Beautiful Nightmare

by Johnna B

  “I thought you said you all were there every day?” Vee said just above a whisper.

  “Yeah, my brother and I were, but my father never came, not once, not even to say good-bye.” He got a little choked up at the memory of his mom in the hospital bed helpless.

  “I’m sorry to hear that.”

  “Don’t be. At first, I was a little mad at her ’cause I thought she gave up.”

  “You don’t still believe that, do you?”

  “No. I believe she died of a broken heart. No matter what the doctors told her. She would always say, ‘When your father comes, everything will be all right.’ That’s all she wanted was for the family to be together. I don’t know, maybe that would have made her feel better; maybe it wouldn’t have. But I do know she didn’t get sick until my father left and the doctors started treating her.”

  “What kind of person was she?”

  “She was June Cleaver to the tenth power,” he laughed. “She cooked, cleaned, read to us, taught us how to play sports, taught us about women. She was Superwoman. I say love was her kryptonite.”

  “No, it wasn’t. It was her love for you two that kept her going as long as she did.”

  “I guess,” he mumbled, looking down at the floor.

  “Look at Mr. Moochie! He does have a softer side.” They both shared a laugh.

  “Aye, can I just ask you a question? Why didn’t you call Kidd?”

  She knew the questions were going to start soon. “I didn’t know how he would react to me calling.”

  “Shit! He would have been happy as hell to hear from you . . . to, at least, know you was still alive.” Rubbing his hands down his face, every time he closed his eyes, he saw her bruised body and all the blood.

  “I know. I’ve missed him like crazy. I just couldn’t bring myself to call him after the way she—I mean—I did him.”

  “How did you get to the hotel?” Moochie just looked at her.

  “I was at home asleep and the next thing I know, I’m getting my ass kicked in a hotel room.”

  “Sooo, you have some kind amnesia or something?”

  “I don’t know. Maybe,” she said, hunching her shoulders. “I don’t feel so well . . .” Her words faded as her head fell back and her eyes rolled around in the back of her head. She had lost a lot of blood.

  “Nurse!” Moochie screamed as he ran to the door.

  It seemed like every nurse and doctor in the hospital came running once they heard “Code Blue in 929 STAT.” He didn’t know what that meant but knew it had to be serious. They started pushing Moochie out of the room.

  “Sir, we need a moment,” the nurse said before shutting the door in his face. About ten minutes later, they were all walking out, but one of the doctors stopped to talk to Moochie.

  “What’s your name, sir?” The doctor stuck his hand out for a shake.

  “Deshawn Brown, sir.” He reached out to shake it.

  “And you are Miss Ball’s brother, correct?”

  “Yes, sir. Please, what’s wrong?” He had panic written all over his face.

  “She has lost a lot of blood and is bleeding internally. We need to operate to find the source of the bleeding. She is a very strong young lady. Someone slipped her a date rape drug and somehow tripled its potency. To be honest, she should have thanked them for that.”

  “What?” Moochie couldn’t believe this muthafucka said some dumb-ass shit like that.

  “Don’t misunderstand me, sir. Without that drug, I’m sure she would have died hours ago given the kind of pain she is in. She would have more than likely had a heart attack or went into shock. Without the drug, she would have felt everything done to her. We’ve managed to stabilize her for the moment. You can go in until we get an operating room prepared. She is currently in a medically induced coma until we get an operating room available.” He patted Moochie on the shoulder as he walked away. Moochie just stood there, not believing everything that was going on.

  Chapter 17

  Broken Wings

  Sena walked off the elevator, looking and smelling good. She looked him dead in the eyes and turned to head toward Vee’s room. Moochie ran up behind her trying to catch her before she saw Vee, but he was a moment too late. When she saw how Vee looked, her knees buckled and it felt like all the blood had rushed to her head. Luckily, she wasn’t that far away from Moochie because surely she would have hit the floor. She was hysterical, feeling like she was hyperventilating and needed a seat. There was her best friend, lying up in a hospital bed, bandaged from head to toe, and most of the bandages were soaked with blood. She had tubes and machines attached to damn near every hole in her body. It was unbearable to look at. Sena’s chest heaved as if she were pushing the weight of the world up and down. She was trying to stand, but Moochie was still literally holding her up. Her legs wouldn’t move. They just wobbled under her. The sight before her was horrible, and Sena was mortified. No matter how many tears clouded her eyes, they could never take away what she was looking at.

  “What happened to her? Oh my God!”

  She was barely breathing as she walked over to the bed. He pulled a chair up for her. She looked at her dear friend as the tears ran down her face. The only family she had was lying up in a hospital bed in God knew how much pain. When they were only about fourteen, Vee came to live with her family because her own mother was too far gone on drugs. Then, when they were eighteen, Sena’s mother passed away from breast cancer, leaving just the two of them to take care of each other.

  “Where did you go? What happened to you? Why would somebody do this to you? I don’t understand,” she said, crying as she held and kissed Vee’s bruised hands. “Why didn’t you call me? How did you get here?” she quizzed Moochie.

