Just looking at the baby, Chelsea couldn’t deny the fact that she was indeed Knowledge’s daughter. Even though she was little, she looked just like Serenity did when she was born.
“She’s beautiful.” Chelsea choked back tears. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Knowledge stared at Wysdom while he rubbed the back of his head. “Honestly, I didn’t want to hurt you anymore than I already have.”
“Where’s Asia?” she asked.
“She’s not doing too good. She had a heart attack while she was giving birth so they want to keep her here for a few days.”
Even though Chelsea and Asia had their differences, she still felt sorry for her. She had gone through the whole childbirth thing, so she knew how big of a toll it would take on your body. Childbirth was the closest thing to death and she wouldn’t wish that pain on anyone.
“Okay, well, I’ll just call off work today and keep Serenity. You already have a lot going on and…”
“Chill, she’ll be straight.”
Chelsea knew better than to argue with Knowledge, so she didn’t. She just nodded her head as she handed him Serenity’s bag. She kissed her daughter on the cheek before turning to make her exit. Hurt was an understatement. She knew now that she and Knowledge’s relationship would never be the same again.
“Come on, lil mama. Let’s go check on Asia,” Knowledge said as they slowly walked towards the elevator.
Symir and Crystal were both seated at the head of Asia’s bed while Symare laid in bed with her. He refused to leave his mother’s side and no one was going to force him to. Asia was lying in the hospital bed in pain; not just physically, but emotionally also. She didn’t understand what she had done to make her baby be born prematurely.
According to the doctors, her stress levels were very high when she was brought in and it was too much for her and the baby to handle.
“Knock, knock,” Knowledge said before walking into the room with Serenity at his side.
Asia turned in their direction and her mouth hit the floor. She knew it had been a while since she had last seen Serenity, but she didn’t know it was that long.
“She’s walking?” she asked in a tired voice.
“Same thing I said,” Knowledge laughed.
“Hi, Serenity,” Asia smiled.
Serenity looked up at Asia and smiled brightly before acting shy and hiding her face behind her daddy’s leg.
“Sit right here,” Crystal said as she gave up her seat and left the room to find a nurse.
Knowledge looked over at Asia with weary eyes. “What’s up, Mare, man? You holding it down for your mom?” he asked.
“Yea, mommy said I have to be a big boy for her and my sister.” Symare smiled as he gave Knowledge some dap.
“That’s what’s up,”
“Did you see her?” Asia asked, referring to their daughter.
“You know I did. She’s so little.”
Asia sighed. She hadn’t gotten a chance to see her daughter yet except for the pictures that Symir and Cole had showed her. She hated the fact that she couldn’t hold, feed, or do anything with her. She hadn’t even noticed she was crying until she felt Knowledge wiping her tears away.
“Aye, cut all that out. She’s going to be good. She got two crippled ass parents that love her to death and are waiting or her to get better.” Knowledge smiled.
Asia lightly laughed. “I hate you.”
“Damn,” Symir laughed. “He said y’all both crippled though.”
“You are not making this situation no better,” Asia said to her brother. “Plus, shouldn’t you be handling some business?”
“Nah, I got people looking up something for me right now.” Symir wasn’t about to leave his sister’s side when she needed him the most.
“Y’all better stop treating me like this. I’m fine. I’m pretty sure you all have something better to do than to sit in a hospital watching me all day.”
“I do,” both Symir and Knowledge said at the same time as the laughed.
“But we would rather be here with your stubborn ass because you would never let us hear the end of it if we didn’t,” Knowledge said.
“You know me so well.” Asia smiled.
Even though she was still mad and hurt at Knowledge for what he said the last time he was in her presence, she was happy that he was here for her. He could have said to hell with her and just been worried about Wysdom, but he wasn’t.
“Cole said he’ll be here in about ten,” Symir said as he read his text message. “Nika and Sasha will be here later. Sasha is a little upset that she couldn’t be here sooner.”
Asia groaned. She hadn’t seen her niece in what seemed like forever. She was missing her something terrible.
“You wanna go see her?” Knowledge asked.
“No,” Asia said quickly as she shook her head.
“Why not?” Knowledge asked, shocked.
“Because, Omari. I don’t want to see my baby like that knowing that I failed her. It’s already eating me up alive and I haven’t even seen her,” Asia explained.
Knowledge and Symir just looked at each other. Knowledge didn’t like the fact that Asia didn’t want to see Wysdom, and he didn’t appreciate her blaming herself for her being premature even more. Before he could say anything, Cole was walking in the room.
“I just want to thank the two of your for giving me such a beautiful goddaughter. I’m proud.” Cole smiled as he handed Asia a teddy bear.
Asia just looked around the room and smiled. It was crazy how even though she was feeling down and out, she still could smile through the pain. She had lost the two most important people in her life and she didn’t know what she would do if she lost her baby girl too. She said a silent prayer to God that He would help her daughter get healthy so she could bring her home.
