Give Me The Reason 2: A Love Story (4 page)

He smiled weakly before turning around and walking out of his bedroom. Since Ashanti seemed to have taken over his room, he decided he would sleep in the guest bedroom. Sleeping in the same bed with Ashanti was definitely out of the question. That would only give her false hope for something that was never going to happen.

After taking a much needed shower, Tyson went downstairs to make sure all of the doors were locked before heading back upstairs. He was exhausted and finally felt like he could fall asleep, something he hadn’t done in the last two days. Thoughts of Delaney filled his mind as he rested his head on the pillow. He said a silent prayer for the woman that he loved and begged God to allow her to awaken from the coma. He promised to make things right if given another chance. Even if it took the rest of his life, he was going to win back her heart and trust, whatever the cost.

Chapter Four

It had been two long weeks since Delaney’s accident and she was still in a coma. Natasha was going out of her mind with worry. This had to be one of the worse times of her life. Natasha figured she would take a quick shower and head up to the hospital to sit with her best friend. There was so much she needed to talk to Delaney about. She glanced over to see Jason sleeping peacefully beside her, which caused a slow smile to form on her face. He’d been by her side since the day she told him about Delaney being in a car accident. Taking a leave of absence from his job was going to take a toll on their finances, but Jason assured her that he had everything under control.

Worry quickly took over once the thought of her impending pregnancy crossed her mind, as it had with every waking moment since she’d taken the over-the-counter pregnancy test. Natasha managed to keep the pregnancy a secret from her husband. There was no way she could tell Jason that she was pregnant, for fear that he would suspect the baby wasn’t his. Natasha didn’t know what she was going to do. How could she have been so stupid? The thought of losing Jason was damn near unbearable. Tears quickly welled up in her eyes as she considered having to tell Jason that she was possibly pregnant with another man’s baby. In two more days her doctor’s appointment would be here and hopefully she would know more information afterwards.

“Good morning, beautiful.” Jason yawned, wiping sleep from his eyes. Natasha was truly a vision to see. Her beauty still took his breath away after all of the years that they’d been together. The last two weeks being at home with his wife had been some of the best times of his life. He hadn’t told Natasha yet, but he wasn’t planning on going back on the road. After he’d spoken with the head man at his home office and explained that he needed to be home more due to personal issues, his boss told him about a job opening that would allow him to be home every day. It was a no brainer, so Jason applied for the job and was waiting to hear back from the corporate office. Instead of long distance driving, he would only be required to drive locally as a liquor distributor. The money was a little less than he was making now, but he would find a way to make ends meet.

Natasha sniffled and quickly wiped her eyes before looking up at Jason.

“Good morning yaself, handsome.” She planted a quick kiss on his cheek and laid her head on his bare chest, in an effort to conceal her watery eyes.

Jason wrapped his arms around his wife and inhaled deeply. He knew something was bothering Natasha and he badly wanted to question her. But with all that was going on with Delaney, he figured he wouldn’t pressure her. Soon enough she would open up and tell him whatever it was that was bothering her.

“Well, I better get out of this bed and take a shower so I can head up to the hospital to sit with Delaney. I’m sure Unc could use a break. If you want, I can cook you some breakfast before I leave.” Natasha sat up and reached for her robe that was lying on the chaise next to their bed. She was experiencing bad bouts of morning sickness and was finding it harder and harder to hide the pregnancy from Jason. Her stomach was currently doing somersaults and she felt like she was going to vomit at any minute. Before Jason could respond, Natasha rushed into the master bathroom, slammed the door shut, and turned on the water in the sink to mask the sound of her vomiting.

“Natasha, what’s wrong? Is everything ok in there?” She heard Jason calling out from the other side of the door. She could hear him rattling the door knob trying to get inside of the bathroom. Quickly, she wiped her mouth and opened the door.

“Sorry, baby, I didn’t realize that I’d locked the door,” she lied. Natasha quickly reached for her toothbrush, applied a line of toothpaste on the bristles and began vigorously brushing her teeth.

Jason looked perplexed as he stood there trying to figure out what was going on with his Natasha. Her behavior had been strange and out of character for the last few weeks, and he couldn’t understand what was going on.

“Natasha, are you sick? You’ve been acting strange lately and I’m really concerned about you,” he questioned. “Baby, I think you should make an appointment to see the doctor,” he added, eyeing her suspiciously.

