There's Fire

Different Now

Adrian's POV

Every day I would go see dad and I was so excited. I would be up at the hospital with him one to two times a day. Mom and momma didn't argue anymore because if I wasn't at the hospital I had been told my dad would ask for me or consistently mention me. I had got out of school and didn't have to do anything until four, so I had plenty of time to sit here this afternoon. I walked into my dad's room and saw he was looking down at his phone. I kissed his cheek and climbed on his bed as I did every day after school. I used his tray to set my laptop on so I could work. "How was school?"
    "It was good." I smiled. "Where's momma?"
    "She had a headache so I told her to go home and rest. I wanted to talk to you my sweet girl."
    "About what?" I asked.
    "I heard you were doing some serious acting out. You were yelling, screaming, being rude, and cussing at people. You know that's not okay and I would never let that fly."
    "No."
    "Don't lie to me Adrian."
    "Mom was getting on my nerves! Uncle Dre was trying to be you! Momma was going to let you die!" I snapped.
    "How was your mother getting in your nerves?" He laughed.
    "She was smothering. She was constantly hovering over me. She wouldn't give me space. Then she would take my phone away for scold me for no reason."
    "Adrian you were shot. You nearly died. This is the second time in a year that you were nearly taken out of the world. Now your mother has watch you be taken from her countless times last year. You were attack and hospitalized. I moved you out. She lost custody. You wouldn't have anything to do with her. Then as soon as she has you back in her arms she gets a call that her child. Her only child. The reason she gets up every day, lives, breathes, and works so hard for was shot multiple times. Then a doctor looks her in the eye and tells her you almost didn't make it. You want to know something that I know she didn't tell you?" I nodded. "That bullet that went through your chest if you were two inches of would have torn through your precious heart. You would have died instantly. Do you know what knowing that information does to a parent? Do you know how scary it is to know that your child was the length of a pink eraser from dying?" I didn't know. Mom never talked about it she never discussed it and I never felt the need to. "So yes she's going to hover for a while. Her hugs might last too long. She might hold your hand to tight. She might sit in your room too long, but that because she was this close to losing the one person her heart beats for. Yes, she disciplined you because she's you mother. She had play mom and dad since I could be the bad cop. You weren't listening to momma or Uncle Dre so yes she put her foot down." I felt bad now for how I had been treating my mom. "Now, Uncle Dre was not trying to be me by no means. He dropped his whole life in Georgia to come take care of you, your sister, your mom, and momma. By no means did he have to do that. He didn't have to pack your school back, pack lunch for all you activities, help chauffeur you around, or be there for you at all, but he chose to. I get it you are upset, but why take that out on him?"
    "I don't know." I looked down.
    "Here I want to show you something." He handed me his phone. I saw video of one of the nights Momma told me I wasn't going to the hospital to see him. I handed it back to him after hearing every horrible thing I said to her. "When I found out about you she knew you as a little girl. I wanted to know everything she did about you. One thing I knew was that Janae loved you so much. She loves you. She told me how the last time she saw you it broke her heart saying goodbye. Now boom you are in her life and she couldn't love you anymore if she tried. She went head to head with your mother over you at least three times I can think of. She would cry after treating your wounds. She set up all the medication you needed during that time so I didn't have to. Then boom she is hit with her step daughter who she loves as if she carried her for 9 months and created her herself and her husband were shot. Did you know because the custody stuff did not go through judges that knew us that could expedite your mother and I whole custody ordeal it went through regular courts. It is still tied up. Do you know what that means?"
    "Mom didn't have rights over me."
    "You are correct and the judge had a clause in the paperwork that if I were unable to make decision, you mother wouldn't have been next. Momma would have been. So anything that happened in the hospital was momma having to make that call. Your surgery, the treatment, medications, when you went home, when you went back to school, she did everything. She even was able to talk to the judge and give your mom her 50% of custody."
    "She was going to let you die." I shook my head.
    "Adrian Kennedy Napoli, Janae was not going to let me die. If wanted she me gone, I would have been gone a long time ago." He laughed. "I want you to read this." He slowly reached for paper on the tray. He handed it to me. It read: