Demarcus Wayne, NJ📍

It's been a week since Jo'nae got shot. She still hasn't waken up yet. We've been in the hospital either all day with her or multiple times in one day. The doctors don't mind they understand how much we care about her.

I'm slowly starting to lose my mind. Sometimes I swear I hear her voice, or feel her touch, or hear her laugh. I miss that girl so much. When Jay and Ashanti don't notice I walk in her room just to sit there. Ashanti's right her vibe is cooped up in this room. You instantly smile or laugh it just feels good.

It's 6 o clock at night and I was getting ready to go to the club to do some searching. It wouldn't be full right now but it also wouldn't be empty. It's been about a month or two since I've stepped foot in the club. Ashanti and Jay can't come with me they have a doctors appointment for baby girl.

I got dressed and headed out. Once I pulled up I got out and went inside. There was a small group of people crowded by the stage while the music was blasting. I ignored them and walked past the bartender waving hello before I walked up the stairs. I took a glimpse back down at the stage and it was Candy. Twerking in a split and doing all this other extra shit.

How the fuck she doin all that and she supposed to be pregnant?

I shook my head and turned back to my office. I sat behind the desk and turned on my computer that I have hooked up to the surveillance system. There was a camera in the VIP section, one on top of the stage, one filming the whole dance floor, one on the far corner that captures the entire bar, and one at every other seating area. Upstairs was off limits no one is allowed to come up here but security or Jay and I.

I went back in footage until the night Candy came up to me. I replayed it when I saw her walking up. Jay was with Que talkin it up. I rewinded it just a little further back when Jay was still next to me. I looked in the background of the footage and I saw Nicole, Rachel, and Candy together laughing and joking. As it played you can see them pointing towards me and whispering to each other. Then right after Jay walks away they push her to approach me and she does.

They set me up. I thought. They knew Jo'nae and I were together. They set me tf up.

Anger rose in my body as I watched her touch on me and I touched on her. I cut it off when I got up and took her hand.

Ion need to rewatch this shit again.

I sat back in my chair.

Nicole and Rachel set me up with Candy when they knew about Jo'nae and I. They could clearly tell I was drunk. The balls of some people bro.

But why, why are they mad? I was gettin ready to get up when I heard my office door open. It was Candy.

"Hey." She said walking in.

"What." I said dryly.

"I just wanted you to know I went to the doctor to confirm it."

I sat there with a blank face looking at her. I honestly didn't care. I should push her ass down them stairs.

But I needed a plan and I can use her for it.

"Really?" I said acting interested. "How'd it go?" She smiled and sat in one of the chairs.

"It went okay, he said that the baby is developing fine. I'm a month and 2 weeks."

I wanted to say abort that shit. But ion know how that work. Is it too late? I glanced down at her stomach and it wasn't a bump. I would suppose it would be. At least something small. Right? Mane I don't even know.

"Where's the doctors papers?" I asked her catching her off guard.

"Huh?"

"The doctors papers. They give you papers after every appointment especially the first one so where are they?" She looked around for a second.

"They didn't give me any." I looked at her with a dumb look on my face.

"Okay, where's the pregnancy test?"

"I threw it out."

"Without showing me?"

"I didn't think it was that important."

"Okay, are you taking your pills?"

"No. Ion want to."

"You need to its vitamins for you and the baby."

"I've been eating healthy."

"That's not going to cut it. The pills hel-"

"Please Demarcus I don't want to do all this questioning and shit your stressing me out and that's bad for the baby."

BITCH FUCK YOU AND THAT CLUMP OF CELLS!

I just wanted to give her one good punch in the stomach. But lemme not. Lemme continue on with my plan.

"My bad. Look lemme make it up to you. Imma call you and we gon go out okay?" When I said that she smiled.

"Really?"

"Yea. But I have to let you know. I'm busy as hell."

