Page 101 of The Mob: Shio Cuppacio

“Sure.”

She took the baby in her arms and smiled. “So, so, so beautiful. Hi, you! Hi, beautiful,” she cooed. Pearla looked up from rocking the baby. “Girl, you made a beautiful-ass baby. OhemG!” she squealed, making me laugh.

“Thank you.”

“Hey babyyyy. You are everything, for real.”

Watching Pearla rock and speak to the baby had me feeling relieved in a sense. Since I’d walked through the hospital doors, I felt like my life was over, and I’d committed the ultimate act. Blayke and I had been sitting around, and I felt like I had to pee. As soon as I stood, water gushed from my leggings and then blood. I didn’t know what to do because I didn’t know what was happening. Once the cramps tore through my body, I screamed for her to take me to the hospital.

The nurse had poured life into me, and now Pearla had come in bearing gifts and offering friendship. I needed this, and I hadn’t even known I did.

“Did it hurt?” Pearla asked with wide eyes.

I winced, remembering the labor pains, the confusion, and the baby ripping through my vaginal walls. I even felt themstitching me up. I was in and out of it, but I felt and heard everything.

“Hell yes!” I imparted.

“Oh my God! Yeah, issa no for meeee!”

We both laughed.

“I’ll just love on this cutie and my sister’s baby and all the other babies being born in the family.”

“Yes, do that.”

Pearla’s smile dropped. “You know your life isn’t over, Glee. Right?”

“I hope it isn’t.”

“I know it isn’t. My sister had a baby younger than you, and while I’m not trying to shit on your situation, we hadnothing. Everyone is going to help you. I know I am, and I know your sister is too. My girls, Bella and Mahzeyah, will help too. The three of us do everything together. They even wanted to come up with me today, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you. You got us—all of us.”

“Thank you, Pearla. I need y’all.” I held back my tears. I was so tired of crying.

Taking Pearla in, I couldn’t believe the girl I’d seen on TikTok with famous people was sitting on my bed. My sister was famous in a sense, too, but Pearla and her friends had been seen with rappers. She was as pretty in person as she was online; all of the women were, and it was embarrassing as hell that my first time meeting them had been when I was in labor.

“I told myself… I was never stepping foot back in this hospital. And yet, I did today. I'm so glad I had.”

“Why, what happened?”

Pearla sighed. “My ex is here. He’s in a coma, a few floors up. Long story short, I fell for a man who was constantly telling me to wait on us and to focus on my future. I fell anyway against his warnings and ended up hurt. Found out he's married.”

Her story sounded exactly like mine, except Leader wasn’t married. However, he wasn’t exactly single when I fell for him, and against his warnings, I fell hard.

“My baby fatherGosh, that sounds weird to say.” I blinked back tears. I never thought I'd put him and baby daddy in the same sentence. At least, not right now. “He told me to focus on school, but that didn’t stop me from handing him my virginity like it was a two-for-one coupon. He’s in jail now. He was riding with his first baby mama, and she had drugs on her. He took the charge.”

“He did what now? Oh no, that bitch would have had to take her own charge.”

“Right. But that’s not who Leader is. He would never fuck over someone he cares about.”

Besides him being in jail and us breaking up, what hurt the most about the whole situation was Leader really stepping up. That showed he loved his baby mama to some extent. I didn’t fit into their world, and that’s why I made my exit. Now, here I was with a whole baby.

“That sounds like Grind…” Pearla’s face fell, and many tears rolled down her face. I couldn’t stop mine either. We were two young girls in the room crying together.

“Life… It’s fucked up, ain’t it?” she asked.

I nodded, not being able to verbally answer her.

“But it’s okay. We’re going to get through it, Glee. Together. This cutie won’t hurt like us. Never.”