Nineteen
1752 Words
Escaping right after the ‘I Do’s’ were over at Phoenix’s wedding, Memphis thought back to the night they slept together for the first time. Just under seven weeks had passed since then, and she’d been edgier around him lately. Now he knew why after she’d confessed to him in the hall.
Over the last few months, he’d fallen deeper in love with his petite girlfriend. He looked over at his father, his guilt obvious. "I'm sorry, Dad. I never meant for this to happen."
"All that matters right now is getting Kenni to the hospital. You're both to blame for this mess, so now you both have to deal with it. You're going to marry that girl, too. No Slade has ever been born a bastard, and we ain't starting now," Thomas grumbled. He paused, glancing over at the young man sitting in the passenger seat. "Life happens, Memphis. It's not the problem, it's how we choose to handle it. You laid with her, and wound up as parents at eighteen."
Tightening his grasp on his unconscious girlfriend, Memphis sobbed. "I'm going to mess this up, Dad. What the hell was I thinking?"
Thomas blinked, taking in his son's unfiltered reaction to the news. It was obvious Memphis loved Kennedy deeply. There was no denying the undertone of regret the younger man had over his part in this. "Listen, Memphis, she had a right to say no. Did she, at any time, indicate that to you?"
Memphis scowled at his father, "If you're asking if I r***d her, the answer is no. I don’t have a death wish."
"How did it start?" His father asked cautiously. He didn’t want to get into it too much, but he was curious to know what had happened to bring them to this point.
Memphis shrugged one shoulder, averting his honey-brown gaze out the truck's windshield. He didn't want to tell every detail, so he was going to try to omit certain things. "We were done studying, so we decided to watch a movie. Things got a little heated, and here we are."
Thomas raised a brow. Memphis was many things, but his son was no liar. Just hearing his side of things made him understand the situation better.
Kennedy groaned, her eyes blinking open. Her voice was edged with an intonation of fear as she gazed at her boyfriend’s face. "Memphis?"
"I got you, Kenni. You're going to be okay. You and our baby," Memphis said with a voice filled with conviction.
Kennedy sobbed, burying her face in his chest. "Thank you for not walking away."
"Your daddy taught you how to shoot; mine taught me to own my words and actions. I'm not a boy with no future, Ken. I’m a man with dreams, and I want you to be a part of them. Forever," he murmured softly.
While the younger man wiped the tears off her cheeks, she nodded tightly, her voice soft: "Yes."
Pulling up to the ER entrance, Thomas spotted Ambrosia. Turning off the truck, he got out to greet her. “Hey.”
“Any change?” The woman asked hopefully.
He shook his head, opening the passenger door. Lifting the girl out, he put her on the waiting stretcher as he said, “No, but she woke a few minutes ago. It was only for a couple of seconds, though.”
Watching as the team wheeled the young woman in on a stretcher, he felt his heart constrict. She was almost too good for his son, but she never once spoke about leaving Memphis. No, she preferred to tell him off or give him the silent treatment. Training was another way the two handled their inner aggression. “Amber, I know I shouldn’t be worried, but I am.”
She raised an auburn brow at him. “Thomas, they were raised to the best of our ability as parents. There’s really nothing left for us to do but help them along the way when they need it.”
He nodded, breathing deeply as he watched his son sit down on the nearest chair. Sitting beside the stressed-out teen, Thomas sighed. “So, anything to say?”
“Go ahead and lecture me,” Memphis muttered. “I don’t care anymore.”
Raising a brow, Thomas shook his head. “I would, but you’re already beating yourself up over it. She’s strong, Memphis. Kenni’s going to be fine.”
“You sound concerned,” his son replied.
“I am,” Thomas said. “I’m worried about the racial s**t you guys might have to face. It ain’t going to be easy.”
Memphis laughed, pushing his braids out of his face as he rocked in the chair. “Dad, we got the Scorpions and the Mafia at our backs. I don’t care what people think. I only care about her.”
“So, I won’t be hearing any objection to the marriage, then?”
“Not from me,” Memphis confided.
Thomas smiled, “Declan’s more worried about what you’re going to do than anything else. He’s going to be a lot more concerned about if you’re going to want to keep the baby.”
