***Tanya in m/m in case y'all forgot what she looked like. I don't think I posted a pic of her in this books."
"Relationships are not easy. That whole lilies and roses. Make up sex and we good thing exist in movies and books. Real relationships take work. Hardwork. And a lot of those days you're not gonna wanna put in the work. Cause the shit is too hard. So it's easy to abandon it every time there's some friction. You cannot do that. You cannot run away. You have to stay here and grind it out with me. Pray it out with me. Communicate it out with me August. Just like with anything else. School is hard for you, I know. But you didn't quit, even though things came in your way where you wanted to. Taking care of Chay, Noonie and Kay is hard, but I know you're not going to abandon them. Look at me." I softly touched his chin and directed it toward me.
"The same goes with us. You are a real fucking piece of work." I laughed.
He smirked.
"You got anger problems, this we know. Okay, we're gonna get to the root of that and work on it. Together. If me leaving without kissing you in the morning makes you insecure, I won't do that again. Because I want you to have peace of mind. I apologize about not texting and calling you back, things got a little hectic and I had planned on calling you once I left. I should've text you and said I'd call you later. Our relationship Aug is like when we went blind go-karting. We had to trust each other, that we'd lead each other in the right direction. Some days we won't get it right. Like you ran me into that wall."
"I told you to go straight." He grinned.
"And I didn't listen that time. But we both made it to the end baby. Safe. Not perfect. But safe. And every time we hit a rough patch, we have to think about that moment go-karting. Redirect each other to the right path, so we can make it to the end okay?"
-Chapter 23, Ready For Love
AUGUST POV –
I remember our first major, major fight vividly. Me and Kay were staying over Amb's house. Amb was acting funny before work. She never left the house without kissing me goodbye. She rushed out, like something or rather somebody else was on her mind, more important than me. I kept texting her and calling her to see if it was anything I had done, she didn't respond. I physically went to court where she was to fix whatever I had done, only to see her laughing and geeking it up with her ex-Omari.
Me being a hothead, I took it for cheating and basically embarrassed her in court. And for the first time, when I realized she wouldn't be in my life anymore, my heart ached. I loved her so much and to know she would do that to me?
Comes to find out, I was wrong. But it began a pattern. You see when it comes to Amb I am a very jealous and possessive man. I don't want anybody , besides my kids taking her focus, besides me.
I've just always been that way. Not saying it's right. But you have to understand I have never loved any woman as deeply as I love Amber and nobody has loved me the way she loves me, so when I feel my place in her life threatened, I act out. Childish I know.
And that childishness is the reason I didn't speak to my wife for, four days. It's the reason we had a big blow out on what could've been her last day on earth, and the guilt hit me like a ton of bricks.
"Pop-Pop why you crying?" Auggie asked me looking at me through the driver's mirror.
I wiped my hand down my face. "I'm aight Auggie."
"Why you crying den?"
How was I to tell my kids that their mother and baby brother could be dead? I didn't know what was going on. They wouldn't tell me anything over the phone. Chad just said that I needed to get to the hospital as soon as possible.
"Daddy we not going to school?" Sata asked.
"Nah y'all going over Auntie Chandras."
"Whoop-whoop!" Sata did a little dance.
"Aw man."
"What's wrong?" Sata asked Auggie.
"Me and my friends was supposed to have cupcakes."
"Forget them cupcakes boy. We can have a party at Auntie Cha's." Sata told him.
"But me wanted them."
I broke down. This had to be the absolutely worst fucking day, besides losing my brother. It's my son's 4th birthday. I don't know what's going on with my wife or if the baby is okay. And we fought before this. I pulled my car to the side of the street and just cried on my steering wheel. I failed Amb. We were supposed to end every argument safe like in blind go-karting and we didn't because of my selfishness and pettiness.
"Daddy. Don't cry." Sata got out of her seat belt and laid her head on my back.
Auggie started to cry.
"Why are you crying stupid?"
"Pop-pop crying." He said.
I had to keep it together for my kids.
"What's wrong daddy?" Sata asked me as I lifted my head, she hugged me.
"I'm aight Munch." I kissed her. "Auggie stop crying. I'm aight okay?"
"Okay." He wiped his eyes.
"Get back in your seat belt so we can go to Cha's."
Sata got back in her seat belt. We headed to Cha's house. I got them and the little things I could grab quickly and headed up to Cha's porch. I rang the doorbell. She quickly opened. Her eyes were red which let me know she had been crying.
"I'll call you when I know." I told her.
"Please as soon as you find out. Hey birthday boy!" She put on a bright smile for Auggie, picking him up.
"Y'all be good aight?"
"Yes." They both said.
"Gimme a kiss." I bent down to hug Sata and kiss her. I held her longer than she probably wanted, but they might be all I have. I did the same thing to Auggie. Giving him a million kisses as Amb would.
