Page 44 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

“Come on,” I said again, grabbing the suitcase. It was always packed. Like she never planned to stay anywhere too long. I should’ve known then Stormi was a runner. Always keeping one foot out the door, just in case she had to disappear.

She didn’t move right away. Just stood there, watching me. Then, finally, she bent down, slid on her shoes, and stood up like she was bracing for whatever came next.

“You leaving?” Noah asked the moment we stepped outside.

“Yeah. You good?”

“Yeah.” He glanced at Stormi, then back at me. “The baby fucking you up, huh?”

“Baby?” his homeboy Dre echoed, brows raised. I couldn’t tell if it was shock or excitement. Either way, it rubbed me the wrong way. Why he got any type of reaction to the news of Stormi’s pregnancy?

“I mean congrats. You ‘bout to be an uncle, my nigga.” Dre grinned and dapped Noah up like this was their celebration.

“I’ll talk to you tomorrow,” Stormi said, soft but distant.

We didn’t say anything else as we walked to my truck. The silence between us was thick like if either of us spoke too loud, everything might crack open again. I didn’t want to press her. Didn’t want to ask the hard shit. Not tonight. Not when she already looked like she was running on fumes.

As we pulled up to the estate, the gates opened and the quiet followed us up the drive way.

“I have a doctor’s appointment in the morning,” she finally said, voice low, almost like she was testing the weight of her words.

“Okay.”

“Will you be able to take me? RJ was going to but now I’m all the way out here.”

She knew I could take her. Knew I wanted to. She just needed me to say it to make it real. Stormi always needed that reassurance, like she expected me to back out even when I’d already shown up.

“I want to take you to your appointment. I want to be there,” I said, looking at her directly. “Just like I want you to have our baby.”

She didn’t say anything. Just looked out the window like my words were too heavy to hold.

I climbed out, came around to her side, and opened the door. Helped her down gently and grabbed her suitcase.

“Is S3 here?” she asked.

“No. He’s with his mom. He’ll be back next week.”

Inside, the house was quiet. S3 gone. Ma out of town visiting her sister. The silence settled around us like a blanket we couldn’t shake off.

“You want me to run you a bath? Or just sleep?”

“A bath would be nice.”

I nodded, went to run the water, adding some lavender salts Ma kept in the cabinet.

But before I could leave the bathroom, Stormi rushed in and dropped to the toilet, gagging.

I moved fast, kneeling beside her, pulling her hair back, hand on her back as her body convulsed.

She threw up like she had nothing left to give.

“What did you eat?” I asked when she finally caught her breath.

She rinsed her mouth, brushing her teeth with the toothbrush she kept here.

“Nothing. I told you the baby hates food. I haven’t eaten all day. Yesterday, I had breakfast and that was it. That’s literally all I’ve had.”

That pissed me off, not at her, but the situation. She out here starving and sick, and I had no idea. I should’ve known. I should’ve been here.

After she brushed her teeth, I helped her undress, moving slow like she might break.

She didn’t resist. Didn’t say a word. Just let me take care of her.

I helped her into the tub, and she let out a soft sigh as the warm water hit her skin.

Her eyes closed for the first time tonight like she could finally breathe.

Still, I was tight inside. I wanted her to eat something.

Anything. I grabbed my phone and texted Ma:

Me: What’s the recipe for that soup you make when me and S3 sick?

Ma: Who’s sick??

Me: Stormi. She’s pregnant. She can’t keep anything down.

Ma: I’m coming home. Send the jet. Don’t argue.

She didn’t even wait for me to ask. I hated cutting her trip short, but I needed her.

We needed her. I walked back into the bathroom, sat on the edge of the tub, and watched Stormi breathe her head tilted back, her eyes closed, her body finally still.

In that moment, I didn’t care what happened before.

All I knew was from here on out, I was showing up different.

Showing up better. Because whether she believed it or not, she wasn’t going through this alone.

“Good morning,” I said softly as I watched her stir beneath the sheets.

She blinked a few times, then looked over at me, her voice still thick with sleep.

“Good morning! What time is it?”

“9:45.”

“Why you up so early?”

“I didn’t know what time your appointment was.”

“It’s not till 1.”

I nodded. I’d been laying next to her for almost two hours, watching her sleep. Not in a creepy way, just in awe. She looked softer in the mornings. Less guarded. Like she hadn’t had the chance to build her walls up yet.

“You wanna try and eat something?” I asked gently.

She shook her head fast, too fast. Like the idea of food alone made her sick. My stomach dropped. I hated seeing her like this. I wanted to help, fix something, do something but I also didn’t want to push.

