Sitting in the waiting room was Kross's parents, Chance, Mario, Swift, Cleo, Deedra, and myself. My mind was blank. I kept biting my nails trying to convince myself this wasn't happening. But, it is. Kross was shot and what makes it ten times more scary, he was shot at our baby shower. I can't count on one hand how many times I prayed for his safety.
Giselle, Kross's mother, took a seat beside me.
"You okay, Destiny?" She asked in a low voice. I shook my head no, looking down at my swollen, bare feet. "I-I don't know." I sobbed. Giselle pulled me into her arms, running her hand up and down my back. "He'll be alright. I just know it." She spoke with positivity. But, as a mother, her emotions were all over. "You ladies want anything?" Jamal, Kross's dad, questioned.
"Some tea would be nice." Giselle stated. "Thank you, Mr. Jackson, but I'm fine." I told him. He nodded, walking down the hall for the hospitals cafe. Chance sat on the other side of the room with his head down. Kross's blood was still over all his hands and clothes. "Do you want to go home and get some rest?" Giselle questioned.
"No. I'm not leaving." I said. She shook her head, understanding.
"I just wanna know who did this and why." Swift stated, pacing back and fourth. "I think we all wanna know that." Mario chimed in. I looked up at the two of them, scoffing. "Well I just wanna know if he's okay." I stressed. Deedra placed her hand on my shoulder, her way of telling me to not get worked up. "And he will be." Giselle assured.
"Yeah, but you don't know that. None of us know that." I said, on the verge of tears.
Deedra calmed me down just as a doctor approached our group with Mr. Jackson standing beside him. "Doctor Roswell, you remember my wife, Giselle." Jamal pointed. Giselle shook the doctors hand, giving him a warm smile before asking, "Is my son going to be alright?"
You could see the frantic silence on her face. Doctor Roswell cleared his throat. I gave him my full and undivided attention. "Your son suffered a gunshot wound to the chest. With surgery, we were able to safely remove the bullet." He informed.
I held my chest in relief. "He will need to wear his sling for six to eight weeks. And he'll need physical therapy to ensure none of his nerves are servilely damaged." The doctor added. "Ah! Thank you Doctor Roswell!" Giselle was relieved to hear that the surgery had gone well and her son was stable.
I wiped the tears from my face that managed to escape my eyes. "No problem. He should be waking up..." Doctor Roswell paused, looking at the watch on his wrist. "... right about now." He notified.
Kross's parents thanked the doctor one last time before he went on his way. While everyone gathered their belongings to go up and see Kross, I stood in the same spot, stuck.
"Des, what's wrong?" Deedra asked, looking at me. "I-I think my water just broke." My trembling lips spoke. I lifted up the bottom of my dress, showing the clear liquid running down my leg. Deedra gasped in shock, catching everyone's attention. Giselle rushed over to me.
"Destiny, honey, did your water break?" She questioned. I shook my head yes, "I-I'm not due for eight weeks!" I panicked, not understanding why my water broke or why it would break during a time like this. "Alright. Stay calm." Giselle consoled me. Deedra rushed to the front to get a nurse. Of course none of the guys knew what to do, so they stood there looking dumb. Deedra came back with a nurse who was pushing a wheelchair. She instructed me to sit and I did what I was told.
"I'll go with the girls." Giselle told her husband.
"You and the boys go on up to see KJ. Do Not tell him that Destiny's water broke if he doesn't look in the state to hear something like that." Jamal nodded, kissing his wife before following behind Chance, Mario and Swift.
Giselle, Deedra, and Cleo followed behind the nurse who pushed me in the wheelchair up to labor and delivery. "Des, should I call Mama and 'em?" Deedra questioned. "No." I let out a small grunt.
"Are you having a contraction?" The nurse asked, stopping the wheelchair. I nodded, holding my head down in pain. She continued pushing the wheelchair until we all piled into the elevator; taking us to the 3rd floor. The nurse quickly checked me in at the front desk, having the staff prepare a room.
"Giselle." I called out in between breathing.
She walked over, leaning in closer to me. "Yes, honey?" She answered.
"Please... please let KJ know I'm in labor. We've talked about the birth every night before bed." I disclosed, a single tear falling from my eye. "Please." I begged.
"Okay. I will." She assured me. The nurse unlocked the wheels, pushing me down the hall. I was quickly brought into a room where I was helped into a hospital gown. One nurse hooked me up to an IV, while others monitored my contractions from a screen. "Is the baby okay?" I asked.
One of the younger looking nurses stopped what she was doing, turning around to look at me.
"I'm nurse Kayla." She smiled. "I'm Destiny. Is my baby alright?" I asked, again. I didn't get why she couldn't be transparent and answer my damn question. "This is your first baby, isn't it?" She questioned, taking a glimpse at me.
"Yes, it is. And I'm not due for another eight weeks, so please... is my baby well?" I looked at her, waiting for answers.
"Your baby is perfectly fine. We're monitoring your contractions, as well as the baby's heart rate." She pointed to the screen behind her.
I exhaled, laying my head back on the pillow while rubbing my stomach. "Firsts can be scary." Nurse Kayla stated. "Tell me about it." I agreed. "That's why you shouldn't worry, Destiny." She smiled, "We're here to help you get by." She said. I nodded, slipping her a faint smile. "Do you have any idea why my water broke 8 weeks early?" I questioned. "That's a question for the doctor. But, from experience, it's normal to give birth a few weeks early. I gave birth to twins at thirty-weeks." She shared.
"Oh, wow. Twins?" I said, shocked. I thought one baby was a lot, but can you imagine twins?
"Yes." She giggled, "You have the exact look I had on my face when I found out." She said. I tried to laugh, but it was seized by another sharp contraction. "Breathe in through your nose, out through your mouth." Kayla coached. Her tip certainly helped because it got me through my next 3 contractions.
"Ms. Jones, I'm the head nurse, Irene." A Caucasian woman who looked to be in her fifty's spoke.
I greeted her with a friendly hello. She smiled, looking down at the clipboard in her hands. "You're four centimeters dilated— as of right now. Have you considered an epidural?" She questioned.
"No. No epidural." I declined. "Are you sure?" She double checked. "Yes, I'm positive." I told nurse Irene. She noted it on the chart before informing me my doctor would be in with me soon.
Deedra, Cleo, and Giselle came into the room. "Did any of you speak to Kross?" I asked. Missing the birth of our child is something he voiced the minute we decide to go through with this pregnancy. He told me missing the birth would be one of his biggest regrets, so I know how much it would hurt him.
"I don't think KJ is in any state to be moved, honey." Giselle said.
I sighed, removing the monitor from my stomach. "What are you doing?" Cleo asked.
"Leaving." I simply stated. "What, you can't leave." Giselle said, getting closer. "Well I'm not having this baby without Kross present." I told her. "Okay, fine. I'll give Jamal a call to see if he's awake." She assured. I laid back in bed while Deedra strapped the monitor back to my stomach. Giselle put the phone to her ear, leaving the room.
- - -
On the 7th floor, Kross eyes fluttered open. It was blurry at first, until he saw Chance. "Look y'all, Mr. 'Never sleeps' is awake." He joked. Jamal rushed over to his sons bedside, "Son, you good?" He asked. Kross nodded since his throat felt dry. "You need some water, man?" Swift questioned, being smart. Kross shot him a thumbs up. Swift got his friend a cup of cold water, handing it to him as he sat up.
Kross put the cup to his mouth, drinking all the water that was inside. He slightly grunted feeling the pain in his arm. He looked over at his right arm to see it wrapped in a sling. "Who the fuck did this?" His father questioned. Jamal had been furious all night since hearing his son was shot at a family event. "I don't know, pops." Kross lied.
He knew if he came clean about who shot him, it would only take his father a few hours to have that person killed. This was his fight to finish. "Well, when we find that nigga or them niggas, they all dead." Chance announced being his usual hot-head self. Kross laid back into the bed, listening to his father and friends plot on whoever did this. His mind ran to Destiny, he shot up from the bed.
"You good, KJ?" Swift asked, seeing how his body shot up from the bed. "Where's Destiny?" He asked. Everyone froze. They didn't know what to tell him or how to tell him.
"She's in labor." Mario confessed. No one else was going to have the balls to tell him. Being a father himself, Mario knew firsthand how it feels to miss the birth of your child. That shit don't sit right with no real nigga. "What!" Kross blurted.
"She's here, in this hospital?" He asked, getting out of bed. "Yes." His dad confirmed what Mario had just told him. "When was somebody gonna say sum?" He looked at them, angry.
Before they could give him some bullshit answer, Nurse Kayla walked into the room pushing a wheelchair. "Hi. Sorry to interrupt. Your girlfriend is in labor, and although you're fresh out of surgery, she refuses to have this baby without you present." She informed Kross.
"How is she?" He asked, getting in the wheelchair. "She's ok, but she's ten centimeters dilated. We have to get you down to the 3rd floor now, if you don't wanna miss the birth." She said, causing him to panic. Nurse Kayla quickly pushed him down the hall and into the elevator. Kross's heart was heavily beating while they waited for the elevator to get to the 3rd floor. He wasn't sure if he was going to make it in time. He could only hope.
- - -
"Ms. Jones, I know this is hard, but we have to get this baby out... right now." My Doctor said.
I sobbed, looking over at the door, hoping Nurse Kayla would walk in, pushing Kross any minute now. "Take a deep breath. On the count of three; I want you to give me a big push." My doctor instructed. As she counted and I prepared to push, my eyes were zeroed in on that door.
"One... Two... Three"
- - -
Whew chille, a lot is going on.
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