Destined 2 Love ( Sequel )

S T R U M M Y P A I N

Destiny's eyes roamed the menu while she twisted her mouth side-to-side. She was still waiting to meet up with her friend, who was already late for an evening lunch. "May I get you something to drink, ma'am?" A swarthy, average height waitress approached the booth. "I'll take a lemon water for now. Thank you." Destiny slipped her a faint smile. "Sorry I'm late." Kayla's voice sounded pitiful, "I had to wait for my mom to pick up the twins."

"Oh girl, you're good. Good to finally see you!" Destiny gave her friend a look. "I know, I know. We have a lot to catch up on— but first, how was the honeymoon?" Kayla grew excited. Destiny's cheeks flushed, "Amazinggg!" She didn't mind dragging the word out to show her enthusiasm. "Traveling is so therapeutic in a way, especially when you do it with someone you love." The sincerity of her voice didn't sound forced not one bit. Kayla admired that.

She witnessed Kross and Destiny's unity first hand and though no couple is perfect, there was no denying the couples foundation they built together. "Did y'all do lots of baby making?" Kayla questioned jokingly, scanning the menu before her. Destiny playfully sucked her teeth— this was one of those questions that certainly didn't need an answer. The huge grin plastered across her face was all the clarification Kayla needed though. "Okay, enough about my honeymoon." Destiny cleared her throat, "How are you? How's work... the twins? Fill me in." She took another sip of her lemon water as her stomach was starting to suddenly feel uneasy.

Kayla released a tiresome sigh. "The girls are great. Work on the other hand has been hectic lately. The pediatric wing just got a new head nurse and she's such a bitch." Kayla used this window of opportunity to vent. She didn't have much trustworthy friends and often kept to herself. The bond between she and Destiny came naturally— on both ends. "Oh, wow. Well what makes you say she's a bitch?" Destiny's eyebrows knitted together. Kayla adjusted the silver bangles around her wrist, "She's always knit-picking." Her shoulders went up then down.

"Like the other day, she calls me into her office to penalize the way I take patience's vitals. Who does that... like seriously?" Kayla truly looked confused in the moment; causing Destiny to giggle. She had a better understanding of where her friend was coming from now; having a boss that seemed to enjoy riding your tail as if they actually get paid for being annoying. "I hope things smooth out soon Kay." Destiny slipped her friend a warm, assuring smile. "Me, too." Kayla nodded.

After skimming through their menus once more, the girls placed the same order for glazed salmon and yellow rice with cheesy broccoli on the side. The conversation continued to flow effortlessly at the table. "So, like, you haven't spoken to her since that?" Kayla sounded shocked. "Nope. My mom and I have a touch-and-go relationship." Destiny didn't seem bothered by her own statement. Kayla cleared her throat, "I mean, I knew it was bad but dang girl, I didn't think it was this bad." She sympathized for her friend.

Destiny always knew the relationship she had with her mother was toxic. Trina failed each one of her children individually, all while scarring her family as a whole. Though Trina vowed she changed after coming home from rehab, her actions after the Children's fathers passing declared otherwise. She wasted no time running back to Latrell and the comfort of narcotics, once again forgetting about the needs of her kids. It never stuck with Destiny. She could never grasp why her mother did it— why she would rather get doped up than seek help a more logical way.

Either way, Destiny swore she was entirely done with Trina. She wasn't going to fall fool to her apologies for another time. "Are you still going to therapy?" Kayla wondered. "I haven't gone in a while." Destiny shrugged, "I don't know. My therapist... was nice but pushy at the same time. She claimed to have understood the trauma I experienced, yet she didn't feel as comforting the more I began opening up." Destiny had mastered learning to express herself instead of changing the topic because of uncomfortableness.

"You need someone who understands you. Someone who can actually relate to you entirely. Maybe someone who comes from a similar background. If you're okay with this, I can ask my mom to recommend you to some amazing African-American therapist." Kayla didn't make her friend seem crazy for having perfectly logical emotions. "That would actually be great, thank you. Going back doesn't sound too bad, especially with all the crap I have on my plate." Destiny admitted.

"You know I got you." Kayla responded, taking a forkful of rice into her mouth. Not long after the two were wrapping up their conversation as lunch had come to an end. The girls promised to get together again next weekend with all the kids this time. On the drive home, Destiny's mind was clouded. She was morose and silent the entire ride. Her mood shifted from passably to gloomy all of a sudden and she didn't understand why.

"Baby, that's you?" Kross called out upon hearing the front door open and close. "Yea, it's me babe." She replied, cheerless. When Destiny came into clear view, Kross could immediately tell something was off. "What happened?" He rushed over to her side. "My chest feels really tight." She made a hand gesture pointing to her chest.

"How long have you been feeling like this?" Kross grew concerned, walking his wife over to the couch. "Some point between leaving the restaurant and the drive home." She blinked a few times due to her now blurred vision. Kross cleared his throat, "You're stressing, aren't you?" He eyed her closely.
"I wouldn't necessarily label it stressing, but I am concerned about this situation with my mo— Trina." She explained. Kross nodded, "She's still your mom. You can feel however you want to feel about the situation. Just don't try to conceal your feelings or barricade the emotions that may surface." He gently touched her thigh.

Destiny let out a shaky exhale. She wasn't sure how Kross did it, but he seemingly always knew what to say in the moment. "I, um, decided to go back to therapy. Kayla's going to ask her mom to recommend me to some of her colleague's." Destiny broke the interesting news to her husband. Kross was clueless to Destiny wanting to return to a professional for help— however, his reaction was blissful and good-humored.

"This will be good for you... us." He touched her stomach. Destiny's eyebrows quickly frowned, "Why did you just do that?" She side eyed Kross. "Our family's gonna be expanding soon," He grinned, "I don't want the stress of other peoples irrational behavior to effect you while carrying our child." He further explained, unknowingly freaking his wife out. She awkwardly swatted his hand from her stomach. "One, I'm not pregnant, and two why would you think that?"

Kross let out a humorous chuckle, "I know what I'm talking about. You'll see it for yourself soon enough." He pecked her cheek before removing his body from the couch and walking into the kitchen. As if things weren't already unbalanced, Destiny wondered if there could be some truth to Kross's statement. Could she really be pregnant?

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Hey babes! I know it's been a while since I've written. Hope you guys enjoy the update I threw together 💗

VOTE & COMMENT !!! Thanks for reading!