I let a beat pass. Then said it.

“Moms on the way back home.”

Stormi’s eyes cut to mine. “I thought she was staying with her sister for two weeks?”

I didn’t respond right away.

“Seth…” she said, voice laced with warning. “I know you didn’t say something to make her come home.”

“Technically,” I started, trying not to smile, “all I asked for was the recipe to that soup she makes. She got nosy, I told her what was going on, and she made her own decision.”

“Seth…” She let out a sigh and rubbed her face. “No, stop her. She was looking forward to that trip.”

“Not more than she’s looking forward to another grandchild.”

That shut her up. She looked down at the sheets, fingers fidgeting, her whole energy shifting. And I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

“Is she gonna have another grandchild?” I asked, voice quieter now. Real, Vulnerable.

Stormi didn’t look at me right away. She stared at the bed like the answer might be written there. My heart beat hard against my chest, and I felt like I was holding my breath waiting for the answer I already knew I needed.

“I’m going to have the baby,” she finally said.

Just like that. No build up. No hesitation.

And I couldn’t help it. I reached for her, pulling her into me, kissing her face, her lips, her forehead anywhere I could reach. I held her like she was the only thing that mattered, because in that moment she was.

She laughed, just a little, and it was the first time I’d heard it in days. That sound alone did something to me. Lit something up inside me I hadn’t realized had gone dark. I kissed her again, this time slower. Meaningful.

“This is why I’m pregnant now,” she said, half laughing, half serious, eyes flicking away like she was scared of what she’d see in mine.

I stared at her for a second, heart caught between loving her and not understanding her at all.

“Why you felt like you couldn’t tell me?” I asked, trying to keep my voice calm, even though it didn’t feel calm inside.

“It’s not that I couldn’t tell you,” she said quietly.

“The night I found out everything had already gone to shit. Jo was spiraling, the party was a mess, and I was in shock. I needed time. I needed to be there for her. I just pushed it to the back. Tried to figure it all out before bringing it to you.”

I sat with that. Let it sink in. I understood it, on the surface. But deep down, it still hurt. “So the only reason RJ, Ari, and Noah knew is because you couldn’t stop throwing up?” I asked, tone sharper than I meant.

She nodded, eyes soft. “Yeah. I didn’t tell them. They figured it out. I didn’t even want to talk about it with them, but it just happened.”

“I wanted to be there for you,” I said, my voice breaking a little, even if I tried to play it cool. “I wanted to be the one holding your hair back. Rubbing your back. Getting you crackers or some shit when you couldn’t hold anything down. That was my right too.”

“I know,” she whispered. “I should’ve known.” “Jo was there for me,” she said, looking at me finally. “And I feel like she needed that. She needed to feel like she could still show up for someone. Be strong for someone else. I let her have that moment.”

I clenched my jaw. I wasn’t mad at Stormi, not even mad at Jo for being there for her. But damn it stung.

“And what about me?” I asked.

She reached for my hand and laced her fingers with mine.

“We’re going to have every other experience,” she said softly.

“Every doctor’s visit. Every late night craving.

Every mood swing. Every time the baby kicks, or I cry over a stupid commercial or throw up in a Chick-fil-A parking lot that’s us. You and me.”

I didn’t say anything right away. Just pulled her in closer and rested my forehead against hers.

“I just don’t want to miss nothing,” I muttered.

“You won’t.”

“Promise?”

She nodded against me. “I promise.”

And this time, I believed her.

Ring! Ring!

My phone lit up with a FaceTime from S3. His name and little smiling picture popped up on the screen.

I turned the phone toward Stormi. “It’s S3.”

Her eyes widened. “Don’t tell him yet.”

“Why?”

“I want to surprise him.”

I smirked. “I didn’t get a surprise.”

“That’s ‘cause you’re nosy. Ruined the whole dramatic moment.”

I chuckled as I answered the call and S3’s face filled the screen.

“What’s up, baby boy?”

“Daddy! What are you doing?”

“Stormi and I just waking up, laying down,” I said, flipping the camera for a second to show her.

“Hi Stormi!”

“Hi S3,” she replied, her voice soft but smiling.

“Daddy, can we go to Disney next week? Please? Mommy said I gotta ask you.”

I rubbed my face. “I don’t know, son some stuff came up.”

“Yes, S3,” Stormi cut in, voice full of energy. “We can go to Disney next week.”

“ Yayyyyyyy! ” he screamed so loud I had to pull the phone back a little.