Give Me The Reason 2: A Love Story (5 page)

“What the fuck you mean? Delaney is my daughter, nigga!” he yelled. Although Cane didn’t want to believe what he was hearing, he knew his brother would never lie about anything like that. But Ava on the other hand, how could she stoop so low? He’d placed her on a pedestal and never saw this shit coming, not from his sweet innocent Ava.

“Cane, I’m sorry, but you were always running the streets and ignoring me. You were never there for me. I didn’t mean for it to happen,” she cried hysterically.

“Nah, that’s fucked up, Ava! We weren’t even married yet! You knew I would have never married yo ass if I knew you was fucking my brother!” he fumed. Cane was furious and he truly wanted to put his hands on Ava in the worse way. “Cam, you ain’t shit, dog! What kinda brother does this type of shit? Huh nigga?” he said with spit flying out of his mouth. Cane’s mind was all over the place, he knew karma would pay him a visit one day, but damn not like this. He loved Delaney and in his mind she was still his little girl.

“I can’t believe this shit!” Cane punched the wall as tears poured from his eyes. Ava stood by crying loudly and Cameron hung his head in shame.

“Y’all had so much to say about me though? When you two low down muthafuckas was fucking and tricked me into believing Delaney was mine. I guess the joke is on me!” The look in Cane’s eyes was full of rage and hate.

“Look, Cane, I’m sorry about keeping it from you. But I won’t apologize for loving Ava. We both know you didn’t deserve her.” Cam stood firm on his word. Truth is he did feel lower than dirt for fathering a child with his brother’s girl, but Cane knew in his heart of hearts that he never would have married Ava if she wouldn’t have gotten pregnant.

“Man, shut the fuck up! I don’t want to hear shit you have to say right now!” he bellowed. Cane became enraged at the smirk Cam wore on his face and before anyone saw it coming he hauled off and punched Cam in the face. The two started throwing blows and knocking over tables in the hospital room. Natasha stood there horrified until she noticed Delaney coughing and whimpering.

“Delaney! Delaney!” Natasha yelled and rushed over to her bedside. Suddenly, Cam and Cane stopped fighting once Natasha yelled. Ava, too, ran over to her daughter’s bedside.

“Tyson,” Delaney called out in a weak voice, before her eyes fluttered open. Ava cried tears of joy once she heard the faint sound of Delaney’s voice.

“Thank you, Jesus! My baby is awake!” she cried. Cam damn near knocked Natasha out of the way as he made his way over to Delaney.

“Baby girl, this is Uncle Cam!” he said as tears ran down his face. Cane silently walked out of the door. He went to the nurse’s station to inform them that Delaney was awake from the coma.

“Sir, are you ok? Do you need to see a doctor?” the pretty red-headed nurse asked him. There was blood on his shirt and he had a busted lip.

“No, I’m fine, but please send the doctor in to see about my daughter, Delaney Michaels, in room 521,” he said and walked out of the hospital without looking back.

Chapter Six

Natasha was over the moon happy that Delaney had finally awakened from the coma. The tears just wouldn’t stop flowing. Once the doctors and nurses came rushing into Delaney’s hospital room, they instructed everyone to clear the room. Natasha took this opportunity to call Tyson to let him know that Delaney had awakened from the coma.

“Whad up?” Tyson said answering the phone on the first ring.

“Ty, you need to get to the hospital ASAP! Delaney woke up and she’s asking for you!” Natasha yelled excitedly. “Hello? Tyson, are you there?”

Tyson was in shock and couldn’t believe what he was hearing. If he’d heard Natasha correctly, she said that Delaney was out of the coma.

“Yeah, I’m here, but did you just say that Delaney asked for me?” He was overjoyed and surprised at the same time. He expected to be the last person that she would want to see.

“Uhhhh yeah silly! Why wouldn’t she want to see her man?” Natasha joked. She knew that something was up with that chick that came to the hospital with Tyson the night of Delaney’s accident, but she also knew how much her bestie loved Tyson. Hopefully they would be able to work through their differences.

