Secretive

Chapter 35

Jazmine Perpestive
           Month and 1/2

Boy, this shit's been one wild-ass ride. Dylan threatened Tony into letting Ms. Jessica stay with us until Blake arrived. When I tell you it got heated fast, it got heated fast Dylan was putting belt to ass the whole time. But she managed to get Ms. Jessica to stay with us for a few months. She told her she could head back to Florida after, but let me tell you, having her around has been a blessing in disguise.

Ms. Jessica brought some realness into this house. The vibe shifted instantly less tense, more chill. She's been on her grandma grind, helping out with Braylen, giving me and Dylan some much needed breathing room. And, for real, she's always got some wisdom to drop or a funny-ass story that'll have you rolling. She's a whole mood.

Honestly, I wasn't sure how it was gonna play out at first. You know how it is when someone new comes into your space, especially when that someone is your girl's mom. I didn't want no extra drama, especially not with everything we already got going on. But Ms. Jessica? She just fit right in, like a missing puzzle piece we didn't even know was missing.

Dylan, though, she was stressing about it lowkey. She won't admit it, but I could tell. She was worried Ms. Jessica wouldn't be down to stay, that she wouldn't vibe with how we live. But seeing how Dylan's been since Ms. Jessica moved in? Man, it's like a weight's been lifted off her shoulders. She's laughing more, joking around like she used to. It's been good for her, for us.

And Ms. Jessica's not just here for us, either. She's here for herself too. I catch her sometimes, looking out the window like she's deep in thought or humming to herself while she's cooking. I think maybe she's healing too, in her own way. I mean, she went through a lot, raising Dylan on her own, dealing with all the bullshit life threw at her. So I guess being here, with us, it's helping her find some peace she didn't even know she was missing.

But it's not all sunshine and rainbows, though. There's still a lot of shit we're dealing with. Some days, it feels like we're just keeping our heads above water. But with Ms. Jessica here, it's like we got a lifeline. She's that steady presence we didn't know we needed, and I'm grateful as hell for that.

Still, I can't shake the feeling that we're all just waiting for the other shoe to drop. Like, things are good now, but how long is it gonna last? I don't want to think like that, but I can't help it. Shit's been too rocky for too long for me to just relax and think it's all good now.

But then I look at Dylan, at how she's been since Ms. Jessica moved in, and I feel a little bit of that worry fade. She's more at ease, more like the Dylan I fell in love with. And seeing her like that, it gives me hope. Maybe, just maybe, we can make this work. Maybe we can keep building this little family we've got going on, and it'll be okay.

And Ms. Jessica? She's been dropping little hints that she might stay longer than a few months. She hasn't said it outright, but I can tell she's feeling more at home here than she probably expected. And honestly, I wouldn't mind if she stayed longer. Having her around has been good for all of us, and I'm not ready to let that go just yet.

So yeah, it's been a crazy ride, but for the first time in a long time, it feels like we're on the right track. We're building something here, something real, something worth fighting for. And with Ms. Jessica by our side, I feel like we might actually have a shot at making it work.

I was due to pop sometime this week, and we were just waiting, watching the clock like it was gonna give us the answer. My stomach was so big it was ridiculous—like, it felt like I was carrying around a damn watermelon. Scratch that, more like a whole-ass beach ball strapped to my body. Every time I looked in the mirror, I couldn't help but laugh a little. I mean, I knew pregnancy would make me big, but this was next-level.