Chapter 11
ELEVEN
Tuesday swore her heart was doing its best to leap right out of chest. Getting that call from Demo was not in her plans for the night nor on her Bingo card for the year.
Hell, it wasn’t in her plans ever. She wasn’t sure what to do other than call her mom and tell her to keep Wallis overnight while she sped toward Bloomfield Memorial Hospital.
Now that she was there, she felt like she couldn’t breathe. This was exactly what she had been scared about, and somehow, she wondered if this was her fault. Had she unintentionally manifested harm to Biggie?
“I need to know what room Biggie—I mean Wallis Harper. I need to know where he is,” she said frantically as she approached the desk near the Intensive Care Unit where Demo texted her Biggie was from Biggie’s phone.
“Ma’am, there’s a line—”
“I don’t give a fuck about these people! Wallis Harper!”
She heard people complaining behind her, but she really didn’t give a fuck. She was in rare form, thanks to Biggie, and she only prayed she had the chance to cuss him out about it later.
“Ma’am, I’m going to have to call security if you don’t—”
Tuesday opened her mouth to cuss the blond haired woman out, when a voice behind her called out.
“Tuesday?”
Whirling around, her eyes landed on Demo. Relief and anger surged through her as she marched over to him with her squinted eyes and tears gathering in them.
“Where the fuck is he, Demo? What happened? What did you two get into?”
She fired off question after question, poking her manicured nail in his chest. That was when she noticed the blood staining Demo’s white T-shirt, and she stilled; all the blood drained from her face.
Demo noticed her staring and let out an exasperated breath, grabbing her by the shoulders and steering her toward the hallway of rooms. The only thing Tuesday registered was the distinct smell of the hospital.
She hated it. It churned her stomach and made her nose scrunch up as tears listlessly fell from her eyes.
Stepping inside a private waiting room, Demo ushered her to a chair before sliding the door closed, shutting out the sounds of the hospital. She watched as he paced in front of her; thoughts running wild in her mind.
“Is he dead?” she finally whispered, dreading the answer.
She folded her arms over her waist and bent, doing her best to hold herself together.
She thought of her son. Her heart broke for the brief moments him and Biggie spent together.
It wasn’t nearly enough. How was she supposed to tell him he would never see his father again?
And her…she would never be able to tell him how she felt… or even explore her feelings…
“No, he’s not dead. God was lookin’ out for both of us. He was shot three times, but that nigga is strong. He’s alive, Tuesday.”
She hadn’t even realized she sprang out of her seat; relief flooding her as tears spilled out of her eyes rapidly. She clutched onto Demo’s bloodied shirt, stopping him from pacing.
“He’s alive?”
He peered down at her with sad eyes and nodded slowly.
“Yeah, but I almost lost him, man. Shit could have gone real bad tonight, Tuesday.”
She exhaled a long breath.
“Take me to him?”
Demo ran a hand down his face.
“I will, but you have to understand that he’s heavily medicated and in a lot of pain. He’s bandaged up and a little out of it from the medication. He got out of surgery not too long ago. I waited to call you until I knew what was going on. We’ve been here for a few hours.”
Tuesday wanted to cuss him out for that, but instead she said, “thank you.”
Making a move to walk past him, Demo grabbed her arm to stop her. She turned to look at him.
“I just want you to know the threat is eliminated. It was a shootout while we were driving, and the other car crashed and burned, allowing us to get away. I just needed you to know you’re safe, and so is your son and Biggie.”
While relieved to hear that, Tuesday couldn’t help but shake her head.
“I don’t think any of us are really safe until you guys stop playing little boy games and get out of the streets. Which room is he in? You should go home and get cleaned up.”
Demo stared at her, blinking slowly, allowing her words to sink in. Finally, he nodded and cleared his throat.
“Room 307.”
Tuesday nodded and opened the sliding door, looking down the hall and following the room numbers, slowly making her way toward Biggie’s room.
She tried to mentally prepare herself for what she was going to walk into.
Her feelings were all over the place. She had no idea what this thing between her and Biggie was, but she realized she wanted time to see it unfold.
Today reminded her just how precious time really was.
