Short Story: Pure of Heart {Part 1}

Nicki sighed when she saw her bills pile up. She knew that it was only a matter of time before she gets kicked out of her house. “Just call him Nic,” Elena encouraged her. Elena has been Nicki’s best friend for years and she’s always been there for her.

“I can’t do that,” she shook her head. She refused to pick up that phone and call him. He didn’t need her so she didn’t need him.

“This is beyond you now. Don’t do it for you, do it for Kari,” she reminded her. Nicki sighed because she knew that it was true. She couldn’t have Kari live like this.

“You’re right,” she grabbed her phone and typed his number. She was terrified to press call but she sucked it up and punched the button. Her heart started beating faster at each dial tone.

“Hello?” He answered. Nicki was literally frozen. She couldn’t believe that she actually did this. “Hello?” He called out again. Nicki looked at Elena and she motioned for her to talk. “I don’t have time for this,” he was about to hang up.

“Wait!” She finally spoke. Drake thought that he was hearing things because this couldn’t be who he thought it was.

“Onika?” He called out and she sighed.

“Yeah,” she hasn’t spoken to him in years but she couldn’t back out this time. It’s more than just her.

“Wow,” he was still in a bit of shock. He remembered back when she left him and all he had was a note.

Dear Drake,

I’m done with all the stress and letting our parents run this relationship. It’s obvious that you’re delusional enough to listen to them. I don’t know at which point in your life did you think that it was okay to disrespect me but I am not a hoe in any way, shape, or form. You are the biggest asshole and I never want to see you again. I’m leaving and I don’t want to be found. If you thought that I would stay with you after all that you’ve said then you must not know me. I’m doing whatever the hell I want to do and I don’t need anyone’s support. I’ll make it on my own and I’ll be fine without you. Have a fucked up life Drake.

Nicki

“Look, I’m not calling you for small talk. I just need you to do something for me,” she held her breath and prepared for what she was about to say.

“You know that I’d do anything for you,” he would do anything she said. He had thirteen long years filled with regret. He wished that he could change everything and just have her back in his life. They could’ve been married with children if it wasn’t for what he did.

“I need you to take care of our daughter for a while,” she blurted out. Drake took the phone away from his ear and looked at it before placing it back.

“I’m sorry; did you just say our daughter?” He didn’t believe what he was hearing. He couldn’t possibly have a daughter.

“I kept the baby Drake,” she didn’t want to remember the memories. That year was the hardest year of her life.

“Either you get rid of the baby or I’ll do it for you!” He yelled at her. Nicki couldn’t believe that he would say something like that to her.

“You can’t be serious Aubrey,” she had tears rolling down her face. No one wanted to support her but she wouldn’t give up.

“I’m dead serious,” his voice sent chills down her body. She has never seen him act like this and she was fearful for her life.

“Fine,” she agreed before walking away. She wasn’t gonna abort her baby so she knew that the best thing to do was to leave. She’ll go somewhere no one would think she would go and not leave a trace of her behind.

“I have a daughter, wow. What’s her name?” He couldn’t believe that she kept the baby. Of course he wouldn’t know because he hadn’t talked to her in years.

“Kari and she’s thirteen years old,” she admitted. She named her Kari? Drake let out a small smile at the name.

“You named her Kari?” They’ve talked about naming their child that.

“That’s beside the point right now. Look, she’s on summer break starting tomorrow and I need you to look after her for a while. I have no one else to watch her,” she pleaded.

“What’s going on Onika?” He sat up in his chair concerned. What could be so bad that she has to have him watch her?

“That’s none of your business okay? Can you just do it?” She looked at the time and knew that Kari would be back soon.

“Yeah, of course I will. How long do you need me to watch her? I can fly her out to LA in a heartbeat,” he agreed.

“Just for a little while. Can you fly her out tomorrow?” She knew that she had to break the news to Kari first.

“Yeah,” he nodded. Nicki heard the door opened and hurried up.

“I have to go but text me the details,” she quickly hung up when she saw Kari walk into the living room.

“Hi Mom and Auntie Elena,” she walked over and hugged them.

“Baby I need to talk to you,” she motioned for her to come to couch.

“I’ll give y’all some privacy. Call me later Nic,” Elena got up and left. Kari walked over and sat down next to her.

“What’s going on?” Kari eyed the bills on the table and already knew that something was gonna happen.

“Bills are piling up,” she told her. Just as she was gonna continue, Drake’s new music video popped up. Kari looked at the screen with an amused smile.

“He’s such a joke,” she shook her head. She couldn’t stand Drake’s music at all.

“That’s not nice to say and you know it,” Nicki scowled her.

“It’s not like he’s my father. He’s just a sperm donor,” Kari refused to acknowledge him as her actual father.

“He’s not a sperm donor Kari but while we’re on the subject of your father, I need you to stay with him for a while,” she spoke and Kari snapped her head towards her in shock.

“You’re kidding me right? I don’t even know that man!” Kari stood up in anger.

