Crooked

Twenty-Six

I am so excited because this is a completely new chapter with no comments from previous years. I never made it this far in writing Crooked since it was taken down suddenly all those years ago. Thank you to all of my readers for your continuous support. It doesn't go unnoticed. I love y'all. And the countdown begins! Nine chapters left.

Crooked

Twenty-Six

                   Tears rapidly fell down Epiphany's face as she sat in front of her father's headstone, clutching at her feeble heart. Epiphany tried to soothe the pain she felt, but nothing could. Epiphany was an emotional wreck and had been since her traumatic rape. Her life had changed in an instant. The white roses she brought her deceased father a couple of months ago were now wilted and stained with dirt. Being the first man, she ever loved, Epiphany felt like she had to tell her daddy the news in person. Although her father was gone, Epiphany felt comforted by his spirit. She knew that he was watching over her—he had to be.

If Epiphany decided to go through with her pregnancy, the expected due date would be February 15th of next year. That day would've been her father's 43rd birthday. Seeing the date rocked Epiphany to her core. It confused her. It frightened her. Epiphany didn't believe in coincidences and knew that the due date was a sign, but of what? Was she really supposed to keep a pregnancy that she didn't even want? A pregnancy that was in the way of achieving her dreams and goals?

Epiphany's bright future crumbled right before her eyes. She didn't know what to do and came to her father's gravesite for answers. Epiphany questioned what him and God was doing up there in Heaven with her life. She couldn't understand why the fetus had to have the same birth date as her father. Getting a secret abortion wouldn't be as easy as Epiphany thought. She then decided to sit on the grass and vent to her father about what was going on in her life as if he could reply. Epiphany numbly spoke about Nicholas' murder, Aaliyah's incarceration, and her rape.

Epiphany then got to the hard part—which was talking about Crook. Her eyes got misty, and her speech delayed as she spoke about the man who captured her heart. Epiphany told her daddy how she had wronged the Prince Charming who came into her life, and she knew that if he ever found out the truth about her, she would lose the only sliver of joy she had left.

Becoming Crook's girl was a dream come true. Many women tried to lock down the New York City kingpin to no avail. The only person who was able to break down the walls that guarded his heart was an eighteen-year-old girl from the projects—who happened to be a snitch. Epiphany had accomplished the unthinkable. She was seven weeks pregnant with Crook's seed. The pregnancy was the aspiration of any gold-digger who had hopes to lock down a baller like Crook, but Epiphany wasn't jumping with joy.

She had found out the grim discovery earlier that morning when she left a local Bronx clinic. Epiphany snuck out of Crook's mansion at eight in the morning and caught an Uber to the Bronx. Thankfully, Epiphany's tests came back negative for any STDs and HIV, but there was one positive that turned her world upside down. Unbeknownst to her, Epiphany had been pregnant ever since she lost her virginity on prom night. Epiphany cried when she was told the gestational age of the growing fetus in her womb.

Epiphany never shown any symptoms of being pregnant until last week. She had been overly emotional but chalked it up to the traumatic event she had faced. Although Epiphany had no plans on keeping the pregnancy, she felt sorrow that she put the unborn baby in harm's way. She wondered if the alcohol and drugs she consumed affected the baby's development. Epiphany wondered if it felt what she felt when Saint rammed his dick in her with no mercy—the agony, the shame, and the undeniable despair.

Being pregnant added on to Epiphany's scattered emotions. The dread and misery she felt was inescapable. Epiphany couldn't believe that all this time she had been conspiring against her unborn child's father. Although relieved it wasn't Saint's baby, being pregnant with Crook's child didn't uncomplicate her life either. If Epiphany had known she would've ended up pregnant with Crook's baby, she would've never accepted the snitching task in the first place.