by Nikki Brown
Furrowing her eyebrows, Ziva went to say something but was met with AD’s back and then a slammed door. She jumped back and grabbed her chest. Even though she succeeded in tearing down their perfect family image, she was a little bummed that he didn’t want anything to do with her.
Siya began to clap and take steps in the direction of Ziva who was inching her way to the door. She wasn’t stupid enough to stand here and be subject to anymore of Siya’s abuse and she didn’t have the backup that she once did when she was under her father.
“I will see you again, and when I do one of us won’t be breathing,” Siya’s tone was even but her words were confident. “And I plan to be here for all three of my boys.”
Scoffing, Ziva quickly left the premises with plans on returning when she had all of her shit together. Right now, her main focus is to get AD to want to get to know her and that was going to be a task of its on.
Cassidy watched Ziva walk out and it infuriated him that she was leaving of her own free will and not in a body bag. Glowering at his parents, he slipped his hands in the pocket of his sweats to keep from throwing and hitting something.
“So, she lives?”
“On borrowed time my son, on borrowed time.” Cassidy released an angered chuckle. “It’s complicated, we didn’t want AD to feel any different. Nothing’s changed, nothing! You hear me?”
“That’s fucking bullshit!” Cassidy yelled taking a few steps in the direction of his parents. “And you know it.” He lowered his tone. He never intended to disrespect his parents but the look in his brother’s eyes was still haunting him. “He deserved to know; did you see the look on his face? I felt that shit.” Cassidy hit his chest as a few tears fell down his face. “This is fucked up.” He shook his head and headed out the door with his parents calling after him.
The minute Cassidy was gone, Siya broke all the way down in Mega’s arms. “What did we do?” she cried. She had never felt the pain that she was feeling right now, not even when she lost her baby girl at eight months pregnant. This was a pain that no mother should ever feel.
“I’ll fix it Siya, I’ll fix it baby.”
“You better.” She pushed away from her husband and headed to the back of the restaurant. Her life was falling apart at the hand of a woman that wouldn’t let go. When Siya got to the bathroom she looked in the mirror at her reflection. “I am his mother.” The power of her words swarmed her heart and gave her the strength to hold her head up and prepare to do whatever she needed to do to get her family back together!
For You I Will
Making her way to her car, she bypassed the lady trying to give her a refund for the abortion she didn’t get. Waving her off, she kept moving out the door. Sutton felt like she didn’t deserve that money back. It was payment for her letting a man dictate how she moved, something she swore she would never do.
Once she got to her car, she pulled on the door handles and the door came right open. She could have sworn she locked them but maybe her mind was too clouded and she didn’t. She pulled out her phone to call Icelynn to let her know that she couldn’t go through with it but something stopped her.
The smell of his cologne made its way into her nostrils and drifted to her heart. She knew that scent and could pick it out in a room full of people. Sighing deeply Sutton closed her eyes and thought about their whirl wind romance before everything got all messed up. She smiled at her thoughts. Tears stung her eyes but she refused to open them until the urge to cry had subsided. She was tired of crying. When she opened her eyes, she came face to face with a hurt filled Kahleno.
“So, you just gone kill my seed Sutton?” The pain in the undertone of his deep baritone made Sutton’s heart flutter. She just sat there staring straight ahead, looking into his eyes would hurt her too much so she tore her eyes away from the rearview mirror. “You can’t even look at me.”
“Kahleno what do you want? Don’t you gotta family to fix?” The tears that cascaded down her face, she willed to stay put but they had a mind of their own.
“You don’t think I had a say in whether or not you killed my seed?”
“It’s not yours remember,” Sutton’s lips trembled. “I’m engaged remember.”
“Don’t do that, don’t fucking do that.” Kahleno hit the back of the seat causing Sutton to jump. “Why did you have to do that, we could’ve worked this out.” Kahleno’s shoulder’s hunched, he had no energy in his demeanor and Sutton wanted to reach out. “Why would you do that Sutton? I fucking love you!”
