Page 104 of Intercept My Heart

There were no words or exchanges made when my father shot his last bullet and fell to the ground. I wanted it to be a bad nightmare, but I still hadn’t managed to wake up from it.

“How long has he been like this?” I heard a soft voice ask, breaking me from my thoughts.

“About an hour or so. He was fine when we first got here, but he’s been zoning out ever since.”

I knew they were discussing me, but I couldn’t seem to get out of my own head to address them. I wasn’t a church-going man, but I dropped my head and prayed for a miracle. I’d already lost one set of parents. There was no way I would be able to handle the loss of another.

My head rested in my hands when I felt someone place their hand on my knee. When I lifted my head, I saw Sunny squatting down in front of me. It took a moment to process things because I hadn’t expected her to be here. I had been so focused on getting here that I never reached out to tell her where we were.

“What are you doing here?” Her eyes bore into mine with love and sympathy.

“Where else would I be? My family is here.” She stood to her feet, causing my eyes to zero in on her belly. I palmed her belly as she ran her fingers over my waves. After a few moments, she took a seat next to me, taking my hand in hers. When I looked to my right and saw my boys sitting there, it made me realize just how much my life had changed in such a short time. I always wanted to have a family, and now I could finally say that I had one.

We sat there in silence, with the sound of the television in the background. I felt a sense of strength I hadn’t felt before, and I was grateful to be surrounded by the people I loved most.

“I didn’t miss anything, did I?” Uncle Ro raced into the waiting room with red eyes and bags under his eyes. I’d never seen him so disheveled and unkept in my life. Unc took great pride in the way he looked, so he never stepped out of the house unless he looked his best. The man standing before me was not the man who had raised me. I stood up to greet him, and hepulled me into a hug. I froze for a moment before reciprocating the hug.

“There haven’t been any updates since we got here. They said the doctor would be coming out to tell us what was going on, but we’ve been here for over an hour. What took you so long?”

“There were a few setbacks with the jet, but I’m here now.” His eyes peered over to the boys and Sunny before coming back to me.

“Is this your family?”

“Yeah.”

“I remember her from somewhere. Is that the girl that was staying with you? The one who threatened me over the phone?” A weak smile flashed across his face.

“The one and only.” I glanced over, looking at my family. The twins were watching videos on their phones while Sunny had dozed off to sleep.

“I’m gonna see if I can get some answers, but when I come back, I want to meet your family officially.” I nodded as he walked away. I stood there with my hands in my pockets, thinking about everything that had transpired in the last few hours. The boys and I were supposed to have a relaxing weekend together, but things had taken a turn.

“Are you good, Pops?” Moolah inquired. Ever since he started calling me that, I’d felt a sense of pride in my heart. Our relationship had changed so much in such a short period of time, and I couldn’t have been more grateful.

“Yeah, I’m straight.” I headed over in their direction to be with my family. I explained everything on the ride over so they wouldn’t be left in the dark. They asked a few questions, but they seemed to understand.

“Are you okay?” I turned to see Sunny stretching in her seat. She held her hands out for me to help her up. I sighed, feeling helpless and defeated.

“The doctor and nurses are taking their time with the updates, but I’m hoping that’s a good sign. If she were dead, we would know by now, right?” I looked to her for reassurance. Her hands reached up to my face as she stood on her tiptoes to kiss me. I leaned down to meet her halfway, wrapping my arms around her.

“I know you’re worried, and that’s okay. Right now, Tootie needs you to believe in her. You have to pray and believe she will be okay. There is no room for any negative thoughts, okay?”

“How do you do that?”

“Do what?” Her nose wrinkled as she waited for me to clarify.

“You always have such a positive outlook on things. No matter what is going on, you always find a way to make things better.”

“I wouldn’t give myself that much credit. I just know there is no point in worrying when we can’t do anything to change the situation. Tootie would want us to fight and have faith. She’s been through so much in life, and it hasn’t knocked her down yet. It’s our duty as her family to be her strength when she can’t be strong for herself. Not only for her but for Rhyann too.”

My heart dropped once again, remembering that Tootie wasn’t the only one who was in this situation. Rhyann had been injured, and she had also lost someone close to her.

We’d always been close, but after the secret about my parents came out, I distanced myself from everyone. Guilt ate away at me because I hadn’t been there for them the way I was supposed to be. Uncle Ro came back into view with an unreadable expression on his face.

“What are they saying?”

“Rhyann is going to pull through just fine. She broke her leg in three places and suffered a few cracked ribs, but there is no internal bleeding.” I noticed he didn’t make any mention of Tootie at all. Before I could press him about it, Sunny spoke upfor me. Unc’s shoulders dropped, telling me whatever news he had wasn’t going to be good.

“Tootie suffered numerous injuries, and the doctors had to take her into surgery to repair the internal bleeding. They said she coded a few times on the table, but they were able to find the source of the bleed. However, she slipped into a coma while they were operating. She has a broken arm and severe damage to her neck, back, and spine. They aren’t sure if she’ll be able to walk if she does wake up.”

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