UnMuted (Sequel to Mute)

~10~

She told me and I realize that he's in the same neighborhood as me. My son had been near me all this time and I didn't know.

I all but speed there since I wanna catch him in case he leaves.

Fortunately, the restaurant was a five minute drive from where they used to live. I pull up to a rather small house with a piece of cardboard covering one of the front windows.

There were toys in the front yard, including a small basketball hoop. There was a rusty red car with a taillight hanging off parked next to the house. "Is that his car?" I ask without looking her way.

"Yeah."

I hum and put the car in park. I look at her then back at JJ, who had cried himself to sleep.

That made me angrier.

I jump out the car, "Lock the doors. I'll be back." I close my door and she locks it. I storm over to the front door and proceeded to bang on it hard. I don't hear anything for a few seconds so I bang hard again.

"Hold on! Shit!" I heard the familiar voice. I take a step back, feeling all the rage I've had from when we were in Rydell's to what my son told me.

As soon as the door opens, I send a punch right to his face, stunning him and making him fall to the ground. I waste no time and straddle him, giving him blow after blow to the face.

Just as I thought I had the upper hand, he manages to flip us over and give me the same treatment. "Fuck you think this is, freak?!" He yelled while he bust my lip and black my eye.

I spot one of JJ's Tonka Trucks and grabbed it. I hit him hard, knocking him off of me. I hurriedly get up as he was down and grabbed the front of his shirt. I push him into a nearby wall and he shoves me back, tackling and pinning me to the opposite wall.

The force put a huge hole in it.

The pain knocked the breath right out of me, giving him a great advantage. I fall to the ground, curled up in agony as he stood before me. "Heh, always wanna fight. Haven't changed a bit, Shoelaces, well besides the fact you don't even wear shoes with them," the name further angered me, but my anger wasn't enough to give me strength.

Instead, I just let him ramble.

"Y'know, having the old Rydell gang together is nostalgic. Many good times," he laughs. He then put his booted foot on my face and I groan when he puts pressure on it. "Like that time you tried to off yourself with fuckin' shoelaces?" He laughs.

"How stupid is that? It's funnier because you were just swinging like a piñata," he laughs harder. "Yo, that shit was hilarious. I had half the mind to take a stick and smack you with it." He takes his foot off me and I wince quietly.

My eyes droop as I watch him walk away.

With as much strength as I could muster, I bring myself up to my feet, a bit dizzy. I balance myself, glaring at the back of his head. I take a shuddery breath before charging him.

He turns around last second and before we knew it, we're put right through the glass table. He groans as his bleeding back had bits of glass in it while I had a few cuts from the glass.

Hm, ironic.

I straddle him again, grabbing the front of his shirt. He seemed out of it, so I cock my arm back and send a sick sounding punch to his face. "That's for my son!" I punch him again, "That's for Ari!" I pull back further and give him one last hit, knocking him out cold. "That's for me!"

I hawk spit on him the got up off of him, panting and worn out. The excruciating pain strikes me and I collapse against the wall, desperate to hold myself upright. My energy level was low and my vision was blurring.

Just then, I hear Ariana call for me, but I'm too weak to even answer her. I slide down the wall, sitting against it as my heart pumped loudly in my ears.

Just as I was fading, she comes into view and covers her mouth when she sees me. "Y/N?" She runs over to me and lifts my head up. My eyes droop close and she starts patting my cheek. I was able to open them for a second but my eyelids were too heavy.

"I'm calling 9-1-1," she gets out her phone and I put a limp hand on her arm, shaking me head slightly. My brain was screaming at me, and I'm pretty sure I have a concussion. "D-Don't...," was all I could say before I slipped into unconsciousness.

———
I wake up in a bright room, pain vibrating my entire body along with a chilly feeling.

"Y/N?" I hear someone's distorted voice say. "Y/N, baby?" That had to had been my Black goddess. I wanted to open my eyes, but it was way too bright in here. "M-Mani?" She sniffs and laughs in relief. I can tell she's been crying.

"Miss Morgado?" A deeper male's voice calls to me. "Hm?" My barely opened eyes working to adjust to the light. "Did I kill him?" I asked, my own voice coming out unrecognizable. "No, baby. He's here," my eyes open all the way and I wince at the harsh light.

I wish I did kill him for hurting my son.

"Sorry," the male doctor says before dimming the lights for me. I nod graciously, now able to see three worried faces; Mani, Lauren, and Aunt Clara.

"Y/N, sweetheart, what happened?" The older woman asks me. I say nothing, not just because it kinda hurt to talk, but I was a bit ashamed. I had a slight intention to end him, but the last thing JJ needs is his other parent in prison.

"Babe?" I take a careful, deep breath, looking at each woman. "That was the guy... that made my time... in Rydell... a nightmare," I wheeze before coughing a bit.

"Come to find out... he was with Ariana and he... did some things to JJ... so I beat him for it," I finish. "JJ?" Aunt Clara queries.

I sigh again, "My son. Ariana and I were... involved there and... before I left, she told me... she wanted me to stay, but... that place wasn't for me... I literally rather be homeless and I managed."

"Baby," Mani says with eyes flooding with tears. "He could've killed you."

"But he didn't," I say with a light laugh. "Y/N, this isn't funny," Lauren finally says after being silent this whole time. She looked angry and her eyes were a dull shade of green.

She's been crying too.

"We thought we lost you. When Ariana called Mani, she was panicking," she says through her teeth and my smile fades. "I know. It's just too sad in here," I say dryly.

"Where is Ariana and JJ?"

"She's talking to the police and he's over there asleep," she points to the other side of my bed where my son slept on a small cot, wrapped in a blanket with his back to me. "He cried enough for all of us," Auntie says sadly. "We was worried about you."

My heart flutters at that. My son cared more about me, someone he met twice, than someone that raised him. "After he told me that... Blake made him take showers with him... and hit him for no reason, I knew... what had to be done. It's happened... to me and I'd be... damned if my son... goes through the same."

Just then, Uncle Mike comes in in his police uniform with his hat under his arm. "Ladies, I have to talk to Y/N alone," he says, shaking his head subtly as he looks at me.

One by one, they give me a kiss on my forehead before leaving. The doctor as well. Another cop, female, comes in as they do and shuts the door.

"Good evening, Y/N. We're just here to take a statement," his voice turns professional. I nod as he goes in his chest pocket for his notepad. "Can you tell us exactly what happened that led up to the altercation in Blake Chambers home?"

For the next two hours, I'm interviewed by a few more officers; I guess to make sure my story stays the same, before I was able to rest.

———
*I'm gonna finish this book this year😂 This shit is nearly 3 years old...