“No,” she said, shaking her head. “Son… did you?”
My gut twisted. “No,” came out rougher than I meant. Drea would’ve told me—at least I thought she would’ve. My mind started running through the last few weeks, trying to find something I missed.
I looked back at Dr. Patel. “How far along is she? Is the baby okay?”
“Early,” he said. “First trimester. We’re consulting OB, and the ultrasound we did shows the fetus is okay. Your sister’s recovery is the priority, but we’ll do everything we can for both.”
I nodded because I didn’t have anything else in me. I couldn’t do a damn thing but stand there andtake all of this in.
“If she wakes up confused,” he added, “keep your voices calm. Remind her where she is. We take it hour by hour.”
When he left, the air in the room shifted. I suddenly felt very tired… One of my best friends was dead and my little sister was banged up and knocked up behind him. Mama kept rubbing Drea’s fingers between hers, her eyes fixed on my sister’s face like she could will her to wake up.
She looked up at me with a hard expression.
“Fontaine,” she said, “you need to fix this. You, Cash, Jelani—whoever. I don’t care who has to go, but you make this right.”
Mama knew what I was. She didn’t like it, but she’d accepted it. Still… hearing her say that beside my little sister made something twist in my chest.
Nairobi shifted closer at my side, and I remembered she was here too. Mama’s gaze went to her, slowly assessing; the way mothers do when they’re deciding what kind of woman is standing next to their son.
“And who’s this?” she asked.
This wasn’t how I imagined them meeting but here we were.
“This is Nairobi,” I said. “My girlfriend.”
Mama’s brows lifted, recognition flickering—because she’d heard the name before. She studied Nairobi for another moment.
“Ms. Jackson,” Nairobi said. “I hate that we’re meeting like this, but it’s nice to meet you.”
Mama’s shoulders dropped and she let go of Drea’s hand.
“Nice to meet you too, Nairobi,” she said. “I’m sorry. I’m… I’m not myself right now.”
“I understand,” Nairobi replied. “And I’m very sorry about Drea. She’s going to make it through this.”
Mama’s eyes got watery again at that, and she nodded. She reached over and squeezed Drea’s bandaged hand.
“Thank you for coming with him,” she said after a beat, looking back up at Nairobi. “Fontaine… he acts like he’s made of stone, carrying the weight of the world, but he feels everything.”
Mama let out a shaky breath and looked back at me again. “I don’t want her to be alone when she wakes up, but I gotta get Gunnar,” she rubbed her temples. “Lord, what am I gonna tell that baby about his mama?”
I went over to her and rested my hands on her shoulders. “I’ll stay with her. You go home and get some rest.”
She opened her mouth like she was about to fight me on it but sighed and stood. She smoothed her clothes with trembling hands before leaning over and pressing a kiss to Drea’s forehead.
“Alright,” she said as she turned to me. “But call me the moment she wakes up. You hear me?”
“I got you, Mama.”
24 /NAIROBI CRAWFORD
Four days later,Drea was finally awake enough to have a conversation. Fontaine had been camped out in that stiff chair by her bed, sleeping in short stretches and snapping awake every time a nurse came in. His beard had started to look unkempt, and dark circles had taken up residence under his eyes.
Today it was just us. His mother had gone home to shower and check on Gunnar, promising she’d be back in the evening.
Fontaine pushed the door open and paused for a second, like he had to brace himself before stepping fully inside. I followed close behind him.
