Old Friends 4 Sale (BOOK 2) || PRN

Twelve | Sign O' The Times

"Room 219 on the seventh floor is where you will find him. Currently, he's in emergency surgery but you can wait as long as you like," she finally explains.

"Thanks," I mumble, rushing off as I fail to notice the delay in Alexis' movements. She darkly scowls at the receptionist for an extra second, mumbling curses in a state of disgust. They aren't made clear to me until we enter an elevator.

"Dumb bitch–"

"Alexis, let if go." Aaliyah huffs and puffs, wiping the last of her tears. She's grumpy, lowering her patience for Alexis' attitude, but she is scared most of all. It's the fear of the unknown that is driving her insane. Surely, I can understand. As long as they don't say Eddie is dying, I can hang on long enough to check on my father. Aaliyah has to be thinking something similar.

When we get to the room, I see my mother and Uncle Dorian anxiously waiting for Eddie's return. "Nelly saw Daddy back there. Please don't tell me anything bad happened to him," Aaliyah frantically pleads upon entry.

My mind rushes, running a full marathon of circles around my cranium. Listening the room's conversations becomes too much for me. I try to escape. I try to run away to a dream within the clouds as I gaze out the window, into the open parking lot down on the grown. I zone out after learning the core details of today's tragedy.

According to what my mother says, Eddie was at my cousin Junior's house, curtesy of a trip suggested by my cousin Junior as he saw Eddie at my grandmother's South Side home. Eddie goes to that part of the city very rarely but he is always in good hands there. Junior lives closer to the edge of the city. Something went wrong with a crack deal on a nearby corner. They say there was a fight and, somehow, the man identified as the crackhead got the gun. To make matters worse, he couldn't use it quite right. Eddie was one of the first people to be shot with a bullet that didn't have his name on it. When my father found out, he was at Tina's house dropping off my little brother, Johnny. He rushed out of his car so fast that he doesn't notice a taxi speeding down the street and got smacked from behind.

What a life.

When a nurse comes in to tell us that Eddie is on his way out and, for the first six hours after his surgery, the room's maximum visitor count is three people, I am the first person to exit with my bodyguards behind me. I'm going to go call Prince with the hopes that he isn't busy. Right now, I just want to hear his voice and know he's there for him, the same way I'd call Alexