𝙸𝚗𝚍𝚒𝚊

𝙲𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚝𝚎𝚛 𝚃𝚑𝚒𝚛𝚝𝚢𝚃𝚠𝚘

Cherry Hill Drive| Kingston 8|
Saturday| June 17, 2023|

People have been tiptoeing around me for weeks. They probably think I don't know, but I've totally caught on to their weird behavior. At first, it was annoying, but now I've just learned to shrug it off and keep on going with my life.

Honestly, I can't say I'm not hurting because that would be a big fat lie. I really miss her, like, a lot. India is the first and only girl I've ever been open about loving. I was head over heels for her, and that's why her actions hurt like crazy. The truth is, I'm still head over heels for her, and that's why I've been drowning my sorrows in alcohol for days now. It's like the only thing that numbs the pain is getting to the bottom of a quart bottle.

Just as I was about to take another swig from the bottle of Don Julio, it was snatched away from me in an instant. I glanced up and saw my dad, Dimitri, and Liam towering over me, their faces filled with a mix of judgment and pity. I let out a sigh, knowing that a lecture was on its way.

"Damn, you look like a mess, Zaire," my dad remarked, causing me to roll my eyes. I didn't bother replying; I simply didn't feel like talking. "If you're done emptying your brother's liquor cabinet we need to talk."

Just as they settled down, someone else entered the room. It was Asia... and Natalie. Well, this was unexpected, considering Asia has been avoiding any interaction with me ever since the breakup. But honestly, it didn't really bother me much. I had more important things to occupy my mind. They both found seats, purposefully avoiding making eye contact with me, which made me chuckle.

"Look here nuh ZJ, this is getting out of hand and we are going to come to a mutual conclusion before we leave here today," Dimitri said. "So what we are going to do is everybody tell their side of the story so we can pick apart similarities etc..."

I rolled my eyes, not really enthusiastic about it, but hey, I figured I could use a distraction anyway.

Dimitri was the first one to break the silence. "Alright, I'm not entirely sure about what went down that night, but what I can say for sure is that India didn't plan to have an abortion."

"Yeah, I agree," added dad. "She was genuinely looking forward to it."

I just kept quiet, finding the conversation uninteresting.

Liam chimed in, "Honestly, I wasn't even in the know either. I only found out about the pregnancy at the last minute, so I can't say much about what really happened."

Natalie joined the conversation, speaking up about her late realization of the pregnancy. "I, too, found out about it quite late. But when India talked to me, she seemed genuinely excited about it. However, something did dampen her mood that day. It was Isiah. He called her when you guys were at your dad's place and he went off on her. He was berating her, telling her she was a disappointment and pressuring her to get the abortion. He even went as far as calling your family a bunch of self-centered narcissists, saying she was foolish to tie herself to you."