“Seemingly, the stress was what caused her to black out. Thankfully, nothing serious occurred . . . that we can tell. Y’all can go in and see her before we transfer her to Beaumont for further testing. She’s asking for Mythic and Daddy first. Seven, I think you should join them,” Bali said.
She glanced at my brother and gave him a tight smile, then turned and walked away. Hopefully, that was a sign that they would work things out. I followed her down the hall to where Maui was, but I realized they’d moved her when she didn’t stop at the room I knew she was situated in. She opened the door, and I could see Maui’s tears from where I stood. Mr. Storm ran inside and went to her, kissing her head. He grabbed her hand as I stared at her from the door with my hand in my pocket.
When her eyes met mine, they couldn’t seem to leave them. Mr. Storm noticed, so he glanced over at me and asked, “What happened?”
I took a deep breath. “I needed to see her. I found out about her doctor’s appointment and planned to show up. I knew she would probably be having an ultrasound and wanted to get a peek at my baby. Before we left Liberty, I got an uneasy feeling, so I grabbed my heat. Epic and I got here around the same time as they did. When I got out of the truck, I saw Adrian with a gun trained on them. I didn’t waste any time trying to wait for someone else to do it. I shot him. Unfortunately, the fear of it all caused Maui to go into premature labor.”
I walked over to her and asked, “How are you feeling?”
I gently rubbed her head, then kissed it. She didn’t respond to me verbally. She looked away for a second, then lowered her head. It seemed she couldn’t get words to leave her. Mr. Storm said, “Mythic, we’ll talk later. I’ll give y’all time.”
My eyebrows lifted slightly as he and Seven walked out of the room. I turned back to Maui as she stared at me. Finally, she got out, “I’m sorry.”
I frowned. “Sorry for what? I’m the one that’s sorry. I’ve been one fuck up after the next. My shit ultimately caused us to lose our baby. Had I not fucked with your brother, he wouldn’t have tried to get back at me. Then Adrian wouldn’t have had a reason to try to get at him. All of this is my fuck up. I’m so sorry, baby. Damn.”
I could hear the tremble in my voice. This shit was new to me. Knowing our baby girl didn’t make it only made me want to cling to Caleb more. However, now that our child was gone, Maui really didn’t have a reason to cling to me. The only thing that was joining us was now gone. I grabbed her hand and kissed it softly.
“I’m gonna go so your parents can come in. I love you, Maui. I always will. Don’t ever forget that shit.”
I leaned over and kissed her lips, then left the room. When I got to the hallway, Mr. Storm nodded at me then went to her room. Once I got to the waiting area, I nodded at Epic and kept walking toward the exit. Before I could get to his truck, my entire family had caught up with me. “Mythic, where are you going?” my mama asked.
“Home. Maui has no reason to want me now. Our baby is gone.”
“Did she say that?” Carter asked.
I shook my head. “No, but surely they aren’t going to allow her to be with me now that the baby is gone.”
They all stood there watching me hop in Epic’s truck and just sit there. I wasn’t sure where I would go from here if Maui didn’tsay otherwise. While I knew all the things Ashanni had said, I couldn’t feel it today from her. I knew it was because we were both hurting. Hopefully, she would reach out and put me out of my misery.
FIFTEEN
MAUI
When I woke up,I was so confused. I remembered gun shots, and I remembered seeing Mythic, but that was it. One thing they didn’t have to tell me was that I lost my baby. I could feel the void the moment my eyes opened. The memories of me laboring entered my mind. It was like I could feel my heart sinking from its rightful place all over again. I looked over to my right and saw Ashanni, Milana, and my mama. My mama was in the chair, and my girls were on the little couch.
I turned my head to them, and they all stood, surrounding my bed. As I surveyed the room, I realized I was no longer in Nome. My eyes felt extremely heavy. “Where am I?”
“You’re at Saint Elizabeth Hospital, baby. How are you feeling physically?” my mama asked.
“I’m okay. Where’s everyone else?”
“They went home so you can rest,” Shani said.
I glanced toward the window to see that it was dark outside. “Where’s Mythic?” I asked.
They all looked at each other, then Milana said, “He went home.”
“Why?”
“I think he thinks that now that the two of you have lost the baby, you would no longer want him.”
I closed my eyes. “Please call him.”
Milana smiled slightly, then she pulled her phone from her pocket. I stared at her as her phone rang. Just when it seemed she was about to end the call, her eyes brightened. “Hey, Mythic. It’s Lana . . . No. She wants to talk to you,” she said as she glanced at me with my arm outstretched.
She gave the phone to me, and I said, “Hey, Mythic.”
“Hey, lil mama. How you feeling?”