Page 22 of Saved By the Game

The car was silent all the way to the doctor’s office. Everyone was in the car nervous in anticipation of Bella’s health. Adonis sped up the highway to get to the hospital quickly. The silence was killing him. He just wanted to make it to see a doctor. He parked in an emergency parking spot and picked her up like a newborn baby in his arms. “We need to see the doctor now. She just passed out. Can someone please go to get a doctor now!” Adonis yelled at the front desk nurse.

“Calm down, sir. Please fill out the paperwork. I need her I.D. and insurance card. Go ahead and put her in emergency room one. Only two people can go in the room with her.” The nurse pleaded.

Mama Vonshire looked disappointed, so he urged her to come along with them. Samantha and Malik took a seat in the waiting room.

Samantha paced the hospital floor. Anxious thoughts ran through her head. She was worried about her sister. They were always close sisters. Their mother taught them to stick together. Whenever she caught them fussing, she would tie them together to work things out. It taught them to love each other unconditionally. Malik stepped toward her and grabbed her hand, pulling her to sit. “She’ll be alright Samantha. When I worked as her bodyguard, I noticed her resilience and tenacity. I watched the new report about her overcoming a severe beating and hostage situation. She’ll fight through her illness and beat cancer too.”

“I hope so Malik. I didn’t even know my sister was going through an abusive relationship. We used to talk as much as we could. I became busy with work and couldn’t talk to her every day. It’s my fault. If I were a better sister, then my sister wouldn’t have gotten sick.” Samantha clenched her fist and swung jabs into the air. Malik grabbed her into his arms and held her tight to calm her down.

Meanwhile, Mama Vonshire was in the room filling out the paperwork. Adonis sat on the hospital bed with Kybella stroking her hair. She began to open her eyes. “Where am I?” She whispered while squinting her eyes for clear sight of the room.The scent of Adonis’s cologne made her hold her hand outfor him. She knew he was nearby since his scent lingered in the air.

“Baby, you passed out at home. We brought you to the hospital. We’re waiting for the doctor to come in to check you now.”

“I don’t understand why I keep going through so much suffering. What did I do to deserve all these problems, Lord?” Adonis shook his head. His mouth was agape, contemplating a response.

“Darling, you didn’t do anything wrong. We all suffer for a little while, but joy comes in the morning. Mama Vonshire chimed in to respond.

Before she could reply, there was a knock on the door. “Hello, I’m Doctor Frasier. I’m just going to scan your bracelet really quick.” ” He announced while peeping over his glasses looking at his clip board. He extended his hand gently toward her wrist, waiting for her to offer the hospital band.

“Yes, sir.” She extended her arm out to allow him to scan her hospital band and sat up in bed.

“I heard you had a fainting spell. What are you doing scaring your family? He chuckled. Let me check your breathing.” The doctor put his stethoscope over her heart. After a few minutes of listening he responded, “Your breathing sounds good. I’ll check your blood pressure.” The doctor put the cuff over her arm to receive a blood pressure reading. “Your blood pressure is elevated, one forty over ninety. You may have fainted from high stress levels. Normally the nurse would’ve collected your information, but we’re a little short-staffed today, so I’m handling some of my patient care. “Did you have a headache before you fainted this morning?”

“Yes, as a matter of fact my head was banging.” Bella responded.

“For my many years of practicing as a doctor I can conclude that the emotional stress of coming to the doctor for the cancer treatment spiked your blood pressure.”

“I am scared and upset still. I don’t want to endure cancer treatments. I don’t want my hair to fall out or become a burden on my family.”

“I’ll have my nurse come in to draw some blood from you. We’ll run some tests to check your blood levels. After the test results are back, then I’ll return to see you.” The doctor spoke and patted her on the arm. He had an old, kind soul. His spirit shined bright and made her feel a little better.”

“Maybe it was your mother’s cooking. After you took a bite of her bacon you complained of having a headache.” Everyone burst into laughter except for Sandra.

“She’s never complained about my cooking before. My cooking made her into a strong and healthy WNBA player. I think you’re mistaken darling.” She responded and turned her nose up.

