Book 1 [ The Untitled Series ] by Brea Isome (best books to read all time txt) 📕

It was a medium sized box, wrapped in sparkly pink paper. Clearly, he thought I was still his little princess.

" what is it?" I asked, shaking the box softly, wide eyed in anticipation.

" woah, woah, don't shake it. Just open it."

Immediately my brain thought it was a dog. But then I looked at the box again and decided that the only way he could fit a dog into a slim rectangular box was if it was dead and balled up.

So, it wasn't a dog.

Deciding that it'd be much quicker to just open the box instead of guessing, I peeled back the paper quickly. Right there, in big bold letters under the wrapping paper, written sloppily with a black marker, the box read 'baby clothes'.

I gasped, cradling the box to my chest so that no one else could read it. My father was standing there, front and center, staring at me smugly.

" I wrapped it myself, like it?"

I gritted my teeth. " no." Clearly he knew, just like he knew every fucking thing else that I didn't want anybody to know. I'd been hiding my pregnancy since I'd found out. I'd known for a while, but I hadn't told anybody, not even Dryan or Alexus. It wasn't something I even wanted to think about, let alone talk about.

" what is it?" Alexus asked, trying to peep around to see. " He insisted on buying and wrapping it his self so I assumed that it was super special."

" it is." Was all I said to her at first. Everyone was looking at me suspiciously, so to try and get things back on track, I smiled and requested another gift.

While opening everyone's gifts, I kept my father's face down on the couch next to me so that nobody could get their hands on it.

Leon got me a custom hoodie. It was grey, and on the front it had a picture of us - one where I looked most unpleasant - taking up the entire breast area. On the back of the hoodie or names where written in cursive. mine above his.

It was the cutest thing. Leon didn't talk very much, but since I met him, he'd looked out for me like an older brother, and since I was an only child, that meant a lot.

Roderick got me a charm bracelet and a pair of silver earrings to match. The only charm hanging off of the bracelet had my initials carved into it.
The next gift was from Omar. Omar got me a box full of gift cards, atleast four hundred dollars worth. Each had 'twenty dollars' scribbled on the front, and each one was for a fast food place that I enjoyed. Already my mouth was salivating, trying to figure out which gift card I was going to use first, despite the fact that I had just eaten.

Before I could even put Omar's gift down, Alexus was shoving hers in my lap. " mine next !" She screamed, even though nobody else was holding out a gift. Dryan's gift for me was still held tightly in his arms like he had no intention to let it go.

" okay, don't lose your shit." I unwrapped her's with a little more haste. The faster I opened her's, the faster I could get to Dryan's. Although I didn't want to admit it, I was excited to see what he had gotten me.

Alexus's present was a photo album of all the pictures we had taken in the past three years. Flipping quickly through the album, I saw alot of pictures that we'd taken at 2 am leaving the club, and early in the morning after she'd spent the night. They all made me smile, some even made me chuckle. There were well over one hundred pictures of us in the large albun, and I couldn't wait to really get a chance to flip through the entire thing.

" they're in order too. All the way from the first to the last."

My eyes teared up as I leaped up off of the couch and flung myself at Alexus. She toppled over and we both landed on the floor, laughing. " Thank you so much everybody, I love you all."

" but she loves me more." Alexus declared.

" bullshit." Both Leon and Roderick mumbled, making me smile even bigger if that were at all possible. I was smiling so hard my jaws were hurting.

I raised my arms for someone to help me up but instead, my hands were smacked down." you can open my gift from there." Dryan said, sitting his large box next to me. He had the biggest box of them all. It had to be atleast two feet tall and I couldn't possibly imagine what could be inside.

Alexus and I both sat up, sitting cross legged infront of it.

" Did you buy this one?" I asked her.

" no. I have no idea what this is. I can help you shake it if you want."

" no shaking. Just open." Dryan demanded.

Jesus, you'd think he and my father were the same person with the way that they act. Then again, my father had raised Dryan so it was understandable that he had some of my father's tendencies.

" you can help me open it." I told Alexus.

