June
PRESS PLAY
Zaria and I had been up all night, sitting in the room with Savior.
Everyone called our phones, and we didn’t bother to answer.
I was trying my hardest to have a little patience because the last hospital incident landed me behind bars because of my anger.
Despite my efforts, my pressure was through the roof.
I shot up from the chair. “What the fuck!” I barked. “All these tests and they haven’t come back with anything. Look at my fucking—” I choked up looking at Savior with tubes all in him. “—son.”
Watching him lie there helpless made me feel helpless.
It made me feel like I had fucked up along the way, and this was another way for God to punish me.
The thought of losing my child played in my head, and I knew if God chose to keep him safe in his world, death for me wouldn’t be too far behind.
I would have to ask for forgiveness in the afterlife, and I hoped Z and Peace would somehow forgive me.
I turned to Zaria, who sat there gazing out of the window.
She seemed out of it, but I knew it was nothing more than her being tired.
My fear was that being with me had come with so much that even the children were cursed.
A person could only take so much, and all I could think about was whether she had reached her breaking point.
When I saw the tear roll down her face, it broke me inside. What type of man sits back and watches his family suffer? My son was sick, my wife was trying to bear the weight of my storms, and all I could do was fight to keep shit in line, and I began to feel like I wasn’t doing that right.
I stepped over to Z, using my finger to gently wipe her tears. “My-my-baby!” she wailed.
The sounds of her cries crushed a nigga’s soul. No matter how much I was hurting, Zaria was hurting more. “I’m so tired, June. I-I—”
“Shit, I know, Z. I’m sorry, baby.”
I held her in my arms as she sobbed. This wasn’t the time to dwell on my issues. Zaria needed me, and if, for the time, she needed me, my tears, hurt, pain, and anger would be put aside.
There was a tap on the door before it slowly opened. When the pregnant woman stepped inside, my head flew back.
“I’ve seen you before.”
She looked at me curiously, then smiled. “Dionysus’s family. I remember.”
Zaria pulled back and stared at both of us. “She was the doctor who helped Dio during his time in New York.”
The doctor stepped forward. “I’m Coffee Carter. Sorry it took me so long to get here. I’m usually at the hospital in Lexington Heights, but they called for me.”
Wrinkles formed in my forehead. “Wait, you live in Toussaint?”
She smiled. “Yes. I was an intern back in New York when you met me, but I have since moved from there. So, Savior is his name?” she asked.
Z and I both nodded. “Well, Mr. and Mrs. Calloway, I went over the test results, and I ordered more—” she slowly approached his bed and began to gently press on his body like she was searching for something. “Have you guys noticed a change in his eating or any lumps or sudden bruising?”
“No. He’s well taken care of,” Zaria sniffled.
“He’s the cutest. I see he’s a twin?”
“Yes. Why?” I jumped.
She stopped and looked at me. “I understand your concern. I have two at home and obviously one on the way. I want you to bring him in if you can. I want to test him, too.” She paused as her demeanor went from confident to uneasy. “Savior, might have a form of—”
My eyes fluttered, my heartbeat slowed down, and my thoughts became scattered because if she was about to sit here and tell me my muhfuckin’ son had cancer, I was going to lose my fucking mind. “No! Fuck no!” I shouted.
Zaria pulled at my arm. “June, please let her finish.”
I ran my hand over my head as it slowly dropped. God, please don’t do this to me, please. I came to You on my knees at Your house. I trusted You, please. I prayed.
I couldn’t even look at her because the moment those words fell from her lips, it would destroy me, and what would come of a broken nigga—well, one that would have nothing to lose, and the phrase ‘crash out’ would be an understatement.
She reached out and touched my hand. “Before we even go there, let me do my part. All I ask is that you bring the other little one in so I can make sure both of your little cubs are okay,” she spoke softly.
Her footsteps started to sound further away, and when I heard the door close, I lifted my head. Zaria and I had no words as we stared at each other.
Z, I-I...
I know. All we can do is pray.
I let out a sharp breath. “Let me call Zeus and tell him to bring Peace up here.”
When I pulled my phone out to make the call, I noticed that Dio had not only called multiple times, but he followed up with a text telling me Samara’s location hadn’t changed, and she hadn’t called.
This shit was the last thing I needed, but to know there were things happening on the other side, I wasn’t fucking surprised.