GOOD LIFE
Aheart rate monitor beeped steadily in the darkened room.
Giselle’s eyes fluttered open to the blinding white light above her and that familiar antiseptic hospital smell.
Her throat felt like sandpaper. The first thing she noticed was the silence.
Deafening. No music, no Alonzo, and no city noise.
Only that lonely electronic pulse reminding her that she was still alive.
“Well, it’s nice to have you back amongst the living,” a familiar voice greeted her.
Thinking she was imagining things, Giselle rolled her head against her pillow.
Maisie flipped her laptop closed and leaned forward in the chair beside her bed.
It would have been so easy for her to judge and ridicule her over the years, but she always embraced her as her little sister.
While she loved Lou to death, her younger sibling didn’t share that same hustle.
She skated too much for Maisie’s taste, but she was determined to make a true Knox woman out of her one way or another.
The sterile aroma drowning her senses left Giselle’s eyes all the way open as she took in the light gray walls with no special effects.
The only window in the room was behind Maisie, and through the blinds, she could see the sun rising.
Pinching the bridge of her nose, she recognized the bracelet on her wrist, but everything was still kind of hazy.
“What are you doing here?” She groaned.
“Well, you still have me listed as your emergency contact since your parents are gone.” Maisie shoved the laptop aside and perched herself on the edge of the chair. “The hospital thought you might need somebody who gave a damn. I know that list is growing shorter by the day.”
“Thanks,” Giselle mumbled, wincing while struggling to sit up. “What the hell happened?”
“Was wondering the same damn thing.” Maisie rose abruptly, tugging at her white graphic t-shirt. “You scared me half to death when I got that call. I thought Mama was going to have a heart attack.”
“Where’s Alonzo? He was in the car with me.”
“I don’t know. I wasn’t exactly concerned about him. I was too worried about whether you were going to wake up or not.”
Licking her dry, cracked lips, Giselle took a deep breath, and it hurt like hell.
“I have to make sure he’s okay. This was all my fault.”
“You have to relax. The doctor said you have a concussion and some broken ribs. Apparently, the amount of alcohol in your system was over the legal limit, and there were traces of cocaine in your system. Giselle, cocaine! What the hell is wrong with you, and how long has this been going on?” Maisie dropped on the edge of the bed facing her.
“Not long.” She pressed her fingertips against her forehead and briefly shut her eyes. “When I left Southwick and went back to Leawood, it was a lot. Keeping up appearances with Alonzo and the media. I just needed something to take the edge off. It’s not like I’m some addict.”
“Well, the police were here, and they think otherwise. You’re going to have a court date and probably be put on probation.
That’s only if they consider that this is your first offense.
Crew hooked me up with a lawyer, but you’ll also have to go to rehab.
The doctor was acting funny, too, like she had some more shit to say but told me she couldn’t bring it up until you woke up. ”
“Rehab?” Giselle repeated, attempting to sit up as pain bloomed in her ribs.
“Yes. Now, I’m going to let the nurse know you’re awake and call the house to check in with everybody and give them an update too.”
“Mais, how is everybody?”
“Mad as hell at you,” she quipped, strutting out the door.
Giselle’s head sank into the pillows behind her, and she found her eyes on the ceiling.
Moments later, the door to her room opened again.
She expected Maisie, but she came face to face with a tall, slim framed doctor in pink scrubs with a white coat over them.
Coated with smooth, mud brown skin and locs in a barrel style, she also noted a fat diamond on her wedding ring finger.
When she greeted her with a warm smile, Giselle relaxed a bit.
“Hello, Ms. Knox. How are you feeling?” she greeted her in a silvery tone.
“On a scale of what?” Giselle mumbled.
“I’m Dr. Hill,” she introduced herself, ignoring Giselle’s attitude before pausing at the foot of her bed.
With a tablet in her hand, she skimmed it carefully before lifting her eyes to meet hers.
“You suffered a concussion and two broken ribs. You’ll recover, but you’ll need to take it slow,” she explained.
Giselle stared at her, trying to read what she wasn’t saying. Dr. Hill cleared her throat and lowered her tone.
“We discovered something on your scans and in your bloodwork that you need to know. It seems that you’re pregnant.”
The words hung in the air, almost unreal. Giselle blinked, expecting the noise of the city to rush back in, but the room remained perfectly still. Time froze.
