A Broken Girl's Journey 4: Kylie's Song

by Niki Jilvontae

  Kylie’s heart beat so fast it felt like it would rip through her chest as she sat in the car and watched Dirty punch Kevin’s brother and knock him to the ground. Dirty then stomped him in the chest before grabbing Kevin and putting him in a choke hold. Kylie could see Kevin struggling to breathe as he punched backwards into Dirty’s face, but his licks had no effect. Dirty just continued to curse and choke Kevin while kicking his brother in the chest and stomach as he lie on the ground.

  “Y’all lil’ bitch niggas came for me, huh? Cause I fucked them bitches up, y’all muthafuckas thought y’all was gonna come merk me. Y’all lil’ bitches got the game fucked up. Now I’m bout to fuck you pussies up too!” Dirty yelled as he punched Kevin in the chest and tightened the choke hold around his neck.

  Kylie felt rage surge through her body as she watched Kevin’s eyes bulge out of their sockets from lack of oxygen. Before Kylie realized what she was doing, she had grabbed the metal bat Kevin’s brother left in the car and got out. Her legs and hands trembled as she crept up behind the man who was spinning around with Kevin in a choke hold as he continued to kick his brother. When Kylie got within arm’s reach of the man, she felt something dark from deep down inside of her take control. Her rage helped her to lift up the bat and crack Dirty in the back of his head with so much force that the bat sprung back towards her, knocking her to the ground dazed.

  The impact from the blow made Dirty let go of Kevin just as Kevin’s brother got up off the ground and stabbed the man in the stomach with the knife he had finally gotten out of his pocket. Dirty yelled out in pain as Kevin’s brother took the knife out and stabbed him multiple times in the chest and stomach. Blood splattered all over the ground as Dirty tried to squirm away and Kevin punched him. Kylie lie on the ground stunned as she watched Kevin and his brother brutally beat and stab the man as she looked on.

  Suddenly, Dirty broke free from Kevin and his brother, and struck out running in the middle of the street, screaming at the top of his lungs. Kevin quickly regained his composure and yelled for Kylie and his brother to get back into the car as he jumped back into the driver’s seat. Kevin sped up the block going eighty miles per hour, looking around desperately for the man who had disappeared.

  Kylie’s heart raced and her hands shook as if she was on crack as she looked up Frayser Boulevard for the man. Just then Kylie spotted him walking quickly up the block holding his stab wounds as he attempted to flag down the passing cars.

  “There his hoe ass go!” Kevin’s brother yelled as Kevin made a U-turn and sped around the corner towards Dirty.

  Kylie felt light-headed as she held her breath and watched them speed towards Dirty who was now crossing the street. Time seemed to stand still and nothing else existed as Kylie felt the car pick up speed and then slam into Dirty just as he was about to step up on to the curb. Kylie watched as his body flew up into the air in front of her and came down with tremendous force. His head hit the corner of the sidewalk, splitting open like a watermelon hitting concrete.

  Kylie had to let the window down to vomit as Kevin sped away, turning down Watkins to get on the expressway. Kylie’s ears rang and her head spun as she watched cars and buildings go by in a blur. She was in total shock and so was Kevin as he stared straight ahead with a blank expression, pushing the Impala to ninety miles per hour through rush hour traffic. Kylie glanced over at Kevin in a daze as he looked back at her. She wanted to scream for him to slow down, but the words were stuck in her throat. All that she could do was turn forward and stare right at the stalled car near the expressway on ramp just as they were about to hit it.

  In that instant Kylie saw her entire life flash before her eyes. She saw her mother and father, all of her troubles, and the life she had with Kevin. Kylie could do nothing, but close her eyes and ask God and her parents to protect her as they ran right into the stalled car. After hitting the car, their Impala rolled over and over, landing on its roof in the middle of oncoming traffic on the expressway.

