Naala stirred in her sleep as the light shone through Dave's room. She finally opened her eyes and that's when the pain hit her. Her head was spinning and she felt physically sick, knowing that she had to vomit, she shot up startling Dave in the process.

Naala rushed out of the room, her thighs aching and pushed open a door she knew to be the bathroom. Heading straight for the toilet she threw it open and began spilling her guts. Tears sprang from her eyes as she wretched painfully. She was never drinking again.

Dave heard the wretching and got up rubbing his eyes. He followed the sound and saw Naala hunched over the toilet looking like shit,

"Damn Love, you good?" He said while holding her hair back, he knew she would kill him for letting her hair get vomit in it.

"I'm never drinking again Dave —" she said as she got up, limping to the sink to brush her mouth. Dave handed her a toothbrush and snickered,

"That limp suits you ma'" Naala gave Dave a nasty look and grabbed the toothbrush, he wasn't done irritating her. He walked up behind her and rubbed her ass, Naala who still wasn't over last night, moaned lightly.

"You so nasty baby," Dave chuckled before tapping her butt lightly and picking up his own toothbrush. Naala ignored him and continued brushing her teeth. I have something for his ass, she thought.

As she finished washing her face, she looked over to Dave who was sitting on the bed on his phone with one hand in his pants. She walked over and sat on the bed, grabbing her phone that had 10 missed calls.

Texting her sister back first, she let her know that she was ok. Now onto Instagram, she saw she had over 50 mentions and a whole bunch of new followers, clicking on the first mention, she saw a post of her and Dave walking out of Dolce hand in hand. The caption read,

😍

In the comments, lots of people were tagging Naala and that's what pissed her off,

"Oh shit Amir come here," Naala called to Dave who had left the room to go to the bathroom. He came running out thinking something was wrong,

"Look at this shit," she said practically shoving her phone is his face. Dave looked at the phone, shrugged and then handed it back to her,

"That ain't shit Love, they just speculating,"

"Speculating?! Dave I have a boyfriend!" She nearly screamed, starting to think about all the things Darnell would do to her if he saw this.

"You ain't have a nigga last night," Dave joked which caused Naala to reach over and punch him in the arm,

"Take it seriously Amir," she whined, she knew it was only a matter of time before Darnell caught wind of this.

"Ok ma, Imma make a post saying you just my baby mama then," he laughed, knowing that Naala wouldn't agree to that.

"Amir! You not taking this seriously, can you take me home please, I need to change" Naala didn't want Ms Sonia to see her in the clothes she wore last night.

"'Ight, lemme hop in the shower, you coming?" Dave asked Naala causing her to scrunch up her nose,

"Amir just hurry up please," she pleaded knowing damn well if she got in that shower with him that there would be a repeat of last night. She couldn't believe she had slept with him last night, but she didn't regret it one bit. Now that Dave was back, she could leave Darnell - or so she thought.

30 MINUTES LATER...

Naala's head was banging so she lay her head on the car window, trying to fall asleep. Dave's hand lay on her leg rubbing it soothingly as he knew she wasn't feeling well.

"We almost there Love," Dave assured her, she cracked a smile and put her hand over his, squeezing it tightly. She thought about how much one night changed the dynamics of their relationship - they needed to talk about last night.

Not too long after, they pulled up in her driveway. Naala didn't see Darnell's car so assumed he wasn't in. She told Dave to wait in the car whilst she gets changed - she already showered at Dave's so all she needed to do was put on some clothes that weren't as big as the ones Dave gave her to wear.

Walking through the door, the house was silent - not even the sound of Rosa cleaning up in the kitchen. Naala didn't think anything of it and went into her room to change. As she walked into her closet, she heard a door close. Shit, she thought. She quickly grabbed her Essentials tracksuit and put it on, her hands were shaking out of fear.

Darnell sat on the bed, looking at the closet waiting for her to come out. He held his phone, open on Instagram, where the picture of Dave and Naala sat there.

"Naala get the fuck out the closet," he said softly, fiddling with the rings that sat on his hand.