“Kahleno I couldn’t-”
“Sutton get down!” Kahleno jumped over the front seat when he saw the car slowly approaching and the gun pointing out of the driver side window. Pop! Pop! Pop! Kahleno felt something warm pierce through his body while he was shielding Sutton. “Fuck!”
Kahleno was kicking himself for leaving his gun in his car. He normally took it with him anywhere he went even if it was just a few cars down. When he heard tires screeching and the gun shots stop, he slid slightly to the left, slowly losing strength in the right side of his body.
“Ahhhhhhh!” Sutton screamed; she could feel something wet on her face. She pushed Kahleno in the chest causing him to moan out in pain. She wanted to make sure that he was okay. Her heart began beating out of her chest as she tried to work herself out from under him.
“Fuck. Chill Sutton.” His tone was as calm as it possibly could be right now but she was in panic mode. Glancing in her side view mirror, she watched as a car sped out of the parking lot on two wheels. Sutton’s chest burned with anger, as the fact that Trouble had tried to kill her implanted itself in her mind. “Shit!” Kahleno yelled out as he finally made his way back to the backseat.
“Oh my God!” Sutton yelled out as she saw the blood on her hands. Jumping out of the car she opened the back-car door as she yelled out, “Help me! Oh God he’s been shot! Somebody help me!” Tears rolled down her cheeks at a fast pace. She couldn’t control her labored breathing if she tried.
“Sutton calm d—down.” Kahleno reached out for Sutton but he didn’t have the strength to grab her.
“Kahleno please, don’t do this. We need you, please don’t die on me. Somebody fucking help me!” She screamed as loud as she could. She looked around the car for her phone but when she heard the ambulance in the distance, she went to poke her head out of the car.
Kahleno reached out for her and she jumped back in the car to see if he was okay. He pointed down at her stomach and she smiled through her tears. Shaking her head, she leaned over to where he was.
“Why would you do that, huh? Why would you jump in front of a bullet like that, huh?” Sutton sobbed. “You can’t leave me and Kahlil, we’re gonna need help with this baby. So, you gotta fight.”
Tears filled the brim of Kahleno’s eyes as he started to cough, the burning sensation that he felt every time he did was enough to knock him out. He was trying to fight, he wanted to be there for his family but the pain, the pain was starting to be too much.
“Fo—for you I will do an—anything. I lo—love you…” He struggled to get out, closing his eyes momentarily, he gained a little relief from the pain that he felt.
“He’s over here!” Sutton yelled as the EMT swarmed over pulling her out of the car so they could get to him. Sutton stood back with her hands over her mouth as soft wails escaped her lips. How could this be happening to her?
The more she watched them work on him the faster her breathing became, she got really light headed. Grabbing her chest, she tried to control the panic attack that was on the rise, but it was a failed attempt.
“Ma’am can you tell me what happened?”
“They shot-” her words trailed off and then everything faded to black.
***
Beep! Beep! Beep! Sutton closed her eyes really tight to try and get the sound to stop to no avail. Her head was pounding and there was a slight chill in the room. The smell of Clorox and ammonia invaded her nose and a vivid picture of where she was before flushed her memories.
“Noooooo!” Her eyes popped open as she sat straight up in the bed. Looking around she didn’t see anyone. Her mind was trying to register what was going on.
“Sutton! Lay down baby,” her father’s voice resonated through the room. She blinked a few times and searched the room for him, when her eyes landed on him, she immediately began to cry.
“Where’s Kahleno?” Him getting shot popped in her mind.
“I told you that his life style was gonna get you caught up!” Hudson fussed. The minute he was called and told that his daughter was involved in a shooting and she had passed out on the scene he already knew what was going on. “That’s it Sutton, this is done. Do you hear me?”
What her father was saying was going in one ear and out the other. She was looking around the room for her clothes so she could get to her phone and call Siya and see if anyone knew about Kahleno’s condition.
