Fresh Wounds

Family Reunion

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Kimberly

"I really wish yall would stay. Nana does not care, she loves yall," Jo says, poking her lip out. I smile and hug her tight and she whispers in my ear. "I left you something in your bag. It should help you. It helped me." I pull away from her and nod my head then go looking for Olivia. When I find her she's upstairs playing with an old babydoll house that Jo and I used to play with when we were younger. "You all packed up Liv?" She nods her head, still playing with the dolls. "Well, let's get going," I say, helping her grab her bag and quickly looking in it to double check everything is in there. She forgot her hairbrush and toothbrush. I give her the bag and tell her to wait downstairs. My phone starts ringing as I walk into the bathroom and I pull it out of my pocket and look under the cabinet and on the counter for Olivia's stuff. I find them and throw them in my bag as I check the number on my phone. It's my mother, again. I sigh, watching it ring, trying to decide on whether I should answer it or not. While I'm contemplating, it stops ringing and I exhale in relief until it begins to ring once more. This time I muster up the strength I need to answer. I drop my bags in the floor, pull the door closed and hit the green button. "Hello?"

There's no answer, only shuffling and bumping noises. I hear voices but I can't make out what's being said. She must've butt dialed me. I almost hang up until I hear James voice, loud and clear yell, "You not fucking having no kids of mine hoe!" followed by a loud banging noise and my mother's voice. "Why not? This is your damn fault! Yours!" she yells back, confusing me. She's pregnant? I'm confused. An unfamiliar woman with a hispanic accent says, "I shouldn't have come, I shouldn't have come." It sounds like she's crying and now I'm really confused. "Damn right you shouldn't have bitch!" James is saying. More shuffling. More knocking. More crying from the unknown woman and then the yelling of both James and my mother. I sit on the side of the tub, pressing the phone to my ear, trying to hear more. The muffled voices become clear and I guess that means the phone was knocked out of her bra, where she usually tucks it. It makes a loud slamming noise in my ear as it hits the hardwood floors of my childhood house and I jump then place the phone back to my ear. More sliding, more banging, more yelling. The spanish woman won't stop crying.

"Stop! Just stop! I'll leave. I can't do this," she chokes out. I hear her footsteps begin and stop abruptly before heavier footsteps start. "Oh hell naw! You not finna come up in here shitting on my life and think you can just leave! No. You can forget that shit, Rena. You staying right here," I hear the soft squeak of the leather loveseat and know he's pushed whoever Rena is, down on the couch. The door of the bathroom opens and Jo comes in with Liv, a question forming on her lips. I put a finger to my own and point to my phone. I put the call on speaker phone for her to hear. But the call is now quiet. Then we hear the soft crying of the hispanic woman. More movement and still more crying and the yelling from James. He is cussing this poor lady out. "James please!" She yells. "The baby can't handle this stress level right now, stop...please," she says, making all of us gasp. Well damn. James really got another bitch pregnant. My mother is speaking now and we can't hear her, but we know by her tone she said something smart.

"You think I care about that lil bastard you bouta drop hoe? If it was up to me, we would've been scrapped that little shit. And Chy you shut the fuck up, you don't even like yo own damn kids so don't be crying now about how we ain't never have none. I would never impregnate neither one of you hoes. Yall both can miss me with that bullshit!" he yells. More heavy footsteps follow as well as the recognizable pop of a liquor seal. "Really James? Now?! You drinking now?" My mother is yelling but she sounds further away. "My bad, Chyenne, would you rather I drink later?" James asks, sarcastically. I hear more movement still and yelling between them as the lady cries. While they yell, she falls silent. The arguing lessens and James is back at it again. Such a fucking menace. "Where the hell you think you going?" Heavy footsteps moving fast, the front door creaking then slamming. A loud thudding sound, an ear piercing scream, then silence. "James, what have you done?? What is your problem?" My mother yells. "Oh my God, oh my God! James! We have to call 911, we have to call somebody-" she yells really fast before being cut off by a loud sound that I know so well it makes me jump and tears roll down my face. The phone slips from my hand and I close my eyes. He slapped the shit out of her. I mean hard. When I look up again, Olivia is crying and Jo has one hand over her mouth while the other picks up my phone. Shit i wasn't even thinking about Olivia hearing this...we go through this so much it's really normal now. It pisses me off how unfair this shit is but i swear i'm getting us out of this.