“You should get to know him. He’s your father and bills are piling up Kari. I need to pick up more shifts and I can’t afford to pay someone to watch you. I’m not leaving you home alone in this neighborhood,” Nicki refused to let her child get hurt. They don’t live in the safest neighborhood but it kept a roof over their heads.

“There ain’t no one else?” She couldn’t believe that she actually had to live with him.

“It’s there isn’t anyone else. I told you to stop talking like that. You know how to speak properly so do it. There’s not but I promise I’ll get you right when we get out of this struggle,” Nicki promised.

“Okay,” she nodded.

~~~

Kari sighed as she walked off of the plane. She was shocked when Drake paid for a first class seat for her. That’s when she knew that she wouldn’t like him. She looked around and saw a sign with her name on it. She walked over to it and was met by a random guy. “Are you Kari?” The guy asked.

“Yeah,” she nodded.

“I’m Drake’s best friend, Noah. He had a meeting with his label so he sent me to get you. It’s nice to meet you sweetheart. You look so much like Nicki,” he smiled at her.

“It’s nice to meet you too,” she gave a small smile before they walked to the car. The whole ride was nerve raking for her. She wasn’t prepared to meet him at all. “Here we are,” Noah pulled up to a huge mansion.

             “He lives here?” She couldn’t believe her eyes. Noah nodded as she looked around in disbelief. They walked in the house and it was even larger on the inside.

“You don’t have luggage?” He turned to her.

“I have a bag. It fits everything that I have. Some people don’t have money like this to blow,” she crossed her arms. Noah chuckled and she scrunched up her face. “Why are you laughing?”

“Your attitude is just like Nicki’s. You are like a mini version of her,” this was definitely Nicki’s child.

“I’d rather be just like my mom than anything like Drake. I don’t even know what I’m supposed to call him; sperm donor?” She raised an eyebrow. Noah laughed again before he could stop himself.

“Drake is gonna have himself a hell of a time,” he patted her back before they heard the door being unlocked. Drake walked in and instantly looked at Kari. She looked like a perfect blend between him and Nicki. Kari didn’t know what was happening to her but she suddenly couldn’t speak. Her blunt mouth refused to open.

“Hi,” he smiled weakly. She just blankly stared at him.

“Why don’t we show her where she’ll be staying,” Noah directed her up the stairs with Drake following. He opened one of the guest rooms and Kari’s eyes widened. She walked in and just took a seat on the bed with her bag right next to her.

“Do you need anything?” Drake asked her. She slowly shook her head. He sighed because he knew that this would be more difficult than he thought.

~~~

Drake’s phone rung and he eyed the caller. When he saw Nicki’s name, he quickly picked up. “Hey,” he still couldn’t believe that this was all happening.

“I want to speak to my daughter,” was all she said. She didn’t want to hold any type of conversation with him.

“How do you do it?” He truly didn’t know how she raised a kid.

“Do what?” She questioned.

“How do you take care of her? She refused to talk for the past three days and she barely eats. She doesn’t even come out of her room,” he tried everything but gave up.

“She’s can be shy when she wants to be and don’t worry about the eating thing,” Nicki brushed it off.

“She needs to eat more Nicki. She’s skinny as a stick and only eats a quarter of anything I’ve given to her,” he couldn’t believe that she was brushing this off.

“Don’t worry about it okay? I just want to speak to my daughter,” she snapped. He sighed before standing up and walking to Kari’s room. He knocked on the door before walking in. Just as he thought, Kari was sitting by the window in silence.

“Kari?” He called out but she didn’t move an inch. “I have your mom on the phone,” he added in. She quickly stood up and accepted the phone.

“Mom?” She perked up. Drake finally heard her voice and she sounded a lot like Nicki.

“Hey baby,” Nicki smiled weakly as she heard her daughter’s voice.

“When are you coming to get me? I just wanna be home,” she pleaded.

“I know you do Kari but I need to get these bills paid. You should get to know your dad. He told me that you haven’t spoken to him since you’ve been there,” she said sternly.

“It ain’t my fault,” she rolled her eyes. Nicki cleared her throat and Kari sighed. “It isn’t my fault,” she corrected her grammar.

“Thank you; just try to get to know him Kari. He’s your father and he wants to get to know you,” Nicki couldn’t stand a bone in Drake’s body but she didn’t want Kari to feel the exact same way.

“Fine,” she huffed.

“I’ll call you soon. I love you Kari,” Nicki said.

“I love you too Mom,” she replied before they hung up. She handed the phone back to Drake and he just stood there. “It’s been three days and you’ve stared at me the entire time,” she couldn’t stand people staring at her.

“I apologize but I’m still trying to soak this all in,” he apologized.

“Congratulations, you’re the father. Is that enough for you? You don’t have to soak this in because as soon as my mom comes to get me, I’ll be back to my regular life,” she crossed her arms.

“I want to be in your life Kari,” he didn’t want things to go back to normal.

“Oh really? What about thirteen years ago when my mom was pregnant? You wanted to abort me so if that’s your way of wanting to be in my life, I’m good,” she walked back over to the window and sat on the floor.