  For a second Kylie could see nothing. All that she could do was hear a loud ringing followed by the sound of her heart beating and the noise from cars whizzing by blowing their horns. Kylie tried to open her eyes, but they stung from the broken glass embedded in them and the rest of her face. Kylie’s head throbbed and there was heavy pressure in her chest from her seat belt that made it difficult for her to breath. However, in the midst of all that pain and discomfort Kylie noticed she felt no pain at all in her legs. As a matter of fact, she felt nothing at all below her waist even though her legs were crunched under the dashboard.

  Panic and pain consumed Kylie as she reached over and touched Kevin on his leg. He was so still and silent Kylie immediately thought the worse. She tried again to open her eyes and was able to see Kevin a little out of her left eye as he lay halfway across the steering wheel and the roof. That is when Kylie realized that the car was upside down and they were trapped inside. Unlike Kylie, Kevin and his brother weren’t wearing their seat belts so their bodies lay awkwardly on the roof of the car.

  An uncontrollable panic took over Kylie causing her body to shake violently as if she was having a seizure. She tried to yell out for Kevin, but her voice was so low, she was so weak.

  “Kevin….Kevin please say something to me. Kevin!” Kylie managed to whisper as she touched Kevin’s leg again.

  Kevin still did not move. Kylie tried to unbuckle her seat belt, but her body shook so badly she couldn’t even find the button. Thoughts of death flooded her mind as she prayed that she would be saved. Just then Kylie heard her mother’s voice. It was so distant, but so close. Kylie felt as if her mother was right there with her, but she couldn’t see her. She felt her though. Kylie fought the pain in her neck as she looked around and her mother’s voice got louder.

  “It’s okay Sunshine. Hold on….I’m here with you. “You are going to make it through; you just have to hold on. I promise you baby…Now close your eyes,” Lakea’s voice said.

  Tears rolled down Kylie’s face as she stared out of the broken passenger window at the traffic coming towards them. Suddenly the smell of gas was overwhelming in the car, causing Kylie to gag and gasp for air. Kylie tried hard to silence the faint screams escaping her lips, but she was terrified. She reached out for Kevin again, trying to hold on to someone to help calm her fears. Kylie prayed to God to protect her. She called on her mother and father, her angels to get her through one of her darkest times.

  “God save me; save all of us. Mama, daddy, I need you. What’s happening mama? Help Me!” Kylie cried as she watched the approaching SUV speed right towards them.

  Terror overcame Kylie at the sight of the massive vehicle speeding towards them. She didn’t know what to do as she stared directly at death.

  “Close your eyes.” Lakea’s voice said again.

  Kylie swallowed back her tears and closed her eyes just as her mother told her to.

  “I love you mama,” Kylie whispered as tears streamed down her face and she took a deep breath.

  The next thing Kylie heard was the screech of the SUV’s tires followed by a sharp ringing in her ears from the impact of the SUV hitting their overturned car. After that, Kylie couldn’t hear, feel, see, or smell anything. Everything went BLACK!!!

  Chapter 7

  “Wake up Sunshine….open your eyes baby. It’s been three weeks, you have to wake up. I’ve been where you are baby...you have to come back. Wake up, Kylie. KYLIE…WAKE UP!” Lakea’s voice rang in Kylie’s mind.

  Kylie was trapped in darkness and couldn’t get out. A fog of darkness enveloped her with nothing else or no one around. She tried to talk, move, reach out for her mother, but it was as if she didn’t exist. Nothing seemed to exist where she was. The only thing Kylie could make out was a small twinkle of light that seemed to get closer the more she stared at it.

  “Mama,” Kylie tried to say, but no words came out.

  Kylie closed her eyes as the light came closer, filling her with warmth. That was the warmth Kylie alwa
ys felt from her mother’s love. Lakea and Kylie’s bond was so strong and Kylie loved her mother so much she always got goose bumps whenever she was around. Those were the same goose bumps that she was feeling at that moment. Suddenly, Kylie could hear her mother’s voice again.

