An Unconventional Love: A Novella (11 page)

jasmine.

Somebody was getting cussed out.

I quickly grabbed my phone that was getting ready to vibrate off the edge of Rich’s nightstand, rubbing my eyes to work out a little of the grog so I could see the number better. It wasn’t one that I had saved in my phone which made me even more skeptical about answering but I climbed out of bed, being sure not to wake Rich, as I tiptoed to the bathroom.

“Hello?”

“Jaz? It’s me, Rae. Is Rich awake?”

“No, he’s sleep.”

“Good. I need a favor. The after-party got way out of control...I mean,
way
out of control and I’m in no condition to drive so can you...come get me?”

“Rae, where the hell are you?”

“I’m at Justin’s.” I could hear the hint of disappointment in her voice from admitting that she had went back to the bullshit.

“And no one there can bring you home?” I really wasn’t excited about getting up in the middle of the night to rescue her so if there was any outlet, I was gonna take it.

“Hell no! Unless ya’ll are tryna see me on the news in the morning from a car crash…”

Guilt trip.

“I’ll come get you. Just text me the address or somethin’.”

)~o~(

I pulled up to the house, which was actually pretty nice, even though the grass was littered with red Solo cups and beer cans. From my car, I could hear the music coming from inside so I was surprised the police hadn’t shown up before I did. I sat in my car, dialing Rae’s number over and over but it kept going to voicemail.

Fuck.

I wasn’t trying to be the pregnant lady busting up the party but I knew from her phone call, that I had to get her out fast. There was no tellin’ what kind of trouble she was getting herself into by staying.

I approached the door and thought about ringing the doorbell but knew it would probably go unheard so I tried the knob instead. The door opened up immediately letting me know just the kind of teenage party amateurs I was dealing with. The house was packed with minors though you wouldn’t know it by the amount of alcohol scattered amongst the house. It actually looked more like a college party than a high school party but now wasn’t the time to evaluate the scene.

I had to find Rae.

The little ones were looking at me like I was crazy and I was sure I did look crazy considering I didn’t take the time to unwrap my hair nor put on the most appealing clothes.

That would’ve been way too much work.

I continued my search, squeezing through the tiny crevices in the crowd. I eventually found a girl that looked a little more innocent than the rest and asked, “Hey, do you know Rae Robinson?”

“Of course. I mean, who doesn’t know Rae?”

“Do you know where she is?”

She shrugged as she replied, “Probably upstairs getting her back blown out by Justin.”

Aww hell.

She gave me directions to the stairs and though I wasn’t looking forward to climbing them with my baby belly in the way, I took them two-by-two until I reached the second floor. There were a few kids making out in the hallway so I didn’t bother asking them where Rae was. Instead, I just made my door-to-door peeking into some crazy ass scenes before I landed on the only door that was fully closed. I braced myself before I opened it and lost my breath once I figured out what was going on.

Damnit Rae.

The boy, who I assumed was Justin, had his head thrown back and his eyes closed as Rae went to work on her knees. I couldn’t believe her little ass had called me over here just to get caught giving head to the dude she had just been crying to me over.

I made a loud, clearing my throat noise, that made the boy jump and cover himself while Rae moved a lot slower to get herself together, clearly under the influence.

“Jasmineeee, what are you doin’ hereee?” Her words were so slurred that I knew she had to have drank a little more after our conversation.

“Did you forget your ass just called me to come get you? Put your damn shirt on and let’s go.” She moved so slow while Justin just laid there frozen. He was probably unsure if I was gonna crack down on his ass for taking advantage of Rae, but that wasn’t my position. I was here for one thing and one things only; to save Rae.

As soon as she got dressed, I dragged her down the stairs as fast as she allowed me to.

We were almost out of the door before she grabbed the frame to stabilize herself and asked, “Where’s Nia?”

“Fuck Nia. Clearly she’s not a real friend if she let your drunk ass go up there with him.”

“But I came with herrrr.”

