Free When Love Hurts by Shaquanda Dalton Page A

And I just kept thinking, ‘Why is this girl so happy?’”
    “She can’t be happy?”
    Malcolm rolls his eyes. “No, bro, that’s not what I meant. I was like, why you so happy, and she said . . .” He pauses like he doesn’t want to tell me. He shakes his head, leans back, and stares off into space. “She said she’s engaged to that nigga, bro.”

PART THREE
    Jessica

Chapter 15

    I roll around in my bed until I face the wall. Chris is still in the shower. I take a deep breath and smile. I can’t believe Chris proposed to me last night. I guess I shouldn’t be that surprised, given the circumstances.  
    My smile fades when I think about seeing Malcolm today. I hadn’t seen him in three months, and even though I asked him how Jaylen was doing, he only gave me a vague answer. I don’t want to admit it, but I wanted to know if Jaylen was sorry for what he said to me. I know my going back to Chris was a hard pill to swallow, but I’m happy. If Jaylen can’t accept my desire to be happy, then I don’t know what else to say about it.
    I look out of the window, and I’m able to spot the moon. It’s shining orange like the sun, and I snuggle deeper into the bed. I close my eyes as I hear the shower turn off, and my mind shifts back to Jaylen. I don’t know why I miss him so much, but I hate the last words I said to him. He and Malcolm were the only real friends I ever had, and now I feel like I’m really by myself.
    Chris promised to never hit me again or cheat on me. He changed his number and allowed me to pick out the password for the phone. He changed his work schedule so that he works all night and stays home with me during the day so he will have less “tempting moments.” I admit that I wasn’t sure he would keep all his promises, but he has, and I can’t be happier.  
    The bedroom door opens, and the smell of Ivory soap and hot steam fills the air. I inhale deeply and turn around. Chris is wearing only his towel and a smirk on his face as he winks at me. I smile back and stare at his muscled chest and stomach. His skin is about two shades lighter than mine, and his eyes are a bright brown.  
    Chris drops his towel and crawls in beside me. I lay my head on his chest and listen to his heart beat. He starts to rub my back and tug my hair softly.  
    “You still feeling sick?” he asks, staring down at me.  
    “Yeah, just a little, but I’m fine. Just need to get to sleep, that’s all.”
    He nods and squeezes my shoulders. “All right, but since I’m off tonight and tomorrow, how about we go to the club tomorrow night? We got a lot to celebrate,” he says, reaching over and rubbing my stomach.
    I snuggle closer and rest a leg on top of his thigh. “What do you think we should name it if he’s a boy?”
    “Chris.”
    “What about a girl?”
    “Chrissy,” he says. I laugh and wrap my arms around him.



Chapter 16

    The next morning I feel a lot worse than the night before. I throw up twice before Chris even wakes up, and after he wakes up, I realize I’m too weak to even fix his breakfast. Of course, he says it’s no big deal and makes himself a bowl of cereal.
    I lie out on the couch with my robe on, and Chris is by my feet watching ESPN. I haven’t eaten anything yet because I’m afraid it won’t stay down. “You want some white soda or something?” Chris asks.  
    I shake my head, and he goes back to watching TV. It won’t be till the late afternoon that I might feel like eating something. It’s just that I hate throwing up so much that I don’t want to take the chance. I settle for drinking water.  
    “How many months are you?” Chris asks. I find his staring annoying.
    “I don’t know. A month maybe. I’m not even showing yet,” I say.
    “Well, how many months into it do you start showing?” he asks, a little louder than necessary. I know he isn’t doubting that I’m pregnant. I’ve been throwing up like crazy.  
    “I don’t know, Chris. We haven’t been