Chapter 17 Kahlani
KAHLANI
“Oh, Jesus. I can’t believe this. God, I hope he’s okay.”
Moses’ mother, Tina, was going on and on as we rode on the elevator, but I was barely listening to her.
My mind was going at a rapid speed in disbelief at what was happening.
I was so worried about Solae. I wondered what they would charge her with, if she would get bail, and how long she would be in jail.
It made my stomach turn as I wondered if the police would find out that I had been there.
I wondered if Rah had heard anything me and Solae had said.
For every worry that crossed my mind, I hated Rah more and more. Everything was his fault, even his own suffering. In his own way, he had asked for Solae to stab him. He deserved that shit, and it was unfair that Solae and her children were going to suffer for it.
As I followed Tina off the elevator, I held her trembling hand. She was so worried and stressed, and I even blamed her stress on Rah as well. I wished he would die on that surgery table because I had an aching feeling that if he lived, he wouldn’t be done ruining our lives.
I was in my own head as I walked along with Tina down the hall. I was wrapped in my own thoughts as we entered the ICU waiting room. I smiled sympathetically at Rah’s mother, who was in the corner in tears being consoled by Rah’s father.
Everybody was gathered, holding and consoling one another.
Some were crying, others were pacing the floor, and a few sat in silence with their heads bowed like they were praying.
I sat with them, but my presence felt fake.
Everyone else was consoling one another, but I couldn’t bring myself to fake it.
The door opened, and a woman in scrubs stepped inside. She was tall with tired eyes and a clipboard clutched in her hands. She cleared her throat, and the whole room froze.
“Rah’s condition is stable,” she told his parents as if she had met them already. “He’s still in surgery, but he will live. The team is repairing the damage now, and he’ll be moved into recovery afterward.”
Relief broke across the room instantly. Gasps, sobs, and shouts of “Thank you, Jesus!” filled the air. His mother clutched her husband, shaking and crying with joy. Cousins hugged cousins.
Yet, I was cringing with regret on the inside. But I forced myself to be thankful that at least Solae didn’t have to live with being responsible for his death.
As the surgeon left the room, Rah’s mother’s face warped with anger through her tears. “That bitch is going to pay for this.”
“We’ll make sure she answers for it,” his father fussed. “She tried to kill him.”
Tina raised her hands gently. “Now, it could’ve been an accident—”
“Accident?” Rah’s father barked, cutting her off. “She told the police it was self-defense. She said my son was putting his hands on her. That’s a damn lie. Rah would never do that!”
Tears rolled down his mother’s cheeks as she told Tina, “She’s been bitter ever since he left her for Aaliyah. He told us that she’s been so angry and taking her frustrations out on those kids.”
That was it for me. I couldn’t hold my tongue anymore.
“He’s a liar,” I seethed, and the whole room turned to me, stunned.
“She left him. He’s been lying to y’all, making himself out to be the victim when he’s the one destroying everything.
Don’t act like you don’t know the kind of man he really is.
Rah has been wreaking havoc on Solae and those kids, and probably deserved whatever Solae did to him! ”
Rah’s father shot me a glare. “You will not stand here and disrespect my son.”
My hands shook with rage. “Disrespect? The disrespect has been Solae’s pain being dismissed while y’all turn a blind eye to who he really is.”
“Enough!” he barked again.
I couldn’t breathe. My eyes burned, and my throat was tight with anger. I shoved back my chair so hard it scraped the floor and stormed out of that waiting room before I said something that couldn’t be unsaid.