“Okay, I’m on my way and thanks for calling, Tash,” he said before quickly ending the call. Next, Natasha called Jason to share the good news with him. Jason informed her that he was about to unload his last delivery for the day and directly after he would come straight to the hospital. Natasha was so happy she felt like doing a couple of cartwheels across the floor. That is until she noticed Drake walking in her direction. Suddenly, she became nervous and her stomach started churning at the sight of him.
Damn what is he doing here?
Natasha thought to herself.

Drake looked delicious in a pair of a loose fitting dark jeans and a crisp white Polo button down shirt, which hung loosely outside of his jeans, along with a white tee underneath. Natasha noticed he’d let his beard grow in since she’d last seen him, and she had to admit that he wore it well. The scent of his Giorgio Armani cologne hit her nose a few seconds before he invaded her space.

“What are you doing here?” Natasha inquired. She knew that although they’d been fucking around for the last several months, that he had a thing for Delaney. It bothered her even though she knew that it shouldn’t have. Delaney had no interest in Drake. Besides how could he have the hots for his man’s girl? Bastard!

Drake allowed his gaze to lazily roam over her body from head to toe. In his opinion, she looked as if she’d packed on a few pounds, but Natasha was still sexy as hell and a few extra pounds wouldn’t keep him from hitting it again.

“I was in the neighborhood and decided to stop by and check on Delaney. After all, she is my man’s girl, so I figured I would show my support,” he snidely replied. Drake was keeping his eye on Delaney for his own selfish purposes. He wanted to be there for her, because he knew once she came to and remembered how Ashanti showed up pregnant on Tyson’s doorstep that she wouldn’t want anything to do with him. Which he saw as the perfect opportunity to slide in and make his play.

Natasha pursed her lips and rolled her eyes. She knew damn well that Drake wasn’t hardly playing the role of the concerned best friend, but more like a hawk waiting to swoop in on his prey. 

“Yeah I bet,” she sarcastically replied. Telling Drake about the pregnancy and the possibility of him being the father of her unborn child was on the tip of her tongue. She figured it was best to table the discussion for a later date, especially since Jason was on his way to the hospital.

Drake licked his full, sexy lips and stepped closer to Natasha. “No need to be jealous, love, you know you can still get this dick if you want it,” he whispered in her ear. Natasha was a freak and her head game was on point. Drake felt his wood stiffen at the thought of her juicy lips wrapped around his dick. For added measure, he pressed up against her so she could feel how bricked up he was.

Natasha’s body became warm all over and her face turned bright red. There was no denying the sexual chemistry between them. She’d be telling a bold face lie if she said she didn’t want some more of what Drake was offering.

“Can you back the hell up off of me? I told you a few weeks ago that we ain’t doing that shit any more. It was a mistake to begin with. One of the biggest mistakes I’ve ever made in my life,” she snarled, gently pushing him off of her so as not to cause a scene.

“It seems like somebody is in denial. Girl, you know you’re missing this good dick.” He chuckled, stepping back into her space. The words coming out of her mouth didn’t match the look of lust in her eyes. Drake knew he could break her down and in time he would be right back in between those thick luscious thighs of hers.

Natasha’s breathing became labored as she fought the urge to take him into one of those empty hospital rooms and let him bend her over. Her panties were soaking wet. The smirk on Drake’s face said that he knew it too.

“Just stop it, Drake! I’m in love with my husband and he is the only man that will be getting all of this good good,” she snapped, pointing down towards her secret garden.

Drake was amused, but hardly stressed. He knew her husband wasn’t putting it down in the bedroom like he was and soon enough she would be back in his bed.

“Okay, ma, I hear you loud and clear, but just know I’m only one call away.” He smiled, showing all of his pearly white teeth.

Drake and Natasha were still standing fairly close to one another when Jason walked up behind them. Dude was all over his wife and he didn’t like that shit one bit.

“Hey, babe, I’m here,” he said, startling both of them. Jason leaned in and kissed Natasha on her lips, before shooting Drake a questionable look. Jason’s intuition was telling him that there was something shady going on. He sensed Natasha’s nervousness, which had him questioning why.

“Hey, baby! I’m so glad you’re here, let’s go see Delaney,” she said in hopes that he wouldn’t ask about Drake. Natasha was so nervous her teeth were chattering. She prayed Drake played it cool and didn’t put off any suspicious vibes. But once he cleared his throat as if he were waiting on an introduction, she knew that rushing off was out of the picture.

