Wha- What do you mean?" Hakiem asked.
"Dumb ass, did I studder?" I screamed running towards the backseat of Hakiem's busted black Impala. "Let's go!"
Hakiem's P.O.V
I heard Danni scream for me to follow her. Then I noticed Angie laying cold on the concrete. Her nose looked twisted and her lip was busted. "I'm coming!" I yelled to Danni, then I lifted Angie from the ground and sat her down in the backseat.
"What the hell Hakiem?" Danyelle screamed through her pain.
"Look, she's unconscious." I said calmly "We can push her out easy if you're ready to catch a case." Then I pulled off. As I drove I looked in my mirror and for the first time I really seen what was going on. Danyelle, the love my life, crying in agony, in labor with a child she isn't ready for. And Angela, Danyelle's best friend, lay beaten and unconscious. It was all my fault. I speeded and swerved all the way to the hospital, until the bright parking lot lights beated down overhead. Once I unlocked the car Danni jumped out and ran straight towards the hospital doors. I went in the backseat, grabbed Angie and ran as fast as I could.
"Welcome To Madison Grove." said the man at the front desk.
"I'm in labor! Please help!" Danni screamed, then crouched down in the middle of a contraction.
"She is severely hurt." I put Angie on the front desk. "But I'm the baby's father I have to go with her." Three men came out and lifted Angie and Danni onto separate rolling beds. They rolled Angie through the double doors and I followed as the wheeled Danni into the delivery room.
Danyelle's P.O.V
"I think you're dilated enough for an epidural." The doctor said. He was pretty. And he smelled good.
I nodded and said "okay". Then next thing I know they stuck a needle in my back. The pain was deep and harsh, but it suddenly eased. My contractions were lighter so I finally had a chance to take in my surroundings.
The delivery room was and white and empty. Other than the doctor and nurses there was no one there besides Hakiem. He seems like a stranger to me now. An alien. A foreigner. So I was alone in giving birth to my premature child.
"Push! Push! Push!" The nurses chanted. Hakiem stood next to the bed and reached out his hand, but I ignored it. "Give me one more good push." the doctor said. I screamed loud and pushed hard, digging my nails into my thighs. Then I heard my baby cry. "Congratulations, you have given birth to a beautiful baby girl" the pretty doctor said. "Who's cutting the umbilical cord?"
"Can you please?" I said.
"No, I got it sir, thanks." Hakiem said, grabbing the scissors. He cut the cord and then looked at me with tears in his eyes and walked away. After the nurses cleaned and measured the baby they came back in the room and sat down.
"Your baby is nice and healthy. But unfortunately she was born premature, meaning that she was born way too early. Hell, she was only in the oven for six months." The older nurse said.
"Okay, so what does that mean?" I asked.
The nurse grabbed my hand and said, "She's gonna have to stay here with us so we can make sure that she is safe and healthy."
"How long does that take?!" Hakiem bursted back in the room.
"It can be anywhere from two weeks to three months." the nurse said. She sounded sad for us. "But in the meanwhile," she tried to change the subject. "Here's a birth certificate. Please fill it out to the best of your ability."
"Can I at least hold her? Please?" I begged.
"I'm sorry." the nurses said together, then they walked off. When I heard that door click close my last shred of happiness was stripped away from me. I had nothing.
"Well let's see" Hakiem said with a fake smile. "I like the name Maria. What do you think?"
"I like the name Delilah. And since I squeezed her out I get first pick." I laughed, trying to hide the pain.
"So Delilah Marie Ford." Hakiem said. "I love it."
Certificate of Birth
Delilah Marie Ford
Mother: Danyelle Alicia Anderson
Father: Hakiem Mikell Ford
Born Sunday May 28, 2014 at 12:48 am.
Female
4 pounds 2 ounces, 15 inches
Madison Grove Hospital, Chicago.
State of Illinois