“Well you’re leaving with me.” She gave me her little grunt, before I continued dragging her to the car. Instead of worrying about getting her buckled into the front seat, I just pushed her into the back so that she could lay down. I knew once she did, the car seat would probably feel like it was spinning so I could only hope she would save her vomiting until we got home.

rich.

“
Don’t overreact.”

“We were all young once.”

“We all make mistakes.”

“At least she called for help.”

I was prepping myself for the conversation I had to have with Rae and all of Jasmine’s one-liners weren’t making me feel any better about the shit Rae had gotten herself into. Not only had she lied about where she was going, she had also gotten so drunk that Jasmine had to practically carry her in the house. I didn’t even recall Jasmine leaving the bed but I was grateful that she had went out of her way to make sure Rae got home safely.

Even though it was still fairly early in the morning, I was ready to get it over with so I knocked on Rae’s door before entering as more of a warning than asking for permission to come in. Rae’s head was buried under a few pillows which I recognized as a move from Hangover 101, especially since the sun was beaming in right through her window. I sat on the edge of the bed, giving her a few shakes before she finally began to stir. Once she realized it was me, she straightened up a little bit but only as much as her still fairly alcohol-induced state allowed her to.

“Good morning, Rae.”

“Good morning, Rich.”

Her breath was super crusty in only a way alcohol could do. I turned my head out of stank ass breath range before I said, “Glad to see your alive.”

Her eyebrows furrowed as she questioned with a little attitude, “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“Considering how drunk you were last night, it could’ve easily went the other way.” Though I was glad she had made it home safely, I couldn’t help but wonder what kind of peer pressure she had succumbed to, to even get to that state in the first place.

“I wasn’t going to die, Rich. I just had a little too much. But I’m good now.” It bothered me to no end that she was speaking of it so nonchalantly as if she hadn’t learned her lesson but I couldn’t let that deter me.

“Yeah, thanks to Jasmine.”

“I’ll get her a gift card to Carter’s or something and thank her.”

Her head was almost back under the pillows but the conversation was far from over. I remembered being her age and wanting to fit in, but never to a point where I gave up so much of myself to get other people’s attention; especially the attention of the opposite sex.

Jasmine hadn’t given me all the details but I was almost sure Rae’s actions had something to do with boys forcing me to ask, “Rae, is there something I need to be worried about?” 

“No.”

“
Rae…
”

“What? There’s not. I messed up. But I survived. So it’s all good.” Again, her nonchalance was pissing me off but I did my best to keep things in perspective.

“I’m your brother and I get it so I’m not gonna pretend like I haven’t been there and done that. Just be careful Rae. Jasmine and I won’t always be a call away. You gotta take care of yourself, sis.” Knowing she’d be off to college in a few months and hadn’t picked up some of those basic survival skills had me concerned.

“I got this, Rich. I learned my lesson. It won’t happen again.” I knew those phrases hardly ever carried any real weight but I chucked it up as being part of the maturing process.

She’d figure it out.

jasmine.

Awkward was an understatement.

I was enjoying my baby shower, busy being the center of attention and who walks in?

My damn mama who wanted nothing to do with me or my pregnancy as shown by her little message sent via Bailey-mail.

I didn’t know what to say or what to do, so I pretended like I didn’t see her until she said, “Jasmine Marie Monroe, come greet your mother.” I couldn’t pretend like I didn’t hear her since everybody in the damn venue heard her, so I slowly made my way over to her, using my belly as an excuse to go slowly.

Once I made it to her, she gave me a fake ass hug with two fake ass cheek kisses. I was trying to figure out who the hell she was putting on a show for. To people that
really
knew me, it was no secret that my mom and I didn’t have the best relationship. But I suppose for the new people, like my co-workers and people from school, and Rich’s extended family, it probably appeared to be a loving moment.

“Bailey dear, will you take a picture of Jasmine and I? I’d love to show everyone on the Facebook my grandson in the making.” She was already standing next to me in a pose.

“Facebook? Since when do you use Facebook?”

“I just got an account a month or two ago. You would know that if you came around more often.” There was no way in hell I was stepping foot in that house anytime soon especially considering I was ordered to avoid all stressful situations. Yet somehow, the stressful situation had made its way to me.