Natasha continued brushing her teeth for a few more minutes. She gargled with mouthwash and spit it out down the drain. Secretly wishing she could do the same thing with the baby she was carrying. As much as she wanted to have a baby, she didn’t see things happening this way.

“I’m just stressed, baby, no need to worry.” She smiled reassuringly at him. He watched her closely as she walked over to the stand-alone shower, turning the water on.

Over the years she’d picked up a little weight, but Jason noticed that she’d picked up more weight since he’d been home. He also noticed that Natasha had been wearing more clothes than normal around the house. Normally she wore sexy boy shorts or leggings and a tank top, but lately she wore a robe or sweatpants and oversized t-shirts. He just figured she was self-conscious about the recent weight gain. Women could be sensitive about their weight and Jason didn’t want to hurt her feelings by mentioning it. Besides, he didn’t have a problem with it either way.

Natasha’s weight was never a problem for Jason, he loved a woman with some meat on her bones. She was far from being what one would consider to be fat, but she wasn’t skinny either. In his eyes, she was perfect. He loved her big thick thighs, wide hips, and big juicy ass. There wasn’t anything a skinny chick could do for him. He’d pick Natasha’s thick ass over a twig any day of the week.

Jason stood lustfully eyeing his wife. They hadn’t made love in a minute and he wanted nothing more than to make sweet love to her. Natasha cut her eyes at Jason as she removed her robe and quickly stepped into the shower.

“Please don’t let him come in here, please don’t let him come in here,” she quietly chanted to herself. Knowing Jason the way she did, the
I want some
look in his eyes only meant he was going to follow her into the shower. Just as she suspected, Jason slid the shower door back and stepped his naked ass inside.

Natasha immediately turned her back to him to conceal her little pouch. To the naked eye, no one would probably even suspect that she was pregnant. But since Jason knew her so well, he would more than likely question the little protrusion in her stomach. Lately she had been covering up more and more without any questions from Jason.

“I love every inch of your body, baby,” Jason said, pressing his rock hard dick up against Natasha’s ass. This was his way of reassuring Natasha that he didn’t have any qualms about her weight. He leaned down and kissed the back of her neck, as he reached around her and palmed both of her wet breasts in his hands. Jason squeezed both breasts gently and pinched her nipples causing them to harden.

Natasha held back the urge to flinch when he pinched her sore nipples. She simply stood there and endured the pain in silence. He moaned huskily as his hands traveled downwards in search of her secret garden. Jason gently rubbed his middle finger in between the folds of her pussy until he located her throbbing love button. This time she was the one who moaned when he began to make slow circular motions around her hardened clitoris with his middle finger.

“Ohhhhhhh baby that feels so good,” she said, letting her head fall back to rest on his chest.

“Do you wanna feel Daddy inside of that sweet tight pussy?” he asked, continuing to massage her hardened pearl.

Natasha hadn’t realized how horny she was until that very moment. “Yes, Daddy, I want to feel every inch of your dick inside of me,” she said in between deep moans. Luckily for Natasha, Jason loved to hit it from the back. She leaned over and placed both of her hands on the shower wall. The hot steamy water felt good cascading down her back and ass.

Jason entered her slowly from behind, but he never stopped flicking away at her love button, which only caused her juices to flow more abundantly down her thighs. Once he was all the way inside of her tight wet pussy, he stood there for a minute enjoying the warmth of her tightness wrapped around his hard wood. Natasha gently pushed back on Jason with her ass signaling for him to stroke her.

Jason placed both of his hands on her slippery waist and pushed himself in and out of her creamy juice box. “Baby, you just don’t know how much I missed my pussy,” he grunted with each thrust. For some reason her pussy felt much hotter to Jason.
Damn something feels different about her pussy, but in a good way
, he thought to himself.

“I missed you too, Daddy,” Natasha moaned. Although Drake’s dick is slightly bigger than Jason’s, he didn’t know how to hit her spot the way Jason did. Jason pounded away at her insides like a beast, and she was throwing it back at him even harder. Their sex life had always been pleasurable, but after so many years together being with only one man, Natasha began to get bored. It didn’t help matters any that she was also a stay-at-home wife. Meeting Drake seemed like a dream. He added something to her life and gave her something to do on those lonely nights. In hindsight, she wished she would have found an alternative to cure her loneliness and boredom.

Natasha blocked out the incessant chatter in her head and focused on the orgasm that was building up with each deep thrust Jason was giving her. She raised up on her tiptoes and bounced her ass hard on his dick.

“Damn baby,” Jason growled, as he watched her big juicy ass cheeks giggle.

