Page 134 of Deuce

I explained to her the way Salima had been feeling lately. She was brushing it off like it was just stress or nothing, and it was pissing me off. I’d almost snatched her up and took her to my cousin to be evaluated, but I let her live.

“You think it’s stress, Ma? Can that shit be that bad?”

“It could be stress… or it could be something else.”

“Something like what?”

“It’s funny how you know everything else, but you can’t tell when you might be about to become a father.”

“You think she’s pregnant?”

“I do.”

“Don’t you think she would have said something?”

‘Maybe she’s in denial, baby. I mean, that’s life changing news. Everyone doesn’t take it the same way. Does she even want kids?”

“She does, but not right now.”

I frowned to myself as a feeling of anger washed over me. What if she was pregnant? What if she hadn’t said anything because she was planning to have an abortion? Would she really get rid of my child?

“Ma, I gotta go.”

I stood abruptly and went to the door.

“What? Why?”

“I need to know if she’s pregnant, and if she is, why the hell she didn’t tell me?”

“Don’t go over there acting a damn fool. Act like you have some sense.”

I heard what she said, but fuck that. I had tunnel vision. All I could focus on was getting over to Salima’s and seeing what the hell was up.

When I got to the apartment, it was around three. Salima was still in class, so I made my way up to her place and used my key to get in. When I walked in, nothing was out of place our out of the ordinary. I headed straight for her bathroom.

I didn’t know what the fuck I was looking for or why I was even going through all this shit. Kids had never been heavy on my mind. Sure, I wanted one or two, but I wasn’t in a rush. Still,the idea that Salima might be pregnant and hiding it from me didn’t sit right with me.

When I mentioned her seeing my cousin again, she immediately said no. I thought about all the times she said she wasn’t feeling good. All the times I had to hold her hair back while she threw up her fucking guts in the toilet. The headaches. The fatigue.

All the signs were right there in my face and I ignored them, thinking she was just having anxiety or a trauma response to what she’d been through.

The sound of my phone ringing halted my searching. I pulled it out to see that it was Maceo.

“What?” I answered.

“Damn, nigga. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“Hell yeah. I’m dealing with some shit.”

“You need some help?”

“Nah, man. I got this.”

“Well, what’s up?”

“Salima might be pregnant. I’m gonna strangle that damn girl if she’s hiding my baby.”

Maceo laughed.

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