Page 18 of June: When Gangstas Collide

I lay in the hospital bed with my mind and body feeling drained. My hand grazed over the strap on my stomach. The sound of my baby’s heartbeat filled the room, giving me a sense of relief. I couldn’t remember everything that happened, except for walking away from June, and then everything going black. I didn’t know if he had stepped out of the room to take a call or what, but seeing him right now would make me feel better.

When the nurse entered the room, I was expecting a welcoming aura, but she offered nothing. She checked my vitals, wrote something on her clipboard, then glared at me.

“I mean, you're looking at me. Is my baby, ok?”

“Your babies are fine.”

“Babies! Wait, you're saying that as if more than one baby is floating inside me.”

She smirked.

“There are two. Congratulations.”

I placed my hand on my stomach because I couldn’t believe it. A laugh fell from me because there was no way I was having twins. Until I thought about the way my stomach felt when the kicking happened early this morning. Both my babies were in there showing out. Before the nurse left, I caught her attention, “Can you send my husband in here, please?”

I couldn’t wait to tell June. Maybe now, he would act like he had some sense. She stared at me, confused.

“Ma’am, no one else is here but you,”

she said as she stepped out of the room.

What the fuck did she mean? Had I been that mad at June that he couldn’t be here with me? I sat up in bed, staring at the TV because there was no way I was here alone. My world was crumbling before me. I didn’t expect June and me to go down this path. It was almost as if coming to Toussaint was a mistake. We were doing better in Louisiana than we are here.

I felt like this was a sign that I needed to move on for the sake of my kids, but I didn’t want to leave the universe that June and I created. I wanted to be there forever. However, this situation was no longer about me. I had two beautiful babies and a daughter to think about. We had been so determined to be this perfect fucking couple in front of Samara that the imperfect scars were being exposed.

I was drowning, dying inside, and my husband couldn’t see it. All he cared about was colliding with a man whom he would have to respect for the sake of Indigo. I picked up the hospital phone to call for someone to pick me up. There was only one person I wanted to talk to right now, because if I didn’t get the advice I needed, I would let my emotions take over. June would be sleeping in bed by himself every night going forward. The phone rang twice. “Hello?”

I gripped the phone tightly.

“Hey, it’s Z.”

“Zaria?”

“Yes, it’s me. Um,” I paused.

“You good? What’s wrong?”

“I need a favor. I don’t know where June is, and I need to be picked up from the hospital, and—”

“Cove City General?”

“Yes.”

“I’m on my way.”

The call ended, leaving me feeling alone. I peeled the covers back so I could get up and put on my clothes. I tried rolling the gown down as the door to my room opened.

“Zaria Pretty Girl Richardson.”

My head shot up. “Justin?”

He smiled brightly.

“Nice to see you again.”

“I’m married now. It’s Mrs. Calloway.”

He nodded slowly.

“I respect that. Where is Mr. Calloway?” he asked.

Shit, I didn’t know, but I wasn’t going to tell him that.

“He went to get food. Why do you care?”

Justin stepped forward as his eyes landed on my belly.

“Are you happy, Zaria? I saw your chart. Are you stressed?”

I stepped back, “Uh, why the hell are you looking at my charts? You know what, Justin, I think it’s best you leave. If you knew what was best for you, you’ll turn your ass around and go.”

Justin nodded.

“If you ever need anything, Zaria, I’ve got you just as I did in college,”

He winked.

As soon as he stepped out of the room, I began removing all of the IVs and monitors from myself. Only seconds later, the doctor entered the room, “Whoa, slow down. You shouldn’t do that.”

“I need to get out of here.”

The doctor placed her hand on my shoulder, “Listen, if you want to leave, that is fine. Let me take another look at the babies to make sure they're ok, then I will discharge you.”

I nodded slowly and lay back down. I watched as she washed her hands, grabbed a bottle, and came over to me. She sat in the chair before she glanced at me.

“You ready?”

“Yes.”

She squeezed the cold gel onto my stomach. A part of me was sad that June wasn’t experiencing this with me, but another part of me was eager to ask her what I was having. When the nozzle touched my stomach and the sounds from my babies lit up the room, my heart felt warm. I honestly didn’t care what I was having as long as my babies were healthy, but I did have an opportunity to find out.

“Are they ok?”

She smiled.

“Yes, ma’am, healthy babies sharing the same placenta, you are having identical twins. Do you want to know the genders?”

My heart raced. I wanted to scream ‘yes,’ but it was something I had promised to June. My eyes bounced between my stomach and the doctor. I didn’t know what to say. Suddenly, Preach walked into the room.

“Z? Whoa shit. I didn’t see anything!”

he said as he stepped out.

The doctor looked at me and smiled again.

“We’re all done. I will have my nurse prepare your paperwork. Stay hydrated, get plenty of rest, and try your best not to stress,”

she paused.

“If you do not take care of yourself, those precious babies will not make it.”

She printed the pictures and handed them to me. When I glanced down, taking in each photo, I realized she had the sex of the twins on the ultrasound. My heart felt warm, and I knew if I did nothing else, I had to be better for my babies.

I sat in the cold cell, pissed. All I could think about was Z. I didn’t know how she was doing, if she was okay, and that bothered me the most. What if she woke up and didn’t see me there? “Fuck!”

I shouted and I sprang from the bench to the bars.

“Guard! I said Guard, goddamnit!”

I shouted.

