Drake's POV
It kills me to lie to Nicki. I never got in some fight with a dude that messed up my shoulder. I've been telling everyone that same story for years. I've only told one person the truth.
Nicki is sleeping peacefully on my chest. I fell asleep and woke up again, so I just watch her. Her shoulders rise and fall as she snores lightly. I can see her eyes moving underneath her eyelids. She must be having a dream.
I carefully lay her down on the bed and lie on my side by her stomach.
"I'm kind of excited," I whisper. "You aren't an accident, but you weren't planned, either. I'm happy. I'm not mad at all." I kiss Nicki right above her bellybutton. "We're here for you. No matter what, we'll never give you up. Your momma is gonna kill me during birth, I can see it already. I love you already, baby. This is a good place. You're gonna love it here. Your mom and I are tough people. We're stubborn, too, and we'll protect you through thick and thin. We'll make sure nobody tries to take you away. Fuck the haters. Okay? Don't let them get to you." I take Nicki's limp hand in mine. "I love you already."
Nicki stirs. I get up off the bed and pick my phone up, exiting the room. I close the door quietly and send a group text to all of my friends:
Guys, come over my house, Nicki and I have some news! -Aubrey
Thirty minutes later, Wayne knocks at the door. "Aye, wassap."
"Come in, man." I hold the door open. "Everyone here?" I ask as I follow Wayne into the living room. He, Noah, Kira, Kelly, and Justin nod at the same time. The boys are on the couch while the two girls are on the loveseat.
I stand, leaning on a wall. I stare at my hands. "So, Nicki and I. . ." I clear my throat. "Well, we learned today that. . . uh."
"He didn't use protection."
All of our heads look in the direction of Nicki's voice. She leaned against the kitchen door frame and smirking. She's wearing one of my shirts and some white jeggings.
Wayne laughs. "Good goin', bruh!"
"You changed?" I mouth to her and she nods.
"So. . . does that mean. . ." begins Noah, a smile forming on his face.
"Mmhmm." I walk over to Nicki and put an arm around her waist.
"YOU'RE GONNA BE PARENTS OMIGOD!" squeals Kira. She runs over and hugs us both tightly.
"Thanks!" says Nicki. "I can't breathe."
Kira lets us go and beams. "We need to celebrate!"
"But before that, we need to go to the doctor." I kiss Nicki on her forehead. "Just to be sure."
"And for your shoulder." Nicki butts in. My heart stops.
Noah gives me a confused look. "Why?"
"Drake told me that he got in this fight a few years back and messed up his shoulder. Earlier today he looked in a lot of pain, so I'm forcing him to go get help."
Kira glances at me. "But that didn't--"
I shoot her a glare and she stops talking. Then I give Nicki, who looks majorly confused now, a warm smile. "Ready to go?"
She takes a minute to answer. "Yeah! The rest of you guys can follow us in the cars you came here in."
We all leave the house and arrive at the doctor. Nicki signs a clipboard and we all sit in the waiting room.
"Onika Maraj?" calls a woman from behind a door.
Nicki and I stand up. "Yes?"
The woman gestures for us to come in, so we walk across the waiting room and into the office. The smell of antiseptic and latex gloves hits me like a brick. I take a deep breath.
Nicki looks at me. "The smell. Yeah, I hate it too," she says quietly as she sits herself on a cot. "Just ignore it. That's what I'm trying to do."
"Okay." I hold her hand and sit on a chair next to the cot.
"Okay, Onika and Aubrey. My name is Jess. Can you tell me exactly what you're here for?" asks the doctor.
"I'm here to see if I'm pregnant." Nicki clears her throat, obviously uncomfortable.
"Okay. We're gonna go ahead and do a blood test--"
"No blood test, please," I speak up. "What about the other one?"
"The urine test." Jess frowns a little.
Nicki gives me a look. "Thanks."
"No problem."
Jess hands Nicki a wide, plastic cup. "Urinate in this, then come back so I can take the test." She points Nicki to a door a few feet away from where we're sitting. "That's the bathroom."
"Uh, okay." Nicki hops down from the cot and walks over to the bathroom. She opens the door enters.
Jess and I sit in awkward silence.
Nicki returns a minute later with the cup half full. Embarrassed, she hands over the cup to Jess. "Here ya go."
"Okay. I'll take this and run some tests." She gives us a warm smile before exiting the room.
Nicki turns to me and sits on my lap. "Two things."
"What's up?"
"One. What's up with you and blood? Is it a fear?"
I'm silent for a minute. "No. Just brings back bad memories, that's all."
Nicki doesn't ask what memories. "Two. You never got in a fight to mess up your shoulder, did you?"
I say nothing.