We both reached up, her snatching off the bow before starting to help me rip the silver wrapping paper away.
It was a large brown box, no name or label on it just cardboard. I started to rip at the tape on top in order to get the box open. The entire thing toppled over, spilling a bunch of Styrofoam peanuts into my lap.

" is this a joke?" I asked Dryan, glancing up at him I'm wonder. " an entire box of Styrofoam peanuts?"

" no." Is all he said.

I rolled my eyes and went digging through the large box, Alexus helped me. I was convinced that it was a joke. Why would he even come to a party that was supposed to cheer me up if he was going to give me an empty gift box? He could have stayed home for all that.

I wasn't really searching for a gift anymore when my hand touched something cold. I grabbed onto the object, pulling it out of the mess. Dangling it in front of my face, it was clear what it was. It was a key ring, attached to it were two silver keys.

I looked back up at Dryan, questioning him silently.

" they're keys to my house. I had them made two weeks ago. I was waiting for the right time to ask you to move in with me so that we could spend more time together."

My stomach dropped, and I felt almost sick as I stared at the keys. " your were gonna- gonna-"

" okay, let's give them some privacy." My father said as he started to herd everybody from the room. Alexus wanted to stay so my father had to pick her up and put her over his shoulder, carrying her out. And then Dryan and I were alone.

I was just rubbing the keys, trying to figure out what to say when Dryan picked me up and sat me on my feet. Little pieces of Styrofoam fell just about everywhere and I couldn't help but think that that was going to be a hellish cleanup.

" why'd you give me these?" I asked.

" because I don't want 'em. I'm tired of looking at 'em."

" but I shouldn't have them. We're not together anymore. You should save them for your next girlfriend." Although I said that, the keys were still gripped tightly in my hands.

" I dont want a next girlfriend. I want a wife."

" well then save then for your-"

" I dont need to." He said, cutting me off. " I know you gone be my wife one day soon. The keys are yours."

My head snapped up so that could look at him clearly. " but you said that there was no coming back."

" I was hurt and angry when I said that. You had every right to break up with me, but I couldn't believe you ever would. I love you so much and I know I fucked up. I work too much and see my family too little. Whitney is always down my throat about the same shit. I just needed a little bit more time to get everything in order. Guess that doesn't matter now, huh?"

" it does." I grabbed his arm when he tried to turn away. " all I wanted was for you to spend more time with us. That's it. I understand that you have to work and make money but I want your children and I to be a priority in your life."

" you will be."

I took a deep breath, deciding that it was finally time to be honest with him about my pregnancy. I'd never planned exactly when I'd tell him, but this was as good a time as any.

" I lied to you."

" about?" He asked, taking a step back so that my hold on him dropped. I could tell he was getting prepared for the worst already.

" don't do that, Dryan."

" just tell me what you lied about."

" when we were laying in bed and I asked you if you wanted more children. " I blurted. " and then you asked me if I was pregnant ..."

" and you told me no, Symonee." His head turned slightly so that he was looking at me out of the corner of his eye. " Symonee-"

" I lied. I'm pregnant, four months pregnant. I've known for a few weeks and I'm sorry that i didn't tell you. That day when we had that argument and I went to the club and danced on that other guy, that was the day I found out. I was just so-" My sentence was cut off and Dryan picked me up, twirling us around and around in a circle. I laughed, and I could hear his own deep chuckle next to me.

" that's the best news I've heard all week. You gone make me a father again." I laughed again as he slowed the spinning, slowly sitting back on the couch. I straddled him, leaning back slightly so that we could see eachother. In his eyes I saw that sincerity behind his words. His brown eyes were gleaming. " but why'd you lie about it?"

I shrugged my shoulders. " I guess because this is the reaction I wanted from you, and I was scared that I wouldn't get that before."

" you'll always get this reaction from me anytime you're pregnant. I definately wasn't expecting it, especially since you're on the shot but I don't mind at all. I love you, and I want to have as many children with you as you want to have with me-" I smiled. " -as long as this one is a boy."

I rolled my eyes. " I should have known."

" I already have two girls, now I need a boy to protect them."

" girls can protect themselves, if you teach them how."

He sucked his teeth. " yeah, but that doesn't mean that they should have to. Like you, you can defend yourself but that doesn't mean you