Daija woke up to rain heavily tapping against the bedroom window. Lighting flashed through the curtains nearly blinding her. She slowly stretched then turned over onto her back as she stared up at the ceiling. She didn't smell any food being cooked so she assumed Teala must was at work. She hated when she gets called in early because she doesn't have anybody to wake up to and aggravate. Now she has to either has to cook for herself or just have something simple and ready to eat. She grabbed her phone from beside her then realized she didn't put it on charge last night. "30 percent? Ugh!" She cried out. She sat up and swung her feet off the bed. The temperature must have dropped over night, Daija shivered as she touched the icy cold wooden floors. She walked over to the closet and grabbed her a pair of UGG boots and a jacket that she got from Kevyn. She walked out of her bedroom and towards the kitchen.
Going over to the refrigerator she grabbed the carton of eggs and a box of sausages. That's what she craving plus the French Toast that Teala's makes. She sat everything on the kitchen counter and then started to get everything she needed. It was easy cooking the eggs it didn't take no time for her to scramble those up. She tossed the sausages in the oven then froze as she was starting to attempt the toast. Daija watched Teala make them one morning hopefully she remembers and does it right. Taking a slice of bread she dipped it in the cinnamon batter then laid it carefully in the hot pan.
She stood over it and watched it cook. A wave a pain took over Daija. It was from her chest to her knees. She groaned and walked away from the stove. With every step she took the pain worsen so she just had to stop where she was and fall to her knees. "This can't be." She thought in her head. She cursed aloud as the pain was more intense than anything. She needed to up and get her phone but this is her first time going through something like this so she doesn't know what to expect nor what to do. Daija has been through pain just as close to this and she still managed to be strong enough and pull through that. So she slowly and carefully stood to her two feet and walked down the hall that seemed so narrow to her now. Her breathing picked up once she felt warmth coming from between her legs. Grabbing her phone she dialed Teala's number. Tightening her grip on the phone as it rung she began taking off the shorts and her underwear. She started panicking when she saw all the blood that covered them both. "Girl what you want? I'm at work." Teala answered. "T-Teala. I'm bleeding and.... mmh i'm in pain a-and i'm panicking Teala." Daija cried as she tried to keep calm and take the pain. "Huh? Ok i'm on the way just keep calm and take deep breaths Dee. I think Kevyn's close to you so i'm about to tell him to get there."
"No Teala I don't want him-." Teala ended the call before Daija could get out her sentence. She didn't want Kevyn to see all of this. Then she realized that the food was still in the kitchen cooking. The smell of it burning was starting to take over the house. Tears started to stain Daija's face as she sat on the floor in front of the bed with her legs propped up and open. In her head she was thinking the worse. She's going to have her baby in this room and one of them isn't going to make it. Daija yelled out As a first-time mom, she had a difficult time deciding if she was in labor or was this a miscarriage. She had a lot of cramping under my belly, She was told it would feel like very bad menstrual cramps but that's not what it felt like to her. It was much more intense and it was almost all in her lower back. Every time a contraction would come, her lower back would slowly begin to seize up. It was kind of like the muscles inside were slowly twisting harder and harder until it became almost unbearable, and then it would slowly subside. It was still much more painful than she had imagined it would be.
"Daija?!" Kevyn called out as he stormed into the house. He went to the kitchen and looked around for her but instead all he seen was smoke coming from the stove. Going over to it he cut off the stove and took the pan off the eye and sat it on the counter on top of pot holders. "Daija where the hell you at?!" He called out again. With all this smoke in this house and her not responding he was hoping she was alright but damn who knows. He went down the hall to the bedroom and his eyes widened as he looked at Daija who was naked from the waist down and covered in blood. He didn't want to look at that. He didn't mind the blood it was just her. "Daija? Can you get up?" He asked her trying not to look at her nakedness. She slowly and tiredly shook her head. "No." She spoke weakly. Kevyn grabbed a folded blanket from off the dresser and placed it over her. "You hurting?" He asked her. Daija shot him a mean look. "Nah Kevyn. I'm bleeding from my vagina and possibly is about to push a another human being out of it too." She said sarcastically. Kevyn held his hands up in surrender, "My bad."
About 10 minutes had passed and Daija hasn't had a contraction since Kevyn got there. When Teala got here she started doing the absolute most. With Teala and Kevyn's ways they had doctors come here and help her out since Daija says she couldn't move from her spot. "If nothing happens within the next 10 minutes we will have no choice but to take you on down to the hospital." The doctor spoke. Daija nodded her head and swallowed the lump in her throat. "Well sir can we just go ahead and do that now? What if waiting result in something bad?" Teala spoke. With understanding where Teala was coming from Kevyn helped Daija make her way from the floor to the truck. Teala grabbed a bag of clothes from the closet and followed behind them.
——————————————
Newborn cries fill the room and everyone bursts into tears of relief and joy. Teala turns her glossy eyes to her best friend and in a voice that's almost broken she tells her she have a handsome son. Through her exhaustion she smiles, and she lets her eyes leave Teala's face to take in the baby that is being carried away from her. In that moment she begins to cry the sweetest tears she's ever known, all the pain of moments before melting away. He's only seconds old and her tiny boy begins to root, mouth wide, his instincts strong. She hated that this is how it is. She hasn't even held him yet. Daija began sobbing uncontrollably as she still watched through her teary eyes her baby getting farther and farther away from her. He was only 2 pounds and with him being that small and a preemie he is at a high risk of not making it. Teala held onto Daija tightly trying to comfort her and let her know that everything's is going to be alright. Kevyn stood off to the side he didn't know what to do.
