Soul Cry 2: Soul Cry, #2

By Candace Mumford

This is part 2 of a 2 part series. 
Amina Johnson has finally left her boyfriend of ten years and put some much needed distance between herself and Roderick Thomas. Though no amount of miles is a safe haven away from Roderick when she's carrying his child and still madly in love with him. 
Can an estranged couple who has already had a ten year together sort through the many problems in their relationship to fall in love with one another all over again? 
Amina ran away from her relationship with Roderick thinking their biggest problem was that Roderick has no problem putting a ring on it. He just wasn't willing to do it legally. What underlying issues may have prevented him from taking the final leap with the love of his life? Find out now in the conclusion of Soul Cry.

• Language: English
• Publisher: A.N.C. Media Publishing
• Release date: Aug 24, 2015
• ISBN: 9781516314812

Candace Mumford

Candace Mumford aka Ms.Bam is the Author of Urban Fiction and Romance. An avid reader and fan of the Urban Literature genre herself,she's excited to write in a genre she's enjoyed for years. Ms.Bam hopes to offer any reader that decides to purchase any of her books a page turning story full of characters they love and a few they love to HATE!

Book preview

Amina

So whose baby is it? Roderick gritted out. Roderick looked like a madman the way he was gripping the steering wheel. Hearing his question was like a glass of ice water being thrown in my face. I was shocked beyond belief.

What do you mean Roderick? It's your baby...,

" You a goddamn lie. I've been trying to get a baby out of you for at least eight years Amina. I've begged you to give me the family I never had. I pleaded with you to stop taking those goddamn pills and start a family with me. Now all of sudden your ass is pregnant? When did you stop taking your pills? If that was my baby why would you be leaving me? And please don't come out your fuckin' mouth and say it's about no muthafuckin' wedding!" Roderick screamed slamming his balled fists on the Escalade's dashboard so hard I could hear it rattling. Roderick jumped out of the truck pacing. I couldn't hear what he was saying but I saw his lips moving.

I could feel a sinking in the pit of my stomach.

This could not be happening to me. When I'd left it was my way of getting myself together. Trying to put a little distance between myself and Roderick because I knew even with me being pregnant, I wasn't going to have the family I'd always envisioned for myself. It never once occurred to me that Roderick would think our baby wasn't his. That's the last thing I wanted him to think. The door to the truck swung open, Roderick's eyes looked wild and red, he was breathing so hard his nostrils held a slight flare.

Amina don't you fuckin' lie to me..., Roderick's eyes lowered to my stomach.

Roderick I've never cheated on you. Ever! This is our baby.

" Then why did you leave Amina? Why the fuck did you leave if this is my baby?

Does the nigga live here? Is that why you're coming here to be with your baby daddy?

Don't none of this shit make sense to me. Not if it's my baby this shit don't make sense." Roderick raged on slamming the passenger door so hard the truck shook.

I sat there tears streaming down my face. I couldn't believe he was so ready to deny my baby. After ten years of being in a committed relationship with him? It was that easy for him to try to pin my child on another man. I'd stopped taking my pills because I'd wanted to give him what he wanted. I had been willing to do anything to save our relationship at the time. I'd been wondering if he was cheating on me. Every night for two weeks straight Roderick had turned his back on me. Told me HE had a headache or that he was tired and had to get up early in the morning for work to meet a client.

Our baby had been conceived in a damn alley after he'd laid hands on me for the first time in ten years. Now here he was putting me in a position where I had to defend myself from accusations of cheating?

The car door swung open.

I love you Amina but your selfish ass always been like this.

I could see by the all too familiar look in his eyes Roderick wasn't going to listen to a word I had to say. I wiped the tears from my cheeks, grabbed my purse and attempted to exit the truck when he pushed me back in the seat.

Where the fuck you think you're going?

" I'm leaving. What makes you think you can just say any and everything to me and it's okay? When did it become okay with you to just treat me like shit? You don't love me. You probably don't even like me because if you did, you'd never treat me as badly as you do."

