The sound of sniffles coming from Justin's room caused Ember's heart to drop. She was just getting in from work and her parents were in their room with the door shut. She hated when they left him alone especially when all the lights were turned off.
Justin had nightmares sometimes. He always thought that someone was inside of his closet watching him or underneath his bed.
She slipped inside of his room and turned on his light. He did have a nightlight, but he was still afraid. Justin sat in the middle of his bed, staring towards his opened closet.
"Justin." Ember whispered.
"Something's in the closet." He said.
"It's okay, Justin. Look." Ember walked over to his closet, and pulled it open wider, turning on the light. Nothing was inside but his clothes and some of his toys were spread across the floor. "See, no one is here."
Ember looked at Justin and smiled a little. He pulled his covers over his head, refusing to look.
"Justin, I promise it's nothing here." Ember assured him. She watched as Justin slowly peeked his head from underneath the covers. Ember traveled over to him and sat next to him on the bed, "Justin, I will always be here to protect you. I won't let anyone, or anything hurt you."
She reached over to the nightstand and pulled a tissue from the box, handing it to Justin. He calmed down and wiped his tears away.
"Can you read me a story?" Justin asked.
Ember nodded, "Sure, which one?"
"The new one." Justin climbed out of bed and picked the book from the bookshelf that he wanted. He placed it inside of Ember's hands.
She had never seen the book before, yet the cover was quite interesting. There were two brown skinned children. A little girl with a low side puff hugged another little boy tightly. The title read, My Brother Charlie, and it was written by Holly Robinson Pete & Ryan Elizabeth Pete.
Ember waited until Justin snuggled inside of his bed before she opened the book and began reading to him. She loved reading to him and spending time with him. It melted her heart to see how happy and excited that he would be. He was like a little kid, and she adored him.
After reading to Justin, she placed the book back on the shelf. He had fallen asleep before she got the chance to finish the full story. She left his lights on, and his door open before she made her way inside of her room. Tonight, was really a long night at work. Her feet were hurting so bad that they felt swollen. She was up on them for hours and could not wait to get off them.
She gathered some clothes and stepped inside of her bathroom to shower. Removing her clothes, Ember stood in the mirror, examining her naked body. She ran her fingers across her growing stomach. Tomorrow she would be three months.
She was starting to show and the only thing that she wore was t-shirts now. In any other clothing, her stomach showed. Before her pregnancy, Ember's stomach had been very flat and toned, but now it was not, and her mother would notice the second she stopped wearing t-shirts.
Ember was so nervous each time her mother came near her. In her gut, she felt as if her mother knew already, yet there was no way that she did. Ember disposed the pregnancy tests in the dumpster at work. She could not risk it.
The baby would not be here after graduation, but Ember would not be in the same household with her parents. She refused to have her child around her cruel father and delusional mother. They were her parents and she loved them dearly, but she could not trust them.
After showering, Ember laid across her bed. She picked up her phone seeing that she had a text from Adonis. Ever since he started Pro, she only got to see him at school most days. His father would not let him catch a break. He wanted him to take this seriously so that he wouldn't get too hurt in the ring.
Just as Ember moved her fingers across the keyboard to text him back, there was a tap on her window. A smile formed across her face once she climbed to her feet and opened the window. The second he was inside; Ember crushed her lips against his. She had never been so excited to see someone in her life.
She could feel him chuckle against her lips.
"I've missed you too, Em." He says.
Ember smiles as she steals another kiss. She took in his scent. Adonis smelled of cocoa butter and she noticed that he had a nice line up. His hair was loose, but curly. Ember loved when his hair was this way. She loved to play in it.
"I'm so happy to see you outside of school." Ember tells him.
She slipped her arms around his neck as he lifted her. Adonis slowly walked over to the bed, sitting on the edge still holding Ember on his lap.
"I have good news. The house is finished." Adonis says.
Ember held the look of awe, "When are you moving in?"
"I've started already. I was thinking, Em and..." Adonis briefly paused before he continued, "Move in with me?"
Ember studied him. She was wondering if he was serious or not, "Adonis, I can't leave until I'm eighteen."
There was no way that her parents were going to let her leave the house and move out.
"That won't be long, Em."
"Do you think that's a good idea?"
Adonis nodded, "For the baby, and us." Adonis wanted to raise their child together under the same roof. He wanted to care for them both.
Ember smiled, "I would love to move in with you."
What if's started to occupy her mind. What if she was moving too fast with him? What if things did not work out between them? Ember figured that she was thinking too much and pushed the thoughts to the back of her mind.
Adonis would never hurt her.
"But, you have to let me decorate the baby's room." Ember tells him.
He chuckled, "Deal."
She took his hand and placed it on her stomach, "We're three months today."
It was twelve in the morning, and although both of them were tired, they couldn't resist spending a little time with one another.
"It feels like we just found out yesterday."
"I know. The days are going by fast which means I'm growing."
"Don't you think it's time to tell our parents? Em, we can't hide this forever." Adonis says.
"You can tell your parents, but mine, no." She felt as if Adonis's parents would be a bit more understanding than hers.
"They're going to find out, Em."
Ember sighed, "I know but I'm just not ready to tell them yet.
Adonis nodded in understanding. He has never really kept secrets from his parents. He was always open with them. They may be a little upset if they found out that he had a baby on the way, but regardless they would still love and adore the baby. They were the same way with Jr.
"Are you sure that it's okay to tell them now?"
