Drug Wars (Sequel to Philips)

Chapter Nine

I paced back and forth in the waiting room, hoping to hear some news. Hospitals made me anxious, there was no hiding that, but who could blame me. Mom was always in and out of one, Lamar died in one, I almost died the last time I was here, now Dad and Trevor were in the back getting their injuries tended to. Dad made up a story about how he got shot at in Chamberlain Hills and Trevor said that he had an accident with a knife. I don't know if they believed him or not, but after shouting at them to mind their fucking business, they left it alone.

I was scared over what the doctors told me were simple procedures, but I couldn't help it. Until I saw they were okay, I was going to be a nervous wreck. "Can you please stop pacing?" A man asked.

"Fuck off," I growled.

"Excuse me?"

"What? Do you have jizz in your ears, you fucking cumquat? I said fuck off!"

"Fucking bitch."

"What are you even here for?"

"My wife is getting her gallbladder removed."

"Oh? Well, my dad was shot and my fiancè lost a fucking finger. So, how about you show some fucking goddamn respect before you wind up on the operating table to get my fucking foot surgically removed from your ass?" The man's eyes widened and he looked away.

The door to the surgical floor opened and a young black man appeared with a tablet in his arms. "De Santis?"

"De Santa?" I asked. The doctor looked down and nodded.

"My apologies, Miss De Santa." I walked over to the doctor and followed him through the doors.

"How are they?"

"Your father is gonna be just fine. It was straight through, so it was an easy fix and a lucky shot for him."

"And Trevor?"

"Unfortunately there was too much damage to reattach the finger, but otherwise he's just fine."

"Thank God," I sighed with relief. "Can I go see them?"

"Sure. We put them both in the same room for you." I continued to follow the doctor until he stopped outside a door numbered 203. "Your father is awake, but Mr. Philips is still coming down from the anesthesia."

"Thank you," I gently nodded.

"You look pretty banged up, too. You sure you don't want us to take a look at it?"

"No, I'm fine. I just really want to be with my family." The doctor silently nodded and walked away, allowing me to finally enter the room. The room was mostly quiet. Trevor was still out and his heart monitor quietly beeped and Dad was laying in his bed watching TV, his arm resting on an elevated pillow.

"Hey," Dad smiled as he finally saw me.

"Hey, Dad," I smiled back and took my seat beside him. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I'm on pain medication, so pretty good. How's the head?"

"I'll live. Besides, if I'm anything like you, I've got a thick skull."

"Yeah...I deserved that."

"I told you I'd drop by later, Dad, why didn't you just listen to me for once?"

"I was worried about you."

"You're always worried about me."

"Well, yeah, it's my job." Dad fell silent. "I'm so sorry, Chels...I never should've walked out on you. After all those times I swore that I never walked out on you, I betrayed your trust. There are no words that I can say that will make up for what I did...I just hope that someday you'll understand why I did those things and forgive me."