When Milan came to, her nose was first filled with the smell of strong antiseptic. 

As her senses began to return to her one-by-one, there was a consistent beeping next to her. Next, she noticed her arm had been restrained to the bed. A heart rate monitor and IV drip full of a clear bag of liquid also placed near her. 

The arm that was restrained was the same one her IV was connected to. As she looked her own self over, she was in a hospital gown. Immediately with her free hand she felt herself for her under garments, and to her mortification... she was definitely naked under the gown.

"Yo ass is finally up." 

A man's raspy voice spoke up causing Milan to jump and turn towards their direction quickly.

She relaxed when she was able to see that it was Malcolm, the guy who went by "X" for short with Ramses. Malcolm was sitting in the love seat near the window of her room. He looked pretty comfortable like he'd been sitting there for hours. 

He had a pink thermal blanket wrapped around him, bright yellow hospital socks on his feet. His white air forces were neatly placed right beside the chair and his black WhiteSox hat was sitting comfortably on the window sill. 

"How...How long was I out?" Milan croaked. Reaching to the nearest styrofoam cup of water on a small stand next to her. Malcolm saw her struggling and immediately got up to help pass the cup to her. 

She thanked him before bringing the cup to her lips. 

"You been out about 'leven twelve hours. I know I spent the night here, that's fasho. Ramses ass damn near rocket bombed my shit the way he had people bangin' my door down to come see 'bout you. You done had about three visitors too." Malcolm animatedly clued her in on what had been happening after the accident. 

Her throat was slightly soothed by the water in the cup, but her mouth still tasted like blood. Sitting back in her bed, Milan raised the back of it some with the remote on the bed. While the whirring of her being lifted up lulled slightly, Milan gestured for Malcolm to keep talking. 

"One visitor was Daya. She beat me here actually 'cuz she's the only favorite on your phone's contact list the police could reach at the scene. Once they had took you up to surgery—"

"Surgery?!" Milan couldn't help, but burst out. She immediately regretted the outburst by the way her abdomen protested.

Immediately she looked under her hospital gown through her neck hole and saw that she indeed had a wound on her lower stomach. Its wound dressing had been freshly changed she saw.

"What the fuck happened to me?!" Milan tried her best shout, even though what came out sounded more like a cat stuck under a car. Her throat was still so raw. 

Malcolm looked mildly annoyed at her dismay. "Girl, you gon' have to get that screaming under control. Shit, it's 6 o'clock in the morning."

The statement caused Milan to look out of the room's window, and it seemed Malcolm was indeed correct with the way the light from the rising sun was just beginning to peak into her room.

"But anyway," Malcolm continued, approaching her bedside and resting his arms on the railings of her hospital bed. "Your appendix burst during the accident. That's what the surgery was for. Other than a bruised rib and some cuts and scrapes, you're good. Doctors said yo' ass a Christmas miracle."

As the information washed over Milan all she could do focus on was the dark egg shell wall in front of her.

The sounds of her car being slammed into playing in her head. The blaring of her car horn coming back to her and it made goosebumps spring up across her skin. 

This was the 3rd attempt on her life that she knew was meant for her and only her.

The drive-by.

The sneak attack.

And now a hit-and-run.

All over a man who was behind bars. 

Milan felt the need to vomit suddenly. 

She hurriedly gestured to her mouth while holding her free hand to her mouth. Malcolm immediately brought a trashcan to her bedside. Milan threw up nothing but bile, her retching continuing even when nothing was coming up anymore. 

Malcolm did his best to console her, keeping a steady hand on her back while she got herself together. And when she was finished, he hands her some paper towels that were in the room. Milan hoarsely thanked him when she was finished, her strength totally spent from that episode. 

Not moving from her bedside, Malcolm simply brought her blankets back over her body. Milan sunk further into the bedding she was in.

"The lawyer lady and her friend, Valerie, came by. Now... I usually don't like'em bougie, but that Valerie boooy... A n*gga can work wit' that!" 

And that made Milan smile.

She could only imagine what Valerie and Nicoletta looked like walking into the hospital to be greeted by Malcolm's scruffy self.

"Oh yeah?" Milan managed to chime in a little.

Malcolm enthusiastically nodded. His spirit seeming to brighten just by Milan's small response. 

"Oh fasho. I like the way she walk in 'nem Valentino joints. I'll follow her lil snooty ass anywhere." Malcolm continued with his joke and Milan smiled brighter. She reached out and touched Malcolm's hand where it was resting on her bed railing.

"Thank you for being here with me, Malcolm. Ramses is lucky to have someone as loyal as you by his side." Milan thanked him sincerely. She really was happy she wasn't alone in this hospital and although she didn't know Malcolm too well, she knew she was in good hands with him.

Malcolm grabbed her hand and squeezed it softly. "My boy'a die 'bout you, Milan. Anybody that got his head fucked up like that deserve my respect. Yo' mean ass got some power to you."

Nodding her agreement while softly laughing, Milan let go of their handhold and leaned back in her bed again. Malcolm also returned to his seat.

In the next couple of minutes, the squeaking of sensible of shoes came into the room. A doctor and nurse came in clipboards out and smiles on their faces, Milan closed her eyes.

I'm gonna let Malcolm do the talking.

She thought before drifting back to sleep.

***

Later that day, Milan was able to be discharged from the hospital.

Since she was still staying at the hotel, Malcolm had no problem taking her back to her hotel. 

Dressed in almost a decade old pair of PINK sweat pants and a old high school graduation shirt, Milan and Malcolm made their way into the hotel. All Milan had in her bag from the hospital was about a dozen pair of the non-slip hospital socks.

What could she say? Her feet get cold. 