Jason shot her a look as to say who the fuck is this dude. “Don’t be rude, baby, introduce me to your friend,” he said coolly. Jason was far from a fool and something smelled foul in the air. He didn’t appreciate dude being so close up on his wife, but the better question was why did he feel like he could be?

“Oh umm this is, ummm Drake Porter. He is Tyson’s business partner and co-owner of Lyrical Soul Lounge,” she stammered. Her nerves were rattled and she was visibly shaken. Hopefully, Jason wasn’t able to pick up on how shook up she was. Natasha could feel Drake’s eyes on her, yet she refused to make eye contact with him.

“Nice to meet you, Drake,” Jason said, offering his hand out to shake Drake’s hand. The two men shook hands, while Natasha stood there feeling out of sorts. She wanted to get her husband far away from Drake. Jason was far from stupid, and he knew by the way these two were behaving that they knew each other a little more than they should have. Natasha had never mentioned this Drake character before, only Tyson.

“The feeling is mutual,” Drake replied in a cocky manner. He gave Jason a once over and smirked. Jason wasn’t feeling the vibes he was getting from Drake, which further made his antennae go up. Meanwhile, Natasha was on edge and wanted this meeting of the minds to come to an end, and fast.

Natasha was relieved to see Tyson finally walk through the door. She smiled brightly as he walked in their direction.

“Hey, Ty! I’m so happy to see you and I know Delaney will be as well,” she said, embracing him in a hug.

“I hope so, Tash, but our last conversation was pretty heated. I’m just happy that she is awake,” he replied. Tyson was surprised to see Drake there. He hadn’t called him so how did he know that Delaney had awakened from the coma? “Hey, bruh, what brings you by?” he asked Drake while dapping him up.

“Like I was telling Natasha, I was in the area on business and I decided to stop by and check on ya girl since I haven’t spoken to you in a minute. You been M.I.A. for the last few weeks, so I figured I might catch you up here too,” he said, downplaying his motives.

“Oh ok, that’s what’s up! Good lookin’ out, bruh,” Tyson said and gave him some more dap. Although Tyson was cool and calm on the outside, there was a nagging in his gut about Drake’s true motives. He’d noticed how Drake would look at Delaney each time she came to the club. But since she was a beautiful woman who drew the attention of many men, he brushed it off not considering that his home boy would ever cross the line. Lately, he was beginning to question Drake’s motives.

“Tyson, I would like for you to meet my husband, Jason Williams.” Natasha beamed. Jason had been on the road so much and had never gotten the chance to meet Tyson, although Natasha had spoken of him on several occasions.

Jason was well aware of the relationship he and Delaney shared from the stories Natasha told him.

“Nice to meet you,” Jason said, shaking Tyson’s hand. After everyone was formally introduced, they proceeded to make their way to Delaney’s room. Natasha was more nervous than a hooker going to church for the first time. She could feel Drake’s lustful eyes all over her body and she hoped like hell that Jason didn’t pick up that there was anything going on between them.

Chapter Seven

Ashanti awakened from a deep sleep from the overbearing pressure she felt on her bladder. She hopped up off the bed and rushed to the bathroom. As soon as her ass cheeks hit the cold toilet seat, her bladder unloaded like someone opened the flood gates up. After relieving herself, Ashanti waddled down stairs in search of Tyson. The house was quiet, which meant Tyson was gone.

The due date had come and gone and Ashanti was over being pregnant. She couldn’t wait to give birth so her life could go back to normal. Her feet were swollen, she peed every two minutes, and her back was in constant pain. Tyson’s attitude towards her hadn’t changed. He wasn’t cruel, but he damn sure wasn’t warming up to her either. There had even been talk about her moving out once she had the baby. He offered to help her find an apartment or a house, but he made it clear that she wasn’t welcomed to live with him.

Ashanti didn’t have plans on going anywhere. She and the baby were going to stay right there with Tyson. They were going to be a family and live happily ever after, if only she could convince Tyson. After flipping through all of the channels on TV and not finding anything worthy of watching, she hoisted herself off the sofa and slowly made her way into the kitchen.

Tyson didn’t have much food in the house, so she settled for a bowl of Honeycombs. Ashanti shoved a mouthful of cereal in her mouth before picking up her cell phone and hitting call on Tyson’s telephone number.

