60. Corinthians
Corinthians
"I’m looking for Uri Strong," I said, approaching the receptionist's desk in the ER. The entire car ride over, my mind raced with questions. While everyone questioned who was dumb enough to shoot at us, I worried about Uri. I didn’t care who was dumb enough.
All I was worried about was Uri. I tapped the window.
"Excuse me. I’m looking for Uri Strong!"
"Give me a minute," she sighed as she walked over to the desk. She had no sense of urgency, and while I understood that my emergency wasn’t hers and she didn’t have to rush, she needed to. She worked in an emergency department. Finally, she sat down and started typing. "The name again."
"Uri Strong. U-R-I Strong," I replied. "He should've been brought in by now."
"We ain't got nobody by that name," she said, shaking her head. Her attention was still on the computer in front of her. "You sure he came here and not Mass?" She turned and looked at me.
"He was brought here," I told her. "I know he was brought here. Check again!"
She reared back as if my demand were a request. "Ma'am, your attitude...."
"My attitude is the only thing saving your fucking life right now!
" I slammed my bloody hand on the glass and left it there.
"Now look in that fucking computer again and find my got damn man's information before I make everybody in this got damn hospital disappear, and bitch don't think for one second that I think I'm a magician! "
The room stilled at my threat, but I didn't give a fuck. She was playing with the wrong one at the wrong time. All I needed was answers, and if she couldn't give them to me, then she needed to find someone who could.
"Corinthians."
I turned around to see Kenbral standing near the entrance. He was covered in blood, his eyes low and filled with sadness.
"No," I said, stepping away from the desk.
Galaxy and Hood came into the room. Both covered in blood just like Kenbral.
"Do not tell me he died. Don’t you fuckin say that Uri Strong died.
Not after all the shit we've been through. Not when we are finally fuckin’ happy. You do not get to say he's dead."
"He's in surgery," Hood said, stepping around Kenbral. "He ain't dead. Just in surgery." I nodded. Not trusting my voice. I glared at Kenbral. "Come on. I can take y'all to the private waiting room."
We walked to the elevators. I never let go of Judah's hand. I could feel him shaking. I needed to calm down so my baby would have some assurance that everything was going to be okay. The elevator doors opened, and we stepped inside. Kenbral tried, but I stared at him.
"He's my brother," he said as if I gave a damn. The doors started to close, but he stopped them with his hand. "Corinthians, I'm not perfect, but he's my baby brother."
"You may be his brother, but you never loved him," I replied. The elevator doors closed as what I said settled into his mind.
We rode in silence until we reached the seventh floor. Galaxy used her credentials to get us back to the private waiting room.
"As soon as I know something, I will be back to tell you," Galaxy said, and I nodded. "Your family already knows where you are. They should be on the way. Kenbral has the floor locked down, but they'll be allowed up."
"Okay."
"Do you need something? Want to go to the bathroom to get the blood off your hands?"
I looked down at my hands and chuckled. "No," I answered. "If Uri doesn't make it, this will be the least of my worries."
"Corinthians..." she said my name, then stopped. "I can't tell you how to feel, but just know whatever I can do, I will."
I nodded. Not caring what she was talking about, I liked and even respected Galaxy, but right now I didn't care what she was saying.
I settled into the corner. My back against the large window that overlooked the city, with Judah next to me, his headphones on as he played his game. I needed him to check out; his attention was on anything but what was going on, but every once in a while I would feel his eyes on me.
"Mama?" He took his headphones off his ears and looked up at me.
"Yes?"
"Is Four going to die?" His eyes filled with tears.
I cupped his face, then kissed his forehead. "I dont know, baby boy," I told him. I couldn't lie to him, no matter how much I wanted to. "I pray to God that he doesn't."
"Me too," he said as tears started to fall.
***
My family and friends came and went. Uri wasn't the only one shot, nor was he the most critical. He was just the only one I could focus on.
"We need to talk," Psalms said. I nodded, not looking away from the window. Below us, people moved. Some in a rush, others not so much. Their focus was on their lives, while mine felt like it was at a standstill. "Corinthians."
