Dear James

Telling All

That next morning when I woke up I went to my bathroom and brushed my teeth and washed my face. Its weird not having to make sure I have something to cover up my belly now but it is nice not having to worry. I walked out of my room in Areopostle yoga pants and a light pink cami. I made Kim and I an omelet, bacon and cinnamon rolls. After I put the icing on the rolls Kim appeared out of nowhere, sitting at the table. She sat there not really having any emotion on her face. Did I really disappoint my friend?
"You hungry?" I asked making our plates.

"Yeah." She finally looked up from the glass and made eye contact with me.

I made our plates and then walked over to the table and handed her the plate. The whole time we ate she didnt say anything. All we heard was the clicking of the fork to the plate. She never even looked up at me and when did look up she looked out of the window to the left of her. I wanted to say something but I don't know what to say, honestly.

Kim

Looking at her belly like that is new to me. It looks like she's around five or six months. How could she hide this from me for this long? She hasn't told her parents, or else I would've been heard the news. I've been gone for a month with Tyler, and I'll admit I was so caught up in my trip I didn't even call her after being there for a couple days.

The food soon was gone off of my plate, of course, Nylah's was gone before mine. She sat there after she finished, waiting. Maybe waiting for me to say something. The thing is, i don't know what to say though. I'm not mad or anything, it just caught me off guard.

"So how far along are you?" I cleared my throat.

"Five and a half months. I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner Kim." She looked sincere and I knew she was. I don't think she meant to hide from me for so long.

"Im not mad Nylah. I'm just shocked more than anything. Just hard to think that you and Brandon are about to have a baby." I put my elbow on the table.

"Yeah... We're not together anymore. "

"Excuse me."

"Yeah when I told him he wanted me to take care of it. So I called him later that day and told him no, that's when he said that he needed space. So I pretty much said okay and removed myself from that. Just because I'm having his kid doesn't mean we have to be together. " She shrugged.

I was really in awe. As long as Brandon and Nylah have been together, they've been through a lot. Maybe more than Tyler and I. But this is different. Another person is involved, a baby at that. I know for fact Nylah is going to need my help, especially with Brandon being the way he is. The fact that he wanted her to get an abortion really pisses me off. How could he ask her to do that? She didn't lay there and ask for you to get her pregnant. She didn't get pregnant on her own so she shouldn't have to "take care of it" on her own either.

"Grace, I'm gonna help you as much as I can. This little thing is gonna be spoiled rotten by Auntie Kim." I joked trying to lighten the mood.

We both laughed and talked some more about the baby coming and what we would do in the situation. The main thing that came up was space. We have a two bedroom apartment with no type of room to spare. Where is a baby going to go?

A little bit after breakfast Nylah got dressed and I did the same. I put on denim shorts with rips and bleach stains and a plain red v-neck with my red converse. I was being lazy and put my hair up in a messy bun. As usual, eyeliner and mascara. I sat on the couch as I waited for Nylah to come out. Once she did she looked really good. She was wearing a long black skirt with a white shirt that had roses on it. Her hair was curled and she looked really nice.

"Where are we going? You look all nice."

Nylah grabbed her purse, keys, and phone and opened the door. She waited for me to follow before she closed and locked the door. We began to walk to her car then she told me.

"Gonna go tell my parents." she said all confident. But I even knew she was scared.

When we finally got to her parents house she started fidgeting. Constantly tapping on the steering wheel. We sat in the car for a little bit before we for out and went onside the house. Once we walked through the doors nobody was in sight.

"Ma! Daddy!" She yelled putting her purse on the couch.

"Gracie?" Suddenly I seen Mr.Baker appear from around the corner. He looked at her up and down noticing her belly. He looked like he saw a ghost.

Omniscient

Jefferey, Nylah's dad, was about as red as a person could get. Since he's Caucasian the color showed almost instantly after seeing his daughter. But before anybody could say anything Lisa, her mom, came around the corner wiping her hands off with a towel. At first she didn't notice but she quickly caught on once she looked at her daughter.

Everything was silent and nobody knew what to say. Nylah was trying to find the words to get everyone to sit down so she could explain this to her parents.

"Um..we should go talk in the dining room. Huh?" Lisa suggests.

They all followed each other to go have a seat at the table. When Lisa and Jeff sat down they locked hands. Kim sat by Nylah.

"Okay so... First off how along are you Grace?" Lisa asked. Only time Lisa calls Nylah, Grace is when she's upset.

"Five and a half months." She sank into her seat as her parents made remarks under their breath. Her father had this look on his face.

"What the hell happened Grace?" Lisa asked.
"I know what happened. That asshole got into your head and made you think he was going to be there for you. Where's he at Nylah?"
"He's not gonna be there for me, he's gonna be there for his child. He's not ready to be in a serious relationship like I thought he was. He doesn't need to be there for me."
"You say that now, but being a single mom is hard. I did it with Avory for three years hun I know."
Nylah began to break down. She let her head hang as she tried to compose herself. Kim whispered in her ear and rubbed her back. Lisa and Jeff sat there, waiting for her to say something.

"Why can't you just tell me you'll be there for me and your happy to have a grand baby on the way? Why can't you just for once make me feel like I didn't just fuck up my life? You guys aren't perfect and neither am I, just for once please just be happy for me?"
Nylah could barely get through and entire sentence without loosing her steady breathing. Once she finished that's when she completely broke down. Again, Kim rubbed her back.

"Nylah look at me." Nylah lifted her head and looked at her mom. "I am happy to be a grandma. I'm happy that you got this far. I'm happy you finished college and got out of my house. But, you still are my baby and I didn't plan on being a grandparent this young. I know how this is going to go. Brandon isn't gonna be there for that baby and you know that. I just want you to realize how real this is."
Nylah signed. "Ma, I know. I have to wake up to it every morning. I pretty sure I realize that. I just want you to be happy and support me. Please, that's all I want."
Lisa and Jeff looked at each other and took a deep breath before letting out a reassuring okay.

For the rest of the day her parents and Kim helped Nylah come up with a plan for when the baby comes. The ate dinner and after they even played old family games to get that vibe of what it used to be like. Nylah was happy with the outcome, and that's all she wanted. All she needed for her parents to be on board with everything. She finally got it.

Nylah and her dad in the M/M