"Okay, I have to get back to work anyways." She got up and leaned in to kiss me and I kissed her back. She walked out the office and shut the door. I took a wipe out of those lil hand wipe thingys and wiped off my mouth.

Lord knows where that shit been.

I felt gross just agreeing to take her out let alone kissing her. But I need this plan to work. I made my way to the surveillance room and told the guards to save and send me the footage from that night. Once they did I left and went back downstairs and out the door.

Now it's time to do more digging.

—————————————————————

Ashanti Renèe Robinson, NY📍

"6 months already? Damn. Before we know it she gon be here." Jay said as we got in the car.

"I know. I swear it feels like I just found out yesterday."

I wasn't lying. There's been so much going on since I found out that I was pregnant that I didn't even know I was this far along. The doctor said the baby is very healthy and to avoid any stressors.

"Let's go to the hospital, I miss my bestfriend." We pulled up to the hospital Jo'nae was at and we got out. Once we walked in we went straight to her room. I sat by her and held her hand.

"I'm 6 months bestieee." I said to her with a smile. "I can't wait to bring her into this world bae." I said to Jay. He came and sat next to me.

"I hope Jo'nae wakes up before she's born. If not I know she'll feel bad." I told him.

"Yea. I hope she does. She's been counting down. She had a whole app on her phone and everything." He said laughing.

"Call up Demarcus." I told him. He got up and stepped out of the room to make the call while I stayed with Jo'nae.

"I miss you here Jo'nae. I know you can hear me. Don't play dumb." I laughed.

"I'm just playin. We gon handle this I promise. I just need you to wake up." I felt my eyes start to water. I never though in a million years that I would be holding her hand begging her to wake up.

It felt unreal. Everything did. The cheating, the shooting, and now the coma. Jay came back into the room and took his place next to me. He told me Demarcus was on his way. We sat there talking to Jo'nae until he got here.

"Yo yo." He said walking in the door.

"Hey." We both said in sync.

"Whatchu been up to?" Jay asked em.

"Bro, when I tell you. This shit wild but we not gon talk about it right now." He looked up at Jo'nae and made his way to the opposite side of her. He grabbed her hand and kissed it.

"I never knew how much I loved or missed someone till this one was almost taken from me." He said to us.

"We know. I know this is hard for you. Ya was each other's first love. I couldn't imagine Jay being in this situation." I told him.

I laid my face on her hand. She was so warm and cozy. When I picked up my head Jay's phone started to ring again. He got up and left the room.

"Whatchu think she gon do when she first wake up?" Demarcus asked me.

"I don't know, prolly look around confused. I mean she's just in a deep sleep that lets her hear us but she can't react until her body feels like letting her." We both look up at her. Even with all these machines she still looked like a bad bitch.

Jay walked back in. "It was my mom. She wants to see us." He told me.

"Aight," I leaned to kiss Jo'naes hand before letting it go. "Bye boo. Are you coming Demarcus?"

"Yea. Let's let her rest." He said getting up.

"Nigga what worse can she do?"

and followed us out the room closing the door behind him.

——

We pulled up Jay's moms house and it was so cute and neat looking outside of it.

"Come in, come in." His mother said opening the door. We walked in and I looked around. It was just as nice inside.

"You guys can sit down. Get comfortable. I haven't seen you guys since the baby shower."

"Yea." We all said in sync.

"Alright tell me. Wh-" She stopped and looked around. "Where's Jo'nae?"

I looked over at Demarcus and he looked down. "She's in the hospital." I said in a sort of whisper.

"What? Why?"

"There was a shooting. In Je-"

"No. No. No. The shooting in Jersey Garden? That's been on the news all week." We all turned to her with concerned faces.

"What?" Jay said.

"It's on the news." Aaliyah switched on the tv and turned it to the news. A man was standing in front of the Jersey Garden Mall.