Willing her heartbeat to slow some, she walked into Biggie’s room, peeking behind the thick curtain. A nurse stood inside checking Biggie, and Tuesday paused, watching closely.
When the nurse turned, she startled a bit and then offered a reassuring smile.
“Hello? You here for Mr. Harper?”
Tuesday’s eyes traveled from the nurse to Biggie, who looked worse than she thought. He had a bandage over his ear, one on his shoulder, and one on his chest. An I.V. ran through his hand and his eyes were closed. The only thing that calmed her was the slow rise and fall of his chest.
“How is he?” Tuesday ignored the nurse’s question.
She smiled again before walking over to the computer and tapping away on it.
“He’s stable. The surgery went well. He’s a fighter. If the bullet in his chest had been even a centimeter over…Well, he got lucky.”
Fresh tears brimmed Tuesday’s eyes.
“Are you sure he’s stable? Is he gonna be okay? Our son…”
She let her words trail off as she got choked up. The nurse’s eyes were kind, but before she could reply, a gruff voice said, “Our son is going to have a long time to get to know his daddy.”
Tuesday’s eyes bounced over to Biggie, and her feet moved on their own accord. She quickly grabbed his I.V. free hand and grasped it, relishing in the warmth coming from it.
“Biggie?”
“Why you up in here fussing over me?” Biggie tiredly teased.
She let out a giggle through her tears.
“Why are you up in here in the first place?”
The nurse cleared her throat.
“I’ll give you two a moment, but visiting hours are almost over. I promise to take care of him overnight.”
With that subtle warning, that they didn’t have long to talk, the nurse exited the room, leaving Biggie and Tuesday alone. Her eyes found his again, and she squeezed his hand.
“Biggie…”
“Nah, don’t say nothin’. I already know.” He winced as he spoke, but he kept going. “I’m out the game, mama. I’m gonna talk to Demo as soon as I’m out of here. It’s over. This shit ain’t worth it no more.”
Tuesday allowed her tears to fall as she bent her head, touching her forehead to his fingers. When she finally composed herself, she lifted up.
“Thank you. Wallis needs you.”
Biggie’s ring finger caressed her hand.
“What about Wallis’s mama?”
Tuesday looked off to the side. “She needs you too. I was so scared, Biggie. I was worried I wouldn’t be able to tell you how I feel—”She choked on her words, and he squeezed her hand.
“How do you feel?”
She looked up at him.
“I know that I love you.” The words tumbled out of her mouth faster than she could grab them.
“But I also know I don’t know you very well, so that scares me.
I want to get to know you and see if love finds both of us.
We have a son…it feels right to try to make something work between us.
I was too scared to say that before because I didn’t know if I would end up getting hurt, but I don’t want to live with any regrets.
If you feel the same way, I want to see what happens between us. ”
Biggie stared at her for a long time. He looked sleepy, and she felt bad for dumping all this on him now, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to rest tonight if she kept her feelings in any longer.
“As far as I’m concerned, you’re mine, Tuesday. We go together real bad.”
She giggled. Even now he was trying to crack jokes. She shook her head sadly and peered into his tired eyes.
“I can’t be yours until you’re officially out the game, Biggie. I care about you, our son, and myself way too much to move forward without you tying up those loose ends.”
Biggie’s jaw clenched, but he nodded slowly.
“I got you. Go get our son and go home. Rest up tonight and come back to see me tomorrow.”
Tuesday’s brows knitted together at his sudden dismissal, but she realized he was probably in pain, tired, and felt like he had a lot of tough decisions to make. Since she laid eyes on him and heard his voice, she could breathe a little easier, so she would grant him his wishes.
Standing, she leaned down and kissed him. It was a simple and quick kiss, but something passed between them in that moment, and Tuesday felt chills take over her body. She caressed his cheek.
“Stay strong, okay? I don’t want Wallis to see you laid up like this, so I need you to get better quickly so he can see his daddy again.”
Biggie nodded; his face solemn but determined.
Turning to walk away, he called out to her. “Tuesday?” She faced him. “I love you too, mama.”
She smiled; her heart fluttered, as she swiped at her tears.
“I’ll be here first thing tomorrow.”
He gave her the thumbs up, watching her walk out of his hospital room before exhaustion from the medication and anesthesia took over.