"D-Darnell I thought you were on a business trip?" She called still standing in her closet. She was kicking herself as she left her phone in the car with Dave.

"I ain't got time for questions Naala, come out of the fucking closet before I drag you out," his voice boomed through the room. Naala jumped at the bass in his voice, she knew what was coming.

She walked out slowly with her hand hung low, at the sight of her Darnell jumped up, grabbed her by her hair and flung her on the bed,

"I'm gonna give you one chance, where the fuck were you last night Naala and don't you even think of lying,"

"I-I was with Taina and 'nem, we went out" Naala said half telling the truth. She was with her girls but she left out the vital bit of who she left with.

"Taina and 'nem? That's funny," Darnell chuckled. "Unless Taina turned into a full grown nigga last night, I could of sworn this was that nigga you've been going out with!" Darnell screamed, his veins popping out of his neck. His face was red and his fists were clenched. Naala was now crying, she didn't know what to do.

"It wasn't like that b-baby I promise, h-he's an old friend - " Naala stuttered trying to explain,

"So where did you go after you left then? Cos you weren't here?!" Darnell shouted, Naala flinched and that's when he flipped,

He started punching her dead in the face, his rings colliding with her eye. Naala took each blow with tears streaming down her face.

"S-Stop baby pleaseeeee, I'm sorry D-Darnell, please baby?" Naala cried trying to get out of his grip, he bent over and grabbed her legs, pulling her down the bed so she was practically hanging off. He turned around to undo his belt,

"You gon' learn today Naala, you giving away my pussy?" He laughed unbuckling his belt, Naala knew this was her chance and she started to bolt for the door.

"HELP ME" she screamed out to nobody in particular as she jetted down the stairs heading for the door. She knew that Dave was in the driveway so all she had to do was get to the door. She reached for the handle but was dragged back by a furious Darnell, he began to choke her against the door,

"Naala, you don't understand, if I can't have you baby, no one else can!" He chuckled wickedly as he squeezed her neck for dear life. She felt a sharp pain in her stomach and looked down, he had lodged a knife in her stomach. Naala was slowly loosing consciousness and her eyes began to slowly close. He eased up a bit which gave her a chance to grab the vase next to her and smash it on his head. The white ceramic vase collided with his skull and knocked him out instantly. Naala held onto her open wound and flung the door open and went running. As she ran, she felt the blood leaking from her stomach,

Dave who was busy on the phone to his mom, checking on Sinai, saw a bruised and bloody Naala, running with no shoes on towards the car. Dropping his phone, he jumped out of the car to meet her, his jaw clenched and his heart broke as he saw the mother of his child, all bruised up. Before he made it to her, she collapsed on the floor. Rushing to her side he fell to the floor,

"Love, stay with me mama, you gotta keep your eyes open for me baby," he said while applying pressure to her stomach. Blood pooled in her mouth as she struggled to breathe,

"A-Amir, take care of my baby, p-please?" She said through laboured breath,

"Stop talking like that ma', we gon' get you some help" Dave was frantically dialling 911 and trying to keep pressure on the wound.

"Fuck this," he grunted and grabbed Naala putting her in the front seat. He jogged over to his side, got in and then sped off into the direction of the hospital. He looked over at Naala and her eyes were slowly closing,

"Naala baby please keep your eyes open, let's talk about 'Nai - what we gon' do for her birthday?" Dave pleaded, still applying pressure to her gaping wound,

"S-she wanna go Disneyland," Naala mumbled with a weak smile on her face, her eyes still half open

"That's good ma, we gon' take her there aight', just keep your eyes open ma, for me Love?" Dave pleaded with her while speeding to the hospital. They pulled up at the hospital and Dave ran in to get the nurses. They came running out with a gurney,

"Okay, we got a female in her 20s, pulse is dropping, get me an IV stat!" Dave stood helplessly as they rushed Naala into the hospital and through to the ward. He stood there until he couldn't see her anymore,

"Fuck man!" he shouted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dave sat with his head in his hands in the hospital waiting room. He wished he went in to the house with her, if he did none of this would be happening. When they got to the hospital, he called his mom to keep Sinai for a bit longer and also called Naala's sister to inform her about what happened, she was distraught and said she was on her way.

