“I can only confirm that she is pregnant. I can’t confirm or deny you’re the father,” Kay blurted so quickly Dru almost couldn’t understand her. Rubbing his head, he took a deep breath as he walked over to his desk. There were a lot of what-ifs at play right now. He and Marli didn’t think twice about using protection.
“How many weeks is she?” That question would help to settle this matter. Anything more or less than three months would disqualify him, and he could relax his nerves.
“Twelve weeks,” Kay whispered as she slapped her hand over her mouth. Dru’s body froze, and his heartbeat sped up. Marli was pregnant, and the timeline was adding up to him possibly being the father. Slowly, he plopped down in his chair. If Marli was pregnant, he wanted to know right away if it was his. His first thought was to go to her.
“Where is she?” Dru hoped Kay didn’t hear the desperation in his voice.
“Um… I can’t tell you that, brother. I already said enough.” This time, she looked directly at the screen.
“Is she at home? Is she in Saint Louis?” Dru ignored her and kept firing questions. He was going to pull up on her one way or another. This way, though, he wouldn’t have to waste any time searching the city for her. Kay shook her head. If she wasn’t in Saint Louis, it was a good chance that she was in Atlanta. Dru knew that was where she filmed.
“Is she in Atlanta?” he blurted. Kay’s eyes grew wide. Got that ass, he thought.
“I can’t confirm or deny that she is in Atlanta, but she and the boys may be stopping by Max’s for a few visits this weekend.” Kay threw her hand back to her mouth. The mention of Max’s name pissed him off. Was this another situation from the one before? Maybe the baby was his. Dru swiped his hand across his forehead.
“I’m gon’ go now, but you ain’t hear any of this from me.” Kay turned the phone back to a laughing Blue.
“You a simp ass nigga,” he joked.
“Thanks, sis. I got to get back to work.” Dru ignored his brother. He had already made up his mind that he was about to pull up on her. He wouldn’t be able to sleep at night knowing that the one woman he really loved may be having his child.
“Don’t hurt my sister, Dru!” Kay shouted right before he hung up the phone. He wasn’t going to hurt her, but he damn sure wasn’t about to let her play in his face. If she was pregnant with his baby, her ass should be in his face right now and not in her fuck ass baby daddy’s. Dru stood from the chair and moved away from the audio mixer. If he left within the next hour, he could be in Atlanta before it got dark. Exiting the studio, he was met with a tearful Janel leaning up against the hallway wall. It was clear she had been listening in on his conversation. He wasn’t sure how much she’d heard, but it was enough for heartbreak to be plastered on her face.
“J, move any appointments I had this weekend to next week. I’ll be in Atlanta for a few days.”
Janel’s head dropped in defeat.
“Atlanta?” She was confused. “You never mentioned going to Atlanta this weekend?”
“It just came up,” he blurted. He didn’t want to have to explain this to her right now. He knew he should, and he would, after he confirmed if Marli was having his baby.
“You fucked her?” Janel’s voice was barely above a whisper.
“J, I’m not trying to—”
“Did you fuck her? Is she pregnant by you!” Janel yelled. Dru dropped his head. He didn’t want to break her heart. He wasn’t entitled to answer her; they were dating, exclusively, but he was still single.
“It was before you, Janel.” He attempted to dismiss the conversation and walk toward the door.
“Before me? Before me! How can it be before me, Dru? I knew you first. I was here first! Gosh!” Janel was visibly pissed, and Dru couldn’t deny that she should be.
“Before we put a title on our situation, Janel. It was in Turks,” he offered. Janel laughed.
“And then you came back here and acted like you missed me… like you wanted to work on us.” Janel lifted from the brick wall. Dru attempted to walk away. None of that was an act. At the time, he had missed her. He did want to work on them being something. It just wasn’t for the right reasons.
“Look, J, I’ll explain all this shit when I get back, all right?” What Janel said next caused him to freeze in his tracks.
“I don’t know what you see in that fat skanky ho!” Janel barked. Dru didn’t waste any time closing the space between them. He was done with her disrespecting Marli.
“Janel, I’m sorry that you have to find out about me possibly having a baby like this, but this yelling and making a scene in our place of business, not about to happen. I’ll be in Atlanta for two days.”
“Is she in Atlanta?” Janel questioned. He nodded his head. She already knew the answer to that shit. He knew she’d been eavesdropping.
“No matter what I do, I can’t get you to fall in love with me. Ever since you’ve met her, I’ve been playing second best. It doesn’t matter if she has your kids or not. It’ll never be me, will it? I… I’m not playing second to her anymore, Dru. Make a choice.” Janel neared him, tears rimming in her eyes. Dru let out a deep breath. He was fucked up for what he’d done to Janel. He dragged her back in, knowing he wasn’t over Marli. He was foul. It was misleading, and it was against everything he stood for. He didn’t know what he could do to fix it, but she was right. Even without the baby, Marli had his heart. He couldn’t keep dragging Janel through the fire.
“You right, J. I love her, and I can’t shake that shit. In another life, it would have been me and you. You got so much going for yourself. You’ll land on your feet.” He closed the space between them. “I say this with so much love in my heart, but you were right to quit the first time. We should have left it there.” He wrapped his arms around her. The tears flowed from her eyes. It was harsh, but it was the truth.
“I was done! You could have left me alone!” She cried into his chest.
“Anything you need, Janel, I got you. You want to start your own label? I’ll fund it.” He wasn’t just trying to soften the blow; he meant it. He never meant to hurt Janel like this.
“You could have left me alone!” Janel sobbed.
“I know, and for that, I’m sorry, J. I’m sorry.” He kissed her forehead before letting her go. Her body fell to the floor, and it took everything in him to not go to her. Right now, though, his most important priority was finding out if Marli was carrying his seed.
Fourteen
Marli
Marli stared down at her phone in disbelief at the email that had just come through from the Hip Hop in Love producers.
Marli,
We regret to inform you that you will not be a part of the cast on this upcoming season of Hip Hop in Love. This decision is effective immediately. The following are the reasons for your dismissal:
Damage of cameraman’s property
Lack of storyline
