Page 31 of Back in Blood

Once she left, Sage came down to where I was. “She’s adamant that she doesn’t want to date right now. Anything you see between us is strictly platonic.”

I looked over at Sage and chuckled. I’d never admit out loud that hearing him say that was a relief. “You’re good man. I have no say so over what she does.”

Sage gave me a look like he felt that I was full of shit. What he thought didn’t matter, however. He didn’t push the topic, and he started talking about cars until my food came out, and then he let me eat in peace. Only God knew why He allowed Lisa to get pregnant with my child because even I had thoughts that Sage might be the better man for her. I simply wasn’t interested in being so, and she deserved more than that.

It took me six days to reach out to Lisa. And she ignored my ass. I attempted again on the seventh day, and she ignored me again. I was frustrated, but what could I do? I wasn’t the easiest person to get along with, and she wasn’t obligated to deal withmy bullshit. Regardless of if I wanted another kid or not, she deserved support and for someone to at least inquire about how she was doing. From what I knew, the latter part of her last pregnancy was rough and that was partly due to Sintonio being a fuck nigga. I had no desire to be the same way.

On the eighth day, Lisa texted me and made me aware that because of what happened with her last pregnancy, she had an appointment coming up, and they were going to do extensive blood work and testing. She also noted that from the blood work they’d be able to tell the sex of the baby, so she told me I could come if I wanted. I replied and told her I’d be there. After sending her my response, I sat on the couch and stared at the floor. Robin had an elaborate gender reveal, and when I found out we were having a girl, I was elated. My stomach churned as I thought back to the wide grin on Dolph’s face, and how he was congratulating me and popping bottles of champagne.

My lip curled in disgust. Fake, flaw ass nigga. I gripped the back of my neck and closed my eyes. I was determined not to drink. I was tired of running to a bottle every time I was triggered or missing Baby Girl. There had to be a better way. I’d become everything I’d always told myself I never wanted to be. But how the hell was I supposed to feel? Only months after losing Caprice here I was about to have another baby. My shorty could never be replaced. I didn’t want another kid. I wantedher.

“Fuck!” my voice roared as I stood up abruptly.

My forehead creased as I stared at the unfamiliar number calling my phone. “Yo,” I answered gruffly not in the mood to speak to anyone.

“Capri, it’s Robin. Please don’t hang up.” Her voice was small and timid, and it made me grit my teeth together because I was about to do just that. “I know you hate me, and you don’t owe me anything. But I don’t have anyone to drop me off for my chemo appointment. If you could, would you please just drop meoff? I’m not supposed to drive because the chemo can make me fatigued and nauseated. By the time I’m done, my mom will be off work, and she can come pick me up.”

“Ubers stopped running in the city?” I inquired with a scowl.

“I-I didn’t really want to take an Uber. Going to chemo always makes me nervous, Capri. I know you hate me, but I’m being punished enough. Before I go to chemo I just like to be around a familiar face. Please,” she begged softly and not one of my heart strings was tugged.

“I’m busy,” was my callous reply before I hung up on her.

Robin and her deceit had turned me into the monster that I was. I refused to feel bad about my actions or how I treated her when she looked me in my face every day for almost three years knowing what she’d done. I still would have left her ass just for cheating, but playing with my seed was a different kind of disrespect. She was never coming back from that. Caprice deserved better. My shorty didn’t deserve to have her life cut short. She deserved to grow old and to simply live, but even with the cruel fate that she’d endured, I had to believe that my baby was somewhere flying high and resting peacefully. The people she left behind, we were the ones here suffering and going through hell. Life was lifing for all of us.

Tears swam in my eyes as I dropped my head. “I love you, and I miss you so much. I swear daddy isn’t trying to replace you. You could never be replaced. Never.” I covered my face with my hands and let all the pain out with gut wrenching sobs that made my entire body quake.

CHAPTER 18

LISA

I wasnervous as I stepped out of my car. Nervous to the point that my body was shivering lightly, but it wasn’t because I was cold. Capri wasn’t in his Denali, so I didn’t know he had already arrived until he stepped out of a red Genesis. I hated the fact that my pulse quickened at the sight of him in a black leather coat with black fur around the neck. He donned black loose-fitting jeans and wheat colored Timbs. Even if he could be an asshole, there wasn’t one thing about Capri that wasn’t sexy. Not one damn thing. Even the glowers that he frequently wore were attractive. I was still irritated with him and extremely nervous, so I cut the way I was admiring him real short. Fuckin’ jerk.

He waited for me by the door and as I neared, he held it open for me. I mumbled a thanks and walked past him to check in. When I was done, I contemplated whether or not I wanted to sit beside him. Finally, I decided to just take the seat next to his. I picked up a magazine and tried to appear indifferent, but I was nervous, and it felt like I had to throw up.

“You good?” he asked in a low, gravelly tone that made my kitty purr.

“Yeap.” I flipped one of the magazine pages aggressively and refused to look at him.

“Lisa.” He called my name soft but stern. I could feel his gaze burning into the side of my face. I wanted to ignore him but almost against my will, my head slowly turned in his direction. “I won’t make excuses for my behavior. Can we please just call a truce? I’m sorry.”

The urge to stick my middle finger up at him was super strong. Stubbornness was one of my personality flaws anyway, but it was worse when I was pregnant. I was going to chill out, however. I had no plans of kissing Capri’s ass or dealing with his disrespect, but if he wanted to act like he had some sense during this process, I would appreciate it. So, rather than flipping him the bird, I simply nodded. The nurse called my name, and my nerves went into overdrive again. I was on the verge of hyperventilating the entire time I drove to the appointment. I couldn’t help but to be worried.

The nurse was polite and made small talk, but all I could do was give her nervous smiles and head nods. She was obviously good at reading people, and she picked up on my anxiousness. “Don’t be nervous, hun.” She gave me a wink and rubbed my arm. “You got this.”

I nodded and tried to ignore the lurching of my stomach. I stared at the posters on the wall as she drew my blood. Six vials. I then gave a urine sample, and Capri and I were directed into a room to wait. He stood outside while I took my jeans off, and he came into the room when I was on the table covered with a sheet. We sat in silence for a few moments before he spoke up.

“Are you cold or scared?”

I wasn’t even aware that I was trembling. “Scared,” I admitted.

Capri leaned forward and grabbed my hand. He locked his fingers through mine and ran his thumb back and forth over my hand. Just as my nerves started to settle, the doctor entered the room, and my shit went haywire again. I attempted to calmmyself down because my heart was racing like I’d just run a marathon.

“Hello, Lisa. It’s nice to see you again,” Dr. Boyd smiled at me then looked over at Capri. “Hello, I’m Doctor Boyd. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Capri.” He extended his hand for a shake and gave a head nod.

Dr. Boyd gave me a reassuring smile. “I’m sure you’re quite anxious, so I will get to the results of the blood work before we do the ultrasound and listen for a heartbeat. There are a few tests where we won’t get the results back for a day or two, but everything else was normal.” I breathed a sigh of relief as she passed me a piece of paper that had all the tests, they ran on it and the results. “I didn’t put the baby’s gender on the paper in case you want to give it to someone else and have a gender reveal.”

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