Extraordinary Love

Chapter 36

Song: Russian Roulette by Rihanna

Aaliyah

My cell phone rang with Chris's picture popping up. I pressed decline, dismissing the call. It rang again frantically. I waited it out until it went to voicemail. It rang a third time and I answered, annoyed. He had been trying to contact me since the night at the restaurant. At first, I replied here and there trying to assure him that I just needed some space but eventually just started dodging his texts and calls altogether.

"Hello?"

"Aaliyah?"

Thud!

"Shit, I dropped the phone. What did you say?"

"I didn't say anything, yet." I kept the attitude to a minimum.

A loud moan sounded in the background, followed by his name being called. I turned the volume up on my phone, listening in hard.

"Who is that? You're with another female? Are you with Robyn? Why the fuck are you calling me right now? What's going on?"

"Um, I think something might be wrong. I didn't know what to do so I called you. It's too soon for her to be in labor."

He sounded jittery like he had downed several cups of coffee.

She was most likely faking some Braxton Hicks, even though it was too early for her to even be experiencing them.

"Why didn't you call 911, not me?"

"Because I- She just keeps groaning and crying and screaming -- I can't think -- I can't breathe--"

"Shhh, shh, shh. I need you to calm down. Breathe. You need to take her to the nearest hospital. If you can't drive her yourself, call 911. It'll be fine. Call me when you get there and I'll meet you."

I didn't want to go to the hospital. I had been admittedly avoiding seeing Chris because I was still mad over the whole Robyn situation but he sounded on the verge of an anxiety attack and he was always there for me when I needed him. It was the least I could do to return the favor, still being his girlfriend.

Forty-five minutes later Chris met me down in the lobby of the hospital. I was not about to seem like some groupie asking the little gossip girls at the front desk for "Rihanna's" room.

Chris visibly let out a sigh of relief at the sight of me and swept up my hand in his. It felt good to have his hand in mine in spite of everything.

We stood in the hall outside of her room, just holding each other. Chris stepped in the room occasionally to check on Robyn. I stayed outside, listening.

The nurse waving the ultrasound wand over Robyn's stomach beckoned for the attention of another nurse passing by.

"We're going to need to do an emergency Caesarean," she told the second nurse, who quickly hurried back out.

"No, I can't do that, it'll leave a scar," Robyn whined.

Her child's life was in jeopardy and she worried about a cosmetic scar?

"Well I'm sorry ma'am but you don't really have a choice at this point," the nurse raised the bed to make Robyn sit up and opened the stirrups.

Not even seconds later, the big wooden door burst open and Aaron rushed into the room, shrugged off nurses who were trying to stop him from entering. He huffed and puffed like a wolf staring at us three little pigs.

"Sir, you can't be in here—"

"Nah, I have a right to be here. That's my seed right there." He pointed at Robyn's stomach, eyeing up Christopher.

"How'd you even find out she was here, man?"

"It's everywhere nigga. Whole flock of paparazzi outside waiting to see my son," he gestured towards the window in the corner where I was standing.

I peeked through the window and sure enough, there was a crowd gathering down in the parking lot.

"Daughter," the nurse corrected him.

Aaron glared at her and she diverted her eyes down to her clipboard.

He stepped forward and took Robyn's hand in his. It seemed like a sweet gesture until Robyn's hand started to fade of color with how tight Aaron's grip was.

"So this where you've been, huh? Shacking up with this nigga? Thought he could be your little knight in shining armor. Ain't no one ever gonna save your ass Robyn. No one wants your ass but me. You need me."

"Aaron, that hurts," she whimpered.

Aaron reached into his coat pocket pulling out a flash of silver. One of the nurses ran out into the hall calling for security as Aaron held the tip of the knife up to Robyn's jugular.

"Remember who takes care of you and who can end it all in a second. You ain't never gonna get rid of me. I own you."

The beeping of the heart rate machine spiked, catching Aaron's attention just long enough for the hospital security to run up behind him and disarm him. The knife clattered to the floor as his arms were pinned behind his back and he was handcuffed.

"We have to work fast. Vitals are spiking," the head doctor called out through all the commotion. "Everyone out of the room."

Chris and I were ushered out as Aaron was escorted down the hall and an hour later were let back in to take a look at Imani Nia Fenty before she was taken to be cleaned up.

"Where are you taking her? Where is Aaron?" Her eyes searched frantically around the room for someone to make contact. Her hair was plastered to her forehead, mascara cloudy around her eyes. When no one answered, she tried to get up off of the bed.

"Woah woah woah, what're you doing?"

"No, I need to go. I need to find where they took Aaron."

"Robyn you need to lay down. You just gave birth and the nigga tried to kill you for God's sake!" Chris rationalized.

"He didn't mean it foreal. He just gets upset." She waved him off.

"So holding a knife to your throat is just him being fussy, huh? Wake up Robyn."

A new woman dressed in a pantsuit came into the room with a clipboard. She wasn't apart of the nursing staff, that was obvious.

"Hi, my name is Elizabeth and I was called here from Child Services. It is clear from the hospital staff's observations that Miss Fenty has a problem with substance abuse, most likely fueled by domestic abuse. We all think it is best that she seek professional help voluntarily. We can't do much to help her if she doesn't want to help herself. She'll do her thirty days and run right back to her old habits. Of course, we have to report this to the state and our first concern will be with the safety of the child. Completing this rehab stay will give Miss Fenty the option of keeping custody of her child, with mandatory check-ins for an undetermined amount of time. Does she have any close family the child can stay with in the meantime?"

"Her mother lives in Barbados. She doesn't have anyone here in the states."

"Well if we can't find anyone, the child will have to be put into foster care temporarily."

"No, I can take her."

I looked over at Chris to check that it had come from him but his mouth was no longer moving. His eyes were stuck on Robyn.

"What? Chris, what are you talking about? You can't take in her kid. Are you deadass right now?"

How had we even ended up here in this room, in this situation? He assured me that she was in his past and I was his future. Was it a mistake to introduce him to my family when it seemed that he clearly wasn't over his ex? I didn't sign up to be the stepmother to a kid that wasn't even his.

"I'll give you some time to think about your decision," the woman excused herself, sensing the tension in the room.

This wasn't apart of how I had envisioned our future.