The One | CRENSHAW

a shock

Lauren,

The doctor broke it all down for me and the recovery that Nae will need to go through. She basically told me that Nae was hitting her ninth week into her first pregnancy. If I thought discovering my bestfriend laying in her own blood from having a miscarriage was hard, then hearing the doctor confirm it feels worse. Nae's mom is going to lose her damn mind when she finds out that one of the homies is responsible for the predicament she's in.

I thanked the doctor for her help and insight, leading family into Nae's room. She was laying towards the window staring at the rain pour down through the window. I heard her sniffling quietly to herself.

"Nae?" I called out in a soft voice. She peeked over her shoulder and made eye contact with each of us. "Hey." She gulped.

Removing my jacket and setting my bag down I walked over to the bed, checking her out.

"How are you feeling, sweetie? You alright?" Brushing her hair back her mom leaned in to kiss her forehead. She hugged her, crying into her hair, shielding her face from being seen.

"It hurts mama. Everything hurts. Inside and out. Does dad know?" She whispered.

Shaking her head she consoled her some more. "Oh no, don't worry about that. We just wanted to come and see how you we're doing. You don't need to explain anything right now, okay? That can wait." She showered her in light affection and stepped back so others could get their time in with her.

I was sad this was happening to my bestfriend. It was a shocker when I found her. My only thought was to act quickly. I didn't even know she was pregnant but when she explained it all made sense.

The kids broke apart, leaving Hoggy as the last person to have moment with Nae. He looks scared out of his mind. Not to mention, angry, guilty, sad, confused, etc. I know my bro mind is running rampant with questions, thoughts and concerns.

"Hi.." Nae produced a lot of coughing, grunts of discomfort and complaints of pain waiting for Hoggy to greet her. After five minutes passed of Hoggy staring at Her not saying a word, I intervened. Walking over to where he stood I pulled him aside to get inside his head.

"Hoggy, talk to me." I plead. He boldly let go of his feelings and for the first time in a long time, broke down. Offering him silence and in return I got my answers. His emotional status breaks down how he's taking all off this chaos. "You were right to think positive and hope for the best. I need you to understand that."

"I keep fucking this up. I keep fucking up the one job I'm supposed to get right. I don't understand why this is so damn hard." He said letting his emotions out. I didn't know they had something going on, They've always played it safe. Sadly, Summer baby wasn't his it was Greg's, Greg is long gone and Hoggy said he didn't want to take care of somebody elses kid which was understandable from his point of view.

"You haven't failed any of us and especially not herZ No one that's close to you sees you as a failure." I encouraged.

He didn't agree with me on that one. "I can't."
Distancing myself just a little. "Nigga she needs you, You put her in this. So make her understand that its okay, she's okay and y'all are okay. Now is not the time for you to act like this. " I knew once he heard a speech he would shake this chip off. I followed behind him happy to see him and Nae hugging it out. They remained silent. That's probably for the best right now.

—— —–

"Ok, watch her head. Come on." I coached. Hoggy and Hussle worked as a team to help Nae out of the truck and into the house. They carried her up the steps and to her bedroom with many complaints from Her.

"Emani, grab her bag please. I got the other two." She and I emptied the back seat and followed behind the guys.

"Dammit Nip, That was my foot you idiot!" Nae shouted. She must have gave Hussle an earful for another two minutes until we heard her crying.

"How long do you think she'll be like this?" Samantha said quizzing me on the duration of Nae's healing is bad timing. I truthfully have no clue how long it will take for her to get better. If I had my way she'd be healed right this instant.

As I thought over a reasonable answer I locked the front door and used my heels to remove my shoes.

"Hopefully not very long. Your brother is going to flip out when he finds out the truth. Add that to Nae's emotions being all over the place and her physical discomfort, we're all in for a chaotic few days. If we about to help her through this." I said shaking my head. We all agreed we'll take shifts within helping her.

"I said I was sorry Nae, no need for you to be all emo-" The faint sound of slapping made a slight echo.

"Get out! Please just get out. Boog, make him leave, please." She complained.

"Oh boy. If She doesn't kill Hoggy then I'll do it myself. I get that she's in a lot pain for a lot of different reasons but I need for everybody to be on the same page. Everyone we know needs to be on the same page with not pissing my sister off." Samantha and I carried on upstairs to set Nae's things down.

Kross walked past us throwing hisself down on the floor. He's famous for laying in the floor instead of his something to sit on when he's pissed off. I'm just grateful he didn't develop an angry streak. My focus is Nae at the moment but I made myself a mental note to talk to Kross as soon as I get the opportunity.

"You need anything?" Hussle voice became louder the closer I got to her bedroom. Samantha walked in first with me right behind her.

"No, I'm okay. I just want to lay here." Nae covered herself in blankets, making eye contact with us.
Quietly I began putting her things away until she's ready to speak up.

The sound of hangers rustling, drawers opening and clothes being folded dominated the area for far too long.

When dinner was done I had everyone go their separate ways. I declined help with cleaning. Doing this solo will help clear my head. Alone time, a glass of my favorite wine and the flames crackling is the perfect combination to put me in the right mind frame. I was in such a nice mood that when I left Nae's I rearranged the living room furniture.

Hussle called me around ten begging for me to come to bed. I stepped into the room to find him laying down with his headphones in, I shut our door and gathered my belongings to take a shower. He pushed them back.

"Can you believe she was really pregnant?" I heard him ask from the bedroom.

I stood in the doorway of our room brushing through my hair letting my mind roam. "Honestly no I can't. I don't even know how to feel." Thinking in my head knowing the truth.

"Although I'm shocked I feel heartbroken for her loss. Nae was robbed of the most precious gift in the world and I can't even fix that. I can't take away her pain as badly as I want to." Hussle turned the tv on and got off the bed to get partially dressed.

"Yeah I'm kind of on the same page. A part of me is still so confused and I still have so many questions. How the fuck that shit happen? Give me fifteen minutes baby and we can finish this conversation when I get out." Setting my brush down I got on with my shower thinking about how to help my bestfriend cope with this loss and the abuse she suffered. She never went into detail about how Hoggy 'hurt her' but I have a good enough imagination to figure that out for myself.

I've got some stories to share with her when the time is right. Hopefully my own experience can help to heal Nae with time.