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Amari's point of view

I held a sleeping Paris in my arms and half-walk, half-run along the corridor. My keychain jingles, and I hold the phone tightly in my hand.

I didn't have anyone to leave her with, at least not this late and so suddenly, and I refused to leave her alone in the car. If she was awake, it wouldn't be that bad, but I've always been too paranoid.

People stared at me, but I didn't care; I had to make sure my friend was okay.

This is a hospital. I'm sure they've seen people in nightgowns before. They shouldn't be staring so hard.

"Excuse me, Miss, is the baby okay?" A nurse stopped me and asked, and I nodded at her.

"Am just here to see my friend. She's been in an accident, and one of them got-"

"Right this way. It's been the only accident since night." The nurse mentioned with a wave of her hand.

"Let me?" She held out her hand, offering to take Paris, but I politely declined and walked ahead of her.

"Amari."

I heard Zendi's voice, and my heart did a jump-start.

Her eyes were swollen and red. Her face was so evident that she'd been crying.

Please, God

Without another word, she hugged me to her chest, causing Paris to shift.

"I swear, I-" A snort escapes her nostrils, and my breath becomes shaky as she cries.

"Zendi, please. Brie? Is Brie okay?"

She pulled away from me, and I noticed how her hands shook. She sat down on one of the chairs lining the hallway.

"I don't know, they ain't sayin' nothin' to me. I been here for so long an' nobody sayin' a word. I called Aunty, an' she said Katie's on a flight comin' down an' she'll be here by the mornin'."

Katie is Brie's sister. Her only sibling.

I sat down and placed Paris on her belly, across my thighs. I checked the time-11:45 p.m.

Cals hasn't notified me.

He won't

He left just like that

Cals has never slept out or stepped out on me like that.

I swallowed hard and stared at the surgery door.

"Dem nah seh nothin', Amari. My fault-mi shoulda just, mi shoulda fly him off di road an' mek him dead." She blabbers in anxiety.

Her Jamaican accent sounds bad due to how thick her US accent is. I guess I am the only one who truly sounds like a Jamaican when mine kicks in.

I could hardly hear what she said as she fought against anger and sadness.

Is you go die?

Why are you beating yourself up like that?

Why mi so insensitive?

Maybe because you got a whole shit on your plate.

It's always hard for me to see her falling apart. Zendi rarely cries.

I am the one that cries a lot. I grew up being the only child. I was lonely. Maybe I am still lonely although I have them. Call it insensitive or jealous, but my emotions went spiraling.

I grew up lonely, yet still, I had to deal with things myself. And I'm still dealing with things myself.

Zendi is the only girl. She has three brothers-two stay in Canada with her parents, and one lives in Montego Bay. Brie's sister lives in Canada as well. Meanwhile, her parents traveled back to back, so she didn't mind having her own house.

Cals has two sisters and a brother who lives in Atlanta.

Paris shifts in my arms, reminding me that I might not be so lonely after all.

Zendi paced the corridor.

She has yet to tell me what happened, except that somebody crashed into them.

Brie was already blocked out, so she got a default jerk on her head.

Zendi claims she almost flew through the mirror because the driver hit them from behind. She lost control of the car and crashed into another. It was the biggest accident that took place all month on a Kingston highway.

All the patients were logged into the same hospital. Brie won't wake up, and the surgeons won't say anything yet.

Zendi looks shaken up. I have no idea how she's standing.

"Zendi, sit next to me."

"I can't-I can't sit."

Her breath came out in rushes, and tears escaped her eyes. She pulled at her locs and re-capped them backward for the umpteenth time. She wiped furiously at the tears and zipped up the pullover she was wearing. I knew she would unzip it again after a few seconds.

"Zendi, please, sit next to me."

I grabbed one of her wrists, and it was hot to the touch. She's on fire.

She sat next to me, and her face looked grim.

"I have a feelin' it's that same motherfucker. He's supposed to be dead. He should be dead. Why the fuck is he still breathin'?"

I tried to make her go quiet when a doctor passed us. I pinched her arm, and it was like she didn't feel anything.

"I knew it was him. He was the one who-Right, Zendi, am in a hospital. Zenora Heels, you are in a hospital."

She talked to herself and picked at her skin with her nails.

"Talk to me. I am here. Am listening. Look at me, Zendi, we are okay. Brie will be okay."

I used my free hand to wipe at her tears, and her jaw tightened.

My eyes met her hairline to see fresh blood leaking from it. I scrutinized closely to see old blood drying up on the side of her head, chips of blood sticking in her locs.

"You are bleeding."

"I am fine. Don't worry about me. Worry about Brie."

She flashed my hands off and got up. She pulled the shorts that were sagging and walked up to the surgery door. She started pounding on it, and a security man came forward and pulled her away.

"Mommy, where are we?"

Paris

"Paris, stand up, come on."

