Romance in Kitalo City Book 3
He would give anything to repair the damage he inflicted on her heart the last time she gave it to him, but the years he let slip by have driven a deep wedge between them.
She's not as welcoming as she was the last time...
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"Hey, are you okay?" I asked Ketura as I dropped her off after we'd spent the day at her mom's place. "I know it's been an emotional couple of days, but you seem to be taking things much harder than most of us. What's up with you?"
She sighed and closed her eyes, sadness turning the corners of her lips downwards. When she opened them, her eyes were damp with tears. I felt every muscle in my body tighten with stress as she said, "Koffi, let's go upstairs. There's something I need to tell you."
"Okay." I said, growing nervous. Whatever she was about to tell me was definitely a big deal if she couldn't even look at me without tears pouring down her face.
I followed her into her apartment and tried to get comfortable on the couch as I waited for her to return after having excused herself for a few minutes.
She came back into the room with a black box, her hands trembling as she sat next to me and pulled an envelope out of the box. "I really don't know how to tell you this, Koffi, so I'll show you instead."
The envelope contained black and white pictures in it, each one was a sonogram clearly tracking the growth of the baby in question. I sat there tight-jawed as several puzzle pieces fell in place. Tears sprang to my eyes as I looked away from the pictures to Ketura's tear soaked face.
"What is this, K?" I strained, my voice shaky. "I'm gonna need you to give me details."
With tears rolling down her face, Ketura told me all about the baby we could have had together. How she found out she was pregnant, how the news came with the new knowledge that she had diabetes as well, how her diabetes made being pregnant risky, and how she lost the baby a few days after Chi and Sani's accident. I sat there stone-faced, my back rigid against the couch as Ketura's painful recollection of the past came to an end.
"I'm so sorry, K." she cried. "I know you probably hate me n-"
"Hey, no." I interjected, moving closer and taking her hand. "I'm shocked and hurt, but I don't hate you. I could never. I just... I wish you told me. I can't believe you endured all that pain by yourself."
Ketura was dumbfounded as she looked at me with wide, disbelieving eyes. "Koffi, how are you worried about me right now? What about what you'll have to endure because of my secret? What about your pain?"
I shrugged, swiping at the single tear that escaped my left eye. "Can't I worry about us both? What does it help if I selfishly lash out? That would just create more pain on top of what we're both feeling right now."
"I'm sorry, Koffi." she said again, pulling her hand out of mine and establishing distance between us. "You don't have to pretend to be okay with this."
"Ketura, look at me." I insisted, taking her hand again. "I'm not pretending, okay? I'm not okay with this, but I will never blame you for our baby's--for our loss. I won't turn you into this big villain for not telling me, either. That's not how love works. I can't go around saying I love you, yet point fingers and say and do horrible things to you when things get tough."
