“Nah, I do. You spent so much of yo life dwelling on childhood trauma that you let the shit manifest. Instead of getting help and working through it, you self-medicated by cutting niggas off when you got close and hopping to the nextone. You let yo trauma fester and eat at you until it became yo whole identity. That sound about right?”
“Yea… sounds about right.”
“You love my brother?” Onyx questioned. Yanna gave him a knowing look but still couldn’t bring herself to confess the sentiment. “Then, you gotta get yo shit together. You gone be a mother, and yo child will need a mother who’s not passing on generational trauma.”
“I’m not like Troi. I’m not strong enough for shit like this… I run, that’s what I do. I close myself off from the problem and pretend it never existed, no matter how bad it hurts.”
“You can’t pretend my brother never existed, and since you’re keeping it, you can’t pretend the baby doesn’t exist either. And youarestrong… now that you’ve found a problem you can’t run from, you’re about to see that. Hang up the running shoes and sit yo ass down somewhere. You gone feel it, but you’ll survive.”
“How do you know?”
“Because I’ve been in yo shoes. I fucked up with the love of my life and had to fight to get her back.”
“Oh, please, she barely made you fight.”
“Not too much on my Baby. She did enough… I had to see her running around with that wack ass nigga, Brick. But I got her back, that’s all that matters.”
“Yea, that’s all that matters.”
“So… it’s time for you to grow the hell up. Got baby boy all sad and in his feelings. I can bet my bank account he in the house crying while he listens to Carl Thomas. OleI wish I never met herhead ass boy,” Onyx joked.
“Not you sounding just like Mumma Lay.”
“I know, right? Ight, you getting yo self together, and I’mma help you every step of the way. Tell me… what do you want to do?”
“Um, I think I really should---” Yanna’s statement was interrupted by the sound of her phone ringing. Hoping that maybe it would be Kas, Yanna quickly pulled it from her pocket. She sighed, disappointed that instead of Kas, it was her mother. Deciding it may be important, she answered the call, praying it would be brief. “Yea, ma?”
“Jai… yanna… something is… wrong. I don’t---”
“Ma? Hello, ma… mommy! Hello?!”
“What’s wrong?”
“Something is wrong with my mumma. I need to get to her house now!”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ahole could’ve formed in the hospital’s vinyl flooring from the amount of pacing Yanna was doing. She was panicking, and the only feeling of fear stronger than the one at the present was finding out she was pregnant and not knowing who her baby daddy was. When she and Onyx arrived at her mother’s house, they found her passed out on her bedroom floor. With no time to wait for an ambulance, Onyx carried her to Yanna’s jeep and drove her to VCU Medical Center. They’d been there for a little under two hours and were waiting for family to arrive for support.
“Did you talk to Troi? Did she call Auntie Kamilla?” Yanna questioned Onyx as he approached her with an apple and a bottle of water.
“I just talked to her. Both her and Ms. Kamilla should be here any minute. My mumma called me to check on you. I told her what happened, so she’s on her way here too.”
Yanna’s head nodded. “Okay, good. Damn, where is the fucking doctor? Like, how long does it take to run tests or whatever the hell they’re doing?”
“It takes as long as it takes. Here, eat this apple and drink this water. Then sit down somewhere because you doing too much stressing right now.”
Yanna reluctantly accepted the apple and took a bite before taking a swig of water. Seconds later, Troi entered the waiting room with her mother, Kamilla, in tow. They both immediately ran over to Yanna, wrapping their arms on either side of her body.
“What happened?” Kamilla questioned.
“She called my phone and tried to tell me something was wrong. The line went silent, but I could tell she didn’t hang up. Onyx took me to the house, and she was passed out when we got there.”
“The doctor is coming now,” Onyx informed as a doctor wearing blue scrubs walked up to them.
“Family of Janis Priest?”
“Uh, it’s Janis Munroe. I’m her daughter, Jaiyanna Munroe.” Yanna stood and responded.