  “She called me when she couldn’t reach you,” he said, looking at her, hoping his answer didn’t make feel her worse that she wasn’t there for her girl. Vee had never asked her for anything but friendship, and she couldn’t even come through for her the one time she needed her.

  “Oh. Why didn’t she call Kidd?” She wiped her face with the sleeve of her jacket.

  The doctor and about three nurses came rushing into the room.

  “Okay, you two have to wait here. We’ll update you in a little bit,” the doctor said while pushing Valencia out the door to the operating room.

  “Where are they taking her?” Sena asked as tears started to flow freely down her face once again.

  “To the operating room. They say she lost a lot of blood, and she’s hemorrhaging internally.”

  “What happened?”

  After he gave her the rundown on what happened, Code Blue would be an understatement on how she was feeling. All the color drained instantly from her face.

  “You want me to stay with you?” he asked, already knowing she wouldn’t want to be alone.

  “Would you?”

  “Yeah, let me go make a phone call, and I’ll be right back.”

  Sena put her hand to her face to wipe away the tears that seemed to have no end.

  Moochie walked out of the room, dreading the phone call he was about to make. He didn’t know how his brother was gon’ take the news. He pressed the number one and send on his phone and waited for Kidd to answer.

  “What’s the business? Where you run off to this morning, nigga—”

  Moochie cut him off. “I’m at the hospital.”

  “What happened? Are you all right? Which one? I’m on my way.” Kidd rattled off question after question without letting Moochie answer any of them. Going into full panic mode, there’s three things Kidd does not play about: his brother, his crew, and his money, in that order.

  “Naw, I’m good, kinda, in a way. It’s Vee, man.”

  Kidd just knew he heard his younger brother wrong. “Vee?” He scrunched up his face.

  “Yeah, man. She in St. John’s Hospital, and it’s bad.”

  “Why you there?” Kidd was feeling some kind of way about that.

  “She called me ab
out three-thirty this morning to come help her, and when I got there, she was lying in a big-ass pool of blood.”

  Kidd could hear his brother’s voice crack slightly. His heart went out to her, but this had nothing to do with him. At least, that was what he was trying to convince himself of.

  “So what you telling me for?” Kidd was done with her.

  “What the fuck you mean what I’m telling you for? Because you need to bring yo’ stupid ass up here and be with her!” Moochie yelled heatedly.

  “Naw, I’m good. Tell her to call whoever she disappeared with to come up there, or, better yet, you stay. Apparently, you who she wanted around.” He was a little jealous that she had called his brother and not him. His emotions were in a whirlwind. He didn’t know if he was angry at her or scared for her.

  “She called me because she was afraid of the way you would react, and I don’t blame her. She’s in the fucking hospital on her deathbed, and all you can think about is who she called first. I thought you would want to run to her like I did and help her get through this, but I see you still on that li’l kid shit. So, if you looking for me, this where I’ll be. You can handle things without me, right?”

  Click

  Moochie hung up. He couldn’t wrap his head around how his brother responded. He didn’t even ask if she was all right or nothing. Kidd claimed he loved her and she was the one. How could you turn your back on someone you love? He couldn’t even fathom it. Because if you had a place in Moochie’s heart, hell, even if you were in his life, that meant he had love for you, and he wouldn’t hesitate to help you through anything. He knew his brother was hurt from the way she disappeared, but you don’t just turn love on and off like a light switch. Shit. Apparently, she had been in some kind of trouble. If he loved her the way he said he did, he would have been on his way to hospital before Moochie was able to finish his sentence.

  Moochie took a deep breath as he walked back into the room to keep Sena company. Sena was sitting in the windowsill, rocking side to side, hugging herself, crying, and praying all at the same time. He walked over to her, then picked her up and walked over to the bed to lay her down. He lay down behind her and held her tightly as she cried silent tears for her friend. He could feel her body vibrate as she cried. Not able to imagine life without Vee, it felt as if the air was being sucked right out of her lungs. This is exactly what Moochie was trying to avoid. He knew, from the first time he met Sena, that she was a winner, freakiness and all. They clicked well together, and the chemistry was there. That was why he had never called. He wasn’t ready for love yet. He didn’t think he was ready for an emotional attachment. But no matter where you run, love will find you in the strangest places.

  Kidd was driving down the highway feeling like he couldn’t breathe. Tears were burning the rims of his eyes. What his brother had said kept replaying in his head, “She on her deathbed, and all you can think about is who she called first.”

  Deathbed?

  Knowing he was wrong for what he said, he quickly made a U-turn when Moochie had called. And honestly, he didn’t mean it. He was already on the way while his little brother gave him the business.

