Page 71 of Smoke

“Pipe all that down.”

He walked away, leaving me standing at the top of the stairs. I knew I shouldn’t have gone down, but I had to know what the fuck was going on in my shop. When I got to the bottom, my eyeswidened at the sight of Patrick and three unknown men bagging up cocaine in my fucking basement.

I immediately put my shirt over my mouth.

“Are you fucking crazy!” I yelled. “Patrick, you can’t be serious! This is too much. How did you even get in here?”

“Take your ass back upstairs and mind your fucking business.”

“This is my business! My literal business. What the hell do you think you’re doing!”

He dropped the items in his hand and stormed over to me. Grabbing my arm, he yanked me toward the stairs. He was being so rough that I lost my footing and tripped going up the stairs. The next thing I knew, I’d fallen, landing right on my stomach. Patrick didn’t pay me any mind as he dragged me to the top of the stairs and shoved me out.

“Don’t bring your ass back down here. Matter of fact, close up shop today. We’re gonna be a while.”

He slammed the door, leaving me in the hallway writhing in pain. Tears streamed down my face as I struggled to climb to my feet. Suddenly, I felt a warm liquid seeping through my scrub bottoms.

“No… no, no, no, no, no!”

I held onto the wall as I stumbled toward the front where my phone was. The pain in my stomach was unbearable. Something was wrong, terribly wrong.

“Romi! I’m here! Thank you so much for squeezing me in!”

I felt a sense of hope hearing my client come through the door.

“Ms.-Ms. Sherry!” I called, leaning against the wall.

I could hear her heels clicking across the floor. “Romi? Are you okay? You sound—Oh my God!” She ran to me and helped me up. “Baby, you’re bleeding. What happened?”

“I fell… my baby…”

I was in full-blown tears at this point. Sherry helped me out front. Just as we made it, Laurel came through the front door.

“Oh my God!” she exclaimed, rushing over. “What happened!”

“She fell,” Ms. Sherry said. “Help me get her to my car. I’m taking her to the hospital.”

“You should call an ambulance—” Laurel started.

“Bitch, don’t you see she’s bleeding? Help me get her in the damn car.”

Laurel moved to my side, and together, they got me out the door and over to Ms. Sherry’s BMW. The pain was at an eight and climbing as they strapped me inside. I heard Ms. Sherry tell Laurel to close up shop and meet us at the hospital with my things. She climbed into the car and cranked up.

“Hold on, baby,” she said, backing out. “We’re gonna get you some help.”

I closed my eyes and cried and prayed. My baby had to be okay. She just had to.

Beep.Beep. Beep.

The sound of the heart monitor woke me from my slumber. My eyes fluttered open, and I was met with blinding white lights. Where was I? How did I get here?

“She’s awake!” I heard my sister say.

The next thing I saw were the faces of her, my parents, and Ms. Sherry. My mom’s eyes were red, and my father looked full of worry.

Nay smiled softly as she leaned over, stroking my hair. “How are you feeling, sissy?”

“Where am I?” I asked, barely above a whisper.

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