She could feel the little beads of sweat forming on her brow and she hunted feverishly for her belongings. The thought of not being there for him at a time like this caused her heart to ache. She didn’t care what they had been through, he needed her and she needed him.
Swinging her legs around the opposite side of the bed she tried to stand up but something was stopping her. She looked to her stomach and there was a band around it, she followed the cords and noticed the monitor. That’s when the faint sounds of the baby’s heart beat flowed into her ear.
A small smile spread across her face, but just as quickly as it appeared it was gone. The thought of having to raise this baby alone and without Kahleno hurt her heart more than she was willing to say out loud. She had to make sure that he was okay, he needed her.
“When were you going to tell me that you were pregnant?” Hudson’s main focus was his daughter, he didn’t want to seem insensitive but he needed to make sure that she was okay. He blamed Kahleno for her being here, even if he saved her life.
When he walked in the hospital, he ran into Mega and he explained to Hudson what happened. He was thankful that Kahleno was there, but it was his fault that she was even in that position.
“I have to make sure that Kahleno is okay.” Sutton was on auto pilot; her main focus was getting to her man.
“How can you be thinking about a man that not only got you shot at, but had you at an abortion clinic? That’s the kind of man you want Sutton? I raised you better than that!” Hudson’s voice boomed. “Sutton Chambers are you listening to me?”
“No! No, I’m not. Regardless of what you say I love that man, I’m gonna be with him, we’re gonna raise this baby together and get married one day. You can either get on board or you don’t have to. At this point dad, I don’t really care. You told me that you were going to respect my decisions yet here we are.” Sutton didn’t bother to look at her dad as her eyes landed on a hospital bag. She knew that if she looked at him things might get uglier than they already are. “And for the record, I’m the reason we were shot at. I never told Kahleno about the appointment for the abortion, I was being selfish and did that on my own. I don’t know how he found out, but he did and was in the car when I left and I’m so glad that he was because otherwise I wouldn’t be standing here having this dumb ass argument with you!”
“Did you see who shot at you?” Hudson’s tone changed a little because Sutton was right, if Kahleno hadn’t jumped in front of her it would be her down stairs in surgery fighting for her life. He was grateful for that.
“No but I saw the car that left the scene.”
“What car?”
“Trouble’s car.”
“Are you sure?”
Sutton didn’t answer, she lowered her head and released a few more tears from her eyes. Her shoulders lightly shook from the sobbing. Just the thought of Trouble actually trying to kill her after everything that she was to him hurt her.
Hudson felt the cold slither up through his veins and settle around his heart, Maniac was about to come out of retirement. No one hurt his baby girl. Walking over, he pulled her into his arms. He said a silent prayer and thanked his wife for watching over their daughter.
“Where is he?” Sutton looked up into her father’s eyes.
Hudson knew that fighting his daughter over her heart was a losing battle. Now that he knew that Kahleno wasn’t the reason behind his daughter being there, he felt a little more at ease. That and the fact that he sacrificed himself so that she was okay, made him alright in his book. At least for now.
“Let the doctor check you out and we’ll go downstairs,” Hudson tried to reason with her. She gave him a look that said she wasn’t having that and instead of arguing he nodded at the door. They were met by two nurses who tried to encourage her to lay back down but she wasn’t having it. After agreeing to at least go in a wheel chair, Hudson and Sutton were on their way to the first floor of the hospital.
In the waiting room Cassidy was pacing the floor, he wouldn’t talk to anyone. His mind was on one thing and one thing only, finding the person who shot his brother. Releasing a gut-wrenching scream, Cassidy punched the wall.
“Cassidy!” Mega yelled.
“What?” Anger roared through him as his chest rose and fell rapidly as he glared at his father. His fists were balled so tight that his palms were starting to draw blood from his fingernails. The veins in his arms were protruding and pulsating to the beat of his pain.
Mega looked deep in his son’s eyes and saw the hurt that he was feeling because he too felt the same way, if not worse. Making his way to him, he jerked him into his chest and enclosed him in his arms.
