Since 2nd Grade

Dulce's POV

            2 months later
  I wiped my mouth and climbed back into bed. That was my fourth time throwing up today and it was barely noon. I still haven't told Joseph or Ski I was pregnant. I just wasn't ready to deal with any judgement or opinions. I had to contemplate whether I'd be ready to start my senior year as "the pregnant girl". There was a knock on the room door. Joseph let himself in, and stood in the doorway.
   "Leila's leaving. She said bye."
   He said, playing with the rusty golden doorknob.
   "Did she really say bye? Or do I look stupid enough to believe that?"
   I barked at him, getting up to close the door on him.
   "Yo, what's up with you? Ever since I came back you been acting real funny. Unfortunately, I'm not your nigga so it ain't my job to keep asking you about it. It's up to you to decide if you wanna tell me or not."
   He spoke, stating at me for a while. Once he noticed I wasn't going to say anything, he left out, slamming the door.
   "Stupid fucking bitch!"
   I shouted, and got back in the bed.

                             Ski's POV
   "I called you like six times, Dulce. What the hell is wrong with you?"
    I asked furiously. My anger slowly melted once I realized how aggressive and harsh I was coming off as.
   "Nothing. What do you want?"
   She replied with an attitude. Something was definitely wrong.
   "Baby, you know I love you, right? I'm your nigga and you can tell me anything. I swear I won't judge."
   I don't know what I did but I have to fix it before I tell her the bad news. She sighed slowly before she spoke.
   "Just tired. Thanks for being there, though."
   "No problem, babe. What you doing?"
   I asked, grabbing my keys.
   "Nothing, laying down. I'm so fucking hungry but I really don't feel like getting up."
   "I'm on my way. I'll surprise you with some food. I'll call you when I pull in."
   I said, about to hang up.
   "Ski, wait! I love you too. Bye."
   She hung up. I smiled. This girl is so weird and bipolar and unpredictable and beautiful, and it was true: at this point I realized that I do actually love her. Like on some "start a family" type of shit. As soon as my career takes off and I can make ya both comfortable, I'll marry her and give her a kid. I got in my car, still deciding on what I should bring her. By the time I made it to the front of my apartment complex, I decided on Panera Bread.

                            Joseph POV
   "Dulce, can you please just tell me what's going on? I really want to know."
   I asked, sitting on her bed. She glanced at me, then looked back at her phone.
   "Nothing's wrong, Joseph. You can leave now."
   She replied, not breaking away from her phone to look at me. I snatched her phone, and hopped off of the bed.
   "Dude, what the fuck! Stop fucking playing!"
   She yelled. What's strange was that she get up and run after me. I gave her her phone back, and walked out of the room. That was weird. I walked down the stairs to check and see if my pizza was done. Homemade pizza was Dulce's favorite, and maybe if I fed her she'd tell me something. I opened the oven to see that it was done, but as I reached for the oven mitts, I heard a knock at the door. I heard Dulce's room door open, and she jogged down the stairs and towards the front door.
   "Hey, baby."
   I heard a male voice speak, and after, I heard about 30 seconds of lips smacking, and slight moans from Dulce.
   "Let's go upstairs, okay?"
   She told him. Once I saw who it was, I rolled my eyes. Looks like I'm eating this pizza all by myself."

                            Dulce's POV
   I finished off my soup, and tapped my belly in contentment.
   "So what's for dessert?"
   I asked, looking in the bag for more food.
   "Me."
   He replied, getting closer to me so that he could kiss me.
   "You are so silly. I'm serious, though. I have a taste for some lemon pound cake and a big fat pickle wit-"
   I rushed to the bathroom to pee. It felt like it was literally about to slide right out of me.
   "You alright?"
   He asked, walking towards the bathroom to check on me.
   "I'm fine. Just had to pee."
   I replied, wiping myself and flushing the toilet. I walked to the sink to wash my hands.
   "Okay, Dulce, I see we're getting a lil gut there. It looks mad sexy on you."
   He grabbed me by my waist, and started kissing my neck.
   "Get off!"
   I jerked away from his touch, which caused him to put his hands up in surrender. I felt myself tearing up, so I walked out of the bathroom and got in the bed. Ski followed me and wrapped his arms around me so that his hands could touch my stomach. He ran his fingers through my hair, and massaged my scalp. I sniffed, feeling myself falling asleep.
   "I'm pregnant."
   I whispered. I felt his fingers stop and leave my hair.
   "Are you serious?"
   He spoke loudly. This is exactly why I didn't want to say anything. To avoid this conflict.
   "I'm sorry. You can leave if you want to."
   I whispered, yet again.
   "No Dulce! I'm not fucking leaving!"
   He slammed his hand on the dresser, causing me to jump. I still hadn't turned around to see his facial expression or what he was doing.
   "I'm sorry."
   I began crying, my tears falling sideways.
   "It's mine, right?"
   He mumbled lowly. This triggered the shit out of me.
   "Do I look like a fucking hoe to you, Stokeley?"
   I screamed, throwing a pillow at him. He stood there, not responding to my assault.
   "Is it mine, Dulce?"
   He asked again, staring at me. I could see the anger in his eyes.
   "Yes, stupid. Why the fuck would you even ask me that? I must be some basic ass bitch to you."
   I got up and left out of the room. My eyes were blurry and I ran down the stairs. In my quickness, I missed a step, and tumbled down the rest of the steps.
   "Oh shit, Dulce!"
   I heard Ski running down after me, but I was in too much pain to pay attention to anything.
   "Yo, what the fuck did you do to her?"
   I heard Joseph slap his accusations at Ski, and that caused me even more pain.
   "Please, stop......."
   I tried to keep my eyes from shutting, but I was unsuccessful.

3 hours later
   "Well, hello there. How do you feel?"
   The doctor held a clip board and adjusted the machine that I was connected to.
   "I'm sore and I feel like I'm going to die."
   I answered, trying not to cry.
   "Well I told your friend that they could come see you once you were stabilized and awake, so I'll be right back with them."
   The doctor left the room before I could tell her that both of them could suck a dick and die.  She came back with both Joseph and Ski looking pitiful and sorrowful.
   "So what she's looking at is a grade one, or mild concussion, which is not that serious."
   She smiled at me.
   "Thank god. Everything else is okay, right?"
   Ski asked the doctor. Her smile weakened.
   "Well, not exactly. She's also experiencing bruising of the ribs, and while it does not necessarily affect the baby at its current stage, it could cause potential problems if she does not heal soon. We'll keep her for a few days to allow her to heal properly, and to make sure the baby is healthy, and you guys are welcome to visit her whenever you like. I'll be right back with the papers if you have any questions."
   She left out of the room. I could tell she sensed the tension in the room.
   "Dulce I'm so sorry. I wasn't mad about the baby. I was mad you didn't tell me as soon as you found out."
   Ski said, walking towards the hospital bed.
   "Get away from me, Ski. This is all your fault."
   I groaned, tears falling down my cheek. I couldn't hold it in.
   "Dulce, listen, I figured you needed a friend. I know you've been surrounded by niggas all summer and that ain't healthy. You need a friend, so I brought her here for you."
   Joseph spoke, and Alice walked in.
   "Hey, Dulce. How do you feel?"