15
Symir sat on the couch watching Frozen with Sasha. He shook his head at the fact that Sasha had him watching this girly ass movie. The things you do for your kids, he thought to himself. Anika and Crystal were in the kitchen cooking while Asia and Symare were taking naps. Asia had been released from the hospital two days ago and Symir brought her home with him despite her protest. He felt at ease knowing the most important people in his life were in his care where he could keep his eye on them.
His phone started ringing and he thanked God for the distraction. He got up from the couch and answered the phone while he headed up the stairs.
“Talk to me Derrick.”
“Okay, here’s the thing. I had some people run the DNA for the blood found in Asia’s house and it came back that it belonged to a Mykus Lennox,” Derrick Lacey, the officer on his payroll, said
“I don’t know a Mykus Lennox,” Symir said.
“Yes you do. You just know him as Linx,” Derrick informed him.
Symir paused at that bit of information. That name hadn’t rang bells since the day he had to beat his ass for using Anika as his own punching bag.
“Hol up. So you’re telling me that Linx was in my sister’s house?” Symir asked.
“Unfortunately, yes. According to DNA, he as in the house and you know DNA doesn’t lie.”
Symir walked into his closet and reached for his gun. When he reached on the top of the shelf, he accidently knocked Nika’s purse on the floor. He bent down to pick it up when he noticed the crack pipe that had fallen out. Derrick was saying something but Symir had tuned him out as he stared at the items in front of him. He hung up the phone and picked the purse up. As he picked it up, the crack fell to the floor also.
“Baby, Ma said what…” Nika’s voice faded out as she walked towards the closet and her eyes trailed to the floor.
Symir looked up at her with cold eyes. Nika had seen that look plenty of times before, but it was never directed towards her. He started walking towards her and she started walking backwards.
“In my house?” he asked.
“Baby, I—“
“YOU BROUGHT THAT SHIT IN MY
FUCKING HOUSE?” he bellowed.
“Symir, I swear it’s not what you think,” Nika cried.
Symir launched at her and grabbed her by her throat. “I took you off the streets, help you get clean, had your back when nobody else did and you had the fucking nerve to bring that shit where my daughter lays her head?” he yelled.
Nika was clawing at his hands as she struggled to breathe. Asia had heard the commotion and it woke her out of her sleep. She ran to the room to find her brother choking Anika.
“Mir, stop! What the hell are you doing?” Asia yelled. “Ma!” she yelled for Crystal.
“I must have been a damn fool to think I could turn a fucking crack head into a wife,” he said to Anika through clenched teeth.
Crystal walked into the room and was shocked by what she saw.
“Symir Julian Wright, let her go, now!” Crystal yelled.
He finally let her go and everyone watched as she fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes. Anika looked up at the man she loved with all her heart with fear, hurt and a hint of hatred in her eyes.
“Get the fuck out of my house and I’m only going to tell you once,” he said as he glared at her.
Anika just nodded her head up and down as she slowly climbed off the floor. Not shedding one tear, she walked out of the room with her head held high. When she got downstairs, Sasha was standing at the bottom of the stairs crying.
“Mommy, please don’t go,” she pleaded.
“You know I love you, right?” Nika asked her daughter.
Sasha nodded her head up and down.
“Mommy will come back for you. Me and your dad are having some issues right now so Mommy has to go, okay?”
“Bye, Mommy,” Sasha cried.
Anika kissed Sasha’s forehead before leaving the house. As soon as she got in her car, the waterworks started. She never would have thought she would see the day that Symir would put his hands on her. She was even more hurt that he would jump to conclusions instead of talking to her to see what was going on.
For him to think that she would be that low as to bring drugs into his house just let her know that he would never be able to look past her drug problem, and the way he reacted further let her know that he would never forgive her.
~~~~
Crystal stood there glaring at her son, daring him to say something. Like she always stated, she never liked getting into her kids’ business because they were grown, but this time she refused to just sit back and not say anything.
“I can’t fucking believe you,” she said like she was disgusted.
Both Asia and Symir knew she had to be heated because it wasn’t like her to cuss.
“Ma, chill and stay out of it. You don’t even know what’s going on,” Symir huffed.
“Oh, but you do?” she asked.
“She had fucking drugs in my house!” he yelled.
Crystal walked up in his face like they were about to box.
“Boy, you better watch who the fuck you are talking to. I’m not them little niggas you boss around. I brought you in this world and I’ll have no reservations about taking you out,” Crystal sneered.
Symir didn’t say another word. He knew that he had crossed the line talking to his mother like that, but he was pissed and hurt all at the same time. All the promising and bullshit Anika was spitting about never going back to drugs and staying clean this time.
“Now if you would have taken the time out to listen to her and ask instead of assuming, you would know what was going on. Since you know everything, tell me, did you know that last week when we went to the grocery store, somebody paid a little boy to give her the pipe and drugs as a way to intimidate her?” Crystal asked.
Symir stood there not saying anything.
