“Oh God, that smile, eek!” She squealed. “And wow, you’re the brother, aren’t you? Kas the producer! You’re about to be bigger than Pharrell, I can feel it.”
Kas couldn’t help but smile at that. “I appreciate that.”
“Shit, identical smiles. Okay, let me do my job before I end up embarrassing myself.” Carina avowed, grabbing a pair of gloves. “Alright, Mr. Zaman, if you’d just sit up on the exam table here, I’m going to draw some blood from you for the preliminary tests, okay?”
“Bet.”
“I’m going to place the tourniquet and get started.”
The phlebotomist tapped Onyx’s arm to find a vein. Once she found a good one, she prepared the needle to extract his blood.
“Shit, shit, shit… I can’t look.” Onyx turned his head. Panicking when he saw the needle.
“Unh uh, all of these tattoos and you’re afraid of needles?”
“Yea,” Onyx replied honestly.
“Thatisa big ass needle. Hold my hand, Nyx.” Even though Onyx knew his brother was being facetious, he still grabbed onto his hand.
“Mumma was right, you are her big ass baby.”
“Shut the fuck up, nigga.” Onyx laughed.
“Aye, what’ll happen if you don’t match or whatever?”
“She dies if they don’t find anybody else to donate. I’m praying that won’t happen because I can already tell losing her mumma gone fuck Yanna up.”
“Clearly, if she passing out already. Which room she in anyway?”
“I’m not about to tell you where she at. She need to be working on herself right now.”
“So that mean I can’t talk to her?”
“Why? So you can tell her how much of a hoe she is? Remind her that she don’t know who she pregnant by?”
“Man, nah, I--- I don’t know. It’s like… I’m pissed as fuck at her, and I can’t guarantee a hoe or bitch won’t slip out if I talk to her. Butnottalking to her don’t feel right. Not talking to her makes it feel like something is off balance with the world. It’s like, even if we arguing, it’s better than not talking to her at all. She hurt a nigga heart, but it’s only been a few hours, and already this shit is torture.”
“Nah, what’s torture is the toxic shit y’all be putting each other through. You love that girl, and even if she won’t say it, she love yo ass too. She know she hurt you, but she gone betterherself. You gone do the same because you either gone love her right or you gone leave her alone.”
“What you mean,love her right? I did love her right. She was the one that couldn’t accept that shit.”
“Nah, nigga, you might have thought you was loving her right, but you won’t. You knew she had trauma, but instead of loving her through it, you used it as an excuse to fuck around whenever you got the urge. You telling her you only want her but letting bitches suck yo dick in bathrooms.”
“Oop,” the phlebotomist tittered.
“Aye, mind yo business, shawty. And Nyx, I didn’t give a fuck about Yasmine, Zahra, or any other bitch for that matter.”
“So then why let them be the reason you possibly lose the one you do give a fuck about?”
“I told you I was stupid.”
“Nah, I ain’t raise no stupid nigga, so I know that’s not it. I want you to ponder on that shit… but first, I want you to hear something. Then, I want you to do what’s necessary to get yo mind right. If you need my help, you know I’ll be there. You ready?”
“Uh, yea,” Kas responded, curious about what his brother was up to.
Onyx pulled his phone from his pocket, turning up the volume before he pressed play on the voice note he’d recorded. He watched as his brother’s chest inflated, and his visage softened.
“Is that?”
