*Flashback*

"C'mon I know a place where we can go" Xavier grabbed Diamond's hand leading her down the street into a back alley. 

"Babe what if someone sees us besides I'm not in the mood" Diamond complained. 

"It'll only take five minutes" Xavier reassured her. 

"I don't know let's go back to the party." Diamond hesitated. She'd never done anything as wild as this before.

"C'mon just think about it" Xavier grabbed her neck drawing his head towards it. Xavier knew that neck kisses were one of her turn-ons. 

"Ok just a quickie" Diamond sighed. "You have a condom?" 

"Yessir" Xavier grinned and took one out of his back pocket.

*Two weeks later*

Diamond began crying as she stared at the pregnancy test in her hand. Her mom's going to kill her. She had been feeling sick for a week now and she thought her symptoms were PMS, but when Diamond missed her period and started vomiting vigorously she knew something was up. 

Diamond instantly put the pregnancy test back in the box and hid it under her bed in fear of her mom finding out. She was seventeen and about to graduate high school and head off to college. A baby wasn't a part of her plan at all. She didn't even know how to change a diaper. 

She sat down on the edge of her bed with her phone up to her ear waiting patiently for Xavier to answer. 

"Xavier, are you busy right now?" Diamond spoke in a soft tone. 

"No why baby what's up?" 

Xavier's tone was urgent 

"I have something to tell you and please don't get mad at me."

"Okay" 

"So um remember how I've been feeling sick recently?" 

"Yes babe it's probably just a stomach bug" Xavier reassured her. 

"So...um I-I took a pregnancy test and um...I'm um... pregnant"

Diamond burst into tears again. 

Xavier was dead silent. "Babe, have you been smashing other niggas while we're together?" Xavier asked.

"No Xavier you were my only how could you ask me that?" Diamond raised her voice.

"Trying to trap me with a baby ain't cool Diamond you know I leave for college in a month. You know football's my dream"

"Yes I know babe but what am I supposed to do? I can't tell my mom else she's going to kill me and we're both not ready to take care of a baby. We're too young."

"I'm sorry Diamond I can't do this no more" 

"Xavier—" 

"I got my future ahead of me!" Xavier snapped. 

"Yes Xavier but you're the one that forced me to have sex in the back of an alley two weeks ago. Remember that!"

"I didn't make you do shit. You agreed to it." Xavier argued.

"I only said yes to make you happy!" Diamond's voice cracked from shouting.

"Ok look I took the condom off but I didn't think you were gonna get pregnant right"

"Xavier I trusted you" 

He sighed”

I don't know what to tell you Diamond I was just caught up in the moment" he chuckled. "It's your decision if you wanna have the baby or not but sorry I'm not going to be a part of it."

"Xavier please" Diamond cried out. " I can't do this by myself I'm scared."

"I'm sorry Diamond" Xavier hung up the phone.

*Flashback Ends*

NYC, NY📍

"Da da" Alex clapped his hands together. He's been saying it for the past few days now.

Diamond couldn't believe it. She was the one who carried him in her belly for nine months and raised him.  "No say ma ma" Diamond pronounced slowly while tying his shoelace. She sat up off the bed grabbed the baby bag from off the dresser and checked if she had everything in it including his iPad. 

"Da da," Alex said again and Diamond picked him up off the bed into her arms.

"I'm not sure when he's coming back Alex" Diamond shook her head.

It's hard enough as it is being a single mother, but to tell your son that his father didn't want him is sick. Diamond dreads the day when Alex is old enough to know because she fears it's going to kill him inside.

The doorbell rang just in time as Diamond was about to call her mom. She agreed to babysit Alex while Diamond went to work because she had no one else to take care of him besides her best friend Sierra.

"There's my grandson" Ma smiled when Diamond opened the front door and Alex reached for her out of Diamond's hold.

"He loves me more than you" Ma laughed and grabbed Alex. 

"Yeah right" Diamond rolled her eyes. 

"Thanks again for agreeing to this ma. I hope it didn't cause you a lot of trouble getting here" Diamond hugged her mother and kissed her on the cheek.

"I love you too honey now go before you're late for your job. Alex and I will be fine ain't that right?" she looked down at Alex and he aggressively clapped his hands in approval.

"Ok bye" Diamond kissed Alex on the cheek and left the apartment in a rush. 

She climbed into her grey 2020 Honda Civic Hatchback and cruised down the street hoping she'd make it in time for work at the Paradise Club. You'd expect 19-year-old Diamond to be in college studying her future profession as a real estate agent, but due to her unexpected pregnancy in her senior year of high school, her dreams were currently put on hold at the moment. 

"You make me wanna come thru quarter after two just to put it down on you." Diamond sang along to one of her favorite Summer Walker songs from the car speaker.Diamond was wrapped up in her thoughts thinking how she made it this far being a single mother. 

She and the baby's father were no longer in contact because of a harsh argument they had before splitting up with each other. At first, Diamond didn't believe she was pregnant because she was sure they used a condom, but he must've slipped it off sometime in the middle of it without her knowing.

Things got heated between them and he ended up ghosting Diamond because he wasn't ready to raise a baby. All he cared about was his football scholarship which was his golden ticket to UCLA. 

Diamond parked her car around the back of the club and entered through the back door. 

She tied back her, washed her hands, and clocked in before joining her best friend, Sierra, behind the bar.

They both met bartending at Paradise Club about eight months ago when Diamond first started with little to no experience. Sierra is a pro at it and has been bartending since she was 18.

"Hey girl how you doing?" Sierra said while keeping her eye on the two drinks she was free pouring at the same time. 

"Tired but I'm here" Diamond sighed looking around the club. 

It seems the club was busier than usual judging by the amount of people lined up against the bar ready to order their drinks. 

"Hi, what kind of drink would you like for me to make for you today?" Diamond spoke cheerily towards a blonde-headed woman who looked about in her late twenties. 

"Could I get one mojito and a whiskey sour up" she pointed towards the brunette beside her. 

"No problem," Diamond said and instantly got to work.

As the night went on, the club became less busy and Sierra's shift ended half an hour ago.

Diamond was on her ten-minute break, but instead of going around back to get some fresh air like usual, she decided to stay and watch the performance on stage from the bar area.Diamond leaned on the bar countertop with her hand placed under her jaw and her eyes closed. 

No kidding she was tired from staying up the previous night watching Treehouse with Alex because he wouldn't go to sleep no matter if she fed him and today where she had to keep an eye on him all day.

"Hi, girl could you get us both a Paloma?" One out of the two black girls approached the bar and took a seat on the high chairs.

Diamond looked at the time on her watch noticing her ten minutes were already up. She sighed and leaned up off the bar getting to work on the two drinks. 

"Did you hear that Xavier James is back in the Bronx after his injury" Diamond overheard the brownskin with butterfly locks talking to the girl with braids.

"That shit looks painful for real. His career going to be over for sure" The girl with the braids shook her head.

As Diamond heard those words her hands began to shake while pouring the drinks which caused the bottle of tequila in her hand to drop onto the floor.

"Shit!" Diamond mumbled under her breath as she picked up the two halves of the broken bottle. Luckily the glass was half empty so not much tequila spilled. 

"Are you okay there sis?" the girl with the butterfly locks gave Diamond a concerned look. 

"Ya'll know Xavier James?" Diamond eyed the two girls while she finished off their drinks then proceeded to clean up her mess. 

"Yeah sis that last football game was rough I almost feel bad for the nigga and he got expelled from the team" the brown skin grimaced. 

"It's all over the internet you should go watch it if you haven't. Search up UCLA on YouTube and click on their most recent video."

Both girls took their drinks and walked off.