“What’s wron?—”
I glanced down at the wet pavement below me before up at him then Taree. “I think…It’s time.”
“For what?” his stupid ass asked.
Ree’s eyes were big, meaning she knew what I was talking about. “Right now, Em?”
“Mhmm,” I moaned in pain just as Zero caught on.
“Oh shit. C’mon lemme get you to the car.”
This pain I was in was like no other. So bad that I wanted to stand in the same spot until it subsided, until I felt like my knees weren’t locked in place or my toes weren’t forced down attempting to dig through my shoes. Shit, at this point I just wanted my mama. “Where is my mama?”
“Uhh…” Ree looked around the crowded now dimly lit yard for my mother before she spotted her. “Mama Tanya, it’s time!” her ass yelled at the same time as the music quieted down.
“Time for what?” Irish’s loud ass asked.
Within seconds my mother was standing in front of me, with that I told you so expression. “I told you. How far are they apart?”
I was too busy squeezing the life out of Zero’s hand with one hand and holding my stomach with the other. Absolutely no time to count how far apart contractions were. Hell, I was in pain. You’d think of all shit she’d know that, but here she was asking dumb ass questions.
“Hospital…ple—please,” I managed to grit from between my now grinding teeth.
They were beautiful.A chaotic pregnancy and an even more chaotic delivery, but they were beautiful. Born looking nothing like me at thirty-five weeks I’d say they needed more time to bake. More time to see how much hell they put their mother through so at least one of them would look like me. But no, they came early with that wrinkle on their foreheads and the heaviest set of eyes I’d seen since their father. They didn’t look shit likeme, but my mother said it was early, while my grandmother laughed.
“Why do you think you and all of your siblings look like your father? Genes not strong enough, baby.” She sat in the corner of the room laughing during the after-hours. My boys were born in the after hours, of course after six hours of hell, ice chips and a million promises of how I’d never find myself here again. Born during a retrograde full moon at that. they came barreling into this chaotic ass world saying fuck my birth plan and everything it entailed. They were kings taking after their father with that brass and brute way of appearing. Once they were coming there was no doctor in the world that could slow down my contractions or aid me through this process. It was the quickest, lengthiest moment of my life. Let’s not forget the pain though, a set of twins natural. No pain meds no epidural or nothing, natural. I said they fucked up my birth plan and I meant that.
They were here though. Early, forcing them to have to be probed and tested for a while, but seemingly healthy. Aimer Tu Hughes was born five whole minutes before his brother. Five whole minutes of him wailing to announce his presence, a presence that was felt from the moment he slipped out of me. Then Amel Tro Hughes was born silently. A dark birth mark covering the side of his neck the only thing to stand out. For the first few moments he was antagonized. Too quiet the nurse whispered in my ear when I asked what was going on. Then moments after she said that his wail filled the space. Zero’s boys had a presence that couldn’t be missed, the type of presence that told me from just seconds to minutes old they’d taken after him. I just carried them, but those were his sons.
“You good mama?” his voice interrupted me from the thought filled marathon going on in my head.
I looked up and he was leaned against my bed peering down at me like I was the only person in the room. I wasn’t thoughbecause our people had said fuck that visiting hour shit. I guess it helped that I had a private suite, so we weren’t bothering anyone else.
“Exhausted. But I’m good.”
He kissed my forehead. “Thank you. Now, I got y’all forever.”
“You better nigga, cause how I carry them, and they come out looking like you spit them out?”
Taken aback by my question he chuckled. “Them my boys baby. It was only right. Now when we get on page ‘bout my daughter then I’m sure she’ll look like yo?—”
“Don’t you let him sit over there and trick you, Empress. You’re hell pregnant and it’s not facts that the next time you try it’ll be a girl,” Ree’s voice carried from where she stood holding Aimer.
Laughter flooded the room. Joy polluted the air, and love coated the walls. These last few months had been literal hell in a sense, but this moment right here was it. Being surrounded by those who loved you the most at one to the most important moments was everything.
My eyes landed on Zero, who now studied the room or so it seemed, but his mind was elsewhere. Then I reached for his hand. When I grabbed it he looked at me.
“What’s on your mine, papa?” I spoke only loud enough for him to hear.
“Err’thing.” A word that consisted of the things he wouldn’t say. “But this shit right here, is golden. Taking mental pictures and shit so this will forever be imbedded in a nigga’s mind.”
I smiled. “I don’t need mental pictures. All I need is pain memory.”
He chuckled. “You right about that. I need to get my hand checked out. I know by fact you rearranged my fucking knuckles.”
AMIA
I had a million missed calls from Givens, and I hadn’t heard from Rikov in weeks. They were supposed to have been made an attempt on my brother’s life. I warned him though. I messaged him and warned him. I didn’t regret it even though I’d probably never be welcomed back into the family by him. I had made my bed, now I had to lie in it. The thing is I couldn’t go out without a fight which meant I had to pool my resources. For the last day and a half I had searched Celia’s home high and low for valuables and or cash. I couldn’t stay here forever and I damn sure didn’t plan to. I found a few bucks, and a lot of shit that had to be worth something in her room. I picked the lock to get in there. Besides drugs and alcohol there wasn’t much, but it was enough. Then after I gathered everything necessary for me to make a clean getaway after I went to a local pawnshop to get some cash off some of the things I gathered it all in the living-room.