True To The Game

Waiting

The hospital smelled of bleach and alcohol. It was a cold artificial air that made everything feel lifeless.

I sat hunched forward in the waiting room chair with my hands locked together so tight my knuckles burned white. Jada's blood was stained onto my shirt.

Every few seconds my eyes drifted toward the double doors the surgeons disappeared behind.

Every single time they opened, my chest tightened.

Ron leaned against the wall silently scrolling through his phone, though I knew he wasn't reading shit. Killa paced the floor nonstop like if he stopped moving, he'd lose his mind too.

Nobody really spoke.

What was there to say?

I could still hear Kay crying.

Still see Jada laying on that kitchen floor.

My stomach twisted violently.

This was my fault.

Every bit of it.

The doors finally swung open.

All three of us stood instantly.

A surgeon walked toward us pulling his mask down. His expression alone made my heartbeat start pounding harder.

"How is she?" I asked immediately.

The surgeon glanced between us before focusing on me.

"She's currently in critical condition."

The words didn't register right away.

Critical?

I frowned. "What that mean?"

The surgeon kept his voice calm. Too calm.

"It means her condition is very serious. She lost a significant amount of blood. Right now, the next few hours are extremely important."

I stared at him.

"No," I said quickly. "Nah, but she good though, right? She woke up in the ambulance. She was talking."

"She's alive," he answered carefully. "But she's not stable yet."

My chest caved in.

"What the fuck you mean not stable?" My voice rose instantly. "Fix her then!"

"Khaz," Ron warned quietly.

"No!" I snapped, looking back at the surgeon. "Y'all out here, talking to me, instead of fixing my girl!"

"Sir, we're doing everything we can."

Everything we can.

I hated that sentence.

Killa grabbed my shoulder before I could move any closer.

"Bro, chill," he muttered.

The surgeon gave me one last sympathetic look before walking away down the hallway.

I watched him disappear and felt something inside me crack.

Ron forced me back into the chair before my legs gave out on their own.

"Sit down," he said firmly.

I wiped at my face aggressively, but it didn't matter. Tears kept falling anyway.

I couldn't stop them.

I dropped my head into my hands.

I should've protected her.

That bullet should've never touched her.

The waiting room doors opened.

Munchie walked in breathing hard like he rushed back.

"Kay with Desiree," he said quickly before looking around. "What they say about Jada?"

Nobody answered him.

Nobody could.

Ron looked away first.

Killa rubbed his jaw silently.

I just sat there staring at the floor.

Munchie's face slowly tightened as realization hit him.

"...Damn."

He dragged both hands down his face before sitting across from me heavily.

The room went quiet again.

Cold.

Heavy.

The kind of silence that makes every second feel longer than it is.

All we could do now...

was sit there and wait.