Sage

Chapter Forty Five

A constant beep of machinery woke Sage out of her sleep. Fluttering her heavy eyelids open, she was blinded by light flowing through the window.

With a groan, she tried to shift away from it but her body felt like a bag of cement. Swallowing her saliva brought attention to her throat that imitated sandpaper.

She heard shuffling beside her and snapped her eyes towards the tall figure that got closer to her. She closed her eyes, then opened slowly, as the blurred image sharpened.

"Hey Ma," Junior spoke with a glass of water in his hand. He placed a white straw to her lips and she sipped on it like her life depended solely on water.

"Hey," she croaked after pushing the straw out of her mouth.

"How are you feeling?" He asked, placing the glass on the side table then pressing a button hanging off the bed.

"I'm... I don't know," she admitted.

Her body felt weak, and she felt her head pound. She looked around, "Where am I?"

Junior sat down, "At the hospital," he sighed, feeling like it was his fault she ended here.

"What happened?" She asked, and soon after a flood of images fell on her, "Is Letoya okay? Trisha?" She rushed out as panic struck her.

"Relax, they are okay," he assured her.

The door swung open and a nurse walked in. She was skinny, as her navy pants danced around her legs, her hair was tied to the back and a small light blue top gave away to her flat chest.

"You're up, finally," she beamed. Her teeth were covered in wires. She approached Sage, after grabbing a file off the table at the end of the bed, "How are you feeling?"

Sage sat confused, she shrugged her shoulders, "How long have I been here?"

The nurse looked between Junior and Sage before she spoke, "Almost a week," she said.

Sage's eyes widened in question as she looked to the nurse's.

"You got shot in the abdomen, fortunately, we were able to stabilize you upon your arrival but you fell into a coma," the nurse said with precision.

Sage's eyes watered, "A week?" she whispered.

Junior reached out his hand and held Sage's, "You're okay Mami," he said.

"Great news is, the bullet missed vital arteries, so you're good," the nurse patted her shoulder then went back to the file in her hand, "Also your baby survived too," she added with joy.

"My baby?" Sage's eyebrows furrowed.

"Yes, it says here you're three weeks along, that baby is a blessing to have survived such trauma, you're both strong," she smiled kindly.

"I-I'm pregnant?" Sage blurted out.

The nurse looked at Junior who had a stunned expression on his face, "Are you the father?"

Junior nodded his head.

"Okay, please make sure her stress levels are low, this is a critical stage and with what they've been through, anything could go wrong," the nurse paused, "I need her parents to come in and sign her out, I'll come in a bit later for a final check-up, just to make sure all is well," she said and walked to the end of the bed to return the file to the table.

"You're a strong young woman," she said to Sage then left.

Those words didn't sink into Sage's mind that was a whirlwind. After her world was on standstill. How was she going to have a child at such a young age? What would her parents say? People? Junior?