Chapter Twenty-Six #2
“Oh no.” Pepper shook her head. “I don’t want my baby hooked up to all that shit. Tubes and needles all in his body. Take him off the ventilator.”
“Are you smoking dope?” Logic glared at her. “You telling them to unplug my fucking brother?” He thundered with spit flying from his mouth.
“And he’s my son.”
“Bro, get the fuck outta my face with that shit.” Logic waved her off, turning to face the doctor. “When can I see him?”
“Let me be clear. We are not at the point of withdrawal of care; in fact, we’ve gone over and beyond to save his life.
Right now he’s being transported to the ICU, and once he’s stable, I can have the nurse bring you back two at a time.
Under these taxing circumstances, I highly suggest that only immediate family visit him at this time. ”
“I’m going first,” Pepper blurted.
“I’m about to karate chop this fake ass Naomi Campbell in the throat,” Pearl whispered, saying what everyone else was thinking. “She pissing me off.”
“Nah, you can leave.” Logic snorted. “The twins and I will go together, and after that, yall can stop the visitations for the night. I don’t want anyone that’s not a doctor entering his room.”
“I’ll make a note of it.” The doctor nodded before walking away.
“LJ, you can’t be serious,” Pepper gasped. “Are you really going to deny me the right to see my son and he’s fighting for his life?”
“The life you just tried to unplug?”
“I was only trying to do what I thought was best for Sage. My son, the one key factor you keep forgetting.”
Running his hand down his face, Logic glanced at his sisters, who resembled raging bulls.
At any moment, it looked as if they were ready to take off and charge their mother again.
Keeping his cool was a must, so instead of getting loud, Logic took a deep breath and stared at Pepper.
A lump formed in her throat as his eyes penetrated her.
“What’s his favorite color, Pep?” Logic calmly asked.
“What size shoe does he wear? What’s his GPA, huh?
What is his favorite sport? You wanna visit him, tell me something about him that you’ve learned in the last couple of months you’ve been around him.
What is his favorite cereal? What does he do when he can’t sleep?
Tell me something about your fucking son! ”
“I-I,” she stuttered.
“You can’t tell me shit because you don’t know shit about him…about any of them. These,” he pointed to his sisters, “Are MY fucking kids. I took care of them. I raised them.” He slapped his chest. “You don’t have no fucking say so.”
“CPS should’ve took them! Leaving them in your care got my baby shot!”
“No, you got him shot.” Spice snatched away from Pearl.
“Had him over there taking his money and leaving him in that nasty apartment. This is your fault. We’ve been good without you all this time, and the minute you come back, all hell breaks loose.
He left the house because you didn’t pick him up.
Sage heard everything that you said about him, so don’t blame Lo for what happened to him.
This is all on you, and when my brother wakes up, he’s going to hate you just like we do. ”
“Well, I guess I’ll just go,” Pepper spoke through the tears that rolled down her face. “I’m leaving, but this is not over!”
“Bye.” Shugg waved her off. “You never should’ve came back. We don’t need you!”
With John limping next to her, Pepper slowly turned on her heels and exited the family room. She didn’t know what hurt worse, knowing that Sage heard her talking about him or knowing that he left the house because she failed to pick him up like she promised.
“Family of Sage Peterson,” a nurse called out. “I can take you back at this time.”
Logic grabbed his sisters’ hands and started following the nurse. Halfway down the hall, he turned to face Tyler.
“I’ll be right here,” she promised before he could say anything. Logic nodded his head and kept it pushing.
???
Once they reached the room, the twins paused so Logic could enter first. They didn’t know what to expect and were terrified of the unknown.
Taking a deep breath, Logic stepped ahead of them.
The room was cold and smelled like disinfectant.
Approaching the bed, Logic's knees buckled. He tucked his lip into his mouth to keep from crying out loud. Sage didn’t look like the brother he left that evening.
A tube was taped to his nose, his leg was hoisted in the air, and his eyes were black and sealed shut.
Another tube hung from the corner of his mouth, stretching his lips downward.
His face was swollen, and his head was twice its normal size.
“Oh my god,” Spice cried, running to his side.
“Sage,” Shugg sobbed, carefully picking up his hand that was taped with an IV needle. “Brother, please,” she begged. “Please get up.”
Logic stood at the foot of the bed and stared at his brother.
He felt guilty for not keeping Pepper away from them.
Logic had one job, and he failed. Tears leaked from his eyes as he watched his sisters hold each other while crying over Sage.
Logic prayed like hell his little brother pulled through because he didn’t know how they’d move on.
For the longest it had been four of them, and three just didn’t make sense.
He didn’t know how they’d live in a world where Sage didn’t exist.
“Can I get you anything?” A nurse asked, stepping into the room.
“Nah.” Logic wiped his face. “Why his head so swole?”
“Um, let me see.” She moved around the room and grabbed the chart next to his bed. Quickly scanning it, she nodded and peered up at him. “It looks like he had an allergic reaction to one of the medicines he was given during the surgery.”
