But she didn’t disappear.
She looked real.
Her eyes moved around the room, then at me,
I sat up too fast and rubbed my face.
“Oh my God, Vaughn. Are you okay?” Sade said softly.
I blinked. “What are you doing here? You weren’t supposed to see me like this.”
Sade
“I thought I was checking on my boss. Somewhere along the way, it stopped feeling like that.”
Imade it to the Ritz in twenty minutes at ten in the evening. I valet-parked my car, then went to the front desk. I lied and told them I was his wife, smiling and speaking softly, and they gave me a key. I found the elevator, my heart racing a bit, hoping I didn’t see anything devastating.
I found his room and quickly found out he was a resident. This man was richer than I thought. I found his room at the end of the hall. I took a deep breath before going inside. When I went in, the room was so dark and reeked of smoke.
I didn’t even think you could smoke in hotels, but a nigga like Vaughn could probably do anything they want. I used my light on my phone to find him.
I looked around and found him in a chair by the window, towel around his waist, eyes closed, with a trash can beside him.
I walked over to him. “Oh my God, Vaughn. Are you okay?”
He didn’t say anything at first, just opened his eyes and reached out and touched my leg gently, then said, “What youdoin’ here? You not supposed to see me like this.” He looked up at me.
I bent down in front of him. “What’s wrong? What happened?” I asked softly.
“My father is dying.” He was lethargic, and his voice was low and raspy.
My heart immediately broke.
“I’m so sorry,” I told him.
“I don’t know what I’ma do without him. I never thought about him dying.”
“I said the same thing when my mother died, so I know it hurts. I’m sorry for coming here, but I was worried.”
He dropped his head. “You wasn’t worried about me. Nobody is.”
“That’s not true. I wouldn’t be here if I weren’t.”
“How you even know I was here?” he asked, sounding confused.
“I heard Vanessa and came as soon as I could.”
“Well, I’m sick, and I don’t want you here seeing me like this, so leave.”
“Nope. I’m not going anywhere. Let’s get you in the shower and get you moving around.”
“It’s not that easy. The way I feel is deeper than you think.”
I started making him stand up. “Well, I’m going to do what I can. Turn the water on warm and use soap.”
He chuckled dryly. “You sayin’ I stank?”
I giggled. “No.”
