With my shower finished, I tied a robe around my waist and started on my oral hygiene. Instead of the two minutes required to brush, I did it for five. Tongue scraping, flossing, and mouthwash followed, then it was time for my skincare routine. Luckily, no pimples had appeared during my slumber, but my facial skin was extremely dehydrated, just like my body. By the time I was done, it felt like I’d been at a five-star spa thanks to the products and my regimen. The thirty minutes I’d taken to care for my skin were too long, and once I started feelinglightheaded, I left the bathroom still wearing the final mask. It had to sit on my face for another fifteen minutes anyway.
Grabbing a cracker from my nightstand, I nearly swallowed it whole and then ate another. There were six empty bottles of water on my dresser, with the seventh half full. I grabbed it and gulped it down before adding it to its empty friends. The next thing to tackle was the bed. My hair was still a mess, but it needed professional care, so that would be a problem for another day. Going into my closet, I grabbed fresh linen and redressed my bed and pillows. The dirty linen couldn’t fit into my hamper since I’d changed the comforter as well, so I left it in a pile on the side of my bed until I was ready to wash it later.
Sitting on the cool, crisp sheets with my back against the headboard, I began to close my eyes when my phone vibrated on the nightstand. Seeing that it was a Ring camera notification, I picked up the phone. When I saw it was just Glee getting a delivery, I locked my phone screen and tossed it on the bed. I had over a hundred messages in the group chat with the mob wives, and I felt terrible about ignoring them. Mr. Joe, our neighbor who lived across from us, also called. Jisei had called me twice, and I knew that if I didn’t return her call soon, she would be popping up. Though she lived in a mansion with her husband, she still owned her townhome next door, and Mr. Joe would also emerge if I didn’t show my face soon. I was actually surprised he hadn’t walked across the lawn by now. I made a mental note to call her and Mr. Joe back today because I didn’t want to alarm anyone with my hiatus.
Along with the unopened messages, I had hundreds of social media notifications and an overwhelming number of emails to go through. I’d received so many inquiries from management firms, and initially, the idea of giving a percentage of my earnings to a firm seemed diabolical. I was now considering listening to some of their offers. Management could meanmore opportunities, and my workload would ease with a team handling the backend conversations. I had been handling everything myself and paying my contractual attorneys to review all my contracts. On the days when I just wanted to shut the world out—something I hadn’t done in a very long time—management might have been either a blessing or a curse. Shaking off business thoughts from my mind, I pulled up the face mask that felt like it was beginning to slide.
Knock Knock
I bit down on my molars as the doorknob turned. It had been three days since Tunan had come over, and even with the mortgage payment handed over and his version of putting me in my place done, the situation between us hadn’t changed. The dick was good, but no amount of orgasms could change how I felt. Still, it was time to face the music because I was acting like a teenager by hiding out in my bedroom and spiraling over everything.
Glee peeked in with skepticism on her face. Her thick hair was pulled back into a sleek ponytail, and although her face was clear of blemishes, her nose was wide, and her lips looked larger than usual. I knew both were from the baby weight she’d gained without it being overly obvious. As I looked at my baby sister, I couldn’t believe I’d missed the signs. She’d been at my house for a few days, and I hadn’t even realized she was pregnant. I was so caught up in Tunan that I missed her cry for help, and before him, I had been distracted by my influencer grind. A sob escaped from my lips, and Glee hurried inside. She set a bag on the nightstand and sat on the bed, wrapping her arms around me.
“Gleeeee… I’m so fucking mad at you!” I cried harder and louder.
Tunan was right about one thing: once I’d calmed down, I would be so ashamed of my behavior. All I ever wanted for my little sister was the best of everything. If I had known shewouldn’t make it through her first semester without getting pregnant, I would have chosen for her to stay home or stay with me to attend Jagoda Bay University. But JBU wasn’t an HBCU, and Blake University had been Glee’s dream. I didn’t understand what she saw in the small town that I thought was boring. That was one thing I’d been right about because Calista Glee had resorted to screwing at Blake after leaving so focused and ready to start her journey to medical school.
“I know. I know, sis. I’m mad at myself,” she mumbled.
“You are… so… youuung, Glee. You’re so young! I didn’t want this for you! I don’t even want it for myself.”
She squeezed me tighter, smelling like my Miu MiuFleur de Lait Eau de Parfum with Coconut Milk that she’d stolen from my room last time she visited. At least, unlike me, she’d pulled herself together. She was dressed in a mint-green Aeropostale shirt with matching sweatpants that scrunched at the calves. Pulling away from her embrace, I dabbed my eyes with the sleeves of my terrycloth robe. Looking at my sister, I immediately noticed her hair was longer than I remembered, and the scent of jasmine flowers wafted around us when I ran my fingers through it. Even with her enhanced features, my sister was so damn pretty, looking every bit like our father.
I still needed to moisturize my body and take off the mask, but Glee and I needed to really talk now that life would be new for us both. I pressed my back further into the tufted headboard and crossed my feet at my ankles. I let the silence linger for a moment longer because once I said the words out loud they would be real, no takebacks.
“You look like you had a baby,” I finally said. “In the face, your lips look like they’ve been injected. You look good, though.” I continued, truthfully complimenting the changes.
Her breasts were larger, but as my eyes moved to her waist, I saw that in the few days I’d been in my room, it had shrunk andwas now nearly nonexistent. There were no signs of pregnancy or a baby around her middle, but even while she sat on the bed, I could tell her hips and backside had widened. My baby sister had given birth to a whole baby, and she was now a young woman who had proof of the fact. I hoped she wouldn’t gain any more weight while breastfeeding.
“I’m sorry!”
“I’m so sorry!”
We both blurted out at the same time.
Glee rubbed her arm and scooted to the headboard beside me.
“Glee, I was out of pocket.”
“No, it’s fine. You were right?—”
“I was wrong. You were scared, and when I should’ve been a big sister, I was a monster. I should have been there for you. It’s just… I saw you in the hospital, then blood, then the belly, and… I didn’t send you to school to have some fuck boy put your life in danger by getting you pregnant. The closest a woman is to death is childbirth.
“I was scared, Glee. I was scared I was going to lose you, and I lashed out. Then, you wouldn’t tell me who the father was, and I—I realize that doesn’t matter. I’m sorry, Glee. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you. I’m sorry for trying to fight you. I’m sorry for going against you and my niece. I hope you can accept my apology because God knows I am so sick about how I’ve treated you.
Glee smiled and nodded. “Of course, I forgive you?—”
Before she could say more, I cut in and asked, “Where is she? I’ve been so out of pocket that I haven’t officially met her.”
Glee’s smile widened. “She’s asleep in my room. I’ll go get her after I say this.
“I 100% forgive you, Glow, and I’m sorry too. You were helping me out, made it so that I didn’t have to work. Then I go off to school and shut you out, not answering your calls, allbecause I was caught up in… a situation. I should have answered the phone. I should’ve told you what was going on while it was going on. But I got caught up, sis. I… I fell for someone who I should have been running the opposite way from.”
She blinked back tears, and my heart broke all over again.
My baby sister was going through her first heartbreak, and I was too caught up in my own head to be the sibling and friend she needed. Meanwhile, she had to handle a newborn on her own while mending herself. Glee was handling the stress, all while still looking put together. I couldn’t say the same. Just an hour ago, I looked like walking death.
“If you want to talk about it, I’m here. If not, I’m still here…”