“I don’t go where I’m not wanted. No reason to hang out where I’m not welcomed...Mom.” I smiled as Bailey snapped a few pictures on her phone before switching over to my mom’s phone.

“You’re still upset over that little argument? That was so long ago.” I couldn’t believe she was really trying to play that shit off like she wasn’t the one that had kicked me out in the first place. Now that she knew I was with child and had shown up to my baby shower, I was just supposed to act like it never happened?

Fuck that.

“It’s not about how long ago it was. It’s about how many times we’ve had that same damn argument.” Bailey, along with some of the other random shower attendees, were finally done snapping pictures so I could release the fake smile I was forcing.

“Language, Jasmine. Remember your son can hear you now.” Even her pleasant little voice was pissing me off but I couldn’t let her get to me. That was exactly what she wanted.

“Whatever, Patty. This is my day so if you could do your best to be a little...less you, I’d greatly appreciate it.”

)~o~(

The baby shower had worn my ass completely out. In addition to dealing with my mom, I had to play the happy pregnant girl for everyone in attendance. I wasn’t exactly miserable but I was damn sure ready to drop Baby Rich off as soon as possible. Thankfully, Daddy Rich had shown up at the end of the baby shower to help us get the gifts
and me
back to his place.

He was busy going to work on my feet while I was busy trying not to fall asleep. He was like a magician with his hands; knowing all the right places to apply pressure. This was definitely something I could get use to.

“Your mom seems like a nice lady.”

Suddenly I was wide awake.

Sure she had done a fantastic job of playing the role of nice lady during the baby shower, but overall?

“Fuck her.”

“Jasmine, that’s not right man. You can’t take her for granted like that. Shit, I wish my mom was still here.” I had learned overtime that Rich’s parents had died within a year’s span of each other; one from a heart attack and the other from practically having her heart taken away from her. I could only imagine what a love like that must feel like.

“Rich, if your mom would’ve judged you for wanting to learn how to cook, or for wanting to do art, would you still see her so highly?”

“Probably not.”

“Exactly. I’m not saying she’s a completely bad person; I just don’t feel the need to put myself in a position to always be under her microscope. If she wants to judge me from afar, that’s fine. But I refuse to let her view of me change me to the point where I’m not myself.” After watching what had happened - what was still happening - to Bailey, I knew I couldn’t let that happen to me.

“I get it, Jasmine. But still...I think ya’ll need to hash that shit out, let bygones be bygones and move on.” It sounded so easy coming from Rich, but I knew with Patty involved, there was no such thing as letting bygones be bygones.

I pulled my feet out of his lap, curling them under me. “Whatever. Can we be done with this?”

“Sure, if we can move on to something else.” I immediately saw the light in his eyes and knew some bullshit was coming.

“Like what?”

“Like when you’re gonna quit playing and move in with me. Rich Jr. is gonna be here pretty soon and I mean...you should probably be settled in before he comes.”

Ahh here we go again.

I was actually starting to consider it the more and more Rich and I spent time together. Lowkey, I had already been thinking about the few tweaks I would make to the decor and how much I could fit into Rich’s walk-in closet and how good I would look cooking in his nice ass kitchen and how my BMW would take the place of one of his little toys in the garage and how…

“Jasmine?”

“Huh?”

“I asked you a question.”

You did?

“What?”

“I asked you when is your lease up?’

“Oh, it’s been up. I’ve just been paying the month-to-month rate until we got things figured out.”

Rich actually looked a little upset with me, a face I wasn’t use to, when he asked, “What’s left to figure out?”

It was a good question.

A fair question.

And one I certainly didn’t have a good answer to.

I mean what
was
really left to figure out?

Rich liked me and I lov...liked him, we were having a baby and there was more than enough room to accommodate me.

“Ummm….”

He gave me his usual smug smirk that always made me a little tingly before he said, “Right. I can have the packers and movers at your place by noon tomorrow.”

“What are you trying to say, Rich?”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is...welcome home Miss. Jasmine.”