gone. - DISCONTINUED.

{24}

"Pleaaaase?"

Ferg side eyed me, growing more annoyed as I whined in his ear, disturbing him from rolling a perfect blunt. "I said no. Fuck I look like?" He snapped, concentrating. "All I'm asking you to do is drop me off there. That's it." I pouted, leaning back to expose my belly. "I'm pregnant! And my wrist is broken! How am I gonna get there by myself?" I complained. I've gotten used to using my pregnancy to get me out of certain things like moving or doing a chore, but when it came to things I actually wanted, the odds weren't in my favor. "All the more reason you need to stay your ass home." He waved me off, and I crossed my arms, getting off the couch and mumbling under my breath. I walked around the house, finding somebody dumb enough to actually take me somewhere for once. Rakim had this thing to not let me anywhere unless it was approved, and apparently this wasn't it considering he too nagged at me when I asked him for something.

I stopped once I had reached the patio, and there I saw Rayna sorting out her money. A light bulb went off in my head, and I stepped onto the terrace, smiling sincerely with my hands behind my back. "Hi Ray." I said loud enough for her to hear, but not too loud to scare her, as the months she was here visibly put her guard up more than when she first arrived here. "Oh, hey Hazel." She said once she looked up, smiling back at me. "Wassup?" She asked, stopping what she was doing. I shook my head, sitting across from her. "Nothing really. I wanna go out to The Grove to finish up my small Christmas shopping but no one will take me." I shrugged nonchalantly. I was sure that I was doing good at hiding the real reason I brought it up because Rayna wasn't at all reluctant to agree. "I could take you there if you want." She said and I rose an eyebrow. "Really? I was just planning on improvising something." I lied, messing with the sandals on my feet. She nodded, putting her money back in the rubber bands they came in. "Sure, I don't mind. Besides it's Christmas, and you don't get out that much." She helped stand me up, grabbing her keys off the table by the front door and heading out to her car. I had money on me, but she handed me 800 dollars anyway, calling it her personal Christmas gift since she forgot to buy anybody anything.

She dropped me off, giving me her cell and pager number before I started browsing a few stores. Being around each other for so long, some of them had developed the same likes and dislikes, as well as senses of style, but they were still different. I went inside a few stores like Sephora, MAC, and Tiffany's for each of the girls and got them some things I figured that they'd like. I then looked at some jewelry stores for the guys after deciding it'd look very awkward and embarrassing for a pregnant woman to be purchasing from a gun shop or a thrift store. I bought each of them chains, rings, and watches, all in gold, and I even went to the Apple store and bought them all new Macbooks. Just when I thought I was done with shopping for the day, I came across a book store and decided to peek inside. I browsed all the genres and bought a couple of fiction books, and while looking I came across the fantasy section, which included the Harry Potter franchise. From my memory, I knew that Rakim had all of the books except for the last two, Half Blood Prince and Deathly Hallows, and decided to buy them both for him. I assumed the books stopped coming either before or after his brother passed, and it only seemed fair, even if it'd reveal that I'd been sneaking around in his safe haven.

After calling Leila to pick me up, I bought a pretzel and a smoothie for myself, waiting by the door with all of my bags. I groaned, feeling myself start to nod off while sitting in a bench outside. Fighting sleep for around 10 minutes, I saw her car pull up, and she came out to help me with the bags. "Damn, I thought you said you were only buying a few things." She huffed, placing the heavy bags in the backseat. I got red in the face, embarrassed, as I carried the lighter bags with me in the passenger seat. "I saw more things you all would like." "Oh, yeah, I could tell." She laughed, speeding back to the condo and dropping me off by the gate. "I got a run I have to make. I think Yaz and Lay are cooking so tell them I should be back before then." She waved, leaving the heavy bags with me and I waved back, ignoring the pain in my back and my wrist and carrying the bags all the way up the steps and down the long hallways. I left them all by the door, stumbling inside and closing the door, finding my way to the couch and laying across it, placing my arms over both my belly and my eyes. "And where have you been all day?" I peeked through my fingertips to find Yazmin standing over me, spatula in hand. "Shopping for all of you." I sat up, leaning against the pillows. "Just because you all don't celebrate a Christmas doesn't mean I can't." She smiled, uncrossing her arms. "Sweet of you. Help me cook please?" She asked, turning towards the kitchen and I nodded, taking a while to push myself off of the couch, walking after her and trying to hide the slight waddle in my step I was starting to develop.