"Pop-pop." He giggled.
"I love y'all okay."
"Love you too." Cha took them inside and I quickly hurried to my car and jetted to the hospital.
"What's her name?"
"Amber Alsina."
The nurse looked up the name in the computer.
"She's in surgery in the Urgent Care Unit now, she can't have visitors."
"Can y'all at least tell me what's going on?"
"I don't know but you can have a seat." She pointed to a chair.
"I don't want a seat, I want for y'all to tell me what's wrong with my wife."
"Sir, have a seat. You'll find out when I know something." She dismissed me.
"Isn't that your fucking job to know something? Ain't that what the fuck your bald head ass in this seat for?" She did have a bald spot in the middle of her head.
"If you don't sit down, I'm going to call the hospital police." She warned me, standing up.
"Ma'am, my wife and my unborn child could be dead right now. I just gotta know something please." I broke down. "Please."
She looked at me.
"Sir here." She handed me a kleenex. "Calm down. As soon as the other desk nurse gets back, I'll go find out okay."
"Thank you."
She shook her head okay and I went to go have a seat.
"August." Omari and Chad came down the hall. I quickly stood up.
"Is she okay?"
"They don't know. Their upstairs working on her and trying to deliver the baby."
"I told her not to help that girl. But she persisted and then I said yes. I should've followed my first mind. It was my job as a husband to protect her and I didn't. I failed man. I failed." I broke down again. I was going to be doing a lot of this.
"You didn't fail August. Imagine if she wouldn't have told anyone where she was, we might've found her too late." Chad sat next to me.
Omari sat on the other side.
"You called her mother?" Omari asked me.
"Yeah, she's on her way here but you know they live in Savannah so its' going to take a minute." I responded.
"August how is she?" Tanya rushed over to me with Durrell, Amb's brother behind her.
"We don't know yet." Omari said.
"What happened?" durrel asked.
"Amb called me from the W asking for the police. She then called back and said she didn't need them. I could tell something was wrong in her voice. So I sent them. Me and Omari went over there. Found the man who shot her on the ground dead, and the young girl who shot him hoovering over Amb trying to stay with her until paramedics arrived. She's in jail right now."
"Right where her ass deserves to be." I snapped. Stupid bitch is the reason my wife could be dated.
"Aug."Omari tried to calm me.
"No. I want to press charges. It's because of her, my wife and my unborn child is in this shit."
"Amb ass always trying to save somebody. Like sit your ass down." Durrell said angry pacing the floor.
"That's your fucking fiance' fault. Amb wasn't thinking about this shit, to Tanya ass come to our house stirring shit up. Giving that bitch, her number and shit."
"Well excuse me. I didn't know Amb knew her and her job is to help women in domestic violence situations." Tanya got in my face.
"Get out my face." I looked her in her eyes.
"Before you what?" She was trying to provoke me.
"Knock your fucking ass to the ground." I stood up towering over her short ass like a tree.
"Like you tried to do Amb? Maybe that's why she was so adamant about helping the girl, because you were abusive to her this entire time."
"Stop." Omari got between us. "I know we all mad right now, but we have to try to be positive and come together for Amb and the baby."
"Fuck boy. I didn't like your ass from day one." Tanya mumbled.
"And I didn't like you either." I looked at her.
"If Nate would've survived your ass wouldn't even be in the picture." Tanya yelled at me.
"Tanya Chill." Durrell tried to calm her.
"Yeah calm her before I do." I snapped.
"Nigga try me." Tanya stood up.
"Let me try to fix that overbite."
Chad smirked, shaking his head.
"Would y'all quit?" Omari said annoyed at us all.
My phone rang. It was Stac. I mean mugged Tanya and stood up.
"What's up Stac?"
"Me and Trav are on the first flight out of LA to Atlanta. I'm leaving my office now. Cha told me what happened. Is she okay?" I could hear her running down some stairs.
"We don't know yet. I'll keep you updated."
"Okay. I'll call you when we get to the airport."
"Okay."
"bye." We said then hung up.
"Family of Amber Alsina." A doctor came toward us.
"Yes. I'm her husband." I stood up. Everybody came behind me.
"I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, we got the baby out and delivered. He can't breathe or eat on his own because he's premature so he's in an incubator with breathing tubes, and we'll have to feed him intravenously. The bad news is that Amber is losing a lot of blood, so we have to induce her into a coma to try to get her stabilized."
"Will she make it?" I asked.
"Only time will tell, but we're working hard. I'll keep you updated on her progress."
"Please save my wife. She all I got doc. She all I got."
"I will try my best son." He patted my shoulder and walked off.
If Amb leaves, I don't know if I'll make it. She's all I got.