I heard the bedroom door creep open behind us, and soon after, Ciara gasped.
“Pernelle?”
She rushed over, forgetting the ache in her own body, eyes wide and panicked as she dropped down to her knees beside the couch. Her hands shook as she looked at the baby, then back at Pernelle.
“What happened? You had the baby? Oh my God, Hov, we have to get her to the hospital. What happened?”
“She was taken I'm sure by the Quatar family, but come on, we can go now. This baby needs to be checked out, and so does she. Should we cut the umbilical cord now?”
I asked.
“No, the baby needs it. Let’s just get to the hospital.” Ciara replied.
“Okay, mama, go downstairs and get Grandma, then we can leave. I'll load them into the car.”
Ciara ran out the back door and down the stairs, banging on Grandma’s door. While she did that, I picked Pernelle up, careful of the baby, and carried them out to the car, laying her across the backseat as gently as I could.
When Grandma came around the corner, confused and half-asleep, Ciara filled her in on what we knew so far, and I pulled out my phone, calling Crew back-to-back.
Where the fuck is this nigga at?I asked myself when I got no answer.
Don’t tell me they got my nigga, I muttered under my breath, gripping the steering wheel tighter.
I cranked up and drove off like a bat out of hell to the nearest hospital, about fifteen minutes up the street, and when I pulled up to the front, I parked crooked, killing the engine, before turning to the backseat.
“Listen. We can’t tell them who did this to you and why because if we do, we’re telling them exactly who we are going to kill, and they’ll know who to come for once bodies start dropping. You feel me?”
“Well, what is she supposed to say?” Ciara asked.
“Just say you got mugged, P. Say this happened during a mugging in an alleyway or something. Trust me. We will get justice for you in our own way. I put that shit on everything. They not getting away with this.”
They didn’t fully understand my reasoning, but they respected it enough not to argue.
Ciara jumped out of the car first and ran inside to get the nurses from the front desk. We waited in the car until they came out with a stretcher for Pernelle.
Once the nurses finally took her and the baby inside, I stayed back because I didn’t want anyone overhearing my conversation with Crew. That's if this nigga finally answers.
I dialed his number once again and still got no answer, so I didn’t know what the fuck it was going to take for this nigga to pick up the phone. That’s when it hit me. Crew always put his family before himself, especially Ms. Debbie. He loved that lady, and even if he was waist-deep in some pussy, he would come out for her.
I opened up my messages to write a text.
Me:It’s about your mama. Call me back ASAP nigga.
I sent the message out, and not even five seconds later, my phone was ringing and I quickly answered.
“What’s going on with my mama? What happened?” He asked in a panic.
“Nothing but I needed you to hit me back asap. I just found Pernelle and your baby on my front lawn.”
“Dead!”
“Nah, but she said who I’m sure are the Quatar niggas, kidnapped her, beat the shit out of her, and she went into labor.”
“How the fuck did she get back to y’all? I was just about to go to the drop they sent me to deal with them niggas.”
“You were on your way to them, and you didn’t call me nigga?”
“They told me not to call anybody or come with anyone, or they would kill her. I already knew you would not take any of that lying down, so I said fuck it. I was ready to die for my people.”