“Damn really Ty?” she said out loud to herself once his voicemail began to play in her ear. “Ty, this is Shanti, call me please. I’m hungry and there isn’t shit in here to eat but this dry ass cereal. Oh and you could have at least woke me up to tell me you were leaving!” She pressed end on the phone and tossed it on the sofa beside her.

Once she finished devouring the cereal, she stood up and walked to the kitchen to place the bowl in the sink. That is when a pain struck her deep in the abdomen. Ashanti doubled over in pain as she reached out and grabbed a hold of the kitchen counter. The pain was excruciating.

“Ugggggggghhhhh!” she cried out. After a few minutes the pain started to subside, so she slowly crept over to the sofa to grab her cell phone. Ashanti hoped and prayed that this time Tyson would answer his phone, but again she got his voicemail. “Damn you Ty! I think I am going into labor and your ass won’t even answer the phone,” she yelled in a strained tone.

Frustrated, she called him back to back a total of ten times, but still got no answer. She could call her mother, but what good was that going to do when she was all the way in Florida. Not having any friends sucked at a time like this, she didn’t have any one she could call to come pick her up and take her to the hospital. Ashanti told Tyson over and over again not to leave her alone for too long, because she was due to go in to labor any day now.

Having no other recourse, Ashanti dialed 911 and requested that an ambulance come pick her up from Tyson’s house. If his ass was up at Wellstar Cobb visiting his comatose princess, she was sure going to meet him there. If she had to have his black ass paged over the PA system, he was going to be in that damn delivery room with her. Ashanti unlocked the front door as the 911 operator instructed her to and then she sat on the sofa and waited for them to arrive. Tears rolled down her face because the pain was unbearable. Suddenly, she felt a gushing sensation and initially she thought she lost the battle with her bladder and pissed on herself, until she realized her water had just broken. The paramedics arrived in no time and loaded Ashanti on the gurney and into the back of the ambulance. She prayed that she could get in touch with Tyson before the baby made his grand entrance into the world.

***

“Tyson Jones please report to Labor and Delivery. Tyson Jones please report to Labor and Delivery.” Tyson heard his name being called over the hospital’s PA system. He pulled his cell phone out of his back pocket and powered it on. Ashanti had called him several times and once he listened to her voicemail messages, he knew that she was having him paged. He felt torn. Should he go see Delaney first or should he go to Labor and Delivery and witness the birth of a baby that may or may not be his?

Natasha, Jason, and Drake all stopped in their tracks once Tyson was paged. They were all waiting to see what he was going to do.

“Ty, I don’t really know what is going on, but if you feel like you need to go, then I will tell Delaney that you’re coming just as soon as you can,” Natasha offered. She could see the turmoil in Tyson’s eyes. Everyone knew that he really wanted to see Delaney first, but he felt obligated to be there for Ashanti.
What if the baby is mine? How will I ever forgive myself for not being in the delivery room?
So many thoughts were running through his mind.

Drake stood in the background and smirked. Knowing Tyson, he would do the right thing and be by Ashanti’s side while she gave birth.

“Bruh, go ahead, I will stand in for you,” Drake said, patting Tyson on the back. The sincere expression on his face masked his true intentions. Drake intended to get as close to Delaney as he possibly could. She was just the type of woman he needed in his life.

Jason wasn’t feeling this Drake dude. He could spot a snake from a mile away, and this dude had snake written all over him. Natasha was still acting overly nervous which made Jason even more suspicious.

“Damn!” Tyson said through gritted teeth. Delaney meant everything to him and he wanted nothing more than to bust through the hospital room door and hold her in his arms. On the other hand, if the baby was indeed his, he needed to be in that delivery room.

“Natasha, please tell Delaney I will be there just as soon as I can,” Tyson said. Disappointment was an understatement of the way he felt on the inside. He could ring Ashanti’s trifling neck for the drama that she’d caused in his life.

“Ok, I will let her know, Ty. Just get back as soon as you can,” Natasha smiled warmly. Tyson smiled weakly before turning around and jogging off en route to labor and delivery to be by Ashanti’s side, as the trio headed to Delaney’s hospital room. Natasha’s nerves were shot as she led the way with her husband and lover following directly behind her.