"Dave where's my sister?" Azure rushed out as she ran into the waiting room, she was dressed in a tracksuit and a pair of sneakers, her eyes were bloodshot red - you could tell she was crying. Behind her were Mia, Ace and Taina , Dave peeped Ace consoling Mia and made a mental note to ask him about that later.

"She's in surgery," Dave mumbled, he was furious with himself.

"What the hell happened David?! I told you to take care of her," Azure stressed, tears rolling down her face, she wasn't angry at Dave - she was gonna kill Darnell.

"I don't know Zuri man, one second I was waiting for ha' in the car, the next second she running out the house bleeding. Imma' kill that nigga man - that's my fucking baby!" Dave said, his voice cracking as he thought of losing the mother of his first child and his future children. Dave blamed himself for what happened because if he never left New York she would have never met Darnell.

Before anyone could say anything, a doctor came out into the waiting room holding a clipboard,

"Family of Naala Love?" The doctor said, looking around at all the sad faces in the waiting room. Dave jumped up and went rushing over,

"I'm her husband, how is she?" Dave said, everyone cut their eyes to him because that was bold,

"We've managed to stop the bleeding and close up the wound, the knife luckily missed any vital organs - she's resting in the recovery room,"

Everyone let out a sigh of relief, they didn't know what to expect but were happy to hear that she was okay,

"Can I go see ha' please doc?" Dave questioned, he needed to see his baby. The doctor nodded and proceeded to let Dave and Azure through to the recovery room. Dave let Azure go in first, his heart broke seeing her hooked up to all kind of machines. He watched Azure give her a kiss and then come out of the room,

"I have to get home to Neveah, please take of her Dave, call me when she wakes up?"

Dave pulled Azure into a hug and said,

"I got her Zuri, don't you worry, Darnell is gonna get his - believe 'dat," Dave said. He had already sent Bully to find his ass. Azure returned the hug and gave him a light smile then walked back towards the waiting room.

Various beeps could be heard throughout the room that Naala lay on the bed in. Dave sat by her bed and put his warm hand around hers,

"Baby, I'm so sorry this happened to you, we ain't even get to pick up 'Nai" he bitterly chuckled,

"This whole thing showed me tha' I need you in my life Love, we locked in for life - I don't care wha' anybody says - you mine now Naala Miani Love," he said to her, tears gathering in his eyes. He didn't know that she was awake or that she could hear him. He felt his hand being squeezed back and looked up at her as she fluttered her eyes open,

"You weren't getting rid of me that easily Amir," she mumbled, her throat drier than anything. Dave looked at her with so much love in his eyes,

"I thought I lost you ma', you still owe me more kids mama," he joked wiping his eyes. Naala grunted and tried to sit up,

"Hey, hey, the doctor said you should be resting" he said trying to fix her pillow for her, Naala looked up at Dave and laughed,

"Get me some water please?" She asked looking towards the jug of water that sat on her bedside. Dave poured some water in a cup and put it up to her mouth, helping her drink it. Dave thought there was no better time to tell her how he feels,

"Naala I —" Naala cut him off,

"I heard you Amir, yesterday showed me that we never got the chance to explore a relationship, so let's see how it goes," she said looking at him deeply and passionately.

"You serious," Dave questioned, he didn't think she would agree,

"Ima give us a chance Amir, for Sinai" Naala said honestly. She wanted to her daughter to experience a proper family environment. Dave couldn't contain his excitement, but Naala quickly shit him down,

"But no sex Amir, last night was a one off, we need to establish a proper relationship," Naala warned giving him a stern look. She didn't want them to get into the habit of having sex - she also needed to deal with Darnell. She started to think of Darnell and what had taken place earlier on. He had never gone that far and she could have died if Dave wasn't parked outside. Tears started to gather in her eyes as she imagined her daughter growing up without a mother.