After awhile Daija has calmed down and was sleep which Teala was thankful for. She got down off the bed and walked over to Kevyn who was also exhausted. "That girl there know she strong as hell." She laughed as she sat down beside him. "I know." Kevyn laughed along with her. "We don't even have a name yet, nor a car seat, nor a crib, or none of that." Teala shook her head. "Y'all have time to get all of that. You know he's gone be in here for a while." Kevyn stated. "Eh, that boy will be out of here in no time. With how strong his damn mom is, it should pass down to him." Teala said out of all seriousness. "You know Kevyn, you two need to stop these teenage games. You know you love her and she loves you too so just get together already." Kevyn was drawn back by her words. "I want to take my time for her sake. Even when she thinks she's ready I still won't be." Kevyn says. Teala lifted her knees to her chest and turned towards him. "And why is that?" Kevyn sat there and thought long and heavy, "Because I've never been the type to be tied down in a relationship. Every one I got in was temporary, previous females I was with was just a nut pretty much." Kevyn shrugged, "So with Daija I just want to take my time and do right. After that shit with Elijah she don't need another no good nigga in her life."
"So that crazy ass bitch you was with before, was just a nut?" Teala asked referring to Karin. Kevyn eyes widened and he held in a laugh. "Yup. Blessed her ass and left and that girl there is more than crazy." Kevyn shook her head. "You can look at her and tell she delusional. I almost beat her ass though when she tried to come for my bitch. Over your ass." Teala picked. Kevyn burst out in laughter and Teala laughed along with him. "Y'all done talking about me?"Daija mumbled. "Girl whaaat? Nobody was talking about you." Teala got up off the couch and walked over to Daija as she moved over from her right side to the left. "Man listen I'm not having a baby no more." Daija says out of all seriousness. "Quit being dramatic." Teala rolled her eyes playfully. "I'm so for real. That was some painful gruesome shit." Kevyn nodded his head, "It damn sure was. I almost passed out." Teala laughed, "It was that bad?"
"What? If I ever have a kid I'm gone be far at a safe distance. Might have to excuse myself from the room." Kevyn said shaking his head. "Nigga you can't do that." Teala laughed, "You supposed to be in there." Kevyn rubbed his hands along his pants "Nuh un. They gone be putting me in a hospital bed next."
"I'm hungry." Daija said weakly. "What you want?" Kevyn asked her. "I really want some Zaxbys but then again I want some McDonalds." Daija spoke with her eyes low and heavy. "Well McDonald's closer so I'll go out and get what you want." Daija nodded her head, "Ok just get the uh twenty piece nugget meal."
"Twenty?" Teala asked shockingly. "Yes. I might just make it forty." Daija said as she could taste them nuggets just by thinking about them. "Teala, I haven't ate in almost a whole day. I'm hungry as hell so just get a double cheeseburger meal and the nugget meal please." Kevyn nodded his head and jingled his keys in his pockets. "Ok, i'll be back shortly." Kevyn got up and headed out the room leaving Teala and Daija alone to gossip and have girl talk.
"Soo you heard Kevyn talking?" Teala cheesed. "Yeah." Daija smiled, "He know he can sweet sometimes." Teala got in the bed behind Daija. "Sometimes? Girl he always sweet to you." Teala wrapped her arms around her friend. "Yeahh i'm ready to take my baby home now. Then we get this house that has enough bedrooms, a spacious kitchen, and a lot of yard and after that he grows up happy & im happy." Daija spoke placing her hands ontop of Teala's. "Don't forget to put Kevyn in there somewhere." Teala teased. Daija smacked her teeth and went back to sleep with a snap of fingers and Teala was right behind her.
Kevyn walked back into the room and seen the two sleep. He shook his head and put the bags of food and drinks on the table by the bed. He sighed heavily and rubbed his hand along his waves. He didn't want to wake neither one of them up so he decided that he'll walk around the hospital, give him something to do then just sit there in the quiet room. Walking through and around Kevyn ended up in the NICU looking for the baby. He didn't get a good look at him before since they took him away in a blink of a eye. Since there was only 3 in here he went over to who he thought was Daija's. A couple walked in and stared Kevyn down. "Uh who is you and what you doing near my child?" The man asked him. Kevin turned around with no words to say. "I'm sorry, I was looking for my friend's baby and we didn't get a good look at him. I thought this was her's." Kevyn explained. "Oh well that one must be yours then." The woman pointed out. Kevyn nodded his head and went over to the palest baby in the room. He stood there nearly for 15 minutes just looking. All of those wires hooked onto his small chest and his eyes covered with the oversized beanie made Kevyn's heart turn. He never been around a newborn let alone a premature newborn. So he felt sorry for him and Daija. Kevyn's phone rung and vibrates in his pocket and he left the room to answer the call in the hall. Looking at the caller ID it was a number he didn't know. Hesitant on whether to answer or not Kevyn brought the phone up to his ear, "Hello?" It was quiet on the other end of the line you couldn't hear nothing but heavy breathing. "Listen I don't have time for games." Kevyn said on the phone before he started to hang up. "Lani?!" Kevyn froze and brought the phone back up to his ear. "Is this you?" It was a young girl on the other end of the phone. "Who's this?" Kevyn questioned. "It's me Lani, Kinyi." Kevyn's heart began racing. "Please help me." She cried.
Kevyn has a huge soft spot for his family and with Kinyi being the girl and the youngest out of the three he feels like he owes her protection and love since their punk ass dad won't do it. The day they separated Kevyn nearly went crazy.
Family is not an important thing. It's everything.