“I don’t give a fuck about none of that shit y’all are talking about! That’s my muthafuckin’ brother back there, and I want the niggas that did this shit dead to-fuckin’-night!”
As I pried my eyes open, the sounds of beeping could be heard over the sounds of Uno’s boisterous voice. Groaning, I looked around the room, squinting at the bright lights. My head thudded, and that’s when the day’s events came back to me. Sitting up in the bed, the monitors began to go crazy as I began snatching wires and IVs from my body.
“Mr. Mills, you have to calm down!” Nurses ran into the room, trying to see what was going on. “You’re going to make matters worse!”
Ignoring their pleas, I stood from the bed, almost losing my footing. Glancing down, I frowned at being dressed in a gown with matching socks. “Where my clothes at so I can fuckin’ leave? I have to find my daughter.”
My voice cracked as I tried my hardest to keep my tears at bay. All I could do was hear my daughter’s screams and see the scared look on her face as she was taken from me.
“I’m not giving you anything!” one of the nurses said in a stern tone, fussing as she walked over to me. “You’re going to lay your ass back down in the bed until we tell you otherwise.” The disdain on her face couldn’t be missed. “Now, lay the fuck down and—ahh!”
“Who the fuck are you talking to?” I gripped her neck, ready to snap it in two. She, along with the three other nurses, had lost all of the spunk they had moments ago. “You want a body in this bed? It will be yours if you don’t do what the fuck I say.” I squeezed her neck tighter right as my brother and motherburst into the room. I heard my mother gasp as she ran over to me. “Bring me my muthafuckin’ clothes, or I’m going to throw you out of the fuckin’ window. You want your family trying to identify you while you’re nothing but blood and guts splattered all over the sidewalk?”
“Jordan, baby… let her go,” my mother said softly while trying to pry my fingers from the nurse’s frail neck. The bitch was scratching my hand up something serious, but she was losing her fight as well as her consciousness. “You’re making matters worse, son.”
“She did this to herself—talking all that tough shit like I’m not really like that.” The nurse’s eyes began to roll to the back of her head, and I decided to drop the bitch before I killed her. Looking around as the other nurses shook in fear, I stepped over her semi-lifeless body. “If y’all don’t want to be next, I suggest you find my belongings, as well as my discharge papers. If I have to ask again?—”
They dashed all over the room before leaving to do as I asked.
Holding my side, I stumbled back and sat at the edge of the bed. Squeezing my eyes shut, I took several deep breaths. Opening them slowly, I locked eyes with my mama, and I couldn’t help but let the tears fall.
“I fucked up, Ma,” I croaked as salty water droplets streamed down my face. “I fucked up bad.”
“Come here, baby,” my mother whispered as she took a seat beside me. Wrapping me in her arms, I placed my head on her chest and let my frustration flow from my eye sockets. I let down my girls and didn’t protect them the way I should have. I deserved the misery I was currently living in.
“It’s going to be okay, Jordan.” She kissed my forehead as she rubbed all over my back. “You’re blessed to be alive, baby boy. I know you’re hurting, but God is going to make it all right. Do you believe that?”
“Mama…” I sniffled as I looked up at her, as she had tears in her own eyes. I could tell that she had been crying before I woke up. “I’m the reason—” I shook my head slightly. “Have you heard from Gianna? Noemi? Fuck! Is she okay?”
Noemi left home to be with me, and not even a week later, I had her in some dangerous shit. If she was hurt, or even worse, I don’t know what I was liable to do.
“Noemi is fine. She was discharged already.” She patted my cheek, giving me a small smile. “You both have concussions, but you have the worst of it since you have a gunshot wound to your side, baby.” Looking down, I noticed the blood saturating the gown. “You need to allow these people to help you.” She nodded toward the nurse, who was slowly waking from her slumber. “You can’t be in here choking out the staff, Jordan Mills.”
Declining to respond, I trailed my eyes over to the noise coming from the corner. I looked on and watched as my oldest brother, hands behind his back, paced in front of the window. Wiping my face, I lifted from my mother. Slowly and carefully, I made my way over.
“Aye, nigga…” I grunted, causing him to snap his head around. “I heard you acting like a fool out there. That’s not a good look for the mayor.”
“This my fuckin’ city, nigga!” He mugged me as if I was the enemy, showing he had reached his limit. “The fuck they gone do to me?”
Smirking, I nodded as his stern expression fell. Gently but firmly, he pulled me into a hug. We weren’t the most affectionate bunch, but we didn’t play about each other. I loved my brothers, and I knew they felt the same about me.
“Had I lost you, I would have blown this entire city up without a second thought,” he mumbled, and I could hear the conviction in his voice. “I love you, Jordan.”
“I love you, too, Ken.” I patted his back as the room door swung open. One of the nurses had come back with fresh joggers, my discharge papers, and to collect her now alert co-worker. “Where’s Adrian?”
“While you’ve been playing Sleeping Beauty for two days?—”
“Two fuckin’ days?!” I bellowed as I made my way over to grab the clothes so I could get dressed. “What the fuck, man? Gianna could be anywhere!”
Palming my chest, I leaned over onto the bed to catch my breath.
What if I never saw my Gi Baby again?I have to get the fuck out of here.
“When I find out who the fuck did this, I’m killing them.” I sighed. “Two fuckin’ days, man.”
“Yeah, two days, bro.” He gave me a sympathetic look. “Wild has been tearing the city apart looking for our niece in your absence. I haven’t been able to get in touch with Noemi. She’s not answering her phone for any of us.”
“Here.” My mother placed her hand on my shoulder, handing me a duffle bag. I was thankful for my brother, but what was up with Noemi? I hope she wasn’t thinking about leaving me because of this bullshit. “I know you wouldn’t have wanted to wear hospital clothes, so I went and bought you something from the penthouse.” Nodding to the bathroom, she added, “Go get dressed so you can come out here and tell me about Noemi Boudreaux.”