Roderick's head snapped back.

Amina is the heat getting to your ass or what? That long ass bus ride must have really gotten to you. So what, I'm abusive to you? I don't treat you good? I'm that sorry of a nigga you running away pregnant? Nah baby I think you got the script all the way fucked up. You never loved me. Wouldn't no woman that called herself loving Roderick Jabri Thomas do no foul shit like this. The only thing that would allow you to do this to me is if that ain't my baby. So let me let you go find that nigga. Roderick said backing away from the door and walking back to the driver's side. Roderick settled back in his sat and cut his eyes at me.

Well go! Roderick screamed pointing towards the car door.

I was so choked up I didn't know where to start with Roderick. In a matter of seconds he'd made himself out to be the victim and now I was a whore. I wasn't surprised though. I'd had ten years to learn that Roderick never fought fair. The only difference was I was tired of fighting.

Roderick this is your baby. I'm not going to argue that fact with you. I didn't ask you to come after me. I wanted to be left alone but since you took it upon yourself to act like you're Dog The Bounty Hunter or some shit. Here I am. Did you really come all this way to say this to me? Because all this bullshit you could have saved for a voice-mail, text message....shit you could have emailed me. I said shaking my head.

I felt sick all of a sudden. Maybe the heat was getting to me after all. Roderick punched an address into the GPS system of the truck and pulled out of the parking lot of the bus station. Two minutes ago he was kicking me out of the truck to go find my baby daddy. Twenty minutes later we pulled into the Marriott Hotel downtown.

Roderick, why are you bringing me here? Just take me to my sisters please.

Look Amina, you just dropped a lot of shit on my mind right now. I had a long flight chasing after your crazy ass. Let me just get in here so I can take a shower and we can talk about this like adults. Can we just do that please?

Neither of us said a word to one another while he checked in. The suite Roderick rented was a luxury suite, then again I expected nothing less from him. I sat down on the sofa watching him trifle through his bags.

How long are you staying in Cleveland Roderick?

How long are you staying Amina? I'm only here because of you. I don't wanna be in this muthafucka now but you left me no choice. Roderick said turning to face me. Roderick dragged the chair to the desk over to the sofa where I sat and placed it directly in front of me enclosing my legs between his.

Amina talk to me. I need you to tell me something because this entire stunt....,

Stunt? This isn't a stunt Roderick. I got fed up and I moved on. We don't want the same things in this relationship so someone had to make a move and end it. I made the move. I said jabbing my chest.

Roderick threw his hands up in surrender.

" Okay. Wrong choice of words. But I still feel like I deserve an honest answer to what I asked you at the bus station. Do you still love me? Amina being mad at me is one thing. I want you to honestly tell me you're not in love with me? Am I that bad

Amina? You act like you've been living with a monster the last ten years."

It's not that Roderick. We're just not in the same place anymore. We want two different things out of life and it's time to face the fact we aren't on the same path. I'm just ready to move on.  I said wiping the tears streaming down my face before I turned into a complete blubbering fool right in front of him. It wasn't as if Roderick hadn't seen me cry a million times over the last ten years but that was part of our problem. My problem. When it came to Roderick, I didn't have much of a backbone. I never had. I was so busy trying to make him happy I'd just began agreeing when I didn't want to in order to prevent an argument. I didn't want to live like that anymore.

* * * * 3.

Roderick

I hated to see Amina crying. I ain't gon' even try and lie. After all these years I'd grown a little immune to the shit but when I really knew I was wrong and fucked up and it was my fault. Amina's tears could cut me to the core. Amina was in my soul. I couldn't understand why she thought I would let her go so easily. I was at a loss as to what to say to her right now. I wasn't the type of nigga that just poured my feelings out. I wasn't no wordy, poetic type of man. I was a man that took action. I showed and proved. I'd been doing it for ten years. Yeah, I know material shit wasn't everything but goddamn, what does a man have to do to prove himself?