“It’s her body,” Memphis declared. “I won’t take her right to choose from her, even if it hurts me in the process. Dad… I… What if I’m not enough? What if things all fall apart? I don’t know if I can handle losing her.”
Leaning back in his chair, Thomas nodded. His son was no longer a snot-nosed kid with no direction in life. “What you do is cross that bridge when you get to it. Stop wasting precious time on what if’s. She already told you exactly what’s going to happen should you screw up, so now it’s time to bite the bullet.”
An hour later, Ambrosia called them into the room. As soon as Memphis spotted her, he beelined for the girl in the bed. “Hey, baby.”
Her eyes fluttered open, pegging him with a regret-filled stare. “I’m sorry I got you into this mess, Mem.”
“Don’t even go there, Ken. We both made the decision to have s*x, so this is half my fault, too,” Memphis replied. “If you don’t want to go through with it, I won’t force you.”
She felt the colour drain from her face. “What?”
“If you want to abort…”
“Do you want to die today, Memphis Andrew Slade? Do you want me to get out of this bed, take the wires taped to my skin and strangle you with them? I’ll do it. I swear I’ll do it. Don’t you ever, and I mean ever assume that I wouldn’t want to go through with this pregnancy. Abortion? Are you crazy?” Kennedy snarled.
Clearing her throat, Ambrosia shook her head at how they got along. “So, Kennedy will need one-month bed rest while I get the medication dosage right and monitor her for relapses. Her iron and folic acid levels were lower than I expected, but her other stats are perfect where they are. She’s going to need iron supplements and some maternity vitamins to maintain her and the baby’s health.”
Handing Memphis a prescription, the doctor watched as he ran from the room.
Kennedy groaned as she turned her eyes to Thomas. “Go ahead. Tell me off. Lecture me about how I screwed up his life beyond repair.”
“Nah,” Thomas replied. “I really don’t feel like giving a lecture right now. The situation is punishment enough for both of you.”
Staring at him, the young woman blinked. She had been waiting for the moment Thomas turned on her. Frowning, Kennedy pushed herself into a sitting position. “Why not?”
“You’re shot failed, Kennedy. Apparently, instead of walking the five or six feet to the cabinet to get a new vial, the nurse who issued your shot gave you a dose from an expired batch. There will be an investigation and the one responsible will be fired for negligence.” Ambrosia said calmly.
Breathing deeply, Kennedy sobbed. “I was scared you’d all blame me because of how I am.”
Thomas shook his head, pulling her into what he hoped was a soothing embrace. “It’s not your fault, sweetheart. I know that you two did what you were taught by staying safe, but, in the end, the precautions failed. I know you’re scared, but this is something you and Memphis need to deal with.”
“Are you really making us get married?” Kennedy asked.
“You heard that, huh?” He asked.
She nodded.
“Well, yes. I do expect a wedding to happen, Ken,” he replied. “I’ll leave the house to Memphis and move into the towers-”
Kennedy gasped, “You don’t need to move out of your house because of this. Please, stay.”
He frowned at her. “Why would you want me to stay?”
“We… Memphis and I… we need you,” she admitted.
It was a shock, but he felt as if she was trying to desperately maintain a connection with him, and he didn’t want to lose the opportunity. “Alright, Kennedy. I’ll stay. I’ll live with you guys until I die. That a good enough promise?”
She grinned, nodding as she relaxed against the pillows. “That’s perfect. I’m moving in, by the way. No, Dec didn’t give me the boots. I’m choosing to live with you and Memphis so we can get through this together.”
“I understand, Kennedy. I got you,” he replied. Pressing his lips to her head, he left the room to go find his son.
“You’re taking this better than I did,” she said, looking at Ambrosia.
Shrugging, the woman shook her head. “Kenni, you’re an adult. Eighteen is age of majority and that means what you do is all on you. You and Memphis are a great team, so let that carry over into your parenting, and you’ll be absolutely fine. I trust you to make the decisions that are right for you and your unborn child, so don’t disappoint me.”
“I won’t, Amber. I got way too much riding on me living a full life for me to screw up exceptionally bad.” Kennedy answered.
- Writer
