Page 33 of Differences

The elevator dinged, notifying us we had made it to the floor my mother was on. Taja stormed out with her lip poking out. I laughed at the tantrum she was trying to throw. I could see her trying her best to hold her laugh but failing miserably. I wrapped my arm around her waist, pulling her into my body before we could walk further into the unit.

“Don’t be mad at me,” I whispered in her ear. “I’m sorry. You forgive me?”

With Taja pushed up against me and me being inches away from her lips, I felt myself bricking, and I know she did too. She hadn’t answered me yet. I leaned in closer, placing my lips centimeters from her ears. This time, when I spoke, they brushed up against them.

“You forgive me, Ta?”

I could feel her swallow deep. “I forgive you.”

I placed a soft peck on her ear and smiled. “Thank you.”

Removing my arm from around her waist, I walked in front of her. She hadn’t moved. She stood there staring at me. “Everything okay?”

She nodded. “Yeah...um sure. L-let’s go.”

Spinning on my heels, I turned around. I couldn’t contain the smirk on my face. I could hear her feet behind me as we walked toward my mother’s room. My smile changed once I saw Rae standing outside of my mother’s room in Keezy’s arms. He was holding her tight and whispering in her ear.

“Yo, what the hell is going on?” I asked immediately, walking up on them.

Keezy looked at me. Rae pulled her head from Keezy’s chest. The look on her face caused my soul to leave my body. Her eyes were swollen and red.

“Rae, what’s going on?”

She sniffed and sobbed. She tried her best to talk, but nothing was coming out. I looked over at Keezy. He took a deep breath and sighed.

“Keezy, what the fuck is going on, man?”

“The...the doctors gave your mom less than twenty-four hours. She took a turn for the worse this morning. There is no brain activity. Her vitals are going down. They are asking for y’all to say your goodbyes.”

Taja gasped behind me. “Oh no!”

There was no way this was happening. My mother was supposed to live forever. These doctors didn’t know what they were talking about. I needed to remove my mother from this facility and send her somewhere else. That’s what I wanted to do from the beginning. Now, my mother was dying, and they gave her no fighting chance.

“Where is the doctor?” I yelled.

Rae was in no shape to speak. She was still crying. Keezy looked at me.

“Wes, come on, man.”

“Keezy, this is my motherfucking mama! These doctors don’t know what the fuck they are talking about! Get me the goddamn doctor or the nurse now!”

I stormed into my mother’s room, grabbed the call bell, and rapidly pressed the button to alert the nurse.

“Man, don’t do this,” Keezy pleaded, walking into the room.

Rae was behind him, still crying but looking at me, confused. “Wes, what are you doing?”

“The shit I should’ve done before. I’m transferring her up out of her. These shitty ass doctors know nothing. That’s why you should’ve let me move her when I suggested.”

“These are some of the best doctors, Wes! Don’t do this. Moving her would only cause more damage.”

Before I could respond, the nurse came running into the room. She was a young nurse. She wore a face full of makeup, curly brown hair, and tight scrubs. I could tell she only cared about the aesthetic of being a nurse and not the care of my mother.

“Is everything okay?” she asked.

“No, fuck no, it’s not. Where is the doctor? I want my mother moved up out of here.”

She looked back and forth between us. “I can try to page him. He might be with another patient at the moment—”

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