Page 42 of Phone On DND
“Cruz, we got a car coming up kinda fast,” Roc told him, looking nervously in the mirror, and I immediately sat up to take a look for myself. “Make that two.”
A gun materialized in Cruz’s hand, and he cocked it. “Speed up a little and see if they follow suit. Put your seat belt on, bae.”
My heart pounded as I did what he said without argument, strapping myself in tightly. I was praying that maybe it was some regular ass niggas racing like idiots or something, but the thought had barely formulated in my mind when the truck got slammed into on my side.
“Ahh!”
I fell back against the seat as Roc pressed on the gas, pulling us ahead once again. “Bae, you okay?” I nodded in response, hand on my heart, trying to keep it from pounding out of my chest. Once Cruz was sure of me being okay, he turned his attention back to the front. “Aye Roc, drive this muthafucka, man!” Spittle flew from his mouth, and he pounded on the driver’s seat.
I clutched my door as the speed gradually picked up, but we only got a small lead before we were slammed into again, this time on Cruz’s side, sending him falling against me hard enough to leave my shoulder aching. I let out another scream as tears stung my eyes and Cruz cursed. Roc sped ahead again, and that’s when bullets began penetrating the truck from what felt like all sides. I ducked, and the next thing I knew, the car was spinning before finally landing hard upside down.
“Cruz!” Seeing him literally lying beneath me all bloody and banged up had me frantically trying to unlatch my seat belt, but it was stuck. “Cruuuz!” I cried, trying to reach for him just as another truck came crashing into us, and the impact had everything going black.
Chapter 22
Keyani
Iwoke up to people talking. Their voices all sounded like we were under water, and I frowned my face up. I tried unsuccessfully to open my eyes, but my lids felt like they weighed a ton and wouldn’t budge no matter how hard I tried. Even my mouth didn’t seem to be cooperating with me. It took multiple tries to do either, but after a while, I was finally able to open my eyes, and I snapped them back shut, pained from the brightness of the room.
“There! Look, she’s up!” I was able to immediately make out Avery’s voice despite my hearing being fucked up just a second ago. Someone’s hand wrapped around mine, squeezing, and I gave them a squeeze back because I wasn’t about to try opening my eyes again. Excited chatter filled the room from the action, and I realized there were way more people in there than I originally thought.Who the hell are all these people?I couldn’t help wondering.
“Go get the doctor!” This time when Avery spoke, I forced my eyes open, and they immediately watered as I squinted against the light. “Oh my god! Hey boo! I’m right here.” She blinked rapidly, already on the verge of tears as my eyes swept the room. No wonder it sounded like so many people. Along withAvery was Maasai, Maagic, and surprisingly, Cruz’s parents. Seeing them had everything flooding back as I realized they were probably there for him.
“Crauuu-? Twaaa?” I tried to ask for him and the kids, but my voice came out in a whispered croak. They all shared a look just as the doctor came strolling in, so I didn’t get a chance to ask about it.
“It’s good to see you finally awake, Keyani.” He moved to the side of my bed with a small flashlight in hand. “I’m Dr. Rossi, and I’ve been taking care of you for the last few days.” My eyes widened and shot over to Avery in surprise. I didn’t feel like it had been that many days, but there was no reason for the doctor to lie. “You were in a pretty bad car accident and were knocked unconscious?—”
“Ma-ahem! My baby?” I cut him off, panicked, and my hands flew to my stomach. His expression warmed, and he touched my shoulder soothingly.
“Your baby’s fine. The seatbelt protected you from quite a bit of damage, and EMTs were dispatched quickly enough that I don’t believe the baby suffered any issues, but we will continue to monitor. Now can I just give you a quick once over?”
Overwhelmed, I nodded and allowed him to perform a series of simple tests while I tried to wrap my head around what I’d been told. It wasn’t lost on me that everyone was standing around looking sad and hadn’t made a mention of Cruz since I’d opened my eyes, but I was certainly going to ask once Dr. Rossi left the room.
“Where’s the kids and where is Cruz?” I barely let the door shut behind the man before I was trying to interrogate them. The doctor had cleared me to have water, and after drinking two glasses, my words were coming out much more clearly but still not at a hundred percent. Still, I knew they all understood me, but no one made a move to speak.
“The twins are with Eva, and Cruz… he’s…here but?—”
“Take me to him!” I sat up straight and instantly regretted it. A dizzy spell hit me hard enough that I fell back against my pillow, and Avery was right at my side.
“Key, be careful.” She worriedly looked me over. “You need to stay in bed and get yourself some rest. The doctor didn’t say anything about you being able to go anywhere. Let’s wait until he clears you to move around.
“No! I’ve been resting for three days according to him! I wanna make sure Cruz is okay with my own eyes because y’all are acting like something’s wrong but you won’t tell me what!” I cried, filled with frustration.
“Dear, I know you’re upset, but do you think Cruz would want you to stress yourself out worrying about him?” I was surprised when Serena stepped up, speaking to me as if the last time we saw each other it wasn’t on good terms. Now she was trying to tell me what Cruz would want in a way that ran my blood cold.
“What do you mean would want? Where is Cruz!” I started tearing at all the shit attached to me, ready to jump out of bed and run out the room. One of them must have gone to tell because while Avery and Serena attempted to restrain me, Dr. Rossi re-entered the room. He already had a syringe primed and ready when he appeared at my side, and I continued screaming as he inserted whatever was into my IV. “W-what’s that?” I didn’t even recognize my voice as I lost consciousness once again.
The next time I woke up, it was only Avery in the room, and I tried to sit up quickly, but whatever he’d injected me with hadme feeling like I was moving in slow motion. “Girl, where you think you going?” Avery was up and trying to get me to lay back down like she had an alarm on me.
“I wanna see Cruz.” My words slurred, and I felt groggy as hell, but that didn’t stop me from pushing her hands away weakly.
“Keyani! Now, I know you don’t think I’m gone let yo’ injured ass up off this bed?” She gave me the type of look that a mother would an unruly toddler. “If I gotta hold you down, that’s what I’m gone do, but I’d feel bad about doing it.”
Overcome with emotion, my eyes flooded with tears. I was frustrated, scared, and worst of all, something may have been seriously wrong with Cruz all because I wanted some damn chicken. Burying my face in my hands, I allowed everything I was feeling to take over as she pulled me into a hug. “I know baby, I know, but I promise you it will be okay.” I knew she had no way of knowing that for sure, but it still made me feel a little better.
“Please just tell me he’s okay, Avery. I-I won’t be able to—I gotta know he’s okay!” I held her tightly, unable to stop myself from getting worked up. I could barely get the words out as I my breathing picked up.
“I can’t say he’s okay, but he is alive. He got the brunt of the accident, and he was shot twice, but God must have his arms around that man. The doctors said he should have died, but he’s strong and he’s hanging on for you and those kids. Just get back to one hundred percent so that you can be there for him,” she begged, but that only made me feel worse. Cruz really was in a messed-up position, and it was all my fault!