Before, shit like this wouldn’t bother me because I knew that I would get out, but because of the situation, I needed to be out now. I could hear the guard approaching the cell. As soon as he appeared, he smiled. He held a set of keys in his hand, and I knew he was letting me out. “Finally,”

I grumbled.

“Not too fast. You have a visitor.”

A visitor? “I need to leave. I don’t want to visit anyone.”

My focus was on keeping my cool because my temper is what got me here in the first place. When the cell doors opened, the guard stood in front of me. It was like he wanted to patronize me, egg me on, so I could beat his ass. I stepped closer, now eye to eye.

“Take me to the visitor, nigga,”

I gritted.

He sucked his gapped teeth and led the way. I followed behind him until we reached a designated visitor area. When I stepped inside and saw my grandmother sitting there with a fucked up smirk on her face, I knew some bullshit was about to happen. I moved closer toward the seats and stood.

“You want to sit?”

she asked.

I glanced around, then looked at her.

“No, what do you want?”

She intertwined her fingers and rested her chin on her hands.

“June, why can’t we talk? Is it such a hard thing to do?”

“Yes, yes, it is. There is really nothing to talk about, Cynthia.”

She slowly stood and walked over to me, “You know I had to do the same thing with Grace when she got arrested for the first time.”

My eyes slowly rose to her because it was like she and Clark knew how to get my attention. They knew that me wanting to know more about Grace would keep me still, and that I hated. However, my ears were now opened.

“She would often get these moments where she wanted to rebel. She wanted to be free of a life that many would kill to have. Grace had the world at her fingertips, but she wanted something different,”

she said as she paced in front of me.

“I warned her to stay away from your father, but did she listen to me? No. She found herself in this same position, in jail, and it was I who had to come and rescue her. Talking to her was like talking to a brick wall. So, I say all that to say you are your mother’s child. Now, let me tell you why I am here.”

Hearing a story of how my mom got arrested behind my father piqued my interest. I wanted to know more. I wanted to know everything, but the one thing I was beginning to learn about the Merciers was that they knew how to feed you just enough information to keep you hooked on a leash. She clapped her hands loudly in my face.

“You, my dear, are of an elite family. You are someone who we need to carry our legacy.”

“A legacy of greed. Nah, granny, I’m good,”

I said as my energy had now changed toward her.

“What type of nigga do you think I am? A sellout? A broke nigga? A nigga that can’t bear his own weight without a family who didn’t give a shit about him? Cynthia, look, whatever corrupt shit you're trying to do, keep me out of it.”

She smiled.

“Fair enough. You and Bishop Prince have some form of hatred for each other, it’s obvious. How would you feel if you knew a man you hated was going to own your house, your businesses, your life? This isn’t just about the Merciers; this is about everyone you care about. Since it’s clear you don’t need my help, I will allow you to learn on your own just as your mother did. Guard!”

she called out.

I could tell that the Merciers were dangerous; they had probably gotten themselves into some shit that they couldn’t get out of, so they wanted to use me as a fucking pawn. However, hearing her say that nigga Bishop could own my shit didn’t sit right with me. I needed to find out what the hell they were hiding, and the only place I knew to start was with the only people who had been around them, which were my sisters. Fuck! Zaria had mentioned so many times to get to know them, and I guess it was time to listen to her, but first, I needed to get out of here so that I could get to Z.

The guard came to open the door, and before Cynthia walked out, she stopped.

“We’re having a family dinner in a few days. I want to see you there. I will have someone reach out to you with the details,”

she finished and left the room.

I walked over to the guard, and they led me back to my cell. I wasn’t expecting her to bail me out, so I waited until they allowed me to use the phone to call someone, because my only thoughts were on Z and the baby. However, before I could sit down, the guard came back.

“You’ve made bail.”

I followed them to the exit, and when I walked out the door, all I could do was nod. Zeus, Sasha, Harvey, Foe, Diamond, Mali, Monfua, Peanut, Beans, Dio, Samara, and another person, one I wasn’t expecting, Indigo, all stood there. If a nigga could be any prouder than I already was of my family, I would be.

Diamond stepped up to me, “Aye yo granny look mean as hell my nigga.”

Zeus pushed Diamond out of the way, “You good, Chev? Fuck happened?”

“Z, she collapsed in the middle of the street. I need to get to the hospital.”

“That’s why she wouldn’t answer,”

Indigo said.

“I tried calling her.”

I walked over to Indigo, “You got them all here?”

She smiled.

“Yes. I saw you in that car and—”

“Thanks,”

I said as I walked past her to head outside.

It was fucked up that she had done something so nice for me, and her nigga was going to die. When I stepped outside, everyone’s bike was lined up on the curb. The shit was like seeing trophies outside. They had all jumped on their bikes, including Harvey. A nigga was proud of her. She was coming into her own, but I knew that with Foe, he would make sure she was equipped for everything.

I rushed over to hop on her bike when I noticed my bike on the curb.

“I let Sash ride it here. She’s going to hop on with me,”

Zeus said.

I nodded slowly as I slid my helmet on my head and revved that muhfucka up.

“Y’all ready?”

Each one of their voices came in, including Harvey’s. “Yes.”

“Aye, Dio. You got Samara on the back of your bike, be easy nigga.”

“Chev, nigga chill. I got her.”

“Yeah, a’ight. Let’s ride!”

I shouted and took off.

I was going to get to Zaria by any means. I just hoped she was ok because any other answer was going to get someone killed.