"I can see you stressing ma, what's in your mind?" Dave asked as he saw her face scrunch up and tears started rolling down her cheeks.

"I-I could have d-died Dave, what about o-our baby? A-all because of one person," Naala cried, she was disappointed in herself for letting it get this far. She started to hyperventilate thinking about everything and the room began to spin,

"Love you gotta calm down ma', you're okay, I got you" he said reassuringly pulling her into the hug.

"W-where we gonna stay? I can't g-go back to that house! I w-won't take her back to the house," she cried,

"You never going back to that house, ya here me? You and 'Nai are staying with me" Dave said sternly, caressing her cheek while gently wiping her tears. Dave moved closer to the bed and she was now laying back on the bed, still weeping.

"Ima gonna deal with him baby, I promise," Dave was furious. He hated seeing her cry especially over another nigga.

The door opened and in walked Mia and Taina, looking worried. They rushed to Naala's side,

"Oh gosh LaLa, you scared me!" Shouted Mia, Naala didn't reply, she just sniffed and looked at them - she was in no mood to speak to them.

"Naala girl, you okay?" Taina asked looking at her best friend with a worried expression. That set Naala off again, tears began to well in her eyes and just like that the well broke.

Everyone watched Naala break down and they all broke watching her in so much pain. This is the first time that Naala has been so vulnerable in front of her friends in regards to her relationship. Half of her was embarrassed that she even let it get to this but the other half was disappointed in her self. She put her daughter in a bad decision and she feels like they were all judging her.

"LaLa, w-we —". Mia tried to speak but couldn't bring out the words, she hated seeing her friend this hurt and was scared that this would push her back to her depressed state.

"I-I want to sleep, can you guys leave?" Naala mumbled while turning over. Dave nodded towards them apologetically but they understood. Dave stayed in his seat because he wasn't gonna leave her alone. He heard her sniffing and just rubbed her back - he vowed that he will be here for her this time, no matter what she says or does.

Naala rolled over in the bed and huffed, the hospital's beds were so uncomfortable and she was struggling to sleep. She turned over and her heart swelled as she set eyes on Dave.

He was sitting in the hospital chair asleep with his hood up and his signature mug planted on his face.

"Dave. David. Baby. Amir!" She ended up shouting since her attempts to wake him weren't working. He jumped up and saw her upright in the bed. He rushed over to her. "What's wrong Love, you uncomfortable? You want me to get the nurse?" He questioned in a raspy voice which actually turned Naala on.

"I'm fine but I-I can't sleep, can you hold me?" She pleased. Last night she felt her safest when he wrapped his arms around her securely. Dave chuckled,

"That bed ain't gon' fit the both of us mama," he said while stretching,

"It will - look," she said as she scooted over and opened up the blanket, that reminded him of last night when she forced him into the bed.

"Aight, only till you fall asleep, I don't wanna hurt you," he said as he climbed into the small bed and wrapped his arms around her. She snuggled into his chest and breathed him in,

"I'm sorry about earlier, I'm just scared —"

"You don't need ta' explain it ma, I know you going through it right now, we gon' get through this, ya' heard?" Dave explained, he was gently rubbing her back.

"About 'Nai, I don't want her to see my like this Amir, don't bring her up here, oh and can you call my office tomorrow and say I won't be in for a while?"

"Relax mama, I'll deal with it. My mama was gonna bring 'Nai over, she need to see you Love, she misses you." He explained, Dave had told his mom to bring her to the hospital tomorrow after his mom said she's been asking of her mommy and daddy.

"But look at my face Amir, I-I can't even see out of one eye, I don't want to scare her," Naala whispered as she touched her eyes and flinched.

"Stop it Love, you look beautiful,"

"Oh please, I look like a bruised chipmunk," Naala whined as she played with his hair. Dave moved lifted her chin up and began planting kisses on her bruises,

"You are the most beautiful woman I've ever seen," he said practically kissing every inch of her face.