At first Cassidy just stood there stiff as a board and then he just folded into his father and released every emotion that was bottled up inside of him. He cried out for his brothers, for Kahleno in there fighting for his life and for Adoreé and what he was going through.
Siya wrapped her hands around herself and squeezed, she had never seen either man cry the way they were crying right now. She couldn’t help the tears that were falling by the masses.
“Noooo!” They all heard and then turned towards the entrance of the waiting room and came face to face with Sutton who wore a scared expression. Siya made her way to her.
“Please tell me he’s okay, please say he’s okay, why are they crying, why, what’s wrong, please tell me something? Oh God!” Sutton yelled out all in one breath.
Hudson stood behind his daughter with his teeth clenched together, he felt horrible about what this family was going through. He didn’t know what he would do if that was Sutton in there. It gave him a whole new outlook on life. Shaking his head, he grabbed Sutton by the shoulders just as Siya wrapped her in her arms and hugged her repeating that everything would be okay.
“He’s a fighter, he’s gonna be okay. We’re still waiting.”
“How long has he been back there?” Hudson asked, his voice filled with sympathy.
“Going on four hours, they ain’t telling us nothing,” Siya said and grabbed Sutton who began to cry even harder. She was shaking she was crying so hard. “Sutton you have to calm down, this ain’t good for the baby.”
Sutton looked up at Siya who smiled at her, she should have known that he would tell his mother, they were close. Sutton touched her stomach and Siya placed her hand over top of hers. She was excited to be getting another grandchild and she was even more excited that it was by Sutton.
“Family of Kahleno Maler.” The doctor said and they all turned towards the double doors. Sutton climbed out of the wheelchair and headed in that direction hand in hand with Siya. “Mr. Maler is a fighter.” The doctor started and Siya squeezed Suttons hand. “He lost a lot of blood and had to have several blood transfusions, we lost him for a second but he came back strong. It’s still touch and go but we got him stable for now, highly sedated, but stable none the less.”
“Can we see him?” Cassidy asked.
“Yeah, he’s in ICU right now but-”
“I need him in a private room with the best nurses and money doesn’t matte
r, he doesn’t need to be on a public floor with multiple accesses to him,” Siya voiced. “Can you make that happen or do we need to have him moved? There was an attempt on his life and I need my son to be safe!”
The doctor looked at the lady that was standing in front of him. Beautiful couldn’t even describe the goddess that stood in front of him. It was something about the way she carried herself and the way she demanded respect that made him want to know her and he had only been in her presence a few minutes.
“Ye—yes ma’am.” He spoke and then a smile appeared on his face. Mega didn’t miss the lustrous stare coming from the doctor. He was two seconds from dragging him in one of the rooms and gutting him like a hog but Siya stepped in before he could.
“Well good, go ahead and make that happen and stop looking like you want me.” Her expression was emotionless, she didn’t have any more to give right now. She was physically and emotionally drained. “That crazy man that’s staring you down owns the blueprints to my heart and he’d die before he gives them up,” she winked.
“I—I’m sorry miss I just…”
“Sorries aren’t what I need, what I need right now are results.” Siya turned but quickly turned back. “Make sure the room is large enough for two beds I’m sure Sutton will be staying.” She looked over at Sutton and she nodded her head.
“Well I’ll go and talk to the admins here and get the ball rolling. For now, y’all can go back three at a time.” The doctor straightened out his white coat and cursed himself for being unprofessional. He just couldn’t help himself; he too was married but it didn’t stop him from fantasizing about the dark-skinned beauty.
“That muthafucka bout lost his life.” Mega simply said as him and Cassidy walked back together. Mega’s heart and mind were all over the place and he was trying to keep his composure but it was hard. Life as he knew it was crumbling around him and he didn’t have a grasp on it like he would have liked.
“You go ahead, I can wait,” Sutton said. She didn’t want to seem selfish and request she go back before his family even though she badly wanted to be back there in his presence. All she wanted to do was lay her head on his chest, take in his scent and listen to his heart beat. Then and only then will her heart be at ease.
