A/N: I'M BACK! 😅 I tried to upload this last week, but Wattpad was not feeling me. Anyways, I plan to be more active on here and to stay consistent with chapters, but bare with me y'all - life got me in a headlock chile lol.
⚠️ WARNING: this chapter contains sensitive content so I will include a trigger warning before hand to ensure everyone is comfortable!
Without further ado, here's the chapter! Enjoy y'all 💕
Chapter Twenty One
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"It's 3'o'clock in the morning Nala."
My head shot up hastily as the large oak door to apartment 1503 swung open wildly.
"You haven't been answering my calls." With my body riddled with nerves I raked over his honey kissed skin that glowed beneath the dim hall lighting and the deep brown pools that he called eyes.
"I gotta lot of shit going on." The deep vibrato of his voice sung to me as he remained still, pulling away at his ever growing beard.
"It's been over a week Raheem." I released a long winded sigh. Folding my arms in distress I closed the space between us, planting my chest into his.
Feeling his warmth against my chilled body I resisted the grin that fought to creep upon my lips. My thoughts danced wildly as I rewinded back to the time are souls last intertwined. 8 days, 14 hours, and 27 minutes had passed since we last spoke and quite frankly I was over it. I used this time apart to get myself together, to gather my thoughts, and to finally the confidence to face Rah. But as I stood in the doorway of Raheem's home it seemed like our time apart only added fuel to the flame.
"Ok." He stood emotionless, as if I was disturbing his peace.
With our chests still grazing I looked into his eyes and immediately regretted it.
Lying behind those earthy hues was pain, a pain that I didn't know how to fix with words.
In that moment my heart dropped to a depth I knew all too well. Those deep pools of dark cinnamon that used to light up by my presence no longer twinkled like they used to. He said it all without saying much and immediately I asked God to allow us to push through.
He was grieving.
I spent the last week thinking about how and what I would say to Raheem to get us back on track. I rehearsed and rehearsed and I thought I had it down pat until now. I was so focused on our relationship bouncing back that I didn't realize Raheem was actively processing the death of his child, his first child.
Was I excusing his absence during the hardest time of my life? HELL NO! But it wasn't until I stood before him that I realized I hadn't taken into consideration that he was processing. I had years to mourn my child and yet I had given Rah a week.