  “Sunshine, I told you I’d always be with you, but now I need you to leave me. I need you to open your eyes and live little girl. Do you hear me? Open your eyes Kylie! Camesha Wright! Wake up!” Lakea yelled as Kylie focused on the light which seemed to go inside of her.

  Suddenly, Kylie felt as if she was floating. She felt light, warm, and totally weightless. Kylie let the light fill her up with its warmth until she felt a strength and determination she had never felt before. She could feel an unbreakable resilience grow inside of her. Lakea’s presence was all around her urging her to be strong to overcome as her family had always done.

  “That’s it, baby girl, find your strength. Find that me in you that you will need to survive. Live Kylie, you have to live. Remember, I love you my Sunshine,” Lakea said as her voice trailed off.

  At that moment Kylie’s darkness was suddenly replaced with light as she slowly opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling of her hospital room.

  “She’s awake!” Someone besides Kylie’s bed yelled startling her.

  Despite the throbbing pain in the back of Kylie’s head, she slowly turned to see who was talking. When Kylie focused her eyes to see in front of her, she looked directly into the face of a beautiful, dark skinned female nurse.

  “Why hello there beautiful. It’s good to see you awake and to be able to look into those beautiful eyes. I am your nurse, Constance, and I have been taking very good care of you, and I will continue to until you are discharged,” the nurse said to Kylie as she checked her vital signs.

  Kylie’s head felt heavy and she was very confused as she stared at the nurse, trying to remember what happened. Everything was so fuzzy. Kylie’s memories were just a bunch of broken scenes, flashing in her mind. She felt panic begin to surge through her body as she searched her mind for answers.

  “Where am I?” Kylie asked in a low, raspy voice barely above a whisper as Nurse Constance checked her IV fluid.

  She stopped what she was doing and turned to Kylie with a concerned and compassionate look on her face before responding.

  “You are in Regional One’s Trauma Unit baby. You were in a terrible car accident,” Constance said staring at Kylie with sympathy in her eyes as she rubbed her hand.

  Suddenly, all of Kylie’s memories came flooding back to her at once. She saw Briuna dead in a puddle of blood, she saw herself beating Alissa up, and she saw Kevin hitting the man with his car. Memories of the crash flashed before Kylie’s eyes in short, violent scenes as she began to tremble and her blood pressure rose, causing an alarm to go off. Kylie remembered Kevin’s limp body laying in the car as tears rolled down her face.

  “Where’s Kevin?” Kylie asked as tears began to fall rapidly from her eyes and the alarm continued to ring.

  Kylie couldn’t help, but to panic after remembering all that had happened. She remembered the hopeless feeling she felt when she touched Kevin in the overturned car. He was so still, so cold. Kylie couldn’t help, but feel overwhelmed as thoughts of Kevin being dead ran through her mind. She shook uncontrollably as Constance ran over to her machine to check her vitals and attempted to calm her. The thought of losing the only person she had in the world who cared about her was terrifying to Kylie. Her tears fell like rain and her heart felt as if it would shatter if in fact Kevin had been taken from her.

  “Baby you have to calm down. Please! Now, I’m not supposed to tell you anything, but I personally think that prolonging telling you the truth will only cause you more harm than good. You have to be strong Kylie…” Nurse Constance said as she held Kylie’s hand, calming her and then wiping the tears from her eyes.

  Kylie felt a similar warmth that she felt from her mother when Nurse Constance touched her. Somehow her presence made Kylie feel that one day everything would alright and she would have someone to lean on. Kylie stared into nurse Constance’s eyes as she smothered the screams inside, trying to ease her growing pain. She just wanted to know what happened. She had to know what happened to Kevin.

  “Please, I’ll stay calm. Tell me, please. Where is Kevin?” Kylie asked as she pleaded with the nurse using her eyes.

  Kylie watched as a single tear fell from Nurse Constance’s eye before she took a deep breath to respond.

  “I will tell you this first baby, everyone in the car with you did not make it out alive. One young man in the car with you baby……. he died on the scene. His name was Christopher and he was eighteen-years-old. I’m so sorry baby,” Nurse Constance said squeezing Kylie’s hand before hugging her.