“Daddy, I’m cuuuummmiiinnnnnggg,” she yelled out as her juices squirted out of her. Unable to hold back any longer, Jason released his hot load deep inside of her. Natasha quickly washed up and stepped out of the shower, leaving Jason alone.

After drying off, Natasha headed towards her closet to find something comfortable to wear. Each day it was becoming a harder task to disguise her growing tummy. Finally, she decided on a pair of dark blue jeggings, and a long pink hankerchief tank top that covered her belly nicely. Once she was satisfied with her attire, Natasha slid a pair of pink thong sandals on her feet.

“Baby, I’m going downstairs to fix you a quick breakfast before I leave out,” Natasha called out once she heard the shower turn off. Without waiting on Jason to answer, she headed downstairs.

The smell of the scrambled eggs had her stomach doing somersaults. Natasha fought the urge to vomit as she stood over the stove preparing her husband’s breakfast. Jason walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

“It smells delicious up in here,” he said, planting quick pecks on the back of her neck.

“Alright, it looks like everything is ready,” she said, quickly removing herself from his grasp. Natasha knew her behavior had been odd lately and it was only a matter of time before Jason started to question her about it.

Natasha fixed his plate and placed it on the dining room table, along with a tall glass of orange juice. She gave Jason a kiss on the cheek before bolting out of the door. The smell was nauseating and she didn’t know how much longer she could hold back from vomiting.

Something had to give! She couldn’t continue to walk around carrying this secret all by herself. At a time like this is when she really needed Delaney. Natasha started up her car and backed out of the driveway feeling like the weight of the world was on her shoulders.

Chapter Five

Cameron and Ava sat alongside Delaney’s hospital bed with their hands intertwined. Cam marveled at the thought of how their relationship had flourished over the years. He felt a sense of peace whenever he was in Ava’s presence. The two had weathered every storm together and he was looking forward to spending the rest of their lives with one another. They were truly soul mates in every sense of the word.

There still hadn’t been any change in their daughters’ condition. Ava’s eyes were weary from crying and lack of sleep. She had never prayed so much in her life before Delaney’s tragic accident. Cam wasn’t much better. He still couldn’t bring himself to leave the hospital for longer than the few hours it took him to go home, shower, and change clothes.

“I think it’s time that we tell Cane and Delaney the truth,” Cam said, gently squeezing Ava’s hands. The secret they’d been carrying for the last twenty-five years was eating at his soul. It had never been his idea to keep the truth from Delaney or Cane, but for Ava’s sake he’d kept quiet. Cam would never be able to live with himself if anything happened to Delaney and she not know the truth.

Ava knew in her heart that Cam was right, but she wasn’t ready to deal with the backlash from Delaney or Cane.

“In my heart I know that Delaney has every right to know the truth, but what if she never forgives me? I already have so much to make up for,” she cried. The day that Cameron left and moved to Texas many years ago, was one of the worst days of her life. He’d offered to tell Cane about Delaney the day before he disappeared out of her life. Cam wanted nothing more than to raise his daughter along with Ava like a real family, but she was too emotionally addicted to Cane to realize the mistake she was making.

“Don’t worry, babe, I will be right by your side every step of the way. We owe them the truth if nothing else.” He smiled lovingly at Ava. Cam was more than ready to rid himself of the guilt he’d been carrying around all of these years. Sleeping with his brother’s woman was not one of the high points of his life. Even if Cane was no good for Ava, that didn’t give him the right to sleep with her. He should have shown more restraint, but instead he convinced himself that he was the better man for her. From the first day he met Ava he knew she was special and much too good for his philandering younger brother. He allowed his desire for Ava to override his morality.

Ava stood up and slowly walked over to the window overlooking the courtyard below Delaney’s hospital room. Her mind was in complete shambles and she didn’t know if she was coming or going. All she ever wanted in life was to be a good wife and mother. What a mess she managed to make of her life. Ava crossed her arms over her chest and inhaled deeply, as she thought back to the day that led up to the events of her pregnancy.

Ava and Cane had been on the outs, and according to Macy, Ava’s former best friend and neighborhood busy body, he was spending more and more time over at Dana’s house. To make matters worse, they hadn’t made love in a month, which was unusual for them. She was beginning to feel like she was losing Cane, and it was driving her insane.

