Unconditional Love

Chapter Twenty-Three - Kenneth

Warning: This chapter may have some content that may be triggering, please proceed with caution.

The room is pretty quiet right now. I guess everyone is trying to process all of the information we just got. I don't know how I'm going to tell Key when she wakes up. I know she is going to be emotional. I'm debating if it would be better to wait. Give her time to heal.

My parents are still here and something is going on between the two of them. Aiden came in right when the doctors were leaving. I filled him in on everything. He's a good friend, like my brother actually. He's been holding things down for me with Lay and I appreciate him for that.

"Ace, I appreciate you being here man. I really do. Thanks for always showing up."

"We are brothers. I'm always gon' have your back no matter what, just like I know you will have mine."

He's right. We have always been there for each other. He's going to be the godfather to my child with Lay. It's crazy, I still don't know what she's having and I feel guilty. I know I have not been there for her. Now that I think about it, I haven't treated Lay's pregnancy the same as I have Keys.

I've spent hours talking to Asia while she was in Key's stomach. I did with Lay, but not as much as I should have. How in the hell did I let this happen? How have I put more time into my kids with Key than I have with my child with Lay? I even missed one of her check-ups to go to Keith's football tryouts. She was a little put off by it but she wasn't upset because it had to do with Keith. I haven't realized until this moment that it wasn't just Layla I was skipping out on.

"How was the shower? Can y'all tell me if I'm finally having my boy or not?"

Aiden takes a deep breath and looks over at my dad and he looks at my mom.

"What, did Tiff tell you not to tell me?"

"The shower was great bro. Everyone had a good time. Layla enjoyed herself. I took some photos, I was going to send them to you but I didn't want to complicate things."

He pulls out his phone and hands it to me. The first photo is of Layla and Kino walking together and she looks beautiful. She has on a purple and teal maxi dress with a split up the side, showing some of her thigh and there's a deep v-cut neckline but it doesn't reveal too much. Her bump is sitting just right. She doesn't have on any make-up and I prefer her not to. She's a goddess walking the earth. She's beyond beautiful.

There's a photo of her with the twins, then Tiffany and Lela, and with Aiden, Ry'lo, and my cousins. Tiff went all out with the decorations. I can only imagine what her games were like. Going through the photos I see Lay enjoying herself with both our families. I see her and Grandpa eating barbecue next to each other. My grandpa is a foodie just like she is. He'll pick at her the whole time asking her where all the food is going because she never grows, but he's constantly adding more food. He loves her, my grandma does too.

I smile at a photo of her by herself sitting in this huge chair that's three times her size. She has her legs crossed and her right leg is fully exposed up to mid thigh. There's no denying my wife is sexy as fuck. She has a genuine smile on her face and she has her hand on her belly. The flower in her hair makes her look even more like a Samoan goddess. I sent the picture to my phone. I haven't seen her smile like that in a while now.

The next photo is like a slap in the face. She is in a room alone sitting in a chair looking out in space, she's crying. I have a feeling I'm the cause of those tears. I didn't mean to upset her today. I wish I was able to be there and just hold her.