  Sorrow and relief rushed over Kylie’s body because she knew that it wasn’t Kevin who was dead, but she also knew it had to be his brother. Kylie didn’t even know his name because everyone called him something different, but she did know he was a good guy. He helped Kevin to take care of the kids and their mother up until the day he died. Now, he was gone and Kylie had to wonder who would take care of the kids. She wondered who would take care of her for that matter.

  Kylie shook slightly in Nurse Constance’s embrace as sad tears for Christopher’s death fell from her eyes along with happy tears that it wasn’t Kevin. Kylie felt guilty that she had those thoughts at that moment, but Kevin meant so much to her. She didn’t want him to leave her. If he did, she would have no one else. That is why she had to know where Kevin was.

  “What about the other boy, Kevin. What happened to him? Please tell me,” Kylie begged as Nurse Constance nodded her head.

  “The other boy went to jail when he was released from this very hospital last week. He only had a concussion, broken arm and ribs, and a fractured collarbone. Both of you are very lucky to be alive,” Nurse Constance said.

  Kylie closed her eyes and wept at the thought of losing Kevin to jail rather than death. That thought was just as bad to her because either way they would be apart. She needed him and he needed her, but the nurse wanted her to believe that they were lucky. At that moment Kylie didn’t feel that way because she knew that Kevin being gone meant she was left to face her harsh reality alone.

  “Please tell me what he was charged with,” Kylie begged as she thought about what Kevin had done.

  The reality of what Kevin did to the man sunk in when thoughts of life in prison or even death ran through Kylie’s mind. Nurse Constance wiped away Kylie’s tears again and gripped her hand as she responded to her question.

  “Baby, I don’t know the specifics, but I heard that your guardian pressed charges for kidnapping. She said that he abducted you from a friend’s house two days ago and she could not find you. He was also driving without a license. They tried to get him for vehicle homicide for his brother’s death and they even tried to pin a hit and run on him, but those charges were dropped. He won’t be in jail forever baby, just until he’s 18 most likely. So stop worrying your pretty little head and try to get some rest. You have to focus on getting well. Close your eyes and rest and I will go call your guardian. The doctor said she wanted us to call when you wake up. It would’ve made more sense for her to be here with you...if she really cared, but that’s none of my business. I just want you to get well so rest please,” Nurse Constance said as Kylie stared at her with fear in her eyes while gripping her hand.

  Panic and fear overcame Kylie as she thought about what would happen to her back at Aunt Tricey’s house after what she had done. After running away, being involved in two murders, and beating up Alissa, Kylie was sure that aunt Tricey would kill her. She couldn’t go back, but she had no one to help her, so she decided she had to help herself.

  Kylie’s hands trembled as she snatched away from Nurse Constance, pulling her covers back and attempting to get out of the bed. Kylie decided she would run away again. She didn’t know where she would go when she ran away; she just knew
that she couldn’t go back. The only problem was when she tried to move her legs to get out of bed, nothing happened. Kylie’s legs felt as if they weren’t even attached to her body even though she was looking right at them.

  Kylie looked up at Nurse Constance with horror all over her face as the nurse looked at her with sorrow. Kylie knew that something was terribly wrong with her, but she would have never guessed what she would soon find out.

  “What’s wrong with me? Why can’t I move my legs?” Kylie screamed as she stared at Nurse Constance and tears fell from her eyes.

  Nurse Constance said nothing. She just stood there with sympathy written all over her face and tears welling up in her eyes. She watched Kylie as she strained to move her legs with no results. It was no use they wouldn’t budge. Kylie picked up her right leg with her hands and it felt as if her leg weighed a ton. At that moment Kylie knew what was wrong with her; however, she still needed to hear the words.

  Kylie looked back up at nurse Constance with tears streaming down her face, pleading with her to tell her what was wrong. Nurse Constance put her arm around Kylie’s shoulder and hugged her tight before responding.