Page 109 of A Kingpin's Weakness
RJ sighed. “Look, I don’t wanna get in between you and Stormi’s business.”
“So something is going on,” I shot back.
“I don’t know, man I’m just sayin’.”
“Stormi’s pregnant,” Ari blurted out. “And she’s thinking about having an abortion. She might’ve had it today. She’s not picking up and wasn’t answering the door when we stopped by. So we just out here killing time, trying to not freak out.”
“Ari,” RJ snapped.
“Sorry! I break under pressure.”
“Nobody even asked you anything,” He growled.
“Oh, my bad.”
“RJ. Talk,” I said, my voice low now. Tight. Rage boiling just under my skin.
RJ looked guilty as hell. “Stormi found out she was pregnant the night of the yacht party. She didn’t know what she wanted to do, so she kept it quiet. A couple days ago, she made the decision to terminate. We tried talking to her, tried to be there, but it’s her choice. She had an appointment today. Since this morning, no one’s heard from her. Nothing.”
My ears rang. The mall around me faded into background noise. Pregnant? She’d been pregnant this whole time and said nothing? Not a word. No call. No text. I’d seen her. Held her. Slept next to her. And she didn’t think I deserved to know? That was my child too.
“I’ll catch y’all later,” I muttered, turning to go.
“Nigga, I rode with you,” Rich called after me.
“RJ, take Rich to his whip,” I snapped, already storming toward the exit.
I jumped in my truck and immediately called Stormi again. Straight to voicemail. Just like all damn day. I hit redial. Nothing. Again. Again. I slammed my fist against the steering wheel, my mind spiraling. I didn’t even realize how fast I was driving, but I knew I had to get to her. Had to hear it from her mouth. Had to understand how she could make a decision like that without me.
I made it to her house in less than twenty minutes. Didn’t give a damn about red lights, stop signs, or speed limits. My mind was racing faster than the engine, and the only thing I could focus on was her. What the hell was going on, and why she’d shut me out like this.
It was almost 8 p.m. when I pulled up. Porch light was on. Noah and his boy Dre were posted up like usual, halfway slouched in the chairs, high as hell and glued to their phones. Same shit, different day.
I stepped out, my jaw tight, fists clenched at my sides. “Yo,” I said as I approached.
They didn’t even clock me at first. That alone had me heated. Could’ve been anybody pulling up on them. I made a mental note to talk to Noah about that later. He wanted to get in the game, maybe even take over Ronnie’s old territory, but if he wasn’t alert enough to see me coming, he wasn’t ready.
Noah finally looked up. “What up, Seth.” We dapped up.
His homeboy Dre was slower with it… hesitant. Like he could feel the storm on me. Good. He should.
“Where’s Stormi?” I asked, voice low, controlled.
“In the house. Sleep, I think.”
“I’m about to go holla at her real quick.”
“Yeah,” he said, but I was already walking through the front door.
I didn’t knock. I wasn’t in the mood. I went straight to her room and pushed the door open. It wasn’t locked. That pissed me off for a whole different reason. Jo wasn’t here, yeah… but Noah had too many random ass dudes coming and going. That door should’ve been locked. She should’ve been somewhere safe. At my place.
This is exactly why I never understood why she didn’t want to stay with me. Why she kept saying she needed space, or that she didn’t want to mix her life with mine too much. I respected her independence, sure but not at the cost of her safety. Not at the cost of her shutting me out of things like this.
She was asleep, curled up like she’d just cried herself into that position. I stood there, quiet, watching her silhouette under the soft light leaking in through the blinds. She looked peaceful,like none of the shit outside her dreams existed. And that’s what hit the hardest because I existed outside her peace.
Shit was supposed to be different with Stormi. I wasn’t no perfect nigga, never claimed to be, but I showed up for her. I chose her. Every time she got scared and pulled back, I stayed. Every time she built a wall, I knocked it down just to hold her on the other side. And still, still she found ways to shut me out.
We were cool around other people, all smiles and inside jokes. Like we were solid. But the moment we got alone, she got quiet distant. Like she was somewhere I couldn’t reach, and no matter how close I stood, I was never in it with her. Just next to it.
