Page 68 of For the Lover in You
I rolled my eyes at him and looked back at the receptionist, mugging me. I mouthed 'bitch' at her and followed behind Tremaine as he led the way. I read the signs as we walked down the halls. My knees buckled when we arrived at Pediatric ICU.
"H-he's in ICU."
Tremaine nodded. "Yeah. They have a waiting room in here. That's where Owen said everyone is." He reached for my hand. "Come on, baby. I got you."
We continued through the double doors after being buzzed in. The cold halls caused my body to shiver. No matter how many art decorations and colors were on the wall, it didn't send happy vibes to me. We walked toward the waiting room. As soon as we entered the room, Chasity and Trina were the first people to run over to me. They both wrapped me in their arms. I could hear Owen dapping Tremaine up beside me. Owen then laid his hand on my shoulder and offered me a soft smile.
"What room is he in?" I asked.
"Four," Chasity said. "I can walk you there if?—"
I shook my head.
Trina looked at me. "Kyle's in the room with him. He hasn't left his side since he got the phone call."
I sighed, annoyed but thankful KJ had a parent there with him.
"Baby, do you need me to come with you?" Tremaine asked.
I shook my head. "I'll be back."
I sauntered out of the room. It felt as if my feet were bricks the closer I got to the room. The unit was equipped with glass sliding doors, allowing visitors to view the patients from the hallway. As soon as I laid my eyes on my innocent, frail child, I flew into the room and scanned his body. I didn't bother to acknowledge Kyle. KJ's eyes were closed, and he had an IV in his arm and was hooked to the monitor. Tears rolled down my face as I placed kisses on his head, apologizing to him for not being there for him.
"Stop apologizing, Mila," Kyle instructed from behind me. "You couldn't control what happened. You know that, and I definitely know that."
"How did we not know? How didn't we see the signs? You're a goddamn doctor!" I yelled at him.
"I get it. You want someone to blame, but you know asthma can onset out of nowhere."
I wiped my face. "What did the doctors say? Is KJ going to be okay? Is there any damage done to his body?"
For the first time since I made my way into the room, I finally looked at Kyle. He looked just as broken as I did. His eyes were tired. He was wearing sweatpants and a wrinkled shirt. His beard was unkempt, and so was his hair.
"KJ's okay. Just resting. They have him here to keep watch on him. If Chasity hadn't reacted as fast as she did, there's no telling how worse it could've been."
"Did they run all the tests and check for anything underlying?"
He nodded. "I made sure of that. Remember, I'm a doctor, so I know how they can be, but I was an advocate for our son."
I turned my attention away from Kyle and back to KJ. He looked so peaceful, but I knew it was scary for him. It was probably worse, considering that I wasn't there either.
"A social worker came in, so I called my lawyer," Kyle informed me.
I let out an exhausted sigh. I didn't want to deal with this right now. I didn't want to hear about social workers, lawyers, custody battles, divorce, or anything. All I cared about was KJ.
"Now is not the time. I don't give a fuck about any of that. My only concern is KJ. If you can't understand that, then get your ass out of here," I warned. "I don't care about your threats. Do whatever the fuck you want to do, but I swear I will make your life a living hell."
"Calm down. I told my lawyer to pause everything. I think our biggest concern is making sure KJ makes a full recovery. I wouldn't want to add more stress on KJ or you by putting us through the courts. If you can agree to at least let me get him twice a month, every weekend, and we split holidays, I'll be satisfied with that."
"Why suddenly do you want to come to a common ground?"
He rubbed his hand down his head. "I was an arrogant motherfucker, Mila, hateful and disrespectful to you. You don't deserve that. You were amazing to me, shit to us. You're the type of woman men complain about doesn't exist. I was a coward, and I ruined my family. Witnessing KJ go through this was a reality check."
I could hear Kyle's voice crack. My eyes scanned him from head to toe to see if I could tell if he was lying. After knowing Kyle for many years, I could tell when he was lying or not.
"Shit, seeing how fast you got back here was amazing. KJ's blessed to have you."
"Thank you," I said in a low tone.
