Short Story: Pure of Heart {Part 2}

“Nicki you really need to see a doctor. There is something wrong with you and I don’t know what it’ll take for you to admit it. Will it take you being on your death bed?” Elena had been trying to get Nicki to go to a doctor for the last hour.

“I already told you that I can’t afford it and I can’t miss work. I’ll be fine,” she brushed it off.

“Drake would give you the money in a heartbeat,” she mumbled.

“I don’t want his money, his sympathy, or anything else he wants to give me. The only thing he needs to do is take care of Kari,” she snapped. Elena knew better than to bring up Drake.

“It was thirteen years ago Nic. He was young and so were you. Obviously he changed because he’s taking care of Kari. Why don’t you just give him a second chance? Doesn’t everyone deserve a second chance?” Elena’s words threw Nicki into a flashback.

“Just give me a second chance and I’ll prove it to you,” Drake pleaded with Nicki. They’ve been going back and forth for hours.

“What’s the point of a second chance when nothing will change?” She sat on the bed and closed her eyes out of frustration.

“It can start by this,” Nicki opened her eyes to find him down on one knee.

“Aubrey,” her eyes went wide.

“I don’t care about our age and that we’re young. I don’t care what anyone else thinks. Fuck what our parents want for us. I just want you to be happy and I’ll do anything for you. I wanna be able to call you my wife. Will you marry me?” He looked up at her.

Nicki snapped out of it and looked back at Elena. “I’d rather see him burn in hell than give him a second chance,” Nicki ended the conversation and got ready for work.

It’s been four days and Kari hadn’t uttered another word to him. He’s been trying to figure out how to help Nicki but came up short. He just wanted to take care of them but he knew that Nicki held a huge grudge against him. It’s not like he didn’t deserve it but he’s changed and he only wanted to prove it. He got up and walked to Kari’s room.

“Kari?” He knocked before entering. He didn’t see her but he heard the toilet flush and connected the dots. He walked over to her bed and saw a notebook opened. He picked up the notebook and there were drawings. They weren’t regular drawings; they were drawings of monsters and demons.

“Don’t touch my stuff,” Kari snatched it out of his hands.

“Why would you draw stuff like that?” He saw some pretty disturbing stuff in that notebook.

“It’s all I see in my head,” she sighed.

“Why would you see monsters and demons in your head?” He walked closer to her. Flashbacks ran through her mind as she tried to fight them off.

“Stay here,” Nicki told Kari as shots fired off.

“Mommy I’m scared,” she cried. Kari was only six at the time but she was used to this.

“I know baby but just stay in the closet. I’ll go make sure everything is safe,” she kissed her head before walking out. Kari opened the door slightly and saw through the window in her room. People were getting shot on the spot and they were setting some houses on fire. She moved closer and placed her hand on the window. A guy looked up and spotted her by the window. He smirked before aiming his gun at the window and pulling the trigger. Kari screamed and ran out of the way but window shattered. She touched her hand against the back of her neck and felt blood.

She touched the back of her neck and remembered the feeling of glass going through her skin. She looked at him and just shook her head. “Because I do,” she dismissed it. Drake sighed because he knew that was all he would get out of her for right now. “Can I talk to my mom?” She asked. He nodded while grabbing his phone and calling her. Kari took the phone and waited for her to pick up.

“What do you want now?” Nicki rolled her eyes. She really couldn’t stand hearing his voice.

“It’s me,” Kari said.

“Hey baby, how are you?” Nicki sat up quickly. She was worried how Kari felt over there. It’s a different lifestyle than what she’s used to.

“I could be better, how are you?” She knew that there was something wrong with her mom. Her mom just couldn’t afford to go to a doctor.

“I’m fine baby. I don’t want you worrying about me,” Nicki said before groaning. She felt a strong discomfort in her chest.

“You sound worse mom,” Kari sighed. Drake became interested in the conversation when he heard that. Is Nicki sick or something?

“I’ll be fine Kari, it’s just a stupid strain,” she promised.

“You don’t know that for sure. You really need to see a doctor or something. It could be something more serious than that,” Kari couldn’t imagine losing her mom. Her mom was all she had in life.

“I promise that I’ll be fine. I need to get ready for work but I’ll call you later okay?”

“Okay, I love you,” she said.

“I love you too,” Nicki responded before they hung up. Drake looked at his daughter in curiosity.

“Is something wrong with Nicki?” He asked. Kari looked up at him in shock. She completely forgot that he was in the room because she was so focused on her mother.

“Why does it matter? It’s not like she’ll let you help in any kind of way,” she shrugged. Her mom was stubborn but so was she. She felt like they could make it without him in their lives.

