Telegraph Ave (Author's Edition)

Chapter 33: Deliverance

D'Liyah's POV...

=16 years ago=

September 16, 2002...

I was just 18 years old at the time, and I was expecting a son at any moment. After a while, I recall feeling a severe ache that led me to scream, while attempting to fall asleep. I was still living with mom at the time, and my scream carried throughout the house like an eagle's cry. It awoke her and arrived to assist me, as she noticed that my water had broke.

An everlasting fluid proceeded to stream down my legs, and I've never felt such pain in my entire life. I was sweating profusely as my own scream made my ears ring.

"Mamaaaaa! It hurts!"

"D'lyah!" Mom put my arm around her shoulders, lifting me out of my bed. "Sweet baby Jesus. Somebody call the ambulance!"

"TT, call Jason!!!" I screamed in agony. "We can't wait for an ambulance, Ahhhh!!!"

"D'Lyah you have to breath honey, you have to breathe." My mother continued to express.

We started to walk down the hallway, and out the door. TT already had the phone in her hand dialing the number. My mother, and I was now outside, and it was really dark, and it was raining. My mom put me in the car, and I can remember feeling my starting to crack. My mom kept telling me that it was going to be okay, and that we'd be at the hospital really soon. We stayed on the country side of Phoenix, so we really wasn't that far from the hospital.

Mom and I struggled down the hallway, and out the door. It was very dark and chilly outside, rain poured from the heavens-reflecting off the light pole beside our home. I groaned in misery, for my mom had to lay me down in the back of the car. It wasn't long until I felt my skin start to split, prompting me to burst into tears. My mother kept promising me that "everything will be OK" and "that we'd be at the hospital shortly". We remained on Phoenix's country side, so we weren't too far from the hospital.

Jason's POV

"How is she." I asked her aunt in excitement, as rain continued to pour down on the highway.

"She's in pain, but she's doing fine. She's now labor." She responded over the phone.

"That's great!!! I'm on my way, I'll be there as fast as I can." I replied, staring down at a box under my radio.

"Drive careful now, I know you're excited."

"Excited???" I reacted. "That's not even half the enthusiasm I'm feeling right now, but I will."

I hung up and called wanted to call my Dad, but I had a feeling that would be sleep-same with Mom. So I dialed my brothers number instead.

Third POV...

=Mid-Night Struck=

D'Lyah was now about to give birth, as Jason drove above 80 down the interstate. Talking on the phone with his brother, he was shouting to the top of his lungs. Exited, and filled with compassion for his newborn baby boy. However, that wasn't the only scene he was looking forward to, tonight he also planned to propose to his beautiful lover. In his head, proposing on the same day she becomes a mother can be filled with a pool of emotions. That's just what he was wishing for, and continued to break down how he was going to succeed while on the phone.

Back in the hospital, D'Lyah's mother stood by her side-squeezing her hand for comfort. D'Layah's face was as red as a tomato, screaming in pain for it came time for her to push the baby out. His head peeked at the entrance but everyone knows a baby can't deliver itself. That's the beautiful part. Not only does a mother carry a child for 9 months, but it's her job to also bring he or she into this world. However, that job comes with a price-pain.

She stutters with every breathe she takes, closing her eyes to concentrate on deliverance. Jason slowed his car down, turning into the highway exit that will lead to the hospital. His smile becomes contagious when he notices every light down the road flashed green. The feeling of becoming a father surged through him like adrenaline, while driving through the pouring rain.

"Mamaaaaaa!" D'Lyah screams back at the hospital, for this was something that she had to bypass.

"Keep pushing we're almost their." The deliverer said

Finally, Jason had to stop at a light for it was no longer green. The hospital was only 5 miles ahead, and he knew he was almost there. D'Lyah kept pushing, and the nurses stated his head was finally revealed. She only had some way to go before deliverance would come to an end. The second Jason the light turn green, he pressed his foot on the pedal but what he didn't notice, was an 18 wheeler coming from his left. Due to the amount of rain the tires had skid along the asphalt, and that alone caused the 18 wheeler to run that red light.

"You're right there honey, keep pushing." The nurse had stated one last time, while D'Lyah screamed to the top of her lungs.

Dear God... Jason could only say to himself in the split of a second, for the truck had rammed into the left side of his silver Hunda. The impact from the collision was so heavy, that it cause his engine to combust and the explosion lit up the night sky.

D'Lyah kept her eyes closed, but when she heard her newborn son, they sprang open. In a state of anguish, exhaustion, and suffering. It all came to an end with the sight of a lovely, healthy newborn boy. The only tears she shed were those of exhilaration, as she yearned to grasp her amazing achievement. Once placed in the grasp of her arms, she cries even more. His heartbeat was strong, yet soft.

A baby is born, a man was murdered... 9/17/02...

=Present Time=

D'Lyah POV...

I could feel myself about to have a breakdown but I held it back, yet tears still fell down my face. I had found out about his passing that following day, and I could've died myself from a broken heart. The box that held the ring was burnt mildly, but as for Jason they said he died from the impact of the truck. He didn't die a slow and painful death, but... he was gone. I lift a the picture of his, my hands began to quake as a lump enters my throat. He was my first love... The love of my life. I couldn't replace him with anybody, so I kept myself distracted with raising Xavier. I had to solidify my core memories with Jason, or else they would've tore me apart.

"Even though you left us on that faithful night, I was given the gift of a wonderful boy. The boy that has your talents, your personality, your laugh, your voice, your spirit....
He's going to do wonderful things, and he's now walking in your footsteps. He has so many blessings, and he knows but not every last one of them.
I just still wish *breakdown* ....I just wish you were there to cherish that moment with me." I commenced to cry.

I burst into tears, covering my mouth to silence my sob.

Xavier POV...

I'm sitting right next to her door, staring at her while she sobs. Understanding how difficult that was to overcome, I sometimes think of an alternative reality. He would have been alive if I hadn't been born on that day. But everything occurs for a purpose, and that is why I believe in God. I entered my mother's room and sat on the floor beside her. I encircled her with my arms and let her cry on my shoulder.

I refused to cry myself, for I'm a spitting image of my father. Her guardian angel.