Page 67 of Quasim III: King Inferno

We embraced, never letting each other go because I wasn’t ready to do that yet. The seconds before he came into the room had been the worst few seconds of my life. Imagining a world without my brother wasn’t something I was ready to do.

“This is what you did. You may have not experienced it yourself, but you have always stressed to these two how important their relationship is. Before their wives, before their parents… their relationship is the most important, and you’ve done that.” Gams leaned her head on my father’s arm as he hugged her.

“I hear you, Gams.”

“Jesus,” Me and Blaze turned to look at Blair, who had tears streaming down her face as she looked at us.

“Come on, Michael,” Blaze chuckled, and she ran around the bed to hug him.

“Meer, there isn’t a world that I would want to be in that didn’t have you… you’re my best friend… and my person,” she continued to sob.

“As I lay in this bed with staples in my chest.”

She snorted as she wiped her face. “I’m sorry, baby…I honestly need you all. You guys and the Delgatos have welcomed me when I had no one. Even before I married Quasim, you have all been there for me.”

“B, you been my daughter before this knucklehead could make up his mind on what the fuck he wanted.” My father laughed.

It took all my strength, but I pushed up my middle finger and leaned my head back. “Alright, this is too much. He needs to get some rest and not use all his energy up before travel.”

“Travel?” Me and Blair both said.

My father sat on the couch near the window, and my mother remained at the foot of the bed. “Barbados, Pop… you have to go.”

“Ma, I’m not leaving… niggas not running me out my city.”

“Not up for discussion… and I need my bread, too. Tried to die and shit, but I need my munyun.” Cappadonna came through the door and smiled, coming over toward me and taking my face in his hands, kissing my head.

I couldn’t even fight to get out his grip because it would take too much strength that I didn’t have. “Capp, get the fuck off me.”

He kissed my head again and then looked me in the eye. “Nah… I knew you wasn’t going nowhere… nigga was just being lazy. Been running shit so long he needed a break,” He hugged me this time.

“Fuck you… I’m really in pain.”

“Leave him be, Roy.” Alaia came into the room with bags in her hand. “I made sour dough bread, and lots of soup. I also made some steak because someone mentioned craving steak.”

“Is it bleeding, though? I want a nice, rare piece of steak.” Blair gasped.

Cappadonna moved away from the bed. “The fuck she cooking in there… a vampire?”

“Girl, no… you are pregnant and can’t have that kind of steak. I checked with my doctor to be sure, and she nearly screamed at me.”

She folded her arms, looking cute as shit. I loved whenever she pouted, and the fact that she was doing it over food made me ten times happier. “Like your moms was saying… you getting out the country. I put the word out that you passed, so they think you’re gone.”

I moved so fast that I knocked over Blaze’s crutch, as I tried to remove the damn IV from my arm and get the fuck out this bed. “Fuck that shit… he not getting the satisfaction of thinking he took me out.”

“Fuck all of that shit, Sim… this shit about your health and Blair. She’s carrying your seed and the stress she has been under hasn’t been goo?—”

“I promise I am alright… I don’t want you to think I’m compl?—”

“B, this is your family. Complain… make it a problem. We’re here to solve the problem. Especially when my grandbaby has something to do with it.”

My mother came over and hugged Blair and touched her belly. “You both need to rest and heal… let us handle it.”

“Us?” I replied.

Blaze chuckled. “Mommy been out there handling shit with Pops… every king needs to know when to rest and let his people handle shit.”

“Barbados to rest and recover while enjoying this pregnancy.”

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