Chapter Five
Brinay
By the time the waiter came back to the table with our food, I was ready to go. I was in no mood to be around anyone, and I’d completely lost my appetite. All I wanted to do was go home, get in my bed, and watch television. I didn’t feel like being bothered with anyone at the moment, not even with Kourtney. I just wanted to be alone, by myself, so I could be lost in my own thoughts.
“So, where do you want to go?” she asked once we were back into the car.
“To be honest, all I really want to do is go home and sleep until tomorrow, when I have to leave,” I replied, strapping my seat belt.
“Come on. Nay, I know you’re feeling a certain type of way, but don’t do that,” she said, pulling out of the parking lot.
“Do what?” I asked her. I had no idea what she was talking about.
“Shut people out,” she replied. “Every time something goes wrong with you, you try to shut people out. That’s no good, and it’s not happening today. Tomorrow, you’re leaving me for a few days, and I want to spend some time with you.”
“I’m not shutting you out, Kourtney. I just want to go home, get in my bed, and go to sleep. How is that shutting you out?” I told her. I don’t know what was up with her, but I was not in the mood for no bullshit.
“Okay,” was all she said as she made her way back to my apartment. I knew she was mad, because for the rest of the ride home, she didn’t say anything. She only drove, which wasn’t usual at all.
“Kourt,” I said, trying to get her attention, but I was stopped by an excruciating pain in my lower abdomen. “Arrgh,” I cried out, holding my stomach.
“What’s wrong, Nay?” she asked me.
“My stomach hurts, that’s all,” I said to her.
“Well, do you want to go to the hospital or something?” she asked as she began to panic a bit.
“No, I’m fine,” I said, trying to calm her down, even though I was the one in pain. I tried to sit up straight, but I couldn’t.
“No, you’re not fine, and I’m going to take you to the hospital right now,” she said, sounding as if she was about to go crazy.
“No. I told you that I’m fine. All I really need to do is go home, take some medicine, and lie down for a bit,” I tried to protest. “I’m going to be just fine.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes,” I replied, still holding my stomach.
“Really, are you sure, Brinay?” she asked for reassurance.
“I’m positive. All I want to do is go home, go to bed, and get some sleep,” I said to her.
“Okay, but I’m not leaving you until I know that you’re all right,” she replied.
“Okay, that’s fine,” I responded. I knew that if I would’ve tried to say no, she wouldn’t have let me. She was very caring, and she didn’t like when someone she really cared about was hurt and stuff.
When we pulled up to my apartment building, she found a spot in the front of the building, parked the car, and hurriedly ran to my side of the car. I already had the door open trying to get out, but it was hard to do, so she ended up helping me.
“Nay, are you 100 percent positive that you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?” she asked as we made our way to my apartment. It was a good thing that I lived on the first floor, because I’m not sure if I could have made it any farther.
“I’m sure,” I replied. I hope she stops asking me that, I thought to myself. I don’t want to go to no damn hospital, and I don’t know why she didn’t see that yet.
“Okay,” she replied. “Hold on while I open the door,” she said as she leaned my body against the wall by the door. She pulled out the set of keys that I had given her and unlocked the door. “Come on,” she replied, turning to help me. She helped me all the way into the bedroom, where I lay down on the bed.
“I’ll be right back. I’m going to go and get your food and stuff from the car,” she said once she made sure that I was okay. “Don’t move.”
I wanted to ask her how was I going to move, but I didn’t. Instead, I lay back on the bed and waited for her to return. Not even five minutes later, she was walking back inside the room.
“Damn, what did you do? Run?” I asked her.
“Well, yes,” she said, laughing. “I wanted to make sure that I got back to you in case you may have needed me or something, so I ran to the car.”
“I’m okay, Kourt. It was probably my emotions and the fact that I haven’t eaten anything yet,” I replied, sitting up as best as I could.
“I know, which is why I have your food in the microwave, and you’re going to tell me where the Tylenols are,” she said, getting up from where she had taken a seat.
“They’re in the cabinet above the microwave, and catch me a bottle of water while you’re at it,” I replied.
“Anything for you, baby mama,” she said, cracking a smile.
“All right, baby daddy,” I replied, winking at her. She damn near fell to the floor laughing. She was so silly sometimes.
“You too foolish. I’ll be right back with your things. Then I’ll help you take a bath and get ready for bed.” She left the room to go and get the things from the kitchen.
“Here,” Kourtney said, reentering the room. I sat up as she handed me the container that I had gotten from IHOP that was filled with the food that I couldn’t eat earlier and the pills with the water. She then walked toward the other side of the bed with her own container and sat down.
“Where’s the remote?” she asked.
“It’s over there on the dresser,” I replied as I began to stuff my face. I hadn’t realized that I was that hungry until I was actually stuffing food into my mouth.
