CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Keys
It’d been almost a month since we buried Mia, and it still felt like yesterday. I still remembered how I felt when I got the call from Kane when they went to visit Chicago. Apparently, Mia’s body along with her cousin’s were found in a deserted area somewhere in Chicago. Someone killed them execution style and left their bodies there, where a hunter found them a few days later. I don’t even want to tell y’all how everything else went, so I’ll skip a few details. Due to everything that was going on, we decided that it would be best if we postponed the wedding until a better time.
Since Mia didn’t have any family, I decided that it would be best if I gave her a small but proper burial. Her family was a total bust, and she really didn’t have any friends, so it was mainly me and mine. Poor CJ sat on my lap the whole time and didn’t know that his mother would be gone forever. I was sure we’d have this conversation when he got a little older. I was now his legal guardian. Just like you all, I was surprised when a lawyer brought the papers to me. He also informed me that I was the beneficiary of a $200,000 insurance policy. Of course, I had to go through a little more than the usual, but with Kane’s connections, I got everything done. Now all I had to do was wait until I dropped these babies so that I could go back to work. Being at home all day was not the type of woman I was, and I didn’t plan to be that way either.
Back to the Present
I heard two more shots. I waited to feel the burning sensation I’d always heard about when people got shot, but I felt none. What I did feel was water running down my legs. As I opened my eyes, they immediately landed on Cash’s lifeless body a few feet away from me.
“Are you all right?” Kane asked, running over to me. Right then and there, I felt a sharp pain in the middle of my back.
“Ahhhh,” I yelled, falling to my knees.
“What’s wrong, baby?” he asked, trying to pick me up.
“My water broke. I think I’m about to go into labor. Go downstairs and wake my mother up so she can keep an eye on the kids.”
“What are you going to do about this?” he asked, pointing to Cash’s body.
“It’s okay. I won’t tell a soul,” my mother said from behind us.
“How did—” I was about to ask her, but she placed her finger over her mouth.
“I’m surprised the kids didn’t wake up after those shots. Now go on and see about my grandbabies.”
“I’ll call Ant and have him come over and take care of this,” he told her as he picked me up and carried me down the stairs.
“Ma, call Tay and tell her to meet us at the hospital,” I yelled to her.
“I will,” she replied right before we entered the garage. Opening the car door, Kane placed me in the passenger seat before he ran over to the driver’s side. It was a good thing that I kept a bag in my car for times like this.
“Oh, my God, Kane,” I yelled once I saw that my nightgown had blood on it.
“Damn,” he replied, backing out of the garage. He didn’t waste one second as he pulled off and headed straight for the hospital. I was so glad that the hospital was only fifteen minutes away, because I didn’t think I would be able to last any longer.
“Let me use your phone,” I told him. He looked at me before he gave me the phone. Grabbing it, I dialed Tay’s number.
“Hello,” she said, sounding like she was about to have a panic attack.
“Did my mom call you?” I asked her.
“Yes, she did. I’m leaving the house now. Have y’all seen Ant?” she asked.
“He’s doing something for Kane. He’s going to meet us at the hospital,” I said just as we pulled up to the hospital. “We just pulled up. I’ll see you in a minute.”
“Okay, cool,” she said, hanging up.
Kane pulled up in front of the emergency room, where he damn near ran into the front of the building. Getting out, he hurriedly ran over to my side and grabbed me into his arms.
“Someone help me,” he yelled as he made his way into the hospital. “My girl is pregnant and she’s bleeding.”
Not a minute after that, the hallway swarmed with nurses and doctors. They took me up to labor and delivery, where they hooked me up to a million and one different monitors.
“How many months is she?” one doctor asked.
“Five months,” I answered as the rockiest contraction waved through my body.
“Get me an ultrasound,” he ordered. “I need to see what is going on with these babies.”
“Yes, Doctor,” the nurse replied. She then left the room, but returned later with the machine, which the doctor took over. Once he saw everything that he needed to, he ordered them to take me to the operating room. Apparently one of the babies wasn’t getting enough oxygen, and its heart rate was greatly decreasing. So in order for him to save both of my babies, I would have to have a C-section in the next twenty or so minutes.
“What’s going on?” Tay asked, entering the room a few minutes later. Kane pulled her to the side and explained everything to her. I could see the worried look in her eyes, but she decided to play it tough. I was guessing she didn’t want me to get upset. What she didn’t know was that I was already dying inside, but I didn’t want to make the situation any worse than it already was.
* * *
Less than an hour later, we welcomed Keeven Michal and Keyvon Mykell into the world. Keeven was two pounds, twelve ounces, while Keyvon was a solid three pounds. Due to them being early, they were immediately rushed to the NICU, where they both were placed on a ventilator since their lungs weren’t properly developed. It was only when I was stitched up and in the recovery room that I let out the tears that I was holding in.
“Don’t cry, mama. The doctor said that they were going to be fine,” Tay said, rubbing my arm. What she didn’t know was that I was crying for both my boys and the stuff that happened at the house a little while ago.
“I’m good, girl,” I said, lying. I then sat there and told her everything that happened. She was glad that Cash was gone and that he was no longer a problem for Kane or me. I wanted to tell her what he said about me sleeping with the enemy, but I decided to let that go. Kane might have been his enemy, but he was no enemy of mine.
“Damn, girl,” was all she said as she sat there shaking her head.
“I know, right?” I said just as the door opened. In walked Kane and Ant with flowers and balloons. I smiled, knowing that he would do anything to see me smile. He was happy that he got not only one but two boys who he could spoil rotten.
“I got a surprise for you,” he said, giving me a kiss on my lips.
“What?” I asked. He walked over to the door and opened it. In walked a white dude in a black robe.
“I know you want to wait until the wedding, but I can’t,” he said, showing me the ring. “Will you marry me?”
“Yes,” I said as a fresh set of tears rolled down my face.
“All right, come on, Pastor. Let’s get this party started,” Ant said, smiling.
That night, Kane and I became husband and wife. It wasn’t the wedding that we had planned, but it didn’t matter. The only thing that mattered was that I was happy. I now had the husband and family that I dreamed of having, and there was no one to mess that up.
The End