You Before Me [dave east]

| eighteen

Xiomara;

"David!"

"He's been shot! He's bleeding out!"

"Somebody call 911!"

I continue screaming as I fall to my knees to tend to him. My hands are covered in red as I apply pressure to David's chest where he was shot. He coughs up blood and chokes, struggling to catch his breath while his chest rises and falls to match the erratic beat of his heart.

Seeing him bleeding out on the ground makes every moment we've ever experienced finally dawn on me. Like little flashbacks rushing through my mind.

I tune out all the noise, ignoring the commotion and the screams and the frenzy as the crowd disperses and everybody takes off running after the gunshots were fired. I only focus on Dave as I tell him to stay with me.

I sniffle and stifle a cry as I begin to sob uncontrollably. "No no no," I whisper, vigorously shaking my head in denial of the scene unfolding right before my eyes. "I love you, David.." I choke out the words with urgency and desperation for him to know it in case I never get to tell them to his face again.

He never took his eyes off of me once until they start to close.

"It's gonna be okay, Zo. The paramedics are on their way." Latoya tells me, putting her hand on my shoulder from behind, pulling me out of my trance. I completely forgot where we were and how many people were around after tuning out all the noise.

"Shit!" I yell at her with tears streaming down my face. "David?" I cry as he coughs up more blood. The worst part about it was that I didn't know what to do with him. I felt so helpless.

After about 10 minutes, the paramedics get here and put Dave up on a stretcher with an oxygen mask over his face. He was holding it together so well while squeezing my hand. He was so strong, I can't even imagine what he's feeling.

"I'm sorry, ma'am. We can't let you go any further than here, he's in critical condition." One of the paramedics tell me as they put Dave in the ambulance.

"But I need to be with him. You don't understand. He needs me!" I cry out. Latoya holds me as I fall to the ground, crying my eyes out.

"It's gonna be okay, Zo. He's gonna pull through." Latoya says as I cry in her chest.

"Why would—" I shake my head. "Why wou—" but I can't get my words out. I just can't understand why anybody would shoot Dave, I can't think. My brain is so clouded that I can't even think about who would do this. "Things were finally starting to get better, Toya! He just got a call, he was gonna get d-drafted. I was finally happy!" I cry.

"It's okay." She lies, rubbing up and down my back.

I still couldn't believe that I watched him bleed out right here where there's blood all over the sand. I couldn't believe somebody shot him. We were so happy just 15 minutes ago.

"It's gon' be aight, Zo." DeShawn tells me, stroking my hair. Everybody sobered up real quick after seeing David get shot. "We gon' find out who did this."

David was shot in his chest. I hardly believe everything is going to be okay. All I could ask is why.

I shake my head and stand up on my feet, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. "Toya, we have to get to the hospital." I sniffle.

I dig through my purse and find all of David's things that he told me to hold for him. I pull out the car keys and stare at them for a second.

"Yeah, c'mon." Toya says softly and puts her arm over my shoulders as we walk away from the beach.

I drive to the hospital in Dave's car and pull up in a parking spot. I stare at the entrance and shake my head, not wanting to go in. I let my head fall onto the steering wheel as I begin to sob all over again after holding it together so well as I was driving.

"I don't wanna go in, Toya!" I whine, shaking my head repeatedly not wanting to face reality anymore. "I just wanna wake up and it'll all be okay."

"I know." She says softly. I can tell she doesn't know what to do with me. "But you gotta get yourself together, Zo. You have Alonzo to get home to, you have a life. He wouldn't want you sitting here cryi—"

"Shut the fuck up." I snap. I wasn't trying to hear about my responsibilities. All I care about is knowing he's okay.

"Okay," Latoya whispers understandingly.

She helps me get it together before we walk into the hospital, approaching the front desk. Latoya looks at me as I don't say anything so she sighs and rubs my back.

"We're here for David Brewster." She tells the receptionist as I stand there with tears welled up in my bloodshot eyes, tapping my fingernails on the desk impatiently and nervously. I was hoping we were gonna walk in here and they would tell us Dave can have visitors because he's okay now but I also know how unlikely that is.

"Just give me one second." The woman smiles sympathetically and starts typing across her keyboard. "Oh, I'm sorry. David Brewster is currently undergoing surgery in critical condition, he can't have any visitors right now but you can take a seat in the waiting area."

Her words 'critical condition' replays through my mind. That was just a fancy way of saying likely to die.

I rest my head on Latoya's shoulder as we sit in the waiting room. I was playing in Dave's phone and found my way to his medical ID since I don't know his passcode. My thumb hovers over his mother's contact because I know I have to call her. I just don't know how to tell her that her son has just been shot knowing how close they are. He spoke about her all the time.

I finally hit call anyway and put the phone to my ear. When his mom answers, I immediately note that she sounds young and fun. She sounds so happy right now so it doesn't feel right to break the news to her.

"David..?" She trails off when I don't say anything about 10 seconds into the call. "Boy, if you don't say something I'ma have to hang up on your ass." She laughs.

"Uh hi, ma'am. This isn't David.." I say slowly after mustering the words to speak.

"Oh." I hear her frown. "Well can I ask who you are, sweetie?"

I open my mouth to say something but then I just start crying. Latoya sighs and takes the phone from me and starts speaking. "..Yes ma'am, he's been shot. I'm sorry... No, he's not dead, he's in surgery... The next flight? ...Okay, I guess I'll see you then." Latoya hangs up and passes me the phone. "It's okay, girl." She tells me.

"It's my fault, Toya. I should've never asked him to come to the party with me. It's all my fault."

"Girl, no it ain't. Whoever shot him did it with intent, you saw how he was pointing that gun before running away. If they didn't shoot him tonight they would've shot him some other time, okay? It wasn't your fault."

"He didn't have problems with anyone though. Nobody would shoot him—" but I cut myself off as it finally dawns on me when familiar words start replaying through my mind.

'Keep playing with me, Zo. Lemme find out you still fucking with this nigga. On god I'ma shoot him.'

Latrelle.