Page 15 of Only You

My heart nearly stopped beating. I also noticed that she had cut her locs, leaving her hair close-cut and shaven. I couldn’t move.

“Dr. Washington, you ok?” The anesthesiologist asked. I snapped out of my trance and stood over top of Tayla’s body, assessing the damage.

Who in the fuck shot her?

I didn’t have time to think about it. I threw all my knowledge and skill into saving her life. I was thirty minutes into the first of Tayla’s wounds. I’d repaired all the damage the bullet had done when it ripped through her. As I carefully sutured the closure, the monitors went into a frenzy. Tayla’s blood pressure dropped rapidly. Her heart finally stopped, and I was pushed to the side by the barrage of surgical assistants that immediately went into action. My stomach dropped as they strapped the defibrillator to her chest and started the charge-up process before yelling out.

“Clear!” I stood by with my hands in the air, making sure not to touch anything so I could go as soon as they got her back. I took my eyes off the scene before me, looked at my hands coveredin Tay’s blood, and began to panic. Sweat was starting to soak through my protective gear.

“Get her the fuck back,” I yelled letting my emotions get the best of me while my heart was slipping away from me on the table.

“Clear!” I closed my eyes and focused on the sounds. If she was about to leave me, I didn’t want to see it.

Come on, Tay. Baby, you gotta pull through for me!

A singular beep could be heard before it progressed into a steady sound. Relief washed over me as I exhaled the breath I was holding. She wasn’t out of the clear yet. So I immediately got back to work, moving faster this time so that she could receive blood.

After I’d been in the operating room for hours, saving the life of my best friend. I needed some air. I walked back through the corridors until I arrived at the patient lobby. Stephon met me. He was holding a car seat with an infant boy who couldn't have been more than a few months old.

“Damn, Steph, you and JoJo snuck another one in there?” I spoke. I was grasping for any sign of humor that I could find after being scared shitless that Tayla's life would slip away on that operating table. His face held a look of discomfort before he looked around the lobby, then nodded, motioning for me to follow him outside.

“Let’s step out,” he said. I followed his gaze and saw that there were too many eyes and ears in the vicinity, and he’d rather not have them in our business, whatever that was. I followed him to his Ford Raptor. When he opened the back door, I saw Devin sitting in the seat beside the base to which Steph was connecting the child’s seat. After he’d secured it, I walked around and climbed into the passenger seat. Once the door was closed, I closed my eyes and let the dam break. I couldn’t control the tears as they fell before I let out a lone wail that faded into silence.

“I thought I almost lost her, Steph. I almost lost her man. I can’t lose anybody else. I can’t man,” I said with my voice unrecognizable to the grief and fear that consumed me. Steph leaned over and wrapped me in his arms as I let out all I had. I could also feel a hand on my shoulder.

“We got you, Brice. It’s family over everything!” It was Devin. I sniffed and swiped my hands down my face, wiping away the results of my breakdown. I hadn’t cried like that since my father died. Unlike then, I had my brothers here with me.

“What’s the deal, D?” I said, reaching in the back to dap him up. The tension in the car was thick. I was uneasy because I couldn’t take any more bad news tonight.

“What’s going on, Steph?”

“First, how is Tayla?” he asked. My eyes pierced his in anger, but he was unaffected by my mood shift.

“She’s good, man. Why wouldn’t she be? She had the best fucking surgeon money can buy,” I bluntly stated. The back of his hand touched my chest across the console, signaling me tocalm down. Stephon had a calming spirit. He’d just used it on me moments ago, but I wasn’t sure if I would let it work this time. I looked down at his hand and took a deep breath. When I stared into the rearview at Devin, it suddenly dawned on me that he knew she was my Tay when he asked the other day, which riled me right back up. He started to speak before I could ask.

“My mother hired her months ago to be the center's director.”

“So let me get this right. For months you’ve been around me with this knowledge and didn’t say shit?”

“Well, why would I? Y’all don’t talk anymore, right?” He asked.

“It’s fucking complicated,” I said, letting out another sigh.

“Uncomplicate the shit for me then. That’s why I didn’t tell you that I knew before; if you didn’t want to talk about the shit then I wasn’t either. Also, I’m supposed to be running a safe childcare center, and I can’t have word getting out that the fucking director has been shot. Now I have to make up some shit to tell the staff and try to keep this shit out of the fucking news,” Devin rushed out calmly. Then he continued.

“Brice, when Tayla moved from Cali. I immediately remembered her as being connected to you. You two were always together. I knew something was up because you hadn’t spoken about her since you moved here. She passed the background check and I didn’t find shit. My mother is very discerning.She told me that Tayla wasn’t running from something but to it and to give her the benefit of the doubt. Unlike the two of you, I trust my fucking family! So talk, Brice,” he said.

“You do know that you don’t run shit anymore, right D?” Stephon stated.

“So talk, now, Brice,” he followed. They both laughed, but I didn’t find a damn thing funny.

“Fuck the both of you,” I huffed out.

“What happened to all that shit you were talking about? How you were going to get on my last fucking nerve. It goes both ways nigga!” Steph said.

“Tsk. JoJo and Steph here showed up like the wild fucking West, claiming Tayla had a part in my father’s death. Then proceeded to shoot up my shit before I could get any answers.” My anger had reached its peak. Brice was no longer present.

“Enough of this shit! All I want to know is who the fuck shot her and whose baby is that?” I boomed into the car. The deep resonance of my voice startled the baby, causing him to cry out. Devin leaned over and took the baby from the seat, cradling him. He immediately stopped crying. I took another deep breath, but it was too late to calm down. I blew out the breath I had inhaled, hoping the anger would leave my body. Silence once again filled the truck. Stephon took a phone out of his pocket and played a recording.

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