Everything seemed to have changed overnight. They went from spending every waking moment together to days going by without a word from Cane. During these times, Ava would always run to Cam for comfort. The two had grown extremely close and she began to count on him to be there to pick up the pieces. In the beginning, their friendship was as innocent and sweet as a newborn baby. Ava tried to ignore the magnetic chemistry she felt whenever she was in Cam’s presence, but the more she tried to fight it, the stronger the emotions became. Cam was always full of compliments and smiles whenever she came around, unlike Cane, who rarely even gave her a second look.

Before either she or Cam knew what was happening, their feelings began to take a turn. Their forbidden love affair felt like the first day of spring, and Ava never wanted the season to change. The first time they made love, Ava knew that things would never be the same again. Cam was different from Cane. He was gentle and tender. He treated her body like a prized possession. Each touch, kiss, stroke felt like he was Picasso and she was the blank canvas of his next masterpiece. The sordid affair went on for several months and Cane was none the wiser. He was too busy in the streets to notice that Ava had fallen in love with his very own brother. Cam and Ava were spending so much time together that she began to feel more like his woman than Cane’s.

She was so caught up in their clandestine affair that she hadn’t noticed her monthly cycle was missing in action. When her fear of pregnancy was confirmed, there was no doubt in her mind that Cameron was the father. In a panic, she planned a romantic evening with Cane that involved them making love. Although she’d fallen in love with Cam, she wasn’t prepared to end her relationship with Cane. But most of all, she refused to lose Cane to Dana. Naturally, Cane would assume the baby was his, and she was not going to tell him any different. Ava tried to hide her pregnancy from Cam because she knew that he too would know that he was the father of her unborn child.

As time went on, Cam began to notice the change in her body, not to mention her attitude. She became distant and stopped coming by the house everyday like she’d been doing. Eventually, he confronted Ava about his suspicions of her pregnancy and vowed to take care of her and their child. Cameron put his heart and soul in her hands, but Ava rejected his offer and opted to stay with her then boyfriend. She begged Cam not to say anything to Cane. Against his better judgment, he honored her request, but refused to stay around and watch the love of his life raise his baby with another man, even if the other man was his brother.

“Ava, are you sure this is what you really want?” asked Cam, as he struggled to keep his emotions in check. 

“Yes,” she said in a low whisper. Ava refused to look Cam in the eyes, because if she did he would see that she was lying. She was confused and torn between the man she loved and the man she was planning to marry. Besides, she felt guilty for being careless and getting pregnant by her soon to be brother-in-law, which meant she was no better than Cane. Finally, Ava forced herself to look into Cameron’s eyes, the hurt she saw in his eyes immediately brought her to tears.

“If this is what you really want, then I will walk away and allow you to raise our baby with my brother as his child. All I ask is that you allow me to be a big part of her life. I will play the role of the uncle, but just know I plan on supporting my seed. This baby will want for nothing as long as I am alive.” Cam meant every word and even if he wasn’t going to stick around to see her grow up, he would at least financially support a life that he helped to create.

“I love you, Cam!” Ava cried. Her heart felt like it was bursting at the seams. Tears cascaded down her face as her chest heaved heavily up and down. She reached out for Cam, but he turned away. He loved Ava, but he could no longer see her in the same way. The next day, he took a job offer in Texas and moved away without saying a word to Ava. She was crushed beyond measure, and instantly she knew she’d made the biggest mistake of her life.

“
Good morning, Uncle Cam,” Natasha said, embracing Cameron in a hug, snapping Ava out of her thoughts of the past. Using both of her hands, Ava quickly wiped the tears from her eyes before turning around. The sight of Natasha always nauseated Ava. She hated everything that the little bitch stood for.

Cameron released Delaney’s hand and stood up so that he could properly greet Natasha.

“Good morning to you, baby girl.” He smiled brightly. Natasha quickly glanced at Ava,

“Good morning, Mrs. Michaels,” she mumbled. Natasha refused to keep kissing Ava’s ass, nor was she going to stay away from the hospital because of Ava’s fucked up attitude towards her either. Ever since Natasha was a youth, Ava had always been indifferent towards her. At first, Ava’s coldness towards her would really hurt her feelings; but over time she came to adjust to it. Most of the time Natasha would simply ignore her rudeness, but deep down inside she longed to know why this woman held so much resentment towards her.

Ava smirked and walked over and sat down beside her daughter, totally ignoring Natasha. Cam cleared his throat and glared at Ava.

“Have a seat and relax,” Cameron said and grabbed the remote control to power on the television. The tension in the room was super thick and the noise from the television was a welcomed distraction. He and Natasha continued to have small talk, while Ava sat by Delaney and acted as if Natasha wasn’t in the room.

