She gave me pleading eyes, as I dropped my eyes down to the carpet. My mom’s beliefs were Jehovah Witnesses. I was raisedgoing to the kingdom hall and learning their beliefs, which I understood, and it made a whole lot of sense to me. Jehovah was God and Jesus was his son. I just didn’t believe in giving myself to any religion.
My dad went to the meetings to pacify my mom, but he always taught me that religion was watered down. Just do personal study and believe in God but, lately, I was upset with God as well. I hated when people used the term “God called for them to come home.” Why the hell would God want to see someone’s father murdered and women raped and beaten to death? That wasn’t God; that was the devil. When we died, I believed our souls went back to God and our bodies turned back into dust.
Wiping the sweat that formed on my forehead, I took a deep breath and calmed my troubled spirit. It was humid, with no a/c. Momma had fans in every corner of the room, but Mississippi heat still had a way to break through and melt you.
“Let’s not talk about religion, mom. I missed you, let’s eat.”
Giving her a slight smile, she nodded her head, still looking like there was more she wanted to say but decided against it.
“You fortunate Jr. I made your favorite! Candy yams, mac and cheese, collard greens and fried chicken. Oh, and that cornbread your spoiled tail use to cry about when you were five years old.”
She chuckled, as I followed her to the kitchen area. Momma was a beautiful soul. She could turn a bad situation and make it better. It’s the main reason I checked in and called her every single day. I knew she would get frustrated with me not saying much, but I always urged her to talk and tell me about her whole day. It made me feel like I was here with her and still connected.
Sitting down at her island, I watched her make me a huge plate, there was so much food, she had to bring out a second plate to complete my meal. When she turned to bring me myfirst plate, I noticed she was drenched with sweat, which was unusual. Momma loved the heat and turned me down each time I tried to get her an AC unit installed.
“Ma… you, okay?” I questioned, as she fanned me away and nodded her head.
“You know this dirty south heat gets to be a tad much… I’m really thinking about getting that AC unit you keep bugging me about.” She smiled faintly.
“I’ll get you one before I leave to go back to Cali.”
“Boy, you ain’t got to do all that so soon…”
Before she could finish her statement, her eyeballs went left and got stuck there as she slurred, then mumbled something. Quickly standing to my feet to make my way to her, she started to have a seizure while standing up. I had no training in this type of situation, but I remember hearing to put a person on their side. I gently got her to her side and waited for the shaking to stop. It went on for a good two minutes, causing my chest to tighten.
Grabbing my cellphone out my pants pocket, I dialed 911 and explained to them everything that was happening. In the middle of my conversation, my mom slurred but made sure her words were clear enough for me to understand her, “I ain’t going to no hospital, it’s ok Jr… I just have Epilepsy… I ain’t staying overnight with them folk! Hang up!”
She started shaking again, which was not a good sign. My nerves were so bad; I yelled in the phone, telling them to hurry their asses up. This seizure lasted for a long three minutes; I didn’t care what she said. They were going to keep her for some days now and run multiple tests on her. It was unlike her to even keep something from me like this. She told me everything, or so I thought. Never knew my mom to be having seizures. This made me wonder who was helping her whenever she did have them. Ijust knew I had to get to the bottom of everything because some shit just wasn’t adding up.
Arriving at the hospital, they had to force me to stay in the emergency waiting room. I was on edge, ready to say fuck the rules and go see about my mom. I decided to go outside, catch some fresh air, smoke a cigarette, and come back in. I took a seat on the bench and googled the term Epilepsy. It’s crazy when you look some shit up on the internet, it made you feel like it’s a death sentence. The main thing I wanted to know was if it was curable and how serious it was.
Staying away was not the smartest thing to do; it had me feeling guilty as fuck. I left my mom because of my own pain; it was selfish. No matter how many times she told me she was fine to ease my worries, she wasn’t. It was hard on her, just like it was hard on me. Hearing sniffling, I watched the same lady that I gave a ride to earlier limp hard, struggling to make it to the entrance of the hospital.
Her clothes were in very bad condition, like someone yanked her up and stretched her shirt out. I could see the dark purple bruises all over her chest. My eyes traveled down to her arms, open wounds with blood oozing out made me cringe hard. Instantly I wanted to kill somebody for hurting her and didn’t know why since I didn’t even know her. For all I knew, she could’ve did somebody wrong. But I knew from my first encounter with Layloni that it wasn’t possible. She was a good person, you could always feel a person’s energy.
Standing up from the bench, I flicked my cigarette and walked right up to her. I’d came across a lot of women and people in general. To me, one encounter could tell me a lot about them. This woman had the weight of the world on her shoulders, and I felt bad for snapping at her earlier while she was working. So, when I saw her, I felt inclined to give her a ride. Walking right up to her, I asked her if she was okay and she looked up atme, and I froze at the sight of her once smooth brown skin. Her right eye was swollen shut with a busted lip. One look at her nose and I could tell it was broken or fractured. There was dried up blood stuck to the inside of her nostrils.
“Just leave me alone, okay.”
Her eyes were wild and everywhere. I don’t even think she realized it was me from earlier.
“Layloni… who the fuck did this to you?”
I determined that Layloni needed someone in her corner right now, as a friend. I could tell she had no one by the way she walked home by herself and now. Who just up and let a beautiful woman like her just walk places alone while she claimed she had a man? That was clown shit. I never could understand how females made themselves so weak for a man that gave no fucks about them.
“Just leave me the fuck…” She tried to yell with all her strength but fainted right in my arms. She was thick as fuck, cornfed, but that never bothered me much. She was a plus size beauty in my eyes, and I caught her in my arms. Sweeping her off her feet, I carried her into the emergency room. I was at this hospital for my mom and Layloni. A total stranger that piqued my interest, just a tad bit.
Chapter 4
Layloni
After hearing all about my fractured arm and the miscarriage of my first-born baby that I didn’t even know I was carrying, I wanted to break down and cry again. I bit my bottom lip, refusing to cry over something I had no resolution for at the moment. Slowly but surely, my heart was icing over. I was tired of giving my love away to people who chose to dog me the hell out. Hearing my mom encourage Glen to beat me, instead of protecting me had me crushed. I honestly didn’t know which one hurt worse. Losing a baby or losing a mother. I was tired of her shit. I had been carrying me and her since I was a teen; I needed to live life.
Hearing a tap at the door, I expected it to be a nurse; they’d been in and out my room for three days straight. I was ready to go home, pack my things, and go stay with one of my close friends until I figured out what I was really going to do. Glen had been sending me threatening text messages, calling me back to back making me wonder if he was also on drugs with how hot and cold the nigga was. Looking up at the door, a frown covered my face and I became real conscious of how I actually looked.
“The nurse said you were getting discharged today… So did my mom. I took her home already. I could take you to where you need to go.” His deep voice sounded super soothing.
King stood there looking handsome as ever, like a fresh breath of air. He rocked some type of expensive denim blue jeans with a Polo white tee. His waves were seasick and every time he licked those brown juicy lips of his, I melted. King was trouble and he had to know it. His whole persona screamed nonchalant, and probably cocky as hell. He tugged at his beard, then tilted his head as if he was getting impatient with my silence.