“I told you that you was hungry, lady. Over here trying to starve my god baby and stuff. Don’t make me have to whoop ya behind next time.”
I didn’t say anything. All I did was look at her, roll my eyes, and continue to eat my food. I wasn’t worrying about her one bit. I was more interested in this food than what she had to say anyway.
“I think I’m going to call my dad and cancel my trip,” I said after I stuffed the last bit of food into my mouth. “I don’t feel up to it anymore.”
“Are you sure?” she asked, removing her focus from the TV to me.
“Yes. Like, even though I’m feeling better now, I don’t think I’m in no shape to be driving on the road all them hours by myself, and I’m more than sure that I’d be feeling worse when I get there and see all those people who I can’t stand hanging around,” I said as I got out of bed and prepared to head to the kitchen . . . then a thought came to mind.
“Unless you want to come with me.”
“Are you asking me to come with you?” she asked, getting off the bed and following behind me.
“Yes, I am,” I replied, trashing the container. I then walked over to the refrigerator, grabbed another bottle of water, removed the top, and proceeded to down the water. “Damn, that was good.”
“Well, in that case, I’d love to. I haven’t been to Miami in a minute, and I’m in dire need of a vacation,” she said as she placed the remainder of her food in the microwave as I handed her a bottle of water.
“Oh! I need to go home and pack.”
“Yes, you do, because we’re leaving in the morning,” I said, taking a seat on a chair by the table.
“Well, get up off your behind and come on,” she said, walking over to me and pulling me out of the chair.
“Can’t you handle it yourself?” I asked sitting, back down on the chair. “I’m still feeling a little bad, and I want to lie down a bit.”
“Yes, I can, and you can do that at my house,” she said as she headed to my bedroom. She returned moments later with my shoes, purse, and keys.
“Okay, but I’m telling you right now that I’m not lifting a finger. So don’t ask me,” I said as I slipped my shoes on to my feet, grabbed my things out of her hand, and headed for the door with her following behind me.
“That’s cool, Nay. I wasn’t going to ask, and I didn’t plan on letting you help me anyway,” she said, following behind me. I’d just reached the door when my phone started to ring. Pulling it from my purse, I saw that it was a number that I didn’t recognize, so I didn’t answer it. I simply ignored the call and dropped it back in my purse.
“Who was that?” Kourtney asked.
“It was an unsaved number, and you know I don’t answer calls from numbers that are not saved in my phone,” I said, opening the door and almost falling down as I bumped into a hard chest. I looked up and saw one of the last two people I’d expect to see right now.
“What are you doing here, Chance? Is something wrong?” I asked, staring Dontie’s cousin in the face.
“That’s what I came to find out,” he replied, looking at me with concern. “Dontie sent me over here to check on you, saying that he’s been trying to call you, but he’s getting your voice mail every time.”
“Well, I’m fine, as you can see,” I said, pushing past him. “Tell Dontie to kiss my ass and go to hell, because like I said to him before this, I’m through with his ass, so he don’t need to be worried about me and what’s going on over here.”
I left his ass standing right where he was. I liked him, but the mere thought of Dontie’s ass worrying about me made my skin crawl. He wasn’t worrying about me before when I kept calling and texting his ass for two weeks straight, and he ain’t replied to any of my attempts to contact him, so I don’t know why he sent his cousin over here to check on me, because I wasn’t flattered one bit. I didn’t need him to worry about me anymore, because I was through with him.
“Ma, please. You know I fucks with you the long way, and I love you like my actual family. So I wasn’t just doing this for him. I came to check on you for myself also. I don’t care what’s going on with you and Dontie. Just know that I’ll be here for you whenever you need me. I just needed to make sure that you was fine, because when he called, he sounded worried,” he said, stopping me.
“Look, Chance, I appreciate that, I do, and I’ll always look at you as my family too, but I’m not fucking with Dontie’s ass no more. So you don’t have to come check on me when he asks you to,” I told him. I really did like Chance like a brother, but I wasn’t messing with Dontie no more, and I needed him to know that.
“Well, I did my part. Just call me if you need me, ma,” he said, then left.
“Oh no. Don’t let Dontie bring your mood to that level again,” Kourtney said, walking over to me and grabbing my arm. “Come on, let’s go to my house so I can pack, so we won’t be late tomorrow when it’s time for us to leave.”
“Yeah, you’re right. Let’s go, because if I don’t make it, I know my father will be very disappointed,” I said as we walked out of the building. I really couldn’t wait for all of this to be over and done with so I could just get my life back in order and get ready for motherhood. This stuff was already stressful, but I couldn’t let anything else mess with my emotions, and I knew firsthand something was going to happen once I got to Miami. I only hoped that it didn’t proved to be too much on me and the baby.