"One found dead after a shooting takes place in Jersey Garden's mall last week. Officials say shoots were fired around noon. When officers arrived at the scene there were bullet holes in walls and trails of blood. They believe another person was shot as they fled the scene. The body has been identified as Kyrie Simmons. A 24 year old male. His family says he was a family man and he loved to spread love and positivity."

Jay scoffed after the reporter said that.

"We will keep you up to date with this story. Now back to Jake in the studio."

Aaliyah turned the tv off and turned to Jay.

"Are you serious?" She said looking at him.

"What?"

"Did you have something to do with this Jay?" He didn't look at her. "You just keep getting yourself into some shit."

"That's my business." He told her.

"I'm just trying to keep you safe."

"And you did that when I was younger. Now Im a grown man. I know what I'm doing."

"Clearly you don't."

"How don't I? How don't I know what I'm doing? They don't know shit but the nigga name and age. I think I did a pretty damn good job."

"Why'd you do Jay?" Aaliyah asked him.

"I had to do what I had to do."

"Why did you do it Jay!" She yelled at him.

"He had Ashanti!" He yelled back. "He shot Jo'nae. He had Ashanti and you think I wasn't gon kill him? He put his fuckin hands on her he asked for it to happen. And he shot my bestfriend. Now she's in the hospital in a fuckin coma fightin for her life and you gon sit here and yell at me for killin some clown ass nigga!" I can see tears building up in his eyes.

He got up and started walking to the door when it opened up. A man was standing there with keys in his hand.

Jay looked back at Aaliyah before pushing past the guy and walking out the house. Demarcus and I got up and went after him. He got in his car and started it up.

"Jay where are you going?" I asked him standing at his car door.

"Get in the car Ashanti." He told me. I looked over at Demarcus and he nodded as he got in the car.

I didn't know what was going on. I hopped in the car with them as he pulled off. He was quiet the whole ride home. Once we got there he came and opened my door to help me out while Demarcus went inside.

"Wait." I said grabbing his arm. He turned to me. "What's wrong?" I asked him.

"That was my sperm donor." He said grabbing me and walking me in the house with him. I laughed a little bit.

"You mean your dad?"

"That's not my dad. Just a nigga that got my mom pregnant."

"Look, I know you don't like him or anything and you don't have to. But you know you need to call your mom and apologize right? She's just trying to look after you."

"No she's trying to treat me like ion know what the fuck I'm doing."

"I know your stressing out about this whole Jo'nae situation. And your mom yelling at you didn't help. But she's trying Jay. She really loves you."

He looked over at me and kissed my cheek.

"I know you jus tryna help ma. But don't get in it. This has been going on for years and you shouldn't stress about it."

I nodded and we walked to Demarcus room.

"Whatchu find out?" Jay asked as we sat on his bed. Demarcus took out his laptop and pulled up a file. It was a video clip of surveillance footage.

"This is camera footage from the night I fucked up." He said looking up at us. He would never say the words "I cheated on Jo'nae" out loud it would hurt him to much.

We watched as him and Jay took they placed at the bar. A little while later Jay walks away and Candy approaches Demarcus. He stopped it and reminded a little zooming in. You can see Nicole and Rachel talking to Candy and pointing towards Demarcus. You see them push her in his direction as Jay leaves him. He cuts it off before we could watch anything else.

"You was set up." Jay said. I shook my head and scoffed.

"What?" They both said looking at me.

"How the fuck do we get rid of this bitch? We beat her ass, killed her boyfriend, what the fuck else does she want?"

"I don't know what she wants but I know what I want." Demarcus said.

"What is that?" Jay asked him.

"I want Nicole's phone."

"I ain't even think of that." I said. "You know how much shit her phone can tell us?"

"A lot that's why I need it."

"Aight so how we gon get it."

"We ain't gettin shit." Jay told me. "You stay in yo ass home!"

"Why?"

"Cause your pregnant! What you forgot or sum?!" I laughed and waved him off.

"I'll come up with the plan." I said turning my body completely towards them.

"We all ears."