“When it comes to her health, no is not an option. Nicki will just have to suck it up because I’m not taking no for an answer,” he refused to let something bad happen to her.

“She’s fine, it’s just some stupid cold,” Kari brushed it off and Drake let it go for now.

“I want to take you somewhere,” he said and she grew nervous. She didn’t want to go anywhere.

“Is it back home?” She raised a brow.

“I want to take you to meet my parents,” he let out a small smile.

“Thanks but no thanks. I don’t do meetings,” she shook her head.

“You’ll love them,” he assured her.

“My mom absolutely hates them so why would I like them?” She scrunched up her eyebrows. She didn’t know much but she knew that her mom hated his parents, her parents, and him.

“They aren’t the same they used to be. I promise that it won’t be that bad,” he tried to convince her.

“Fine,” she agreed. She wanted answers so she thought that this might be a good idea. She got dressed and Drake was about to have his driver take them. “Can you not? Is it that hard for you to drive?” Kari didn’t like being around random people hence why she didn’t want to be around Drake.

“Sure,” he got in one of his cars and they pulled off. Drake moved his parents out to LA a few years ago. Kari stayed silent the entire ride and she grew nervous. She was bad at meeting people and she had anger towards these people. “Here we are,” Drake pulled into the driveway and they got out.

“Do they know about me?” She questioned as they walked onto the porch.

“They’re about to,” he used his key and walked in. “Mom,” he called out. Kari heard footsteps and then a white lady appeared in front of them. She pulled Drake into a hug while Kari stood there confused. He’s half white? Does that mean I’m like one fourth white? She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice that his father came down and now everyone was staring at her. She looked up but stayed quiet.

“Who is this Aubrey?” His mom eyed Kari. She had an idea of who she was but didn’t want to believe it.

“Mom, Dad, this is my daughter Kari,” he moved a little so Kari could be fully seen. It seemed like she was trying to hide behind him.

“She kept the baby,” his dad said slowly while Drake nodded.

“Oh Aubrey, she looks just like you,” his mom wiped her tears.

“Can I go to the bathroom?” Kari looked up at Drake.

“Yeah just go straight and then make a right,” he directed her. She nodded and walked down the hallway. There were many pictures of Drake but she just ignored them before going into the bathroom. She locked the door and leaned against the sink.

“Just breathe Kari,” she told herself. She had anxiety and it was worse when she was put in situations like this. “You don’t know these people and you don’t need to know them. Just get answers and get out,” she looked at herself in the mirror. She took one more deep breath before exiting the bathroom and following the voices. It led her to the living room and everyone looked at her once again.

“Come here,” Drake waved her over. She walked to the couch and sat on the end far away from everyone.

“It’s nice to meet you Kari,” his mom smiled at her. She just stayed silent as she tried to form words.

“You gonna say anything?” Drake looked at her concerned.

“What did you do to my mom?” She blurted out. The room went silent as Kari waited.

“Kari,” Drake warned her.

“It’s okay Aubrey, she’s just curious. It’s a lot more than you think,” his dad said.

“So why don’t you tell me?” She sat back and crossed her arms.

“We were different people back then,” his mom sighed before they went into the story.

“You’re telling me that this girl is pregnant?” Sandi looked at Nicki horrified. She couldn’t believe that she would trap him like this.

“She’s more than just some girl,” he defended her.

“You’re using him aren’t you? You know that he’s gonna blow up and you just wanna be along for the ride huh? How do you even know that it’s his?” She eyed her.

“I am not a slut. Don’t try to come over here and act like you know me,” Nicki stood up straight.

“Make the baby disappear,” Dennis locked his eyes with Drake.

“How about I make us disappear? If you’re not gonna accept Nicki and this baby then you’re not accepting me,” he shook his head then grabbed Nicki’s hand and left.

“What changed between then and when you wanted her to have an abortion?” Kari looked at Drake.

“I believed what I heard. I had it set in my head that she was using me. My parents were telling me to get rid of the baby and her parents were saying the same thing. She refused and that’s when I thought that she was trapping me. I was young and dumb,” he wasn’t proud of his actions but Kari deserved the truth.

“Wow, so you all wanted me dead? It’s fine because y’all were dead in my head anyway. I don’t have grandparents and I sure as hell don’t have a father,” she stood up and walked out of the house. Drake sighed before following her.

“Where do you think you’re going? You don’t know your way around here,” Drake told her as she kept walking.

“I’ll figure something out,” she said before he turned her around. “Don’t touch me! Don’t you dare put your hands on me,” she pulled away quickly.

“I don’t know why you’re holding me against my actions as a young and dumb boy. I’ve changed and I’m trying to prove that to you and Nicki,” he knew this would be hard but he didn’t know that it would be like this.

