Bated Breath

C h a p t e r : 1

Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015

C h a n t e

The last of the shoes were neatly tucked away so I went onto unboxing the crib. Aunty Yola had just gotten home so she came up and helped me assemble the pieces.

"How is she?" I asked genuinely.

"Shes alright. I get to bring them home tomorrow so I'm happy about that."

"That's great that means the baby is healthy." I smiled.

"Yeah she is."

"She's so lucky..." I said thinking about a painful part of my past.

"Yeah. I'm just sorry that shes basically doing this alone."

"The father isn't around?" She shook her head no and I felt it for her. "So she has no family and plus the guy abandoned her...wow."

"She's really going through it. I'm trying my best to keep her spirits up but..." Aunty Yola shook her head and sighed bolting the last side of the crib together.

"Its great that she has you. I know you care a lot about her because you speak of her so much."

"I do...but I just wish she had other friends she could count on and trust. It would really help her to not feel alone." I nodded and thought about what Aunty Yola said. If she is a nice as Yola makes her out to be then I don't mind befriending her.

Wednesday, November 4th

Y a s m i n e

On account of my Xippora being properly cared for, I was able to leave the hospital. It was becoming very unbearable being there and I was happy to finally be able to leave. Once we were home, I put Xippora in her carrier and sat with Ms. Kelly on her couch.

"Now...I didn't want to bring this up at the hospital," she said adjusting herself on the couch before continuing, "but now that you're out, there's something you need to know."

"What is it?" I asked shifting my eyes to her. Before she replied, she released a long and tired sigh and rested her hand on my leg.

"Well...that day when I went by the apartment to get some more of your things I...they were out in the doorway. I spoke to the landlord and he said that the owner was getting tired of waiting on your rent payment." My heart dropped to the pit of my stomach and my eyes began to burn.

Nathan always helped me pay rent. I didn't even know that he stopped. Why didn't he say anything? "But don't worry, I took care of it," she assured, "with a little help I managed to get some of your things put up in a storage company and all the things you would need such as your clothes and so on are upstairs in the guest bedroom."

A lump formed at the back of my throat shortening my breaths. "I don't want you worrying about that. You can stay here for as long as you like until you get back on your feet and I'll help you as much as I can." Her voice seemed to fade away as my mind calculated everything so quickly that it all became a big blur. I couldn't really process anything that was happening at this moment.

"I...I don't understand." I said before hyperventilation kicked in.

"Yasmine...It's going to be ok, everything is going to be ok. Try to stay calm baby girl, you've gotta try to stay calm for Xippora." She said doing everything in her power to console me.