Page 58 of Zero
Rei hadn’t slept in a while.
The worry was written all over his face right along with his exhaustion. “You should go home and get some sleep.”
“I’m not leaving here unless it’s with you.” Rei replied.
“Rei…you aren’t responsible for this.” I told him. “I couldn’t let him—I mean, I didn’t want you getting hurt.”
“I didn’t want you to get hurt either.” Rei countered. “Don’t you think I would have rather taken that bullet than to see you lying here with tubes and wires and—”
“I’m sorry.”
Rei swallowed, his Adam’s apple rolling up then down.
“Your friends were kind enough to send you here to help us.” I continued. “I couldn’t risk the chance of you not going back home to them.”
“That’s the only reason you did it?”
I shrugged. “What other reason would there be?”
Rei smiled while nodding. “I see. Okay.” He stood and turned for the door.
“Rei?” I called. “Rei—where are you going?”
But he kept walking.
“Rei!”
Instead of stopping, he exited the room. Out in the hall, Justice shouted after Rei, but it didn’t seem as if Rei replied to him either.
Then silence.
Justice and Nitro stepped in to stare at me.
“What the hell?” Justice asked. “I don’t get it. What just happened?”
“The same thing that always happens.” Nitro tossed her hands up. “A man gets too close and she panics.”
I said nothing.
“Bailey?” Justice questioned.
“Tell him I’m wrong.” Nitro pushed. “Go ahead. I’ll wait.”
I shifted down into the bed and rolled over to the side that didn’t have a gunshot wound. “Go away.” I grumbled. “I’m tired.”
The hospital kept me for another few days because of my reoccurring headache and a few scans of my brain that didn’t come back how they expected them to. Eventually, things cleared up and they released me to my brother.
Rei didn’t come back.
Crash, Sarge, Bev, Justice, Nitro—even Barbie, Bòkò and Fabienne came to visit during my time in the hospital. Patrick, Eton and Jasmine took turns coming in to read to me as well.
When I was released, Justice dropped me home with Nitro who stuck around to keep an eye on me. Apparently, the doctor advised them that someone should be with me for a few more days.
By the time I was able to go back to the restaurant, the wound in my chest was closed over but it was still tender. Everyone handled me with kid gloves, and I was too sad to focus on that.
Sarge and Bev were running the restaurant, keeping everything humming right along. Fabienne had even chipped in and was washing the dishes since the teen who had taken care of that decided to move to Kingston with his mother.
I told Sarge to put her on the payroll—it wasn’t like I couldn’t afford it.