“I don’t need you to prove anything. You might have changed but my memories haven’t. Do you have any idea what your actions caused? My mom was on the streets pregnant because of you. It took her months until she met Auntie Elena. She took my mom in when she had no one,” she cut her eyes at him.

“She was on the streets?” He couldn’t imagine Nicki being on the streets. Did he really cause her to run and end up on the streets?

“You thought that she would have someone there for her? No one wanted me to live. Our bills are piling up and I think my mom might be severely sick but she can’t afford to go to a doctor. Do you see this scar?” She moved her hair and showed her neck.

“A guy shot at our window and glass went through my skin. This scar on my arm was when we were robbed. And this,” she lifted her shirt slightly and showed her back. There was a huge scar and she hardly showed it to anyone.

“This was when our building burned down. My mom has worse scars than me,” she pulled her shirt back down.

“All of that happened to you guys?” Drake was mortified. He didn’t understand why Nicki wouldn’t just call him. He made some mistakes but she could’ve tried to talk to him.

“Welcome to my life,” she shrugged.

“Kari,” he started but she cut him off.

“You know what Drake? I’ve had enough for today. Can we just go back to your house?” She sighed. He nodded and they walked back to his car.

Nicki sighed as she saw another bill. “Nicki, you need his help. I can deal with you being stubborn about the bills but when it comes to your health, it’s not okay,” Elena refused to let her ignore her health.

“I’m scared,” she finally admitted. She doesn’t want to go to the doctor because she was scared.

“Scared of what?” Elena scrunched up her face.

“I’m scared that I’m really sick. Call me dumb but if I am, I’d rather not know. I just want to act like everything is normal,” she moved to put on her shoes.

“You are dumb if you think that’s a good idea. Think about Kari and how she would feel when something bad happens to you?” She crossed her arms.

“Just drop it Elena!” She snapped before walking towards the door.

“Nic,” Elena noticed her wobbling back and forth a little. She rushed to her feet just in time to catch Nicki from falling. Nicki groaned while holding her chest. “Will you listen to me now? You’re going to the hospital and I’ll cover it,” she helped Nicki get out of her house. Elena was struggling with bills too but her friend was more important.

Kari sighed in relief when they reached his house. “Kari,” Drake called out to her before she could go up the stairs.

“What do you want Drake? I’m so done with all of this drama,” she huffed.

“Alright,” he let her run up the stairs. He knew that he screwed up thinking that Nicki was after him for his money. When Nicki told him that she was pregnant, he proposed to her. When she left, she left the ring on his bed. He remembered when he last saw her.

He just came home from a long talk with his parents. He heard shuffling in his room so he knew that she was in there. “We need to talk,” he told her as he walked in.

“What is it?” She turned to look at him and scrunched up her face at his demeanor.

“Why are you holding onto this baby?” He questioned as she stood in shock. He never talked about not wanting this baby before.

“Did you just come back from your parents house?” She crossed her arms.

“Yeah and they made a lot of sense. I don’t see why you won’t just get an abortion. We can have babies further on in our lives,” he didn’t see what the big deal was about keeping this baby.

“So you want me to kill our baby because your parents told you so?” She knew that he was gullible but she didn’t think that he would be this stupid. His parents have been controlling his life for as long as he could remember and so have Nicki’s parents. They decided to disown her after she told them that she wasn’t getting an abortion.

“You’re making this more than what it needs to be. Just get an abortion Nic,” he sighed.

“I’m making it more than what it needs to be when you’re telling me to get an abortion? You want to kill our baby. Our baby Aubrey! I don’t know what the hell your parents told you but wake up. This isn’t you, why would you be siding with them on this?” She asked while trying to control her emotions.

“You’re just trying to trap me. I’m not gonna be a rapper with a kid. That will ruin my image and I damn sure ain’t gon have a baby mama. Just kill the baby,” he snapped.

“No,” she shook her head.

“Either you get rid of the baby or I’ll do it for you!” He yelled to 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.

He got snapped out of his flashback when his phone rang. “Hello?” He answered once he saw that it was Nicki.

“Look, I’m Nicki’s friend and I need you to get Kari here as soon as you can,” she told him.

“Why? Is something wrong with Nicki?” His heart started racing at the thought of something happening to her.

“I just need you to get Kari here,” she hung up. Drake sighed before going up the stairs to Kari’s room. He walked in and she was just staring out of the window.

“I told you that I’m done,” she refused to look at him.

“It’s beyond that Kari; you need to get your things. Your mom’s friend called and she needs you back in New York as soon as possible,” he said and she immediately popped up.

“Is something wrong with my mom!?” Her eyes started to water.

“I don’t know,” he sighed as they rushed to his car.