I Know You Can't Speak

12

The more time that passed, the more I saw Mercedes change into a woman I never knew. Her dad breaking their family up had made her take a turn for the worst. She became mean, non chalant and bitter. She stopped coming to school and was always with Black. I barely saw her. When I did see her, she gave me the cold shoulder and I assumed it was because Deja was my sister. It felt like, as soon as me and Mercedes fell off, Deja popped right back in to take her place. I spent a lot of time with Deja to the point where it felt like we had never skipped a beat. We talked everyday and I saw her almost the same. She taught me how to drive and helped me get my license. She lived in a condo that Mercedes dad was paying for and I would periodically see him if he stopped by to check on her and drop money off to her. He would speak to me and try to ask me how Mercedes and her mom were doing but I would always tell him I didn't know. Because the truth of the matter was that I didn't. I had saw less and less of Mercedes mom ever since the incident.

When Deja had a baby is when things took a turn for the worse. Myles and I were at the hospital in the room with her. We watched her push my nephew out and it was the most beautiful thing I had ever saw. The way that Myles looked when the baby came out was priceless. He shed a tear as they nurse placed the baby in his arms.

"Welcome to the world, son" he said as he kissed all over him and Deja. They decided to name him Chance. Mercedes has always been Myle's only child and Deja had just given him his first son. They let me hold him after the doctors left out of the room and I rocked him back and forth as I looked down at him. He was so precious. I knew that once I had my own child I would be the best mom to it. My phone suddenly began to ring, knocking me out of my train of thought. Mercedes didn't know that I was in contact with my sister so when I saw her name appear across the screen, I didn't answer. She must have called 10 times and texted me just the same. I texted her back and told her I was busy and just as soon as I was leaving the hospital, I called her back.

"Where are you?" She questioned as soon as I answered.

"I'm on my way home."

"Well where were you?" She asked me sternly as if she was my parent.

"I was uh... with Vince. I'm on my way." I told her.

"How you getting here?" She asked. Mercedes didn't know I could drive yet. Nor did she know I had my license that's how much we hadn't been around one another.

"I'm driving"

"Driving? Since when you know how to drive?" She asked me sternly.

"Girl if you wasn't around Black so much you would know!" I said laughing.

"Umhm whatever, I'll see you when you get here!" She said before hanging up. When I got home, she was sleep and I was glad because I didn't feel like making up more lies. The next day I made my way to the hospital and when I got there, Myles was walking in with the car seat.

"They're going home today?" I asked him.

He told me yes as he smiled from ear to ear. We walked to the room and got Deja and the baby ready to leave as the doctors gave her instructions & discharge papers. As we were stepping off of the elevator, Deja was staring right at us.

"So this is where you've been and who you've been with? I knew you were fucking lying! She yelled in my face. Myles and Deja froze as she continued to go off.

"What are you doing here?" Was all I could muster up to say.

"I followed you here! Why are you here with them!" She yelled while staring at Deja and her dad. "I thought I told you not to talk to her!" She kept raising her voice and all the people walking by us began to look in suspicion.