Wilde
When I pulled up in front of the salon and saw an ambulance, two police cars, and Misha’s dumb ass standing in handcuffs crying, I hopped out of my car damn near while it was still moving.
All I saw was red as I rushed toward Misha.
Ignoring the police officers, I had almost made it to her ass before a cop stepped in front of me and pushed me back.
The act wasn’t forceful, but it was enough to stop me from doing what I wanted.
He was a black cop and with his hands still on my chest, he spoke so only I could hear him.
“Son, you don’t want to do that. You assault her in front of all these people, you’ll be going to jail right with her, and your daughter will have to be taken by CPS. We can’t wait for another family member to get here. Now, calm down, so you can get to your daughter.”
The cop paused and stared at me trying to see if I was going to cooperate.
“If there weren’t so many witnesses out here, I might let you loose on her ass. But you can’t do that, Son. You got it?”
I nodded despite my nostrils flaring and my jaw muscles ticking.
I wanted to beat Misha’s ass and the ass of anybody that had a problem with me beating her ass.
I’d never had an issue with the way she parented Willow up until that day.
When I got a call that her stupid ass left my baby in a hot car while she was getting her hair done, I wouldn’t have been shocked if foam had started coming out of my mouth.
Never in life had I been that pissed, and I’d been mad plenty.
When the police arrived, they busted Misha’s car window out to unlock the door and get Willow out of the car. My child’s body temperature was so high, they were shocked she was still alive, but she was lethargic and in bad shape.
“Go get in the ambulance with your daughter.”
I shot one last nasty look in Misha’s direction, but she didn’t see me.
Her dumb ass was smart enough to avoid eye contact with me.
She was crying like somebody died. Weak wasn’t a word I’d ever use to describe myself but as worried as I was, I was scared to get in that ambulance and see my baby like that.
Knowing she needed me, I made myself man up and go over where she was.
Willow wasn’t moving. There was an oxygen mask on her face and all her clothing had been removed.
All she had on was a pull up. I choked back a sob as one of the EMT’s gave me a sympathetic look.
My baby didn’t even move as a needle was put in her hand to start an IV.
While the paramedic started the IV, her co-worker took an ice pack and placed it on Willow’s body.
He would leave it in one area for a few seconds then move it.
My baby still wasn’t moving, and that shit was killing me.
When the female paramedic was done with the IV, she took over with the ice pack and her partner went to drive to ambulance.
I just couldn’t get over Misha. Not even when I got arrested with a murder weapon in my car was I as afraid as I was at the moment.
If my baby wasn’t okay, Misha better pray to God they locked her up for life because the moment she stepped foot outside of the jail, I was gon’ send her ass to hell, and I put that on my kids.
Sitting staring at my baby, all I could do was bounce my leg anxiously and sweat bullets.
“We’ve got her body temperature regulated to a safer temperature, but it’s still pretty high. We’re going to have to watch her closely to make sure none of her organs fail. A heat stroke can cause serious damage.”
My eyes closed, and I rested my head against the side of the ambulance.
This shit couldn’t be happening. Organ failure?
I felt like a pussy because I couldn’t even talk.
I was stuck. I couldn’t call Wonder; I couldn’t do anything.
As a man, I felt helpless. The only thing that would have pulled me out of the trance that I was in was if someone put Misha in front of me and let me go to her ass for a good minute or so.
Every time I glanced over at my baby, and I couldn’t tell whether she was breathing or not, my heart sank.
When the ambulance arrived at the hospital, I had to snap out of it and go into the hospital with my baby.
Once she was alert, I wanted her to see a familiar face.
I wasn’t leaving her side. More than likely, she wouldn’t be discharged anytime soon.
After I talked with the nurse, I called Wonder and let her know what was happening.
She told me she was on the way. One thing I never had to question was that Wonder loved Willow just like she loved Wylder.
She always treated them equal, and Willow loved her.
When CPS came to talk to me, I had to remember that I didn’t sell drugs anymore.
Any kind of authority figure still made me nervous even though being a street nigga was in my past. One thing I despised was people asking me a million questions and being all in my business.
