"But I don't get it." Leala put her hair into a ponytail. "How could a male African American teenager with no weapons be a threat to a police officer who's armed?"
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Harmony's older brother was found dead, and the cop who killed him wasn't charge...
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"She's lost a lot of blood. . ."
"We need a blood transfusion. . ."
"Hurry, she's gonna die. . ."
Too many conversations. Where's this loud beeping coming from? Why do I feel like I could hardly breathe?
I opened my eyes and stared at the TV mounted in front of me. Oh, wow. I made the headline of ABC News. They couldn't have picked a better picture of me? Oh, c'mon.
"Damn, you look even prettier in person. ABC News didn't do you any justice."
Calo. . .
None of this would've been happening to me if I never stood for what I believed was right. I should've just stayed in the background like my parents taught me to and let the authorities fight my battles. Calo would've still been here with me if I didn't get him involved.
But if I never stood up, who would? Everyone else is just as scared as I am, and now that they've seen what happens to people who stand, they may never do it.
I made a promise to myself that I would seek justice for Khalil. Those killers needed to learn that fear is nothing new to me now—we're practically best friends at this point.
"M. . . My parents. W-Where are they," I croaked.
The few nurses that stood huddled in the corner turned to me with shocked faces. They whispered amongst one another with wide eyes. Whatever it was they were talking about I knew couldn't be good. If my parents were fine, they'd tell me right away, wouldn't they?
"Well. . .?"
A skinny woman about 5'0 tall put her hand over mine with a solemn look on her face. No. No, no, no. Don't say it. "Your parents are. . ." She gulped. "Well, your mom is being held in the room right across the hall; she just got out of surgery. The bullets cut really deep into her side. And your father. . . well, he's been hooked to a breathing machine; the bullet hit his spine so he's paralyzed from the waist down and his lungs have been severely bruised."
I let out a sigh of relief. They're not dead. "Okay, when can I see them?"
She looked at the other nurses who shook their heads. "N-Not right now. We still got some testing to do."
"Um. . . okay." I sat up and instant pain shot up my back all the way to my head.
The nurse gently pushed me back down. "You've got some back and neck pain from the fall. It's only a couple of bruises, but you still might not wanna move too too much."
"Okay." I smiled while laying my neck back on the white fluffy pillow behind me.
"We'lol be back to check on you in a couple of hours." She pointed to a red button on the side of the hospital bed. "Push this button if you need any help."
"Thank you for saving me."
She smiled. "It's my job."
After a few hours, Leala came to visit. She helped calm my nerves and anxiety. The longer I stayed in this hospital, the less I would be doing for Khalil and Calo's justice. I didn't want to be a failure.
I couldn't fail them.
Most people probably seen me as some sort of quiet, shy girl—I was—but now I've found my purpose, God's purpose, for my life. I was made to stand. He put me through all these tough times: loosing Khalil, then putting Calo into my life to give me confidence, then loosing Calo to motivate me even more, and lastly those killers revealing to me what I was born to do.
I was born to rise. I was born to enforce the law. I was born to stand up for what is right. Even if it killed me.
I grunted before snatching the IV the nurses hooked me up to. My back throbbed as I swung my legs over to the left side of the hospital bed. I reached for my phone on the dresser beside me and sent a quick text to Leala:
Gather up everyone you can. We're gonna make one more appearance...
I laughed at Leala's response:
Shit.
I sat on the edge of the bed, letting my legs swing back and forth. I haven't walked since after the incident. Could I still walk correctly? Looked like we were about to find out.
I grunted as I hopped off of the hospital bed. I wobbled with my arms extended straight out in case I needed to grao on to something. I dragged my feet to the door. With my hand on the handle, I stared at my thin body covered with an overly big blue and white hospital gown. If I was going to escape, I needed to find new clothes.