“How do you know that?” He didn’t think that Nicki would tell her the entire story.

“I overheard it,” she spoke and then heard heels click downstairs.

“Baby!” She heard a female voice call out. Drake walked out the room and downstairs to greet his girlfriend. Kari smirked before following him. She walked downstairs and the lady immediately looked at her. “Is this your daughter? Kari?” She mispronounced her name.

“My name is pronounced CAR-EE, it’s not that complicated,” she snapped. She hated when people mispronounced her name.

“Just like Nicki,” Drake shook his head with a laugh.

“Well I’m Rachel,” she spoke before walking to the kitchen.

“You wanna join us for lunch?” Drake asked and Kari nodded. She just wanted to bug Rachel even more. They sat down and she pushed around her noodles. “Why don’t you eat a lot?” Drake was truly concerned for her.

“I grew up not eating a lot. Not everyone has three meals a day. I eat one and I only eat a forth of it. It’s my life,” she shrugged.

“Is Nicki struggling with bills? I can write her a check in a heartbeat,” Drake would do anything for Nicki.

“She would never accept money from you of all people. After all you’ve put her through? She would never,” Kari knew that her mom deeply hated Drake.

“What about your grandparents? They have a lot of money,” he remembered Nicki’s parents.

“Don’t got any,” she shook her head.

“Do you speak proper English?” Rachel scrunched her nose up at Kari.

“Do you know how to stop being a bitch for a minute? Education ain’t the main priority in Queens. All you need to learn is how to stay alive,” Kari snapped.

“Y’all live in Queens? I thought she would never go back there,” nothing was adding up with Nicki. He knew that she wanted to stay as far away as possible from Queens.

“There wasn’t nowhere else to go,” she just used improper English since it bothered Rachel.

“I need to go to the bathroom,” Rachel excused herself and Kari rolled her eyes. She could spot a fake hoe from a mile away.

“So Nicki’s been taking care of you all these years without any help? How does she even afford it?” Drake really needed to understand so he could help in some way.

“No one will help us. She has three jobs. One from 12 am to 4 am, another one 10 am to 4 pm, and the other one 6 pm to 10 pm. She used to have my friend’s mom watch me but she moved so she had no choice but to call you,” she shrugged.

“It took her thirteen years to finally call me?” Drake couldn’t believe that Nicki didn’t call him years ago.

“You’re lucky that she even called you. I know a lot of what happened and I honestly think that you’re the biggest asshole in the world next to those people that she calls her parents,” Kari sat back and crossed her arms.

“Does your mom know that you talk like this?” Drake didn’t believe that Nicki would let her curse.

“My mom doesn’t have the time to worry about me swearing. She’ll correct my grammar in her spare time but she only gets a few hours off,” she hated the fact that she barely saw her mother. She never resented her because she knew that she was struggling.

“Look, I don’t know how much you know but there’s so much more to the story than you know,” Drake knew that she probably heard the worst parts.

“All I needed to know is that you, my mom’s parents, and your parents wanted her to abort me. No one wanted me except for my mom and I will forever stand by her. She does everything that she can to help me and I couldn’t imagine my life without her. She’s my hero and I’ll never meet a stronger woman than her. She’s the only person in this world I love because she’s the only person who loves me,” Kari admitted. No one will understand the close bond that she has with her mom.

“I love you Kari, you’re my daughter and I just want to get to know you,” Drake pleaded. He knew that she had reasons to resent him but she only knew half of what happened.

“I don’t need you to love me and you don’t need to know me. Just know that I’ll do any and everything to help my mom. You’re over here living in a mansion. You’re living your dream while I’m in a broken down two bedroom apartment. I know gangs all over my neighborhood and I hear gunshots all night. When I was a kid, mom would call them fireworks,” Kari let out a small smile. Her mom knew how to make her smile during horrible situations.

“I don’t want you two to live like that. Just let me help you. I would give you and Nicki the world if I could,” Drake hated the fact that Nicki lived like this.

“You wanna help us? Stay out of my life after I leave and that’ll be more than enough help,” Kari stood and walked back to the guest room. He knew he’ll have to explain the whole story to make her understand. He is an ass for what he did but he thought that it was the best thing to do at the time. Drake calculated the hours that Kari said that Nicki would be working and called her.

“What Drake?” She sighed as she sat down after a long day.

“Let me give you the money,” he said right away. Nicki closed her eyes and tried to calm down. She should have known that Kari would say something.

“I’m doing fine without you,” she lied. She could use the money but she wanted absolutely nothing from him.

“You’re doing fine without me but your working three jobs? You would rather struggle than let me help you?” Drake knew that she could be stubborn but he never imagine that she would be this stubborn.

“I would rather die than let you help me,” and with that she hung up. She held yet another bill in her hand and let her tears fall. If she keeps this up then she just might die. She knew that something was wrong with her but she refused to acknowledge it. Elena told her to go to the doctor but she couldn’t afford it. She just had to be strong and face everything that was coming at her.

Just another story lost in my drafts