I already knew CPS was about to interrogate the hell out of my ass, but I would just have to get past it.
As long as there was breath in my body, Willow wasn’t going to foster care.
I was already terrified and in a bad mood, so I prayed the social worker didn’t give me a reason to show my ass.
“Hi, Mr. Hunter. You are the biological father, and your name is on the birth certificate?” The white woman that appeared to be in her early thirties maybe inquired.
“Yes, I am her father, and I’m on the birth certificate. Me and Misha didn’t have a court order, but Willow comes to my house at least three times a week.”
“And who all lives in the house with you?”
“My girlfriend, Wonder, and our son Wylder.”
The social worker gave a slight head nod. “And you’re in the position to take your daughter to live with you?”
“Yes, I am,” I replied with a frown. “Willow has her own room at my house. There isn’t anywhere else she needs to be besides with me.”
The social worker ran down a lot of information to me including making me aware that even if Misha made bond, she wasn’t to have contact with Willow.
That wasn’t anything that she even had to tell me, but I guess she was doing her job.
I took her card and was relieved when she walked away from me.
I was about to go back into the room with Willow when Wonder rushed in my direction.
“Oh my God, is she okay?” her eyes were red, and I could tell she’d been crying.
“I don’t know man. My baby wasn’t moving,” my voice cracked. “Her body was so fuckin’ hot, they have to make sure she doesn’t have organ failure. Can you imagine that shit?” I asked as I clenched my teeth together.
“I can’t believe Misha.” Wonder’s voice was barely above a whisper. “That poor baby.” The fear and worry that had been evident all over Wonder’s face had changed to a glower. We were on the same page because she looked like she wanted to do Misha as dirty as I did.
I had been away from my baby for too long, so I jerked my head in the direction of the triage room signaling for Wonder to follow me. When I saw that Willow was alert, my knees buckled.
“Hey, baby,” I smiled. I couldn’t show my daughter how scared I was. It was hard, but I had to pretend that everything was okay.
“Daddy,” she rasped.
Before I could say anything, the nurse spoke up. “She’s a little hoarse. I assume it may be from all the crying she was doing.”
I clenched my teeth together so hard they began to ache.
Thinking about my baby inside of the hot ass car crying made my blood boil.
Misha was one goofy ass broad, and I was never forgiving her for this shit.
After running several tests and drawing blood, the doctor was optimistic that there was no damage to Willow’s organs, but he wanted to keep her overnight for observation.
Assuring Wonder that she could go get Wylder and go home, I made myself comfortable. It was going to be a long day, and I wasn’t going anywhere.
The next afternoon, I walked through the door of my home with Willow feeling like a straight savage. I needed to wash my ass and brush my teeth something terrible. “You want to stay downstairs or go in your room? Your brother is at daycare,” I made her aware.
“Can I stay with you?”
If I had a dollar for every time I wanted to cry and slap Misha at the same time since I got the news about Willow, I’d be rich. My fuckin’ baby was traumatized and didn’t want me out of her sight. Maybe she was afraid I was going to leave her and something bad was going to happen.
“Willow, baby, I have to take a shower. You can’t come in the bathroom with daddy.” I was about to just say forget it and stay funky, but Wonder walked into the house.
“Hey Pretty Girl, how are you feeling?” She set the bags she was carrying down and walked over to Willow. She picked Willow up and hugged her while twisting her body from side to side.
"I have to take a shower. She doesn’t want to be by herself.”
“I got you kiddo,” Wonder assured her. “You want eat eat?”
Willow nodded, and they disappeared into the kitchen.
My mother didn’t raise me because she was an alcoholic and a prostitute.
When I was growing up, my father was a fake ass preacher that slept with any woman that would open her legs for him, so I pretty much took him as a joke.
They had both apologized to me, and we were trying to have a normal parent/son relationship.
However, if I didn’t have Wonder to help me out with Willow, it would have been my grandmother or Pierre’s mom.
Maybe even Nina, but I doubted I would depend on my mother or father.