"I'll take that as a no." Nicki peers into my eyes. "Tell me when we get home."
I nod as Jess walks in with a huge smile on her face.
"Congratulations!" She pats me my on my shoulder. "Nicki's pregnant!"
My mood lightens instantly and I peck Nicki on the lips. "That's great!"
"I know!" squeals Niclane.She wraps her arms around me and I suck in a breath as pain rockets through my right shoulder. Nicki pulls away with a look of concern. She's about to tell Jess when I stop her.
"Can we just go later?" I plead. She stares at me like I'm insane for a few hot seconds, but she dismisses it and nods.
"You still have to tell me."
"I know." I kiss her cheek.
Jess opens the door for us. The whole crew looks at us as we walk into the waiting room.
"So?" Wayne asks.
Nicki nods vigorously. Kira runs into Nicki's arms. "I'M SO PROUD OF YOU!" she damn near shouts.
Nicki hugs her back tightly. "Thanks!"
I nod, but the pain in my shoulder is almost unbearable. I smile. "I'll be outside," I say, and rush out of the building. My breathing gets heavier.
*Flashback*
"Aubrey! Stop driving so fast!" Maliah slurs and giggles. "We're gonna get a ticket!"
"No we ain't!" I slow down slightly. "There. That should do it."
"We supposed to be goin' forty," Maliah says. "Whoa, watch out! We're in the other lane. There's cars heading towards us!"
"Whoops." I swerve back into the right lane, but I ease myself back into the left.
"Such a daredevil! Bet you cain't dodge all the cars."
"Sure I can." Since it's dark, I'll be able to see the headlights of approaching cars. I dodge another car.
Maliah leans into me for a kiss. "I love you, Aubrey," she says and I smell the alcohol heavy on her breath.
"Love ya, Maliah!" I put my lips on hers.
We pull apart and I see a car racing at breakneck speed towards us.
The sound of the crash is like a train wreck. The sound of glass shattering and metal bending is deafening. As both the cars meet, ours flies through the air and lands somewhere in the middle of the street. We land upside down and the roof pushes inward. The last thing I remember are Maliah's screams before I black out.
I wake up a while later. I hear the sirens approaching. I'm upside down, so I unbuckle my seat belt and fall. Strikes of pain slices through my shoulder and I cry out. My hips hurts, too, and I look down to find a pointy shard of glass sticking from out of it. I grit my teeth and pull it out. The sharp pain brings tears to my eyes. My head pounds painfully.
”Maliah?" I croak. It's dark. I pull out my horribly cracked phone and press the "ON" button. The screen still works. I shine it around and the light lands on. . .
Maliah?
The body next to me hardly looks like Maliah. There's blood everywhere and the head hardly looks like one. I can barely recognize her face.
The pain in my shoulder spikes and I cry out again. My breathing gets shallow.
Maliah's dead.
Gone.
I see flashlights shine into the car and I realize how close I am to Maliah. She's only a few inches from me and the metallic smell of blood hits my nostrils.
"Here," I say, my vision blurry. I must have an concussion because it's hard for me to focus fully.
Two hands grab my legs and pull me out of the car. Instead of looking at the remnants of Maliah's body, I'm staring into summer night sky. My heart is hammering in my chest. I stand up shakily, but a wave of dizziness catches me by surprise and I sway. A man catches me and helps me to a nearby ambulance. I catch a glimpse of three other men dragging Maliah out.
She doesn't even look human, most of her body is smashed so much. The men carry her by her limp limbs and heave her into an ambulance. The wind carries the scent of her blood. It hits my nostrils full on and a wave of nausea crashes into me. I stop walking, lean on my knees, and throw up.
I should have been the one to die. It's all my fault that she died. I was driving. I was the drunk driver. I could have killed the people in the other car, too.
I stand upright and the paramedic helps me limp to the ambulance. The pain in my hip, my shoulder, and my head pulse with the fast-paced beating of my heart. I take a shaky breath and climb in. I feel so lightheaded.
The last thing I see before slip into unconsciousness are the silhouettes of three paramedics.
"Aubrey! Drake!" Nicki is shaking me.
"Wha? Huh?" I look up at her. I realize that my back is against concrete.
"I came outside and you were passed out on the ground. Are you okay?!" There are tears in her eyes.
"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine." I give a weak smile. "I didn't know I passed out." I prop myself up on my elbows and am wracked by a sudden pain. "Fuck! I guess that's why." I give a dry chuckle, but there's no humor behind it.
"Aubrey! You need to see a doctor. I'm taking you to one right now. Let's go." Nicki helps me up and we get in our car and drive to the nearest hospital.
Was this a kind of sad chapter? (°◇°;) I feel like it was. Did anybody cry? I sure did writing this. (T_T)