“Please, this isn’t the place to have this conversation.” She rubbed her eye. I was sure she was crying.
“Have what conversation? The one where you tell me you’re getting an abortion? Fuck, Hope! No, no fucking way will I let some doctor cut my baby out of you!”
“It’s not like that!” she cried out defensively.
“Oh no? Will my baby grow up after the procedure and have a normal life?”
“Stop it. I knew I shouldn’t have told you!”
“Oh, you considered not telling me? Real fucking nice. Maybe you shouldn’t have, then you could go and do whatever in the hell you want.” I was out of my mind, furious and hurt.
“Exactly. Now that’s two mistakes I’ve made.” She gasped and covered her mouth.
I couldn’t even speak.
Before I strangled her, I got out of the shower. I needed to calm the fuck down, so I quickly dried my body, put my clothes back on, and got the hell out of there.
“What happened?” Mercy asked. “I heard yelling.”
“Did you know she wants an abortion?” I paced in the living room, wholly livid.
“I don’t think she’ll actually do it.”
“You don’t think she’ll actually do it? Well, that makes me feel so much fucking better!” I threw my hands up. “She thinks the baby is a mistake. Did you know that?”
“Hustler, she’s had a hard life. She never wanted kids.”
I froze and fisted my hands to channel my rage into myself instead of the women in the apartment.
“Don’t forget it’s her body, her decision.”
“You must have a death wish, woman. Just stop talking before I explode.”
Mercy stepped back. “I just meant—”
“I said stop talking!” I pointed at Hope’s bedroom. “That baby in there is mine. Mine! That woman in there is mine. Mine! Nobody better hurt or kill what’s…mine. End of fucking discussion!” I paced again, but it wasn’t enough. I needed to get out of there before fucking up everything with Hope.
I went to the door and opened it. “I’ll be back.”
“You don’t have to. I’ll take care of Hope.”
“I said, I’ll be back. Don’t let her leave, understand?”
Mercy bobbed her head.
“I mean it. She better not leave.” I slammed the door. I didn’t have my hog, so I got in Hope’s cage. Good thing the keys to it were still in my jeans. I started the engine and peeled out of the parking lot.
I drove around the block, too fucking afraid to go farther. What if Hope tried to leave to get the abortion?
Shit, I didn’t know what to do, so I did the one thing that always helped. I called Lady M.
“Hey, son. Where’ve you been?”
“Momma, it’s bad. Not all bad. There’s some good, but right now, it’s bad, and it could get worse.”
“Where are you?”
“Driving.”