Ember nodded, "Yes but your mom hates me so I can't be there when you tell them."
"She doesn't hate you, Em. Things are just a little complicated with Paisley. They are really going to love our baby." Adonis tells her. If his mother really hated her, she wouldn't be letting Ember into her home. When Katrina didn't like someone, she let it be known.
Either way, Ember was not buying it. She knew when someone disliked her and that person would eventually show their true colors.
"What do you think the gender is?" Ember asked as Adonis rubbed her stomach.
"A girl."
"You want a girl?" Ember asked.
"I want both. A son and a daughter."
"I've always wanted twin boys later on in life."
Adonis smirked, "What if we're having twins now?"
Ember kissed her teeth, "That's not funny. Don't jinx it."
He chuckled, "I can't wait to meet our baby though."
"Me either."
Adonis pecks her lips.
"Can you stay with me tonight?" Ember asked.
"Yeah, I'll leave in the morning." He tells her.
She couldn't help her smile. She loved when he stayed with her.
Ember climbed off his lap to turn the lights out before cuddling underneath the covers in the bed beside him. Turning to her side, Ember's back touched his chest. His arms snaked around her, giving her warmth and comfort. She could feel his soft cool lips kiss her on the neck.
Closing her eyes, Ember dozed off to sleep.
~
The morning after, Adonis sat in his car, nervously tapping his steering wheel. He left Ember's an hour ago. She was still asleep. Instead of waking her, he kissed her lips before he left.
His parents were back from seeing Paisley who would be home by the end of the month. Since they were not home when he stopped by earlier, he went to his house, showered and got breakfast. It felt good knowing that he had his own now.
He paid an interior designer to design his home. It was already nice and cozy.
Building up the courage, Adonis stepped out of his car and started up the driveway. He made a mental note to himself to invest into a different vehicle. The rover was nice, but he wanted something different.
He unlocked the door and stepped inside of his parents home. There were still a few more things that he had to pack before he left permanently.
The aroma of food filled his nose. His mother was cooking again. She had been doing that a lot lately. Usually she would be out shopping with paisley or over at his grandmothers house. His father was sitting on the sofa in the living room half asleep.
Adonis crept past him, stepping into the kitchen where his mother stood over the stove, humming lowly.
"Hm, and where have you been all night because you sure wasn't here?" Katrina asked.
"Yeah, that's I need to talk to you and dad about, together." Adonis tells her.
"Hope it's not nothing bad."
Katrina turned the stove off and followed him to the living room. She took a seat next to her husband who had been wide awake, staring at the TV now. Adonis sat in the chair, and looked over at both of them.
"I bought a house." Adonis tells them, getting straight to the point.
"And why would you do that?" Katrina asked.
By the look on her face, he could tell that she was ready to jump down his throat. She was not going to let this go so easily.
"I just wanted privacy and I can't live with my parents forever."
Katrina frowned, "Adonis, the agreement..."
"I know ma, but things change. I'm pro now, so I'm not going to college."
"What?" Katrina was up on her feet now. She had no clue about him going pro so soon. The look of anger filled her face. "Have you lost your mind, Adonis? We've talked about this already. What will you fall back on? Ricky, did you know about this?"
Ricky only glanced at his wife. She let out a long sigh of agitation before she went on, "I can't believe this. Why are you changing your mind so quickly?" Katrina stared over at Adonis, waiting for him to answer, but when he didn't it only made her angrier, "Adonis, you better answer me right now." She snaps.
Although nothing was funny, he chuckled, "I have a baby on the way."
"A baby? My God, Adonis. Not again. Do you not fucking believe in protection? Who is this baby by?" Katrina's eyes watered with tears as she looked over at Ricky. This was news to him as well. He had no clue about Adonis and the baby.
Adonis hesitated to answer her, "Ember."
"Ember? I thought that you stopped seeing her?"
"I didn't."
"I can't believe you, Adonis. Why are you risking your life for this one girl? There are so..."
Adonis cut her off because he knew where she was going with this, "I don't want no other girls. I'm doing what's best for me, and my kid."
Katrina opened her mouth to speak, but Ricky beat her to it, "He's right, Trina. He's eighteen, a grown man now. We can't control his life and force him to make the decisions we want him to make. We weren't much different from them as teenagers. We made mistakes, bad decisions, but it's a part of life. We live, learn and grow."
The look of anger on Katrina's face softened. She knew that every word her husband said was true. They snuck around to see one another, regardless of what their parents said. Some of the most horrible decisions were made, but in the end they learned from their mistakes. Katrina was just afraid to let her only son go. He wasn't a little boy anymore, he had grown up so fast in front of her eyes. She sat back down on the sofa.
"Are you sure that you are ready for this? The real world? It's not easy out there."
"I know, ma but I'm ready." Adonis knew that he could handle himself.
"Come here." She held out her arms, as tears fell from her eyes.
Adonis smiles as he hugs his mother. She was such a big baby. He understood that she loved him and wanted what's best for him. Adonis promised her that he would stay out of trouble, and finish high school. He even promised his mother a tour of his house so that she knew where he lived.
Telling them wasn't as bad as he thought it would be. The only thing that him and Ember had to worry about now was telling her parents.
Just a filler chapter.
Outlining the other chapters now. Hopefully I can complete the book over the weekend so you won't have to keep waiting days for updates.
Trust me I know it's mad annoying.
There are two endings and idk which one to use. 🤦🏽♀️