Page 55 of And It’s Still You

Moya bobbed her head, kissed my cheek, and sat down. Once the doctor came in, they took the tube out my throat, gave me some ice chips, and checked me over. They were in there a good thirty minutes before leaving. The second they left, Moya came back over and palmed the side of my face.

“You scared the hell out of me, Shea. I had faith you would wake up, but you took forever.”

I cleared my throat and spoke slowly. “How long was I out?”

“Two weeks. Do you remember what happened?”

My mind traveled back to the night I got shot. I vividly remembered it all because it replayed in my mind while I was out. All I could think about was Onyx being the target. My first instinct was to jump in front of him and try to save him. I assumed I would’ve been able to get us both out the way, but unfortunately, I wasn’t quick enough.

When the bullet pierced me, my entire body went hot. Instantly, once the blood poured from my chest, I started drifting. I tried my hardest to keep my eyes open, but they grew heavier by the second. The last thing I remembered was hearing Onyx crying, begging me to stay with him as he applied pressure on my chest. There was no doubt in my mind that he returned the favor and saved me.

“I do. Where’s Onyx? Is he good?”

“He’s good. Emotional but good. He’s been blaming himself, but I’ve assured him it’s not his fault.”

“Y’all been talking?”

Moya smiled, a genuine one. “We’re good now. I hate how we were brought together, but Onyx and I had a good conversation. I understand him now.”

My mouth was dry, so I nodded in response. Moya noticed and fed me some ice chips. The feeling of them going down my throat was nice but only temporary. I needed it to heal ASAP.

While it felt good to know Moya and Onyx were on better terms, I still needed to have my own conversation with him. I needed my own understanding of him. Whatever was going on between us, I wanted to squash it. It was obvious that life was too short.

As Moya fed me, I noticed something was different about her. Her skin glowed in a way it hadn’t in a long time. She would randomly cup her mouth and take slow, deep breaths. When she excused herself and went to the bathroom, I knew exactly what was up.

“You’re pregnant, aren’t you?” I interrogated as she walked back into the room, wiping her mouth with a wet towel. She stopped in her tracks and glared at me. The way her nose scrunched made me chuckle. “What?”

“How did you know?”

“You’re different, but in a good way. Plus, you puked yo’ guts out in there, something you never do. When were you going to tell me?”

“Once everything settled down. I wanted you to focus on getting better because you’re overprotective when I’m pregnant.”

“Can you blame me? You’re carrying my seed, precious cargo. I can’t help but be extra and make sure y’all are good.”

I mustered up enough strength to motion her over with my fingers. She happily obliged, lifting her shirt up without me having to ask and placing my hand on it. It was crazy to think we were starting over in more than one way. God was truly doing His big one, only further confirming that we were soulmates.

“That’s why He woke me up,” I expressed, gently rubbing her flat stomach. “He knew we had to keep going down our new path.”

“And probably because He heard me praying to Him a million times a day. I never stopped having faith and praying over you, Shea. I’ve had five years of life without you, and I didn’t want it to be a lifetime.”

“You don’t have that to worry ’bout, Love. I’m still yours. Always have been, always will be.”

“When do you want me to let your family know that you’re awake?”

“Tomorrow. For now, I want it to be just us. I know they’re going to come in here and be on some other shit, so I want to take today to rest. You gotta make sure you call yo’ pops too. He’ll be pissed if we don’t tell him.”

“Oh, he was at the top of the list with Onyx and Angela. He wasn’t about to get me.”

I chuckled. “Good. Now, come up here and lay with me.”

“Shea. I don’t want to hurt you.”

“I’ll be good. I want you next to me.”

“Are you sure?”

“Moya.”