It's Above Me Now.

9: Stunned

I was hearing Veronica loud and clear when she basically demanded that I put my big boy pants on and continue our family's legacy. Despite how rude and cruel she said it, she was right. I had some fresh ideas and was planning to achieve them now that I was the new heir to the throne. But first, Chanel. Call me a lovesick puppy, but I had to go see about her. I owed her too much, wanted her too bad, and respected her too much for me to not at least try to make amends.

Chance was turning over a new leaf. I put Chanel through hell, and my inconsistency would have had any woman running for the hills. But not Chanel, she always stayed down. She saw something in me. I was finally in the position to be the man Chanel wanted me to be. I was gonna do right by her, I had to. Life was going too damn good, and I'd be stupid if I didn't put some good karma out and correct my mistakes.

My phone buzzed as I hopped out of Bud and Lou's Range Rover, and I heard Bud suck his teeth. The pair wasn't too happy that they've now become Dylan and I's chauffeurs and bodyguards but hey, they had my parents to blame for that. Ruben and Veronica weren't playing around with me knowing that Karin was still lingering around. Although I had a near death experience, I didn't feel the fear that Ruben and Veronica were trying so hard to instill. Maybe it was because I was around Karin for so long, and her threats usually went in one ear and out the next.

Whipping my phone out, I glanced at the top notification and opened it. I smiled proudly as I looked at Micah's message which was a small video of him showing his new dorm room and giving small details about his new endeavor. He seemed so full of life and happiness. In all his seventeen years I've never seen him this elated, and I was thankful I was apart of the experience. I made sure to keep my word. I wasn't letting up on him. Ruben basically snapped his fingers to get Micah out of the pen, and proving that Micah should be enrolled at a prestigious establishment of a school was just as simple. He was far away from trouble. At least, for now.

"Aye, lover boy." Dylan called from the backseat. "Hurry it up man. We still gotta look into that new school I showed you for my daughter. Chop chop, motherfucka!"

I smirked, walking briskly to Chanel's doorstep. Pulling on the jacket of my suit, I straightened it and smiled at myself for even remembering to do so. I had to look perfect for her. I rang her doorbell multiple times, getting confused as to why Chanel was taking so long to answer the door. It was nine in the morning, where else could she be besides at the crib?

Eventually the door swung open, but it wasn't who I was expecting. Instead of seeing my beautiful queen, I was greeted by her troublesome and overly flirtatious older sister Cara. Chanel's sister smacked her lips and pulled me in the house by my belt. Yeah, I could already tell this wasn't going to go as planned.

"Damn Chance." Cara beamed. "Why you dressed for court? That shit is turning me on."

I laughed lightly, hoping to ease some of the discomfort I was feeling. Cara had a way of making everything awkward between us. I don't know if it was purposely done, but sometimes I believed that she actually wanted the dick.

"Where my lady at Cara?" I asked.

Cara rolled her eyes and shrugged. "Hell if I know. She ain't been back for some time now. Y'all broke up again?"

I ignored Cara's question and pulled out my phone, calling Chanel. After hearing the voicemail for the fifth time, I decided to take matters into my own hands and travel up to the bedroom we once shared. She had to be here, ain't no other place she could be.

"Mmhm! God took His time when He was creating you baby!" I heard Cara say as I made my way up the stairs. "Feel free to come lick me like you do them backwoods, fine ass."

Immediately removing Cara's statement from my memory, I opened Chanel's bedroom door. Everything was in order as usual. Chanel was the ultimate neat freak. She was nowhere to be found, and I started looking through her things to see if there was a reason for her disappearance. As I looked around and sorted through her things, I realized all the photos she had of me in the room were no longer there. Shit, I knew our relationship was on the rocks but it couldn't have possibly taken its course. We've survived way too much already.

I was about to stop looking around, but then I saw something bright red in her bathroom's trash can. The color stood out and I felt stupid for not noticing it before. Tossing out the contents of her garbage disposal, I registered the bright red substance to be blood on a tissue. Getting worried, I picked through the rest of her waste to find a pregnancy test with two red lines on it.

I sighed in dismay. Chanel is having my baby. And I am going to be a father. I let the two statements sink in and then laughed lightly. I am going to be a dad. Man, that's wild. It was one of the greatest gifts they say, but that didn't help all the exploding emotions I was receiving. Sure, I babysat Dylan's daughter a few times, but I gave her back to him at the end of the day. I couldn't give back my future child to someone.

Tidying up Chanel's room, I almost felt bad for going through her things and thinking something more detrimental was going on. Yeah, she hid this from me, but I reasoned that she didn't know how to say it, especially with all the bullshit that was going on in our relationship already. I tended to act like I didn't give a fuck about a lot. Now that I have a kid on the way, all of that was going to change.

I am going to be someone's dad. I couldn't stop saying it and thinking it. I was in shock still but this was good shock, unexpected shock. I now have a blessing that I didn't think I would be awarded with but look how life shifted. Everything just keeps changing. First I meet my parents who make me apart of their ballin' lifestyle, and now I am going to be someone's dad. Sheesh.

I shook my head in distaste as I walked down the stairs to hear moaning sounds coming from the living room. I noticed Dylan's Tom Ford dress shoes at the entrance and smirked. Cara and Dylan were definitely getting it on, and I wasn't about to disrupt that union. My eyes didn't need that vision.

Walking out to the curb, I was about to hop in the car and wait on Dylan but then I saw Chanel pulling up. She parked further off and strolled towards me with the most unrecognizable expression I've ever seen from her.

She looked me up and down and after a while she smiled. "You look nice. Chance, is that you?"

I returned her smile and squeezed her shoulder. "I know about the baby C. I can't wait to be a father. I'm excited."

Chanel paused, plainly discombobulated and cleared her throat. A tear rolled down her cheek and she gasped. "It's not yours, Chance."

Life flashed before my eyes and I felt dizzy. I don't remember asking "Whose is it?", nor do I remember Mario snickering behind me saying that it's his. But I do remember tackling that motherfucker like a linebacker and punching him until he bled.