Being Armani

Chapter 24 - Marcell

I stood up and looked around me. Everywhere was covered in flames.

I was confused, I hadn't fully processed what had just happened. I looked around me, all I heard was sirens and people shouting.

There were First Responders everywhere, I almost threw up as I watched one of them pick up a leg...just a leg.

I looked around frantically, I watched as they wheeled away someone on a gurney. I'm not sure who it was, they were completely unrecognizable. The oxygen mask covered their face. They were completely covered in blood. They a blood soaked blanket on them, I had now idea who it was.

People carried body bags. I started to panic, where was my wife?!

"ARMANI?!" I yelled. "ARMANIIIII!?" I screamed. "Sir, you need to calm down!" someone said from behind me, I turned around, there was a short woman standing in front of me. "Where is my wife?!" I asked her. "I'm not sure, we haven't recovered all the bodies yet."

"She can't be dead!" I start to tear up. "Sir, you need to be put in an ambulance, you need medical attention," she said. "I NEED MY WIFE!" I yell, my head was pounding. "Sir, calm down, your head is bleeding, you need medical attention!"

"I'm fine!" I barked. I turned around, I saw Chanel looking around frantically. "Chanel!" I say.

She looks right at me. "Dad? Dad!"

She runs to me and I embrace her, "I'm so glad you're okay!"

She let's go and looks at me with tears in her eyes, "Where's mom?" she asks me. I shook my head, "I'm not sure, nobody's tellin' me anything." I look at her hand, "You're bleeding..."

"Kenya is dead dad..." I look at her, "What?!"

She starts to cry, "I landed in the bushes, she landed on the concrete, I picked her up, I was looking for mom, I tried to wake her up, but I noticed the back of her head was bleeding, she wasn't breathing...I tried to wake her up...but...I couldn't..." she starts to sob. I gave her another hug, I started to cry as well. We could be the only ones who survived this.

I started to feel pounding in my head, I stood up, "Ugh, my head feels like shit right now..."

"Are you okay?" Chanel asked me. I nodded my head carefully, "Yeah...I'm fine," I held my head, I felt a warm liquid as I touched my forehead. J looked at my hand, it was covered in blood.

"You're not okay!" Chanel said.

I was getting light headed. I fell over my head bouncing on the wet grass. Someone had turned on the sprinklers early today. "DAD!" Chanel voice was starting to become muffled.

"HELP! SOMEONE HELP!" she was shaking me lightly. From then on everything was inaudible. I closed my eyes and opened them, I ways being lifted off the ground. I closed my eyes and opened them again, I had an oxygen mask on my face. I closed my eyes and opened them again, I was inside the ambulance. I closed my eyes...this time, I didn't open them.

:

"He's waking up!" I hear someone say.

I hear the beeping of a heart rate monitor.

I didn't know where I was, I slowly opened my eyes, I was staring up at a bright light.

I looked around with my eyes, "What's going on?"

"You're in the hospital, sir," someone says. I turn, there was a female in a nurse gown washing her hands at the sink. Why the hell am I in the hospital?!, I ask myself.

"Why?" I ask the woman.

"Because, a piece of glass cut a gash on your forehead," she takes a paper towel and dries her hand.

"Did I fall or something?"

"No..."

I sit up, looking around the room, "Where's the rest of my family?"

She frowns, "Um, relax, okay," she says. I raise an eyebrow, "What's wrong?"

She just looks at me and sighs, "Well someone bombed your house...eight of your family members are dead, eight of them are fighting for their lives..."

Then it all comes back to me...

"Eight? Dead?" I choke. "I'm so sorry," she puts a hand on my shoulder.

I shake my head, tears come streaming down my face, "You don't need to be, it wasn't your fault," I swear if that nigga Chris were still alive, I would blow his brains out with a fuckin' strap. It would've been over!

I stand up, "I need to check on my wife!" The nurse rushes towards me, "Sir, you must rest for your injuries to heal!" I shake my head and sit back down.

"Marcell? Oh my god, you're alive!" My mom ran to my hospital bed, she gently gives me a hug. "I came her as fast as I could, the doctors called me saying you and your family had a deadly accident involving a bomb and I rushed here as fast as I could, took the first flight here," she said.

"Mom, I need you to check on Armani, I need you to check if she's alive, please!" I begged her. "Oh my god, Armani was there too! But, her baby!" My mom runs out of the room.

I lay back on the bed, "When can I be discharged?" I ask the nurse.

"In 2-3 hours, when the doctor comes back with the results," she says pulling out a needle from a tray.

"Results for what?" I say looking up at the ceiling.

"Well, the doctor needs to check if there was any damage to your skull and if you have any damage to you brain," she inserts the needle into my wrist and pushes down, injecting a clear liquid into my blood stream. She gently rubs the area, "I just injected so morphine to help with any pains you might have, you might feel a little sleepy though."

I hear footsteps, "Dad?" I look towards the doorway and see India with tears in her eyes. "India?" she has a small bandage slightly above her eyebrow.

"Dad!" she runs to my side and gives me a hug, she starts to cry in my arms. "Dad, Christina died! She's dead!" She sobbed.

"What? How?! She was inside!" I say. "I know, but..." she choked, "I guess she was trying to help out mom, I found her on the kitchen floor, blood surrounded her..."

India shakes her head, "I can't believe this..."

"Who else is still alive?" I ask her. "Well, Hakeem, Asia, Makiya, Jayden, Tamia, and DeAndre..." she sniffs, "...my brother is dead..."

I frown and start to tear up, "Travon?" My voice breaks, if I lost one of my siblings, I would go crazy...

"Yup..." she cries. "He's dead...long gone...I can't believe this, I miss him so much..." she begins to sob once again.

I looked at the nurse, her eyes had become glossy.

I sighed, "Where's Hakeem, Asia, Jayden, Tamia, Makiya, and DeAndre?"

"Hakeem, Asia, Tamia, and DeAndre are in the lobby, asleep, but Jayden and Makiya are asleep in mom's room."

My eyes widened, "Armani is okay?!" She nods her head, "Yeah, but she's been asleep for awhile and the baby is okay too!" She smiles. I was relieved, I sighed again.

"You want to stay here with me?" I asked
her.

"Yes, they lobby is freezing cold and there are no blankets there!" she whines. She sits on the couch.

"It pulls out too!" the nurse says wiping her eyes. "Oh shit!" India says, pulling to the couch, turning it into a bed. The nurse and I laugh, first time I laughed in awhile...