Chapter Twenty-five
As the fall months turned into winter, Ja’Nay tried her best to hide her pregnancy. Baggy clothes became a huge part of her wardrobe; even her own mother hadn’t noticed her daughter was pregnant. Ja’Nay kept it from everybody including Kylee and Quann. Fearing Quann might try to make her get rid of it so she decided to break the news to him when she was too far along to have an abortion. She knew keeping it from Kylee was wrong, but she’d definitely try to talk her into getting an abortion, not only because Ja’nay had talked her into getting one, but because it was Quann’s baby and she knew how Kylee felt about him. Ja’Nay knew what was best for her and having Quann’s firstborn would be the only way to keep him and just maybe he would start treating her like Eli treated Kylee.
Ja’Nay lay around the house all day waitin’ for Quann to call. She loved talking to him. It seemed like since he’d been locked up, he’d been acting like he needed her more, which had her feeling like finally she would not only be his number one, but his only one. And with the baby coming, she was sure he would love her even more. Ja’Nay started smiling when she saw the institution phone number pop up on her screen.
“Hello?” she answered, smiling.
“You have a collect call from Quann,” the recording said.
Ja’Nay waited for the recording to prompt her to press zero to accept the call.
“Hello?” Quann said.
“Hey, baby,” she answered.
“What you been doin’ all day?” Quann asked.
“Nothin’ really. I just got back from the doctor not too long ago,” Ja’Nay said.
“What’s wrong wit’you?”
“Pregnant,” Ja’Nay said, and waited for Quann to start congratulting her and telling her how happy he was and how he couldn’t wait to come home to her and his baby.
“By who?” Quann asked instead.
“By you, nigga, who else?” Ja’Nay snapped, offended that he had the nerve to even question her loyalty toward him.
“Shiiiit, you ain’t pregnant by me.” Quann frowned.
“Who else am I’m pregnant by, nigga? You the only one I been wit’,” Ja’Nay argued.
“Check dig, bitch, I can’t have no kids. If I could don’t you think I would have about a hundred of them li’l muthafuckas runnin’ around?” Quann asked.
“Quann, quit playin’,” Ja’Nay replied, knowing what Quann had just said was true. As long as she’d been messing around with him, she had never heard him mention having any children.
“Look, I’m not playin’. When I got in that bike accident and had to have surgery when I was a little boy, the doctor told my mom that I would never be able to have kids.”
“Yeah, right,” Ja’Nay said, starting to get nervous.
“Call my mom and ask her.”
“I am,” Ja’Nay said, hoping Quann was just really lying to her, like he’d always done.
“In the meantime, bitch, you need to find ya baby daddy, I’m out!” Quann said, hanging up the phone.
“I can’t stand this lyin’, bitch-ass nigga,” Ja’Nay said, quickly dialing Quann’s mom’s number and waiting for her to answer.
“Hello?” she answered.
“Hi, Ms. Diane?”
“Yes.”
“How you been?” Ja’Nay asked.
“I’ve been good. Who is this, Monique?” Quann’s mom asked.
“No.”
“Rachel?”
“No,” Ja’Nay replied, irritated.
“Trenity?”
“No, it’s Ja’Nay,” she huffed.
“Well shit, Quann got so many broads I couldn’t catch the voice,” his mother replied while puffing on a cigarette.
Ja’Nay rolled her eyes. “I got somethin’ to ask you,” Ja’Nay said.
“I hope you ain’t about to ask me for no money for no abortion ’cause you pregnant by my son. If you are you tellin’ a damn lie, ’cause Quann can’t have any kids,” his mother snapped, answering Ja’Nay’s question. “Now what is it?”
“Never mind,” Ja’Nay said, hanging up the phone.
Ja’Nay was in a state of panic; if it wasn’t Quann’s, the only other person she’d been with was Eli. How in the world did she get herself in this mess? Trying to be slick and run game on Quann backfired. If only she would have told him earlier about the baby, she would have known he couldn’t have kids in time; now she was stuck having a baby by her best friend’s man.
Ja’Nay knew she couldn’t tell Kylee she was pregnant by Eli; she would have no understanding. Feeling lonely and afraid, Ja’Nay was at a loss. She didn’t know what to do so she decided to do what she thought was best: she called to Sy’onn’s to see if Eli was there. When they called him to the phone, Ja’Nay hung up and headed down there. She knew she couldn’t tell him this devastating news over the phone; she had to tell him face to face.
Ja’Nay walked into Sy’onn’s and nervously looked around. She didn’t know what to expect. She knew Eli wasn’t going to take the news well, and she wasn’t expecting him to.
Eli came from behind the black curtain when he saw Ja’Nay on the security camera. “What you want?” he asked, frowning.
This had been the first time they’d been around each other since that night; they had definitely been avoiding one another.
Ja’Nay’s heart beat fast. She didn’t know how to tell Eli she was pregnant by him and she knew if she waited any longer, she wouldn’t go through with it, so she just blurted it out.
“I’m pregnant,” she said.
“And? What the fuck you tellin’ me for?” He grimaced.
Ja’Nay took a deep breath before speaking. “It’s yours,” she said, bracing herself for what was about to come out of Eli’s mouth.
“You a muthafuckin’ liar. It ain’t none of mines. I fucked you for all of what, two minutes?” he asked loudly.
“Look, Quann can’t have kids and the only other person I been wit’ was you,” Ja’Nay explained.
Eli rubbed his hand down his face. “Tell me you just playin’?” Eli asked, not wanting to believe this.
“I wish I was playin’,” Ja’Nay said as tears formed in her eyes and began streaming down her cheeks.
Seeing the tears, Eli had no choice but to almost believe Ja’Nay. “Shit!” Eli shook his head, wishing he could go back to that night he’d gotten drunk and take everything back. “Well you gon’ have to have an abortion,” Eli demanded. “I ain’t about to lose Kylee over no bullshit that never was meant to happen!”
“I can’t,” Ja’Nay said, wiping the tears away.
“Why not?”
“I’m too far along.”
“Man, this is some bullshit,” Eli said, disgusted.
“Kylee gon’ kill me,” Ja’Nay cried.
“How am I gon’ tell the woman I love that I got a baby on the way by her best friend?” Eli asked himself out loud.
“I don’t know,” Ja’Nay answered, even though Eli wasn’t asking her.
Eli looked at Ja’Nay and wanted to slap her for allowing him to fuck her. “Look, are you sure it’s mines?”
“Yes, I’m sure,” Ja’Nay answered.
“Damn!” he said, shaking his head. “Look, let me tell Kylee myself, ’cause if you tell her, she gon’ beat yo’ ass, pregnant or not.” Ja’Nay knew Eli was telling the truth. “I don’t know what the outcome gon’ be, but whateva it is I’m gon’ have to live wit’ it. I’ma tell you this: if this is my baby, I will take care of it, but you, I want you to stay the fuck outta my lane,” Eli said, turning to walk away.