“That’s not… that can’t be right,” she said, shaking her head.
“It’s still the first trimester,” Dr. Hill continued gently. “I’m estimating around six weeks. We can do some follow-up tests when you’re ready. Now, we need to get you on your feet. It’s imperative that you move around, even with two broken ribs to avoid lung infection and muscle contraction.”
Six weeks? Giselle did the math and immediately calculated her answer.
Heavy. While she’d been living with Alonzo, the two of them didn’t have sex until about two weeks ago.
She’d purposely kept him at arm’s length because she didn’t want to feel like some needy hoe when he took her in.
One drunken night, he introduced her to cocaine because he thought she might need an escape, and they’d been sharing his bed ever since.
“Ms. Knox, are you alright?” Dr. Hill interrupted her thoughts.
“I’m… I wasn’t expecting that.” She shook her head as the door opened to her room, and Maisie appeared with her phone in hand.
“What’s up Doc? How is the patient?” she queried, picking up on the tension in the room.
Maisie’s eyes volleyed from Giselle to the doctor questioningly. Giselle was hoping Dr. Hill got the message to keep this between them. Wincing as she sat up, she tried to swing her legs over the side of the bed.
“I’m fine. Doc says I need to move around, though.”
“Are you sure?” Maisie rushed to her side with concern etched in her face.
“Yes,” Dr. Hill replied, holding the tablet against her chest. “Short walks, nothing strenuous. You will gradually increase activity as you heal. I have also signed off on the psych recommendation. The nurse will bring in some information for you regarding rehabilitation programs. I have seen many cases like this, Ms. Knox, so let me be the first to say how very blessed you are to walk away with minimal damage. Mr. Maynard is awake, and he’s been asking for you.
He is down the hall in room 410. I’ll be back to check on you.
We’ll want to keep you a few days for observation.
” Dr. Hill backed out of the room, and Giselle took baby steps over to the window.
“Everyone is glad you’re okay,” Maisie announced.
“Everyone?” Giselle swung her head toward her as she rested a hand against the windowsill and caught her breath.
It hurt like a bitch moving just those five steps from the hospital bed to the window, damn near taking all the wind from her. Maisie lowered herself to the edge of the hospital bed and examined her cousin from where she stood, staring out at the world pensively.
“Yeah. Including Heavy,” Maisie acknowledged.
Slowly, Giselle lowered her head and took a breath. How had she gotten here, and what the hell was she going to do now?
“I appreciate you coming, Mais.”
“Giselle, why don’t you just come back with me?”
“I have a life here now.” She sniffled and lifted her gaze.
“I started a business. My lawyer says the estate is almost settled, and everything will be released to me. I decided to sell the house. I can’t step foot back in there.
It’s best I start over. Last night, before all this… Alonzo asked me to marry him.”
“What!” Maisie screeched. “Is that why you crashed the car?” she joked.
“No.” Giselle snickered. “But he’s been good to me, and… we’re good for each other.”
“Do you love him?” Maisie pried.
“It doesn’t matter,” Giselle answered quickly.
“Hmm, when it comes to marriage, that’s the most important thing.
Maybe not in this world, though, and maybe you’re okay with that.
” Sighing, she lifted herself from the bed and slapped her hands against her thighs.
“And I should stop trying to convince you otherwise. This is what you want and where you want to be. I mean, from the outside, it looks pretty nice. Big house, nice cars, no ceilings when it comes to a credit limit. Just doesn’t seem to make you very happy. ”
“Happy is an illusion, Maisie.”
“Happiness comes from you, Giselle. You decide when to be happy, and you don’t let anyone else make that decision for you.” Maisie gathered her jacket and the rest of her belongings, slinging her big Marc Jacobs bag over her shoulder.
She walked right up to her cousin and wrapped her in a warm embrace before kissing the top of her head.
“I love you. No matter what. Take care of yourself.”
“Thank you for coming,” Giselle whispered into her chest.
“I’ll never not come, G.” Maisie nudged away and tapped the tip of her nose.
Giselle watched her until the door to her hospital room closed behind her cousin.
Alone again, she faced her reflection in the window.
Hospital gown, bruised cheek, and IV line.
The weight of every choice brought her to this moment.
The girl who thought she could outrun everything now had something inside her that demanded her to stop.