“Or tell me, did you know that the reason it took us so long to get here was because she had a fucking breakdown right there in the parking lot about how she didn’t want people to just see her as a crack head and she wanted people to see her for who she really was? Don’t get quiet on me now. You sure did have a lot to say earlier.
“Ma I…”
“Save it,” she cut him off. “You had no right to put your hands on her. I don’t care how mad you thought you were at her. I know with everything that’s been going on, you’re stressed out, but don’t take it out on her. Now, what you need to do is go out there and find my daughter and bring her home. Now!” she said before leaving out of the room.
Symir looked over at Asia who stood there mute the whole time. All she could do was shrug her shoulders. This was one time where she would have to say that she wasn’t on her brother’s side. “Bring her home, Mir,” she said before leaving him alone.
“Shit!” Symir yelled as he grabbed a lamp of the dresser and threw it across the room. He knew he had really fucked up this time. With the stress of everything that had been going on with Cordae turning against him, his mom and Asia being attacked, and finding out Linx had a death wish, he had taken his frustrations out on Anika.
In all the years that they had known each other, he had never put his hands on her. He knew that she was very sensitive and he prayed that she wasn’t headed to the neighborhood he was all too familiar with.
Anika pulled up to the old crack house she used to frequent. It was getting dark, but the fiends were still out trying to chase a high. She stared at the house, battling the demons that were telling her to go in and get taken care of. Hell, everyone only sees me as a crack head anyways, she thought to herself.
As she was about to step out of the car, visions of Sasha crying and begging her not to leave pained her heart. She immediately shut her door and locked it. “I can’t do my baby like that,” she said to herself.
She glanced down at her phone and noticed that Symir was calling her. Without a second thought, she rejected his call and sent him to voicemail. She started her car and pulled off, burning rubber.
She pulled up to a hotel and jumped out. Symir had called her five more times and just like the first, she sent him to voicemail. Tired of him calling, she decided to just power her phone off so he could leave her alone.
When she checked into her room, she went straight for the shower. While in the shower, she fought hard to hold back the tears she refused to let fall. She was tired of being weak, tired of letting people hurt her, and tired of feeling sorry for herself, period. She took a vow that, at that moment, everything was going to change. Out with the old, in with the new.
16
Like she had been doing for the past three days since she had been out of the hospital, Asia was lying in the bed in a dark room. She didn’t feel like doing anything or being around anyone. All she wanted to do was sleep and stay cooped up in that room. Kyree had called to check on her and she had to lie and put on a façade that she was fine.
She heard the bedroom door open but she didn’t bother checking to see who it was, thinking it was either Symare or her mom. The blinds came open so she throw a pillow and the covers over her head.
“Get the fuck up!” she heard Knowledge yell before the covers were being snatched off of her.
“Omari, why are you here?” she asked, shocked, while trying to snatch the covers from him.
“Get up, Asia. We have somewhere to go,” he said before slapping her on the ass and grabbing her out of the bed.
“Omari, put me down. You’re not even supposed to be doing any heavy lifting,” Asia squealed.
He was making progress and was able to walk without his cane, but he still wasn’t one hundred percent. He didn’t care though. If he had to be in pain just to get her out of the bed, then he would. Mama Crystal had called and told him that she was locking herself in the room so he came over to put an end to all the bullshit.
When they reached the bathroom, he sat her on the toilet while he turned the shower on.
“Do I have to bathe you, too? Because I have problem doing so,” he asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You get on my damn nerves.” She rolled her eyes as
she started getting undressed. She paused and looked at him like he was crazy.
“What?” he shrugged.
“Can I take a shower in peace, please?” she asked with an attitude.
Knowledge waved her off. “Girl, go ahead with that bullshit. I’ve seen you naked before and been all up in it. Just hurry yo ass up so we can go.”
Rolling her eyes and mumbling under her breath, Asia did as she was told and took a shower. The whole time, Knowledge sat in the bathroom and waited for her to finish. When she turned the shower off, he held the towel out for her so she could dry off.
“Where are you trying to take me?” she asked.
“The less you talk, the quicker we can get there,” he said.
“You are such an asshole.” She rolled her eyes.
“Keep rolling them bitches and they’re going to get stuck,” he chuckled.
“Whatever.”
Twenty minutes later, Asia was dressed and they were headed out. Before they walked out the door, Crystal smiled at Knowledge and mouthed ‘thank you’ to him and he smiled back at her.
“Did you get the okay to be driving?” Asia asked.
“I’m a grown ass man. I don’t need another grown ass man telling me what to do,” he said as they got in the car.
The rest of the car ride went smoothly until Asia noticed they were going in the direction of the hospital. She looked over at him and he kept looking straight ahead like he didn’t notice her. He was fed up with Asia acting like she couldn’t go see her daughter. Enough was enough, and today he was going to take her to see Wysdom, whether she wanted to or not.
“Get out,” he said once they pulled up.
Not wanting to argue or cause a scene, she did as she was told and climbed out of his truck. The two walked into the hospital hand in hand. When they reached the NICU, Asia took a deep breath before they went in.
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