Heart To Heal

XIV.

India made her way out of the gas station. She paused for a second, trying to close her wallet that kept flapping open due to the strap on it being broken. As she did this, the black Mazda that Zealand had his eye on sped towards her. The back window rolled down, and a long arm stretched out of it with a pistol in hand. Three bullets went flying, one hitting India in her chest, the second hitting her in her neck, and the third hitting her in her pelvis.

Zealand watched as his mother fell to the ground, blood beginning to form a pool underneath her. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion. His eyes were wide and so was his mouth, but no words came out. Zealand felt like all of the air in his lungs had been ripped away from him.

He grabbed a bandana that his mother kept in the car to lay her edges down when she was running late for work, and tied it around Harmony's eyes. He didn't want her seeing their mother in the state she was in, he knew that she'd be traumatized. Blood and bullet holes was nothing a three year old should be exposed to.

"Hey!" She shouted. Zealand shushed her. "Let's play a game, okay?" He told her in a shaky voice. "Remember mommy and daddy taught you how to count to a hundred?"

"Yeah?" Harmony said in confusion. "I need you to count to a hundred, slowly. Okay?" Zealand instructed.

"Okay. One..two.." As she began to count, Zealand hopped out of the car and dashed over to where his mother laid.

"Ma!" He screeched, watching her cough up blood. Zealand hit the ground and placed India's head in his lap. "Momma, please say something!" He yelled in between sobs. "Call somebody!" He told the crowd of people who stood and watched. A woman dug in her purse quickly and pulled out her phone. She dialed 911 and placed the phone to her ear.

She looked up at him as the life slowly drained out of her. "I love you. Take care..of..Harmony." India whispered as her eyes closed.

"Ma stop! Don't go! I need you!" Zealand cried, gripping the shirt that she was wearing.

"Momma!" He screamed to the top of his lungs. It was too late, there was nothing that nobody could do. India was gone.

A loud gasp left Zealand's mouth as he sat up in his bed swiftly. His chest rose and fell as he breathed heavily. Sweat coated his forehead and dripped down his face. His eyes darted around the room, then landed on the digital alarm clock that was on the nightstand next to him. It was 4:27 in the morning.

He placed his head in his hands, trying to get his thoughts together. It had been years since he had experienced a dream like that.

He heard his door creak open. Harmony appeared, holding her same stuffed rabbit that she always slept with. "You okay, Zee? I heard you yell." She questioned, voice full of concern.

"I yelled?" He asked in a whisper. Harmony nodded,
"Yeah, it sounded like you were having a nightmare or something."

Zealand sighed. "I wouldn't call it a nightmare, but it was definitely a bad dream." He mumbled. "Sorry if I woke you up."

"It's okay. Want me to stay in here?" Harmony asked.

He shook his head. "Nah, lil' mama. I'll be alright. You can go back to bed."

"Okay." She nodded. "Love you, Zee."

"I love you more." He told her as she exited his room.

Once Harmony had left and was back in her own room, Zealand got out of bed. He went over to his dresser, grabbing an orange pill bottle. Unscrewing the cap, he shook out two white pills into his hand. He tossed them in his mouth, then grabbed a half empty bottle of water to wash them down.

Since the age of fifteen, Zee had been on severe anxiety medication. Eddie would often tell him he didn't need it and it was a waste, but little did he know that those pills were the only things keeping his son sane.

Zealand shuffled his feet towards his window. He undid the latches, then raised the window up. He let the cool breeze tickle his face, making him feel a sense of comfort. He watched the stars twinkle, and began to count how many that he could see.

"I know one of those stars is you, momma." He said out loud. The biggest and most visible star blinked, making Zealand chuckle.

"See? I knew it. You not slick." He said with a small smile.

"I miss you, Indie Boogie." Zealand mumbled, calling her by the nickname Eddie gave her twenty something years ago. He put the window back down, and put the latches back in place.

As Zee made his way back to his bed, the star blinked once again.

TBC...
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Thoughts?
Excuse any mistakes.