“Mama, he’s only playing with you. Adonis is quite a jokester. It’s his way of lightening the mood. Don’t take him seriously. We love your cooking.” The nurse came into the room with her bucket of needles. Bella’s smile turned into a somber look.

“Hi, I’m Kelly. I’ll draw some blood from you. I’ll need about four vials. I’ll also need to insert an IV to give you fluids. I can tell from your cracked lips that you’re dehydrated.” She announced. Bella nodded her head in agreement. Adonis held her hand while the nurse took the blood. It was hard insertingthe IV but after three attempts it was inserted successfully. “We have advanced technology lab equipment called Stat labs that can allow doctors to have results in under an hour. So, the doctor will return soon with your results. If you need anything, push the call button.”

Adonis tapped his fingers out of boredom. He took out his phone to check for messages. While checking his phone, Twitter gave a notification. The NBA’s twitter account made an announcement.Brian Porter has been suspended from the NBA indefinitely. He is being charged and held in Paris jail awaiting trial on Murder-for-hire, domestic violence, assault, and kidnapping charges.Although Brian had been in custody for over a month, the story has been kept under wraps, no official charges had been announced. The team and league had remained tight-lipped. But now, with court documents finally made public, the media couldn’t ignore it any longer. The news had broken late, but loud. He went on to read the comments. He was stunned by the many negative comments against Brian. A lot of women bashed him for the domestic allegations and supported the NBA for taking a stand against the violence.

“Game, why are you so quiet? Let me see what you’re looking at on your phone.” She moved his hand and grabbed his phone. She read the tweet and read one comment that said,His girl Kybella got what she deserved.She slammed the phone down.

“Honey don’t pay it any mind. You know you didn’t deserve it.” The monitors began to beep, signaling an abnormality in her vital signs. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been on my phone. Baby, please don’t cry.” Adonis pleaded while rubbing her shoulders. “It’s not your fault, Game.”

“Are you alright in here?” Nurse Kelly asked as she checked the numbers on the monitor. Bella merely looked at the nurse and nodded her head. She didn’t respond and silence filled the room once the monitor stopped. She laid back and closed her eyes. The dream she’d had the night before made sense. In her dream, a crowd of people stood around her pointing and laughing. Some people threw rocks and stones at her. Maybe the dream meant people with sin were casting stones at her. They were judging her about a situation surrounding their favorite basketball player. Brian was loved by some and hated by many. After reading the tweet, Bella knew she needed to prepare for the worst at Brian’s trial. She sighed heavily.

“Don’t worry about the trial next week. We’ll have a grand opening at your new bakery.”

“Excuse me, did I hear him say you have a new bakery?” Mama Vonshire asked.

Bella leaned up and smiled. “Oh yeah mama, I forgot to tell you. I am the proud owner of a new bakery. It’s called, Love At First Bite. I can’t wait to show it to you once renovations are done. I love it already!”

“Aw, see Kybella. I told you that suffering doesn’t last long. After all the suffering, you found the courage to start a new venture. I remember buying you an Easy Bake Oven for Christmas when you were a kid. After that you would watch me bake cakes in the kitchen and imitate me. It was the cutest thing. Then when you became older your father brought you a basketball. You found love for the basketball game. You imitated both of us while we practiced at home. You see your love for both of us allowed you to learn both our passions. You were so smart that you mastered baking and basketball. God doesn’t give us just one gift. He gives us multiple gifts. I’m proud of you.”

Bella wiped her tears with her gown and began to laugh. She was happy to have her mother there. Just like that, she’d made her somber mood go away. Seeing her use her gown to wipe her face, her mom spotted a sign for supplies and went to grab some towels, then used one to run a washcloth under the hot water. She gently wiped her daughter’s face. She pulled a hairbrush from her purse to gently brush her daughter’s hair.

As she brushed Bella’s hair, there was a knock at the door. “It’s me, Dr. Frasier. I have some good and bad news to share with you.” He announced as he pulled the stool closer to Bella’s bedside. The room was filled with silence as everyone leaned in to hear the doctor. “Before we talk, I want to ask would you like me to share your medical update with everyone here or would you prefer to speak privately?” The room stilled for a moment. Her gaze shifted from the doctor to her visitors, then back again.

---