Page 99 of Faded Rhythm

AJ glances over at me. “You don’t have to say it, J. I know.”

I nod.

“And what I need you to know is I’m ten toes down behind you. No matter how dire the situation. No matter if it looks like all is lost. I’m with you til I can’t be no more. And this little dead-inside act you got goin’ on right now doesn’t faze me.”

I swallow the lump in my throat. “If you hadn’t been there—“

“That’s the point, man. I was. Iam.”

I nod. “You’re the only family I have.”

He’s silent as a smile pulls at the corners of his mouth.

“You wanna giggle and kick your feet hearing that, huh?” I tease.

“Nah. I’m just…I lowkey feel like that ain’t accurate for you anymore.”

“How you figure?”

He twists his lips. “Come on, J.”

“I met her not even a month ago.”

“Does shefeellike a woman you just met a month ago? Do her daughters? You running around here on some terminator shit because, what? You bein’ nice? Nah.” He chuckles. “You can’t bullshit me.”

I clear my throat. “Phase two.”

He shakes his head. “When you’re ready to talk about it—“

“Ain’t shit to talk about but the next phase.”

“What do you need me to do?”

“Just watch the house for now.”

“I got you.”

A few minutes later, the hospital comes into view. The parking lot is half-full, but AJ doesn’t park. He drops me at the curb.

“You sure you wanna go in there?” he asks.

“I have to.”

He nods once. I open the door and step out. I hear the truck idling behind me. It finally pulls off when the sliding glass doors open for me.

The scent of antiseptic hits me. So do the memories. Almost six weeks in a place like this, only I was alone. I stride toward the gleaming elevators at the end of the hall. I ride up in silence, watching the numbers tick toward floor 11.

The first face I see when the doors open is Ebony’s.

She stands from her seat, eyes red and puffy.

“You need to leave,” she says before I can speak.

I ignore the order. “How is she?”

Ebony looks at me like she wants me dead. “She’s in a coma.”

The words drop like stones. I nod, swallowing the lump in my throat.

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