Page 59 of When It’s All Said And Done

When we pulled up to my house, I didn’t get excited as I stepped out of Nas’s car. It felt as if I were floating as I moved towards my front door. I noticed that Nas unlocked my door with a key on his keychain which I don’t recall giving to him. That would be checked later once I was able to feel like myself again. The first person I saw when I stepped inside was Yas.

“Thank you, God,” she cried as she hugged me tightly. I was so thrown off that I didn’t ever react as expected. Here I was just there as my best friend of twelve years hugged me after being kidnapped. “I am so glad you’re back here safe, Nessa.”

All I could do was nod my head in agreement to her statement. After she broke my hug, I continued deeper into the house. Nyla wasn’t on the ground floor and just when I was about to go up to her room she ran across the backyard. Making my way outside, I needed to lay eyes on her to calm some of my anxiety. When I caught up to her she was hiding, but when she looked up at me she ran over to me. She hugged my legs so tightly before I picked her up. As I held her in my hands, I cried my eyes out. Aside from missing her so much, I cried because I could be gone if things played out differently.

“Why you crying, Mommy?” She wondered as she looked at me.

“Mommy just missed you, that's all.” I sniffled.

“I missed you too. Daddy said you went on a trip for mommies who are thinking about having another baby. Are you gonna have another baby, Mommy?”

“If I was, how would you feel about that?”

“Happy! I want a baby brother.”

“A brother, huh?”

“Yeah, me and Daddy want a boy.”

“Well, you never know what could happen with Christmas on the way.”

“Yay! Now can I finish playing with Chanel?”

“Yes, baby. I’ll be right in the house.”

Soon as I placed her feet on the ground, she darted away. I made my way back inside the house where Nas and Yas stood. Looking between the two of them, I noticed the concern in each of their eyes. A part of me wished I could lie to them and give them the reassurance they so desperately wanted. It was just too much left up for grabs for me to feel like I was standing on steady ground. The ringing of a phone ended the staring contest between us as I watched Nas grab his phone.

“Excuse me,” he informed me before stepping on the front porch.

“Yas, thank you for watchin’ the girls in the midst of all this,” I thanked her once we were alone.

“That ain’t nothin’ you gotta thank me for, I’ll do it again no hesitation,” she expressed. “Nessa, I don’t know how you feel with everythin’ you’ve been through but I’m here for you. Even when you need space I’ll still be just a phone call away.”

“Good because I’m goin’ to need yo’ help with this lil’ boy that’s on the way.”

“Wait you havin’ a boy?!”

“Yes ma’am. I’m havin’ a boy like you and Mama Eva wanted back then.”

“About fuckin’ time!”

“I know right,” I chuckled just as Nas walked back into the house. “Is everything ok?”

“Yeah, everythin’ better than ok,” he smiled. “The connect at the Miami PD came thru with information on Slick and Chance just picked that nigga up.”

“Do you need to go handle that now?”

“Nawl, I’ma make they ass sweat while they wait ‘til tomorrow. Tonight my main focus is you and my babies.”

“Ok, but Nas tomorrow make them feel that shit in the worst way.”

Chapter 20

Nasir

“Sean muthafuckin’ Livingston,” I announced as I paced in front of a tied up Slick and Desmond. “Better known in these streets as Slick. Imagine my surprise when I got info that you cousins with this nigga Desmond. Small fuckin’ world.”

The image of Nessa’s face popped in my head. My blood boiled as I thought back to the blood that ran down her lip. With the bags over their faces, they didn’t know where I was standing, but they knew I was in the room. I wasn’t alone as Chance stood off to the side by the door watching everything. Going over towards the table with all my tools, I grabbed the brass knuckles. From what Nessa told me it was that nigga Slick that hit her.