Reckless

Renee 73

Two very clear lines, a plus sign, one that read YES +, another that said the word PREGNANT, and confirmation from not one, not two, but three different doctors. My first instinct was to find the nearest clinic and rid myself of this weakness because the thought of something growing inside of me scared me more than death. But for some reason I couldn't bring myself to do it, I tried thinking of all the cons that came with motherhood and my heart always seemed to force me into thinking about something I never really considered. I already knew who the father was, there was only one person I'd been with in years so there was that variable that I needed to consider. How would he react? What his older brother thought was completely irrelevant but there was a high possibility that if he found out as well.... What would Epic do? How would Icon react? I've noticed there wasn't the same hatred in his eyes whenever the topic of his older brothers came up, something had changed between them and.... This really wasn't even about Epic or Icon, to be completely honest... this was about me. I don't want to seem selfish but in my line of work children are a weakness, there are people who see children as nothing more than easy targets to weaken you.... I've seen that happen firsthand when Eileen and Elisha were killed, that nearly destroyed Epic... me as well...... I needed to think. I ran a bubble bath and before I even got in the water, I stopped and looked at myself in the mirror. I was tiny.... the thought of my stomach sticking out...... something kicking me at all hours of the day and night, shifting organs, and trying to squeeze its head out of my.....

"Ayy Renee we got a situation....." Rich said walking into the bathroom without knocking.

"You know... the last man to walk in on me while I was bathing without knocking was turned into Nearly Headless Nick.... So what exactly is this situation and why isn't Hezekiah handling it?" I asked turning away from him.

"Who's the dad?" Rich asked in a furious tone, I turned to him and with a single look, I was able to convey that he was out of line for questioning me about ANYTHING, let alone who I'm fuckin. "I'm sorry.... I'm just.... I'm really protective of you, I believe in what you're doing and I want to make sure you're not dealing with a scrub." Rich said quietly.

"I'm still waiting for you to explain this situation." I said dismissively, I knew Rich had a crush on me.... that alone made him dangerous because there were SOME men who felt like when they liked you it was a requirement that you return their feelings and when you didn't....

"First is Icon.... Yaseem's family is still alive which means he isn't with us and needs to be dealt with... but he's gone, him and his little group went looking for Qwantay but I think that's just a cover... With your permission, I want to be the one who takes him out....." Rich said and I almost laughed. "We'll have to take out Sincere as well and with him still being in the city killing him would be a good way to bring Icon back." Rich said.

"No.... to be honest, I think the plan to take out Yaseem is stupid. Not necessarily him, but his family is innocent, and killing innocent people is what brought us to this point....." I said quietly, I was a heartless bitch but killing kids.... that didn't sit right with me. "As for Icon... I'll be the one to test his loyalty... and I'll leave it at that." I said.

"BUT RENEE!!!!" Rich started to say but again I silenced him with a look. "Someone dropped this off....." Rich said leaving a red envelope on the vanity next to the pregnancy test. "I'll trust your judgment but I hope your current situation isn't the reason you're becoming weak." Rich said as he started walking out of the bathroom.

"Rich...." I said stopping him in his tracks. "If you tell anyone... I will kill you. How's that for me becoming 'weak'?" I asked in a calm voice.

"I would never betray your trust like that, sooner or later you'll realize that I'm 100% loyal to you." Rich said and I turned away from him, a few seconds later (which meant he was watching me longer than he needed to) the door closed and I went back to my bath.