When Milan first tapped her room key card to the door's lock, it didn't respond. This wasn't unusual, a lot of times it took two or three tries for the door to open if Milan wasn't scanning it at the exact spot it needed to be.

Milan then tried again. The red no-entry light continued to taunt her.

Snatching the key card out of her hand with her bag still in his other hand, Malcolm tried to unlock them door himself to no avail.

"Mane, this expensive ass hotel definitely shouldn't have no jank key cards." Malcolm grumbled as he tried to unlock the door a couple more times to no avail.

Milan said nothing and took the card back one more time. She calmly pressed the card to the door and this time, she felt the door unlock. With a sly smile thrown back at Malcolm, Milan proceeded to open the door.

It seemed the green beam that immediately pierced through the darkness in the room caused Malcolm to spring into action in the .5 seconds Milan had cracked the door. In one fluid motion, Malcolm grabbed Milan shoulder and threw her down to the ground.

In the seconds, following rapid gunfire pierced the hallway wall in front of Milan's hotel room. Malcolm got up from his place on the ground and produced a weapon of his own, shooting back right into the darkness that was attacking them. 

A heavy thud came from in the room and Milan could only look at Malcolm.

"Go." She told him and that's all he needed to hear. 

Malcolm took off down the hallway so fast, his footsteps couldn't be heard after he got more than six feet away from her.

She heard seemingly millions of police sirens chorusing outside of the hotel building. 

I will never be able to stay at another Hilton Hotel for as long as I live.

Milan thought as she shakily rose up from the place Malcolm threw her to.

With a heavy sigh, she walked into the room. Milan didn't care at this point if a sniper came and shot her in the back of the head. She had just gotten released from the hospital for God's sake. 

Turning on the light immediately, Milan saw nothing but carnage at first.

Of course feathers were everywhere due to bullets piercing the pillows and mattress of the bed. Shrapnel and pieces of other things that were hit and damaged. As she walked deeper into the room, she looked down and saw small drops of blood on the carpet. 

Immediately she looked towards where the drips began to form a trail and it lead into the bathroom.

What Milan saw caused her to drop to her knees immediately. 

It was her brother.

It was Devon. 

There he laid in the bathroom propped up against the bath tub, his breathing deep and labored. His blood went from drips to smears on the tiled floor. His firearm at his side. The hoodie he was wearing was soaked in his own blood. 

Scalding hot tears began to run down Milan's face as she processed the gore she was seeing. The line between what was real and what was fake was blurring as the bodies of her parents seemed to be appearing beside Devon as well. She knew it was impossible.

But, oh God. 

"Oh God..." Milan was finally able to choke out just barely underneath the onslaught of tears running down her face. 

"God please!" Milan shrieked at the top of her lungs. It sounded more like a scream from a wounded animal. Milan was all that and more. 

A SWAT team of men surrounded Milan's hotel room. Their guns were drawn and shields up high. One of the team approached, Milan but she was inconsolable. 

"Ma'am, please vacate the premises." A muffled voice spoke to her through the gas mask he was wearing. Another officer was rapidly talking to his radio saying who was in the room and what the situation was. All of that might as well have been TV static in the background to Milan.

Milan stared vacantly at the body of her brother. He was taking his last breaths. She could tell from how slow his stomach was rising. She could not take her eyes off of him. 

"Ma'am—" The same officer tried to get Milan's attention again, while another pair began to go into the bathroom. When they saw Devon's body, they began to move him so they could pull back the shower curtain.

"Don't you fucking touch him!" Milan screamed, holding her own abdomen so tight she could barely breathe. The pair of officers turned and looked at Milan's almost hysterical state on the ground.

"Somebody get psych up here..." She heard someone radio in. She couldn't have been bothered to care. 

Her knees were glued to the ground. Her sobs were so strong they shook her whole body. Her surgery scar protesting every gasp of air she took in. 

"Devon... please..." Milan found herself begging on the ground. She was crying so hard she could barely see his figure. 

Once again the same SWAT officer then tried to take Milan by the arm to get her to stand up. Immediately her body went limp as she violently pulled against him. "Get the fuck off of me! Devon! Devon, please!" Milan cried out as she thrashed.

Another officer came to the first one's aid as they tried to subdue Milan's flailing body and carry her outside the room. Milan threw her body weight forward causing them to drop her. She crawled into the bathroom and pulled her dying brother up into her lap. His face was so pale. 

Tears immediately began to land on his face which seemed to bring a sliver of life back to his face. Milan knew by the way she felt his blood seeping into the cotton of her sweatpants he was not going to even make it to the hospital.

"'Lani..." Devon was able to muster up. Milan only cried harder, nodding her head at his call. "Yes, D. I'm here, D." Milan did her best soothe him, rubbing his chest and kissing his head. 

"I want to go home." He told her, sounding like the same boy he was when their parents died. 

Milan only nodded harder. 

"Imma get you home, D. Just go to sleep. It's okay. Just go to sleep." Milan shushed him, rocking his weakening body side to side. Milan pressed her cheek to Devon's head as she lulled them both to a tune their mother used to hum them. 

She felt as her brother slipped away from her. His breaths growing more and more shallow until they stopped altogether. 

Milan let out a mournful sound that came from the pits of her soul. 

Every officer in the room was stunned. The room still and silent. 

And Milan continued to cry. Oh, she cried and cried. 

The SWAT team, at this point, knew she was not a danger to herself or to others and began to work around her. Clearing the building as far as they could and then they let the healthcare team up with a gurney. 

Milan would not part with her brother's body. She held onto him with a vice grip no one dared to break. She made no more noise. 

Tears never stopped running down her face. 

The war was over.