“Is it going to go down?” Spice asked. “Or is his head going to be this size forever?”
“It’s going to go down,” the nurse promised.
“Whew!” Shugg wiped her face and stared down at him. “Because brother I love you, but baby, the jokes I was going to have.” She chuckled lightly, making Logic shake his head.
“You hear me,” Spice agreed.
“That’s good,” the nurse chuckled. “I know it’s hard to look on the bright side, but you have to.
Tonight has been horrible and we’ve had to tell so many families that their loved ones are gone, but you still have yours.
It’s ok to be sad and scared, but don’t start grieving.
This young man is fighting for his life, and as long as he hears your voice and feels your presence, he has every reason to come out of this alive. ”
“I appreciate that,” Logic told her.
“No problem. Now I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but visitation hours for the ICU are over.”
“We can’t stay the night?” Spice asked with furrowed eyebrows. “We can’t just leave him.”
“Unfortunately, staying the night in the ICU is prohibited. I’ll be his nurse tonight and I’ll make sure he’s well taken care of. Matter fact-” She paused, pulling a notepad from her pocket. “I’m going to give you my cell number and you can call and check on him as often as you need to.”
“Ok.” Spice took the piece of paper. “That could work…Lo, is that ok?”
“Yea.” Logic nodded. “Thank you.”
“No worries. I’ll give you a few more minutes to say your goodbyes and then I’ll have someone take you back to the waiting room.”
“Aight…Thanks.”
“You're welcome.” The nurse smiled warmly, exiting the room.
???
Back in the waiting room, Tyler sat next to Ms. G, tapping on her phone.
She was updating Shane and Aria on everything that happened.
They offered to come up to the hospital, but Tyler told them things were still tense, and she’d call them when she made it back to Logic’s house.
Al, Pearl, and Duce left after Logic went to visit Sage, promising they’d call and check in later.
“You ok, sweetheart?” Ms. G asked, shifting in her seat.
“Yea.” Tyler smiled. “What about you? I know this was a lot.”
“It was, but baby, I’m not a stranger to unfortunate events. I’ve seen it all and I know Sage is going to pull through this. Hopefully, the scars he walks away with are enough to make him value the life he has.”
“I’m sure it will. From what I can see he’s a good kid.”
“He is, they all are.” Ms. G smiled. “Logic seems to be sweet on you. Are the feelings mutual?”
“They are,” Tyler promised. “I like him…a lot.”
“That’s good. My baby deserves good things. Um, so you’re a singer, huh?”
“I was.”
“Not anymore?”
“Not at the moment. Some things happened and I’m taking time to get my mind right.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” Ms. G agreed. “You grew up around here?”
“Yea. Not too far from where Logic lives actually. My mom and I had an apartment a few blocks away on Chene before she,” Tyler paused. “Before she got sick.”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to pry. I’m sorry for your loss.” Ms. G grabbed Tyler’s hand, and Tyler didn’t bother correcting her.
“Uh, thanks.”
Peering down at her phone, Ms. G sighed and stood up. “My son is here to pick me up. Tell Logic I’ll come by in the morning, and if he needs anything, give me a call.”
“Ok, I will,” Tyler assured her, standing to her feet.
“Ma.” The deep voice prompted Ms. G and Tyler to turn around. “You ready?”
As if she were looking into a mirror, Tyler locked eyes with the male version of herself.
They shared the same complexion, moles, and unsure expressions.
Ms. G looked at the shock in her son's eyes and shook her head. She knew from the moment she laid eyes on Tyler that she was her granddaughter, and her son’s penetrative stares confirmed it.
Their genes were strong, and her son's features radiated from the beauty.
“Ty?” The man questioned, stepping forward, causing her to step back.
He looked familiar, his voice sounded the same, but it couldn’t be. Tyler’s mind wouldn’t allow her to believe that the man standing in front of her was the man who abandoned her.
“My Lord.” Ms. G covered her mouth as Vickie rounded the corner, holding hands with a teenage girl who resembled Tyler.
Upon seeing her husband, Vickie stopped in her tracks.
It took her years to forget about what she’d done, and the second she laid eyes on Tyler, it all came flooding back.
The cries, the blood, the long, drawn-out trial.
For years, prescription drugs, therapists, and breathing techniques held Vickie together, but all of that went right out the window as she gaped at the face that often haunted her dreams.
“Oh my god!” The teenager squealed, oblivious to what was going on. “You’re Tyler…GG, how do you know Tyler? She’s like a superstar. Can I get a picture?”
“You ready, baby girl?” Logic asked, approaching them. Almost immediately, he recognized that something was wrong. “You good?” he asked, rubbing Tyler’s back.
“Y-you know him?” Tyler uttered, blankly staring at the man.
“Yea, that’s Ms. G son, Rell. You know him?”
“Yea,” she cleared her throat. “He’s my dad.”
To be continued...