"I heard you," I replied. "Say what you have to say, Bug."
"Gentle," she sighed. "On the way over, he said Four called him."
"He told me the same thing."
"You talked to Gentle?" She asked surprised.
"No, Uri told me at the party, before everything happened, that he called him.
I assumed he meant Kenbral, not both of them.
" I turned to look at her. "Are you okay?
" Having Uri around didn't affect her as much as having Gentle around would.
Uri was connected to me. Gentle was connected to her. "I can kill him if need be."
Psalms looked over her shoulder to where Gentle sat next to Bradon. Kenbral hadn't come back. "No," she answered, shaking her head. "He will stay on his side, and I'll stay on mine. We agreed to be strangers too."
I smirked, then turned back to the window. "You ever gonna tell me about that conversation?"
"One day." I nodded, not wanting to push. "Seeing them together. It's weird. Knowing what we know. How we know it. It's like we never got a chance to be anything but fucked up."
"We didn't have to pretend we didn't know who they were, though," I softly laughed. "We're going to have to explain that."
"They can kiss my ass," Psalms replied. "If they want to question me about why I chose to pretend they didn't exist for the last few years, they can come ask me, but we both know they won't."
I turned and looked at Gentle, and to my surprise, he was watching us. His eyes went from me to Judah, and his brows damn near touched.
***
"You have to stop threatening to kill people," Exodus said. I looked up from my hands to see my family watching me. My brows creased, and I tilted my head. "You have to stop."
"It's not a threat," I finally said.
"It's a promise," Judge said from beside me. I looked to my left to see him glaring at Ex. Most people thought that because Judge was quiet, he was the least dangerous. That wasn't the truth. He was just as dangerous, if not more, because people underestimated him.
"Trey is his brother," Ex said as if it mattered. "He's worried. Let him in the room."
"Kenbral can sit outside like he's been doing. I do not want him in here."
"He's his brother-"
"Exodus, it's complicated. Let it alone."
"Nah, that's his brother. I know they got a fucked up past, but that's still his family.
He shouldn't be out there alone!" I pinched the bridge of my nose, and my left hand tapped against my thigh.
"Listen, I know shit is fucked up. I know that nigga probably ain't right, but what if it was one of us?
Would you be okay with that nigga making one of us sit outside the room? "
"Yes."
"Corinthians..."
"By the end of all this, Kenbral will be dead," I cut him off. "He will be dead. Either I kill him or his brother does."
Ex started to say something, but I tuned him out. I didn't care about what he had to say. He didn't understand. My anger wasn't just with Kenbral. It was with every damn person in that room, and my fury was with whoever decided to shoot my fucking man.
My phone buzzed in my pocket. I pulled it out, swiped the screen, and put it to my ear without looking to see who it was.
"Hello?"
"Pet," Robert's deep voice echoed in the phone.
"My warning was the house you shared with my son.
You fucked him. I know it. Saw it. Heard it.
" The sounds of my moaning echoed through the phone.
"I do not share. Burning down that house was easy.
I did it to show you that I could, but then I stopped and thought about it.
You weren't the only person who disobeyed me. So did Uri. So, for that y’all had to learn.
I am in charge. Always have been, always will be. Remember that."
The line went dead, and I set the phone on my lap.
"Who was that?" Psalms asked.
"Robert," I answered as I watched Kenbral pick up his phone and put it to his ear.
The elevator doors opened, and I watched as Gift stepped off.
He looked around, and when his eyes settled on mine through the window, I knew that Robert wasn't lying about my house.
Sighing, Gift stepped to the side, and a short woman was behind him.
She was dressed in a firefighter's uniform.
Gift pointed at me, and she followed his finger and nodded.
I moved Judah to Psalms's lap and got up, meeting her at the door before she could step inside the room.
"Corinthians DeCorte?" She asked, and I nodded.
"My name is Wren LeBlanc. I'm the fire chief at Station 216. Ma'am, I'm sorry to tell you this, but your home and business were destroyed earlier."