Page 38 of Typa
“Like crap. I need you.”
“Maui, for real or just for now?”
“Does it matter? I just lost our baby. Shouldn’t you want to be here?”
“I’m sorry, baby. I didn’t mean it that way. I do want to be there. I’ll get Epic to bring me.”
“I’m at Saint Elizabeth now, on the third floor.”
“Okay. I’ll text Milana for the room number. See you in about an hour.”
“Okay.”
I ended the call and handed the phone back to Milana. Taking a deep breath, I closed my eyes. Surely my family would be able to accept Mythic as one of ours now. He sacrificed for me all the time, but he saved our lives today. That guy would have killed Seven and me. I was starting to remember parts of our conversation. He was still blaming himself for all of this, including me losing the baby.
Turning to my mama, I asked, “Did anyone say anything to Mythic?”
“No. They all shook his hand, but no one really said anything. Everyone was more concerned about you. You’d passed out, and we were so worried about you, baby.”
I nodded. “Is Daddy and Seven still hating this?”
“I don’t know, baby. I haven’t really talked about that with them. Again, we were just so worried about you.”
“Did you know that Mythic saved me and Seven? A guy was about to shoot him and possibly injure me. Seven didn’t want the extra security, because he, for some reason, thinks he’s untouchable. Had it not been for Mythic, he would be dead. Surely, that should make up for what Mythic did two years ago, right?”
“I don’t know, baby. Once someone betrays you, it’s hard to see past that, no matter what they do to try to rectify it. You know your father isn’t easily persuaded. Seven is worse.”
“What do you think though?”
She looked away and that told me everything I needed to know. Mythic would never live up to their standards, because of the past. He’d already taken a bullet he didn’t have to take and now he’d prevented Seven from taking one he should’ve taken. Despite what Mythic did, Seven was the one that snitched and got that man’s drugs taken. That was the reason he was out for Seven’s blood.
“Maui—”
“It’s okay, Mama.”
I turned my back to her. Here I was, trying to figure out if I would choose Mythic over my family again. Why did shit have to be so hard? I hit the call button and asked for something for pain. I noticed they had a blood pressure cuff on my arm since it was now taking my blood pressure. Once it was done, I saw that it was one forty-eight over ninety-seven. That was still high. It was probably climbing after this discussion with my mama.
She walked around the bed with her purse on her shoulder. “Maui, I’m gonna go home. We all just want what’s best for you, baby. I’m so, so sorry about the baby. I really am. I don’t know how it feels to lose a baby, but for some reason, I feel like I’m losing mine right now.” She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply,then leaned over and kissed my head. “I love you, and I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“I love you too,” I said softly, not bothering to assure her of my place in her life.
When she left the room, my girls stood on either side of the bed. Glancing at both of them, I said, “I love y’all, but please go home. Ashanni you have a man and a son to see after. Milana, you have fiancé to tend to, not to mention a rigorous practice schedule. I’ll be fine.”
Looking at the clock on the wall, I saw it was already after nine o’clock. “We’ll leave when Mythic gets here,” Shani said.
The nurse came in and administered pain meds. I knew I would be asleep before Mythic even arrived. Milana got in bed with me and held me close while Shani stood at my side holding my hand, caressing it between hers. I said in a soft voice, “I love y’all.”
“We love you too, Maui,” Lana said and kissed my cheek.
I didn’t bother asking them what they thought. I was the only one thinking it was okay to be with Mythic now. He was proving his loyalty to us, but no one cared. I hated having to choose. It was hard enough the first time. I didn’t know if I could do it again.
When I woke up, it was daylight outside. I was in bed alone. When I turned toward the window, I saw two bouquets of beautiful flowers. I couldn’t even smile. No one was here. I didn’t even know if Mythic showed up last night or not. While I wanted to cry, I couldn’t get a tear to drop. My breakfast was on a tray next to me, but I didn’t have an appetite, especiallynot for hospital food. I’d never had it, because I had never been hospitalized, but I’d heard the horror stories.
As I tried to get up to go to the bathroom, my room door opened. I remained still to see who would walk in and when I saw Mythic, I felt a sense of relief. He’d come for me.
“Baby, where you going?” he said as he hurriedly set a bag on the nightstand and came to me.
“To the bathroom. I thought you didn’t come.”
