Extraordinary Love

Chapter 19

Song: Boo'd Up by Ella Mai

Christopher

Chris wasn't sure he had ever seen a sonogram in person. He knew of course what they were supposed to look like but hadn't been in a situation to actually see one. He only had one friend— well, a handful of friends now, if you counted the ones he had made through Aaliyah—and none of them were or had been expecting. It was surreal to hold the little monochromatic picture in his hand. His eyes darted to the upper left corner, reading the name printed: Evans, Aaliyah Amerie. He read it again, to make sure he was seeing things right. He knew it couldn't possibly be his; they hadn't even had sex. But what he held in his hands was dated almost six years ago.

"When I was fifteen years old, I met Tori at a basketball game at my high school. I remember it about clear as day. It was the first game I had ever been to. The gym was about hot as hell and Raven had used me as her dress up doll so I had on this tight crop top and nearly painted on jeans. I was so uncomfortable I tried to throw on this big puffer jacket before I left the house but Raven convinced me to leave without it because it didn't go with the outfit," she chuckled.

"Even back then, I did everything by myself. I hadn't made any friends really at that school; just people that I spoke to in class from time to time. I sat at the game by myself, partly because I didn't know there was a student section. It was the first game of the season and there was a lot of buzz around it because the school had just recruited Tori. He was new and held the state record for something and was supposed to be really good. The girls just came because he was cute."

From her description of herself, Aaliyah and Chris had been total opposites in high school. Chris was wildly popular. He had always been in the middle of things, surrounded by friends. Aaliyah was used to being on her own.

"Tori dusted the other team. The final score was over a hundred to zero. Tons of people hung around after the game to talk to him. I hung around too because I was waiting on Raven to pick me up. I was waiting so long that the janitors had started to close up the gym and a resource officer told me I had to wait for my ride outside. Of course, he didn't say anything to the groups of white parents talking to Tori; just to me. It was fucking freezing too. Like thirty-five degrees, chilly, and I didn't have a coat. It made me miss the sweltering heat inside. I thought 'Fuck it, maybe I'll try to walk and catch the bus or train' when he came outside."

"He was tall, about six foot one even then, with this smooth light brown skin and angular jaw. Soft lips and pretty hazel eyes too. He asked me if I was okay and if he could give me a ride. I had no idea when Raven was coming and by then my phone was just about to die so I accepted. I couldn't say no, I didn't know what would happen if I didn't go with him. I was a damsel in distress and he was my knight in shining armor, literally."

He sounded aight.

"Tori had a nice car for a seventeen-year-old-- a red Camaro like something out of a magazine. Kind of reminded me of my dad. He used to pick up those auto books outside of the bodega and talk about how he was going to buy a shiny new sports car when he retired. 'I might even let you ride in it, too,'" she chuckled, mocking her father before her face hardened again.

In the months the two had been together, Aaliyah had probably mentioned her father all of twice. Chris understood why though. He just up and disappeared from her life one day, leaving Aaliyah when she needed him the most. Chris would resent him too, if in her shoes.

"I was shivering and he gave me his warm-up jacket to put on. He asked me about myself, basic stuff like my name and what grade I was in. I guess he could tell that I wasn't the talkative type, so he mostly shared about himself to fill the silence. He told me how he came from an African American father and a Mexican mother; that he was an only child too. My school approached him at a game at his old high school and poached him from the team to come to play for us. His family moved an hour away from his hometown for the opportunity and he didn't really know anyone here besides his teammates."

Chris chuckled internally. Some things hadn't changed. The first few times he had tried to get some conversation out of Aaliyah he felt like he was performing soliloquies.

"I got home and realized that I still had his warmup jacket on. I felt so embarrassed, between wondering how I could've missed the fact that I still had it on and thinking that he must think I was trying to run off with it. It's what the rest of those little girls would've done too; flaunt it down the halls Monday morning and make a scene out of it. Raven took one look at the name across the back and had a thousand questions for me. She didn't know who he was but even up at FIT, she had heard about him."

"After pestering me for about an hour, she finally broke me and I told her what happened. She wanted to prep me on what to do during our next interaction but I told her not to bother. I would return his jacket and that would be the end of it. But it wasn't. I sought out Tori that following Monday at school. I tapped him on the shoulder and he just turned around and his face just lit up into this soft smile."

She smiled.

"He found me every day, walking me to class or just asking about my day. He basically pestered me into being friends with him; trying every day to get me to hang out after school or come to another game. 'If I make 20 three-pointers tonight, you'll let me take you out on a date.' I agreed, thinking it was likely not going to happen. I agreed to just the one game and they were playing our school's biggest rival. He went out that night and did exactly that, scoring ten of them in just the last quarter."

Chris doubted he was that good, especially in high school. Chris had handles and knew guys that played pro that couldn't even pull that off. Tori sounded like he could give Steph Curry a run for his money.

"He told me to be ready at seven the next night and was sitting outside my brownstone at 6:45. We went out on our first date and I actually had fun. I let my guard down. I allowed myself to like him; to love him. He was the only man I had in my life. My father was absent, my grandfathers: one had died before I was born and the other was out of state. I didn't have any uncles, brothers. No male role models in my life and as far as I could tell, Tori seemed perfect, but our relationship wasn't. Maybe if I had one, they would've warned me to slow down."

"Rae, my aunt, my grandmother — they just fawned over him. Adored him. I did too. Everyone worshipped him like he was the second coming. I felt like I was constantly competing with other girls. Would he decide that he was bored with me and pick someone prettier, or curvier or more experienced? I had never been with anyone before. I didn't know if I could give him what he wanted, and I didn't know how long he would wait for me. I let my insecurity give myself away. I lost my virginity on his birthday."

"My grandmother always said 'It only takes one time', and it really did. A little more than a month after, I started experiencing symptoms. Fatigue, morning sickness, etc. I did my little walk of shame down to the bodega and bought a pregnancy test. I was nervous as hell taking that test. It's one of those moments when you know that your whole life can change and never go back to how it was. If it was a positive, no matter what choices I made and the outcome, life would never be the same as the moment before I knew."

Chris knew that moment all too well.

"Tori had been so busy with signing and finishing up his senior year and graduating that I just didn't know when to tell him. Our first moment alone after his graduation party I just blurted it out. I couldn't take it anymore. I was expecting him to reassure me and tell me that it'd be alright; we'd figure out it together."

"Instead, he breathed in so sharp you'd think he was trying to suck all the oxygen out of the room. When he did release, he was out of breath. He didn't say that he was scared or excited. He might as well just asked me if I was going to keep it. He told me that he was leaving. His basketball camp started next week and he was moving to North Carolina to play at Duke. He asked what I was going to do. Me. Alone, like he wasn't apart of it. Like I did this to myself. I cut him off. Pushed him off of me, screamed at him. I left."

She turned to look at Chris.

"You know, he didn't even come to check on me before he left? No apology, no visit. He just left and I never heard from him again."

She looked down at the sonogram.

"But I can't even blame him. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have Desi."

Sorry for the long hiatus. Really trying to push out new chapters this year though. Some new characters will be introduced soon too. 😉