“One breath at a time,” he says.
“I just need a moment and I’ll be okay,” I say, the pressure building in my head.
“You and I both know you won't be completely okay. But we can try,” he says softly, peppering kisses on the side of my head.
I take another moment before I stand up, starting to head towards the examining room. I get pulled back and slammed into Keola’s chest. “Woah there, angel.”
I jerk away from him, “If you think I’m not going to be there, when I felt like I was there before, you damn wrong.” I push off of him, and stalk towards the room. He releases a growl. He can be upset at me for whatever reason.
I push through the doors, seeing Cedric’s back was toward me. The scarring of old cuts, the bruises now fading, and the weight that has vanished. This poor soul, fighting for his life. D.R continues to examine him. Cedric is almost skin and bones.
“Lottie, you don’t need to be here.” He says, narrowing his eyes. Cedric doesn’t turn around.
“I’m not leaving. I wasn’t there for him before, not starting again.” I stand my ground.
Cedric doesn’t look at me. He keeps his eyes low.
“Unless he says otherwise.” I say, coming to terms that something he doesn’t want me around.
“What do you say, do you want her here?” Darius asks, leaning over to meet his eyes. He nods his head. It’s settled.
“I’ll come find you later. I’m going to check on Finn and Topaz.” I excused Keola. I scrap a chair closer to him, reaching out for his hand.
His ragged breath leaves his body. He says, “I tried Lottie.”
“I know sweetheart,” he shakes his head.
“No, I tried to get around them. I tried to make other plans. I tried everything from ‘misplacing’ the runs, creating a safety space,” he shutters through the words.
I shushed him, “Don’t worry. We don’t need to worry about that right now.”
“You don’t understand,” he squeezes my hand.
I rub his hand with my thumb, “It’s okay. Let’s get you stronger, some food and maybe some rest.”
Darius inserts an IV bag, pumping him with vitamins and hydration. His body took a toll of the harshness that happened. He is family. And we are his, the only family he has left.
“Lottie, can you grab a blanket from the supply closet? Man is chattering his teeth. I’m no dentist, nor do we want to take him to one right now,” Darius instructs me. I nod. But Cedirc grips tighter on my hand, preventing me from moving. He shakes his head, telling me to switch places with him, holding up the IV bag as he moves to the closet.
We’re going to get him better, then he’s going to help us put an end to this. Cedric starts to close his eyes, fighting sleep. Darius gently slaps his cheeks trying to keep him awake until we could get some food in his system.
“Is there somewhere we can put him?” I ask. He’s not going to last long.
“We’ll put him in a spare prospect room,” he says.
“He can’t go back to his home, and I’d take him back to my place, but I don’t think that 5-0 is going to approve.” I say. Cedric continues to keep his eyes open. He’s in and out, his own mind silencing things around him,
“Can I ask you something?” D.R asks.
“Sure Doc,” I say, he rolls his eyes at his name.
“Why are you fighting so hard for him? You should be furious, screaming, causing more chaos,” he wraps the blanket around Cedric, switching places with me again.
“I’ve been asked that too many times. Telling me that I should be angry.” I defend
I should be, but something in me knew he wouldn’t do something malicious or against what we stood for. He’s a champion for a reason. He’s overcome so much in life and mentors other young kids. I watched the kid grow up to an incredible man. He’s changing lives.
My gut told me he didn’t have a choice. My gut was rarely wrong.
