Page 29 of E'Levyn Days
I laughed under my breath. "Don't say no shit like that when we get upstairs."
"Why the fuck not?" Kev grinned. "That nigga would say it to me."
"He definitely would," I admitted with a simple head nod.
The three of us stepped through the revolving doors, and that blast of cold air hit us as people moved in every direction. We made our way toward the elevators, and that's when somebody caught my eye. A nurse I’d never seen before crossed the hallway a few feet in front of us with a tablet tucked against her side. She was a pretty little, brown-skinned thing too with a long ponytail swinging against the middle of her back every time she walked. She wasn't rushing, but she wasn't wasting no time either. Another nurse said something to her in passing, and she smiled before answering without ever breaking stride.
"Damn..." Kev mumbled beside me, low enough that only me and Mike heard him. "Jackson hiring different these days."
Mike laughed. "I know exactly which one you looking at."
"I wasn't hiding it."
Neither was I, and I ain't gone lie... she was fine without even begging for attention. She looked like the type that stayed busy and kept it moving, barely noticing three dudes walking the opposite direction.
I smirked to myself. "Y'all cut that shit out," I said, pressing the elevator button. "We ain't here for that."
Mike bumped my shoulder with his. "Says the one that looked first."
I shot him a look. "Yeah, I looked."
Kev laughed. "Exactly."
The elevator doors slid open before either one of them could keep talking, and we stepped inside. My mind left that hallway just as fast as we'd walked through it because right now, the only person I came to see was Marv.
The elevator dinged before the doors slid open onto the ICU floor. Soon as we stepped out, the atmosphere changed. Downstairs was loud with organized chaos but up here, everything felt slower and quieter. The only sounds were the monitors beeping behind the closed doors, nurses talking in low voices, and the occasional squeak of rubber soles against the freshly waxed floors. It was the kind of silence that made people whisper even when they didn't have to, they just didn’t want to be a disturbance.
I nodded at the receptionist behind the desk as we walked past. By the third day, damn near everybody on this floor recognized us. Between me, Kev and Mike coming up there every day and the rest of my family rotating in and out, we'd practically become part of the staff. Every single time I came, the females stared like they wanted to eat my dick off a bone, but I was never hear for all of that.
"Afternoon, Mr. Laurent," one of the older nurses greeted me with a smile.
I smiled back. "How he doing today?"
"A whole lot better than yesterday."
"I'll take that."
She nodded toward the hallway. "He's been asking about ya’ll all morning."
I chuckled to myself. "That's probably because he’s tired of looking at these four walls already. This shit is like a luxury prison."
"He definitely is." She laughed before looking over at Kev. "Just don't let him get too worked up. He's still got a long way to go."
Kev placed his hand over his chest like he was offended. "Me?" he asked. "I'm the calm one."
The nurse looked over at me. "He’s lying?"
I didn't even hesitate. "Bad."
She laughed and shook her head before getting back to the computer in front of her. We continued down the hallway, passing room after room until I spotted Marv's number on the wall. My hand stopped on the door handle for a second before I pushed it open. Soon as I stepped inside, I could see most of the tubes were gone. The oxygen cannula still rested beneath his nose, and the monitors continued doing what monitors do, but he looked more like himself. He was still beat up as hell, with his shoulder wrapped up, and bruises scattered across his face and neck, with busted lips but he was alive and that alone was enough for me.
Marv turned his head toward the door, and the corners of his mouth formed into the weakest grin I'd ever seen him make. "Damn..." he rasped. "Look who finally decided to come see me."
I leaned against the foot of his bed and looked him up and down before shaking my head. "You ugly as fuck."
He laughed and immediately grabbed the side of his ribs. "Agh... damn."
"Told your dumb ass not to laugh," Kev said, dragging a chair over beside the bed.
