."
Before any of the men could respond, Noah got up from the table and made his way down the hall to his bedroom. A few seconds later, Markell could hear the bedroom door close shut.
"I hate that he's suffering like this." Jordan said as he ate, "Should we still spend the night?"
"Most definitely, just to keep an eye out on him. We can leave in the morning." Markell answered
"Y'all think he ever gone shake back? We've never seen him like this." Dom sat his fork down on his plate
For the first time that night, Markell was silent. It may have seemed as though he had all the answers, but in this case he didn't and that scared him. His cellphone began to buzz on the table snapping him out of his thoughts, he looked at it to see he had a text from Amirah which instantly brought a smile to his face. The two were getting to know each other all over again, they spoke daily even if it was just checking in on one another, and Markell always found time to see her at work when he wasn't filming. They were building a friendship and Markell was happy about it; he couldn't help but wonder if God was giving him and Amirah a second chance.
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Hey y'all! I know its been a minute but life has been life'n. Nevertheless, I'm still here and still determined to finish this book. I have a lot planned for it! How is everyone, y'all good? Sending love and positive energy as a new week lies ahead of us. Now lets get into some TEA:
BB Questions:
1. Do y'all think it's going to be a problem when Markell finds out that Quincy's girlfriend is Jordan's baby mama?
2. Did Markell give Quincy solid advice?
3. How y'all feel about the boys showing up for Noah?
4. Thoughts on Markell somewhat taking the lead? Although the men are all the same age, Markell's birthday is first so technically he's the oldest.
5. Thoughts on Kels and Amirah?
6. Anything particular y'all want to see from any of the men or throughout the book in general? I'm about to start outlining the next few chapters..
Y'all wont have to wait another 3 months for me to update lol, I plan to release the 25th chapter on my 25th birthday which is next month! Jordan is up next. So until then y'all!
With love,
DPtheWRITER