I quickly stood and grabbed her arm, and we jogged behind the security man who was forcing Zendi off the corridor.

It was a long bend to head back around the front entrance.

"Anyhow, Zendi neva did a bwal, she mash him up a long time," I mumbled.

Just as I thought, Zendi rails up and shoves him off.

He attempted to grab her arm but received a thump in the nose. He held his nose and braced against the wall.

The noise of the patients got loud as a few 'Chatterbox' reported that a fight was happening around the corner.

"Zendi, stop! Mine dem call the police."

Zendi was about to hit him again, but she glanced at us and saw Paris hiding her face on me.

"Don't even touch me again." She growled at him.

She walked back to us, and we walked past the curious eyes, ignoring them, and made our way back to where we were.

"Everybody continues to stare as if they ain't seen nobody got their ass busted before."

She took Paris and hugged her to her, and I could tell that calmed her down a bit.

Paris would sometimes spend time with her or Brie on weekends, so they got used to each other pretty well.

"Hey, pssst, could you get this baby in a child's room for me?" Zendi called to a nurse passing by.

Tell me why is she charming the lady?

"Of course, anything for you." The nurse smiled softly.

"I'll come and get you, okay, baby? Then I will tell you everything. Pinky promise?"

I held out my pinky to Paris, and she wrapped hers around it before the nurse took her.

Knowing I will tell her what makes her sleep well at night, I don't want my baby to have nightmares.

Zendi glanced around us before leaning closer to me.

"She stabbed him, an' I'm sure he ain't dead. I'm tellin' you, he's the one who tried to kill us on the way here." She said, lowly.

"Where did she stab him?"

"She ain't sure. She said they got into it for a bit, so she's - she was- she got nicked on the lungs."

What?

"What? But - she, She changed her clothes remember? It's been her blood all along? We were cleaning her blood?" I covered my mouth and willed my heart to stop racing.

Her lungs got nicked, and she waited too long. Then, isn't she dead already?

Oh God, please

"I know, she was just too shocked to say or feel anything. She thinks she killed him, And she kept blaming herself for it. She was more focused on her being a murderer than her dying. I need her to wake up so I can slap her some sense. Why did she care when he was beating her ass?" She attempted to get up again, but I grabbed her down.

One thing for certain: I've never seen Zendi so riled up, and it's not safe to say, 'Zendi walks around being ready to get riled up'. She's a tempered human being.

"That's why we was headin' to the hospital. I ain't even know she was bleedin', she just laid on the sofa an' went to sleep in blood, can you imagine? The fact that she was stupid enough-well, smart enough to wear somethin' black, oh my God, an' wake up just to block it out," She leaned her head on the wall and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Her face reddened, and her eyes glazed.

No

Nothing will happen to Brie

"She will be okay, you'll see, we'll go and watch movies together, we'll travel together, we have so many things to do, and we will do them, yes. We will," I held on to her fingers and said, trying to convince myself. I could be mad at Brie, but I never wanted her to die; I never even wanted her to get a scratch or for her head to hurt.

"She should have burned his eyeballs out," Zendi hissed. "Poke them out with a knife."

"You'll shout all you want, but now, keep calm, Zendi; you know your record; we don't need police going away with you right now. Not tonight."

Zandi is crazy; she's the typical type to shove you down and beat you until you're black, blue, or purple. Plus, she's six months coming from rehab; I am sure she might lash out anytime, and the fact that she has links to drug lords. I hope she doesn't let a sniff of coke next to her nostrils ever again.

"I am going to kill him; he's fucking dead, as your mother would say, 'him a duppy,' walking dead, " She leans up and whispers, picking at her skin.

She's bipolar as bipolar itself.

She's crazy

She must mental

She has been half crazy but mi neva know seh a so har mental bad

Har mental half mad Fi true man

"Mi start think yuh half-mad; kill who? You should stop talking. People can read lips, yuh hear? Lock yuh lip Dem, before yuh mek people lock mi up and left mi pickney- lock yuh lip Dem, tight." I half snapped and leaned back in the chair.

"Yes, I will send you the license number, find it and get back to me ASAP."

I turned around to see her, speaking into her phone.

"What did you do Zenora?" I asked, twisting my body around to face her.

"I called him."

_____________________________________

Thoughts?- It's jumbled. Things will unfold soon.

Zendi is a bit off in the head; y'all might be saying that, but when everyone gets her background story, then y'all will understand her trauma and why she's the way she is... I must admit she's a tough cookie; she reminds me so much of myself, and I like her. Crazy but not mad. I will work with that; plus, it's normal for her to be like this after going through so much; you guys already see her personality. She's just a victim surviving...Rehab, former Coke head, an alcoholic, dancer, knows drug leaders and is a fighter, but she loves her friend guys. No bashing.

A Cals a fuckry 🙄 if a mi like Amari mi mek him come home come nyam di pots Dem next time.

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