Cam suggested that he and Ava go grab some lunch from the hospital cafeteria to allow Natasha some alone time with Delaney. Reluctantly, Ava agreed and Natasha was relieved to not have to sit under the glare of Ava’s hateful ass.

“Laney, why does your mother hate me so much? You know she ain’t never liked me.” Natasha chuckled. She reached inside of her handbag and grabbed a brush and began to gently brush Delaney’s hair. “Girl, I have so much to tell you. I need you to wake ya ass up and stop playing,” she joked. Knowing Delaney, the way she did, Natasha was sure the heffa was laughing on the inside. Natasha went on to tell Delaney about everything that had been going on in her life, including the pregnancy as she continued brushing Delaney’s soft curly hair. She felt like a weight had been lifted off of her chest once she was able to talk it out with her bestie, even though Delaney couldn’t respond.

As Natasha rose from the chair on her way to the restroom to relieve the pressure on her bladder, in walked Cane. It was strange, but she felt an uncanny familiarity to Cane whenever he came around.

“Hey, pretty lady.” He smiled and embraced Natasha with a hug. “How’s my baby girl doing?” he asked, pointing at Delaney.

“There hasn’t been any change, but she appears to be doing fine. Uncle Cam told me that the doctors are saying all we can do is wait for her to wake up.” She smiled warmly at Cane, before rushing off to the bathroom that was inside of Delaney’s hospital room.

Natasha’s last statement caused Cane’s blood to boil with anger. He was sick of hearing what the fuck Cam said, as if he were some type of God. Cane walked over to Delaney’s hospital bed and stared down at his beautiful baby. He regretted putting his lifestyle before his daughter, and not being there for her emotionally like he should have been. There were so many things he wanted to say to her, but the words got caught up in his throat. Cane gently ran his hand over her hair before taking a seat beside her.

Cam and Ava breezed through the door interrupting his time with Delaney.

“Hello Cane.” Cam was the first to speak. Ava simply took a seat on the soft pink sofa which was across the room from Cane, choosing not to say anything. Nervousness ran through every fiber of her body. She never knew what was going to pop off when those two were in the same room together. Cane glared at his brother and smirked.

“Damn, do you two love birds think I can have a few minutes alone with my daughter?” he said, sarcasm dripping with each word.

Cameron inhaled deeply and shook his head from left to right while biting down on his bottom lip.
No time like the present to get this shit out of the way
, he thought to himself. Cam was fed up with the secrets and lies and he was ready to put it all out there in the open.

“Listen, bruh, we need to talk,” Cameron stated. His face wore an expression of seriousness and Ava knew shit was getting ready to hit the fan.

Ava jolted up off the sofa. “I-I-I don’t think this is the place or time,” she stuttered, pleading with her eyes, begging Cam to let it go. Panic raced from her brain directly to her heart which was beating a mile a minute. She was not prepared to have this conversation, but she could tell from the expression on Cam’s face that it was going down whether she wanted it to or not.

She began to pace the floor, preparing herself for the knock down drag out that was soon to follow. All of this was her fault. Had she not been a coward all those years ago, she wouldn’t be dealing with this mess now. She made the decision to stay with Cane out of jealously for Dana, and let the one man who truly loved her walk out of her life. Ava couldn’t blame anyone but herself. She had every opportunity to come clean with Cane before the wedding, but she chose to deceive him into marrying her knowing that the baby she was carrying wasn’t his. She felt she had something to prove to all the other women who tried to take Cane from her, so with a baby on the way she knew he wouldn’t leave. Cane was going to go ballistic and feel justified in all of his dirt once he found out that Delaney is his brother’s child.

“Oh yeah? What the fuck you need to talk to me about, bruh?” he spat at Cameron. Cane was over his brother’s self-righteous ass. The nigga acted like he walked on water and so did the little minion followers who praised his every word, including his soon to be ex-wife.

“I’m just going to come right out and say it. Delaney is my daughter. Ava and I knew it from day one, but we decided together to keep it our little secret, because at the time she still had love for you and wanted to make the things work. I am not proud of the deceitful way we both chose to handle things, but I can no longer go on knowing that she is my daughter and keeping it a secret from Delaney.”

Natasha stood at the entrance to the bathroom with her mouth hung wide open. She wasn’t eavesdropping, but when she heard Cam start talking she froze in place. Ava was crying and pacing the floor, wringing her hands together like she was having some sort of panic attack.