I stopped dead in my tracks. My eyes refused to believe what had just happened. Everyone around me rushed and pushed past me to check on Zay.
I couldn't move. I saw Lena crying and Mason checking for a pulse. I was on the otherside of the sidewalk. People started to call the police.
"I CAN'T FEEL A PULSE SOMEONE HURRY THE HELL UP AND GET A FRICKEN AMBULANCE!"
That. That was what made my heart stop. No pulse. No pulse. My blood felt cold.
"Iani!!" I heard someone call. The noise was in and out. Between the yelling, crying, and sirens, I couldn't focus. I didn't want to focus.
I tried so desperatley to comprehend what just happened.
Lena, I think, was running towards me. Calling out my name with each step. She stopped in front of me, eyes bloodshot red.
"Oh my god, Iani," she was saying in between breaths.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to. It was an accident," Lena was holding me by my shoulders. My brain didn't really register what she was saying.
What suprised me was when I started to walk across the street to the other side where Zay laid.
I brushed passed Lena and every other irrelevant person there that night. Soon enough, I was one foot away from him.
Tears came to my eyes as I saw blood running down his temple and scars all over his face.
In my peripheral vision, I saw a white and red truck which I assumed to be the ambulance pull up a couple of meters away from me. I heard Mason informing them of what happened.
Everything around me was a blur. It was like my camera. I only focused on what was in front the lense. A paramedic told me to move to the side. But I couldn't. He pushed me to the side and started to put Zay on the stretcher and covered him with a breathing mask. They rolled him into the ambulance and drove away. I was still standing where the paramedic had placed me.
"Iani, Iani!" I heard Mason call from behind me. He turned me around forcefully and looked into my eyes.
"Are you ok? I am so sorry," He said.
Why was everyone apologizing? Zay was going to be fine.
The punch.
The shove.
The white jeep.
Ambulance.
Screaming.
It was all rushing back to me. I broke down crying in Mason's arms. He embraced me tightly.
"Shh, it's okay mija," I then couldn't control my tears. I sobbed even more uncontrollably into his chest. I was confused. I still wasn't clear on why he was fighting. How did this even happened?
It was all too much. I couldn't remember what happened next.
********
One. Two. Three.
Shot.
The crowd screamed and roared in excitment as Zay just made the game winning free throw. The rest of his team mates ran onto the court and lifted him up on their shoulders.
Mason, Lena and I all ran down onto the court as well. When his teammate put him down, I ran into his arms and he lifted me up.
"I'm so proud of you Zay!!!" I said kissing his face. He laughed.
"Thank you princess," He put me down and gave me a warm hug. Two other bodies hovered over ours.
Lena and Mason, I assumed. It was a great night.
We all went out to eat after. It was an amazing game. He ran the point and was the captain of the team. Zay scored 36 points with 2 triple doubles, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.
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Zay was in love with the game. And I was in love with him.
*********
I woke up sitting in an uncomfortable chair. Mason and Lena were right there next to me. They both jumped when I woke up. I noticed my surroundings were Joy's Health Care Center. A hospital?
"Oh my god, Iani, are you ok? You blacked out," Said Lena.
"What happened?" as soon as I fixed myself, my head began pounding immediatley. I brought my hand to the right side of my head.
Lena took a deep breath before explaining. He grabbed my hand and looked in my eyes.
"Iani... that guy I went upstairs with, I really didn't want to do anything with him. He said we were just going to talk. A-and he t-tried to you know, so I went down stares screaming with the guy chasing after me and then Zay came and asked what was wrong and he got mad," Lena's eyes began to fill up witb tears. "They took it outside and I- I tried to stop them I did but," Lena began to break down crying now. She was sniffling and couldn't even breath.
"Where is he?" I asked with no emotion.
Mason pointed in the direction of a narrow hallway. I got up before he could say the room number.
I started peering through all the hospital room door windows. I saw a whole bunch of people but no Zay. My heart started to race. What if he wasn't here? What if he was in surgery?
Interrupting my thoughts, was a very defeated looking Zay. I rushed in and push the nurse out of the way.
"Oh my god, Zay are you ok?" My eyes adjusted to tubes going in and out of him.
"Maam, you can't be in here at this time," said the nurse behind me.
I turned to her. "I'm sorry, the love of my life is in her looking like he can not even sit up and your telling me I can't be in here? I don't even know what happened and I wasn't there to see it and he could be dead," Tears started to form, "And it could be my fault. I wasn't there, she was. And she couldn't save him either so what more could I have done!" I threw myself in the chair and started to cry again.
"Maam, I was just going to tell you visiting hours are going to start in 5 minutes but I guess you can stay," I rolled my eyes as she left the room.
I sat there sobbing for about 10 minutes. I was scared. He might not ever talk again. Walk. Say he loved me.
"Princess?" I heard a voice moan from inside the room.
