Natalie & King

Ch.33

Kohle

My life changed so much in the last 48 hours. I wasn't listenin' to fights every ten minutes but tryin' to split my attention with King, Zariah, Natalie and Bay, plus Thor. I'd take that over three life sentences any day, no matter how tired I was. I never imagined bein' able to witness Zariah's birth but because of my lawyer, I was free. With the lack of physical evidence, I was found not guilty. As soon as mom wrapped her arms around me and told me Bay was in labor, I knew my life was about to change.

Now, four days later, with a stomach full of lunch and King and Thor upstairs takin' a nap, I laid on the couch next to Bay while she breast fed Zariah. She wasn't as red as she was a few days ago but she barely had any color still. Natalie finished cleanin' the kitchen and came in the livin' room. Her mom slept silently on the couch across from me.

"I think I'm gonna take a nap." Natalie yawned, rubbed Bay's cheek and turned to go upstairs. She took three steps and then turned back around.

"How long has she been asleep?"

"I don't know, since I got up to feed this mornin', I think." Bay raised a questionin' eyebrow. I shifted uncomfortably when Natalie walked over to her mom. She poked her shoulder and waited two seconds before she got impatient.

"Mom, let's get you to the bathroom." When Natalie pulled on the woman's arm and her body went limp, our eyes almost popped out of their sockets. She took a step back and covered her eyes. I stood up, grabbed Natalie and took her into the kitchen. Shock kept her eyes trained ahead as I dialed 911. Pretty soon, Bay brought Zariah into the kitchen as a distraction for Natalie.

It took almost thirty minutes for an ambulance to take Natalie's mom to the closest hospital. After debatin' with the girls, I finally convinced them to let King stay with me. Leavin' Zariah at home while Natalie went to the hospital was out of the question, they both let me know. So while I waited for King to wake up, I took a hot shower and shaved my overgrown facial hair.

By the time I was done showerin', King was awake and sittin' on the edge of our bed. Thor was at his feet, nibblin' on his toes but he was poutin'.

"Where's mommy?"

"She had to take her mom to the doctor. So me and you gon' chill for a little bit." I put a tank top on and then slid a black t-shirt over my head. After I was fully dressed and got King dressed in jeans and a black and blue Adidas hoody, we went downstairs and ate a snack.

Natalie trustin' me after I got arrested with him a few months ago meant a lot to me. Seein' his eyes light up when I told him we were goin' to the park made me realize he did miss me. Instead of runnin' after Thor, he walked beside me and held onto my hand tightly while I held a small football in the other. King couldn't wipe the smile off of his face even if I wanted him to and neither could I.

It never crossed my mind until now that King didn't have the relationship with his dad like I had with mine. He didn't have any memories of the man. In King's eyes, I was his dad. In my eyes, I was his dad. Is this what dad felt like when he took me to the park all those years ago? Because if it was, I didn't mind takin' King to the park every day. Hearin' the happiness in King's shrieks as we played catch made me promise myself I would be here for the rest of his life. I didn't want to let him down again.

"Hey you want to read me a comic when we get home? Mommy got us new ones when you were gone," King made it hard to breathe sometimes. His eyes sparkled at me as he waited for a head nod.

"I always wanna read comics with you."

"Well how come you left for so long? I was sad." He tossed the ball back to me and did a victory dance when it landed directly in my hands. The sun kissed his cheeks and left them with a rosy pink color and his hair always looked extra golden under the suns glow. I had to focus on the color of his hair and not his question because I didn't want him to see the tears in my eyes.

"That's not gon' happen again."

"You promise?" King asked as he caught the ball. I nodded my head and watched his smile widen. It was like lookin' at Natalie when he made some of the same face expressions she did.

"Yeah buddy, I promise,"

Natalie was exhausted by the time they came home a little after 11pm that night. Her face was as pale as Zariah's and Bay was just as wiped out. While the girl's showered and snuck in and out of King's room, givin' him goodnight kisses, I sat downstairs with my baby girl on my chest. She smelled like baby lotion and her skin was as soft as silk. Her eyes were wide open as I listened to her grunt over and over. She was so perfect. Even when she cried until her dirty diaper was changed and she was in someone's arms seconds after that. Between mom, Natalie and Bay, she stayed bein' held. The late hours were typically my time to hold her. By then, both girls and King were passed out and sleep was the last thing on her mind.

Holdin' Zariah didn't feel real. She felt almost too perfect and she was so small, she fit in the palm of one of my hands. I could see why it was easy to want to do nothin' but hold her. I looked at the pink onesie she wore and smiled. She had enough pink in her closet to supply a village. Natalie and Bay both picked out what she wore and so far, every day since she was born, she had something pink on. My mind wandered while I rubbed Zariah's back. Natalie hadn't said a word about her mom. She busied herself with warmin' up a bottle and gettin' herself ready for bed but kept quiet while doin' so.

"You okay babe?" Bay's voice lingered close to my ear. When I smelled her strawberry mango body wash, I looked at the way my oversized jersey fit her body. Since the day I met her, the glow on her face only got brighter and now that she was the mother of my first child, the love I had for her did more than double. Bay had a piece of my heart that nobody could hold.

"I'm aight, yeah. How you doin'? What happened?"

"I don't think her mom has that much time left...Natalie hasn't said anything since she left the hospital." Bay sat down next to me with a sad frown. "She didn't even want to hold the baby."

"I didn't even know her mom was sick..." I thought about my mom and her drinkin' problem. My stomach turned.

"Yeah well...I came to tell you, Natalie's asleep in King's bed so you're gonna have to cuddle with me instead." She stood and took my attention with her. Her thighs were thicker and havin' a baby only made her ass fatter. She stopped by the stairs and smirked at me.

"Sorry baby boy, shops closed til' I get on birth control. Let's cuddle."