  Actually, he wasn’t that far away. He was at his boss’s house out in a small community called Town and Country, buying his freedom. He was officially out of the game and a legal man. He had made it out unscathed. Not many men could say the same. Although, technically, he wasn’t in the game. But still, he participated in some dangerous affairs. He was young and a millionaire. Now, all he needed was his queen, but it looked like she might not make it to see his dreams come true. He still wanted to share his dreams with her. She said she wanted a house full of kids, ten to be exact, and he was cool with that. They wouldn’t have to struggle to care for them. So he could see a house full of kids that looked just like her. He wanted that life with her. Kidd started laughing at how his brother put his check game down. For one, he would get his ass kicked, and two, he loved and respected his brother too much. “She can’t die. God can’t be that cruel to bring her back to me just to snatch her away . . . again.” He was driving in silence as he let his favorite song “I Can’t” by Lyfe Jennings, lead the way to the hospital.

  He hesitated before walking into the hospital. He honestly didn’t know if he could take her being taken away again. He stopped at the nurses’ station and got her room number. As he got closer to the room, his legs felt like they weighed a ton. He stopped short of her room. He paced back and forth outside the door, not knowing what to say or do. He knew his brother hadn’t told her what he said. That was a given. He just didn’t know what to expect. What the hell does knocking at death’s door look like? As he walked in, he only saw one bed, but it contained Moochie and a crying Sena. Moochie was holding her and rocking her back and forth. He instantly felt bad. Sena was crying like Vee was already dead. He took a seat on the other side of the room and looked around, hoping they had taken Vee somewhere as he prayed it wasn’t the morgue. He didn’t want to disturb them with questions right then. He just sat there, watching them, as the tears started to run freely down his face. Shaking his head, he whispered, “Not the morgue. Please, God.” No, it couldn’t be that bad . . . could it? He thought again as he watched Sena start to get up.

  “I need to get some air,” she said, feeling like the walls were closing in on her.

  “You want me to come with you?”

  “No, somebody should be here when she comes out of recovery. I don’t want her to be alone.”

  “I’ll be here.”

  They both were surprised to see Kidd sitting there in the window seat with a tear-streaked face.

  “How long you been here?” Sena asked as she got up to walk over to him. She stood to give him a hug. Moochie just sat there, not really saying anything. He was happy that his brother got his head out of his ass, put his pride aside, and came to the hospital.

  “Not long, maybe about ten minutes.”

  “You been sitting here that long and didn’t say anything?” questioned Sena.

  “I didn’t want to interrupt. You looked like you had a lot on your mind.”

  “Right. Did you hear anything?” she asked, hoping he had good news.

  “Nah, they just told me the room number.”

  “What’s up, man?” Kidd looked at Moochie.

  “Not shit. What’s good?” he said a little too dry, Sena noticed.

  “Okay, I’m gonna say this shit right now because I don’t know what’s going on between you two, but you niggas better get it together. My best friend will be back from surgery any time now, and she doesn’t need you two adding to her pain so get that shit out now!” She looked at both of them, neither one said anything. She just had a way of speaking her mind and making you listen.

  “We good, ma. Don’t trip. You ready to go outside?” Moochie stood up and walked out the door before Sena got a chance to say anything else. He was feeling some kind of way about the whole situation. He and his brother watched every day as their mother cried and prayed night after night that their father would walk through those hospital doors and tell her everything was going to be okay. Moochie didn’t think it was the cancer that killed her so quickly. It was a broken heart in his opinion. Because, not once did she ever ask if she was getting better, if there was any change. No, all she wanted to know was if her husband had shown up. Maybe he was a little angrier because he saw Vee when it first happened. And he couldn’t erase that horrible sight for nothing in the world.

  “Moochie, man, let me holla at you,” Kidd yelled.

  “I’ll be in the hall,” Sena told Moochie as he walked back in the room. Kidd knew when his little brother was uptight about something, and it didn’t sit well with him that he was the reason of him feeling this way.

  “What’s up?” Moochie asked nonchalantly.

  “Look. My bad about earlier. I was still mad at her for not calling me and leaving me the way she did. You know I would never shit on her like that. You know me better than anyon
e. My pride just got in the way of my feelings. I knew I was coming, though. It just felt a little good to act like I didn’t care,” he said, hunching his shoulders and sitting back down.

  “It’s cool, man. It’s not you. It’s just, when I found her in that room, it was like Momma all over again. But this was way worse. Somebody did her dirty, dude, and I mean straight fucked her up really bad. Every time I close my eyes, I see her lying on the floor caked up in blood. Then, when I put her in the shower to get some of the blood off, my blood got to boiling. There is not a spot on her body that is not bruised.”

  Shower? Kidd thought. He knew his brother would never do him dirty, so he just listened to the rest of the story.

  “So that’s why you left in a hurry this morning? When I came out of the bathroom, you was gone.”

  “Yeah, she had called and told me not to tell you because she didn’t want you to see her like that. I don’t think you would have been able to take it. You got more invested in her than I do. I was looking from a brother’s point of view, but you would have been looking from a lover’s point. And if I know you like I think I know you, you probably would have hit the roof. You know I was gonna tell you. I just had to get the whole story first.”

  “So did she tell you why she disappeared?”

  “Naw. Didn’t get a chance. Hell! She couldn’t tell me what happened. She said one minute she was ‘asleep,’ and the next she woke up in a hotel room getting her ass kicked by two chicks.”