BFF

Skeletons in Harlem

Dave – POV

I got out of bed with my mind racing. My chest was tight, heart pounding, and I had no idea what I was about to walk into at the hospital. Tia stirred beside me, her eyes slowly fluttering open.

"Where you going, baby?" she asked, her voice still heavy with sleep.

"I just got a call from the hospital... they said I need to get there now."

She shot up immediately, fully awake now.
"Oh my God—who in the hospital?"

"I don't know yet, mamas."

"I'm coming with you."

"Thank you... Let me tell Corey we 'bout to leave."

"Okay."

She was already grabbing her clothes as I made my way upstairs to the third floor. I knocked on Corey's door—he was already up, headset on, gaming, and Mia was curled up next to him.

"Tia and I gotta run somewhere," I said, keeping it short.

"You good?" Corey asked, pausing his game.

"I'll let you know."

Mia chimed in, "Drive safe."

I grabbed my keys off the kitchen hook and headed back down. Tia was already at the front door waiting for me, hoodie on, hair pulled back.

"You ready?" I asked.

"Yeah, let's go."

We got in the car. The drive was quiet except for the sound of our fingers laced together. No music, no words—just heavy silence.

When we got to the hospital, we rushed inside. I honestly didn't know who I was even here for. My feet carried me to the reception desk on auto-pilot.

"Hi, my name is David East. I got a call... they told me I needed to come down here."

The woman behind the desk—Randy, according to her name tag—nodded.
"Yes, Mr. East. You can wait in Block D. The doctor will be out to speak with you shortly."

"Okay... thank you," Tia said.

We sat down in the corner of the room, anxiety hanging in the air like smoke. Neither of us said a word—we just waited. Minutes felt like hours, and three full ones passed before a doctor finally approached us.

"David East?" he called.

We both stood up at the same time.

"That's me," I answered.

"I'm Dr. West," he said, giving a small nod.

"What's going on, doc?"

He let out a breath, his face already telling me this wasn't good.
"Your father was shot several times. We were able to remove most of the bullets, but there's one near his heart and another in his back. He lost a significant amount of blood. I'm sorry to say... he doesn't have much time left. He's barely conscious, but he's holding on for you. He told us to beg you to get here."

My stomach dropped.

"Prepare yourself. He's in a great deal of pain... and his condition is critical."

Tia grabbed my hand.
"Baby... I'll be right here when you come out, okay?"

I nodded slowly. Everything was happening so fast. Manny went after him before I even had a chance to deal with it... and now? Now he was dying. A weight of guilt settled deep in my chest. He came to me for help, and I brushed him off.