I was a provider. I didn't run around on Amina, I told her I loved her. Granted most of the time it was when we were fuckin' but that's when I felt most vulnerable. It's when I poured every ounce of emotion I had into Amina but now after ten years, she acted like I wasn't shit. That hurt me to the bone.

Amina, it been a long day for both of us. Will you just stay with me tonight? Let's shower, order us up a nice meal and then we can talk. I mean really talk Amina. We put too much time into this relationship to just walk away when we have a child on the way. That's not fair to me or our baby Amina.

Roderick you're just saying all this because I left. If I go back with you, all this niceness will last two weeks then back to the same old thing. Amina said shaking her head at me. A part of me wanted to lash out and defend myself but I knew it wasn't the time. I hadn't slept, I felt grimy from the plane ride and I was hungry. All those factors didn't add up to us having a productive conversation at all.  I stood up, walked to the bathroom and turned on the shower. 

When I walked back into the room Amina was still sitting on the couch her head thrown back and her eyes closed. I felt a tightening in my chest. Damn, I wasn't about to have a heart attack was I? Amina was my heart. I couldn't even picture my life without her in it. I walked over and gazed down at her, she didn't even flinch she was so tired.

I stroked her cheek until her eyelids fluttered.

Come get in the shower so you can relax and lay down, I said extending my hand to her. Amina looked at me skeptically a few seconds before reaching out to take my hand. Amina walked to the shower taking her clothes off along the way. I wanted to join her but I decided it was probably best to give her some space. Instead, I ordered us up a meal of steak, baked potato, and Cesar salad and a few S.Pelligrino waters. My nerves were fuckin' shot. I could really use a stiff drink to mellow me out but I figured if Amina couldn't drink, neither would I.

I still couldn't believe Amina was having my baby. I know I'd thrown some crazy shit out there earlier about the baby not being mine but I knew better than that.

I couldn't believe she'd allowed me to plant my seed inside of her. Shit, a nigga had been trying to get a baby out of her for years.  Twenty minutes later Amina walked out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel smiling.

You must have needed that huh? But damn did you leave me any hot water? I asked laughing.

They better have plenty of hot water in here as much as this room cost, Amina said cutting her eyes at me. I'm hungry Roderick, did you order up some food?

Yeah, it should be here any minute now. Let me hop in the shower real quick before it gets here. I said walking into the bathroom. * * * * 4.

Amina

Amina what are you doing here with him? I asked myself. Ain't a damn thing gonna change. Roderick is to set in his ways and my mind is made up. This relationship is going nowhere and I'm not going to lose another ten years of my life even if I am having his baby and love his ass to death. Love just isn't enough anymore. I pulled out my cell phone to call my sister. I saw she'd sent me two texts already asking where were Roderick and I.

I also had several text messages from Katrina and surprisingly from my new friends LaDaya and Shavon which made me smile. Damn these girls are really looking out for me. I decided to send them a text first.

" Hey Ladies! I'm okay right now. We're downtown at the Marriott trying to work something out but I'm NOT going back. I hope LaDaya is feeling better.

Call U tomorrow. Maybe we can have lunch."

Shavon immediately texts me back saying don't do anything she wouldn't do. I couldn't help but giggle to myself thinking about that little man of hers trying to pick her up and swing her around at the bus station earlier. There was a knock at the door and I walked over to answer. Room service wheeled in a cart full of delicious smelling good. Roderick's ass know I love a nice juicy steak! I thought drooling over all the food the bell boy was uncovering.

I walked over to Roderick's jeans and pulled out his wallet for some cash to tip the bell boy.  Shoot I had some cash on me but I was in a new city and saving every dime I had. I handed him twenty dollars and locked the door back. I walked back over and picked up Roderick's wallet again.  My heart stopped when I opened Roderick's wallet and caught a glimpse of our very first couples picture ten years ago. We looked so happy and in love.

You ain't gon' find no condoms in there.

I jumped at the sound of Roderick's voice. I'd been so caught up reminiscing I hadn't noticed the shower had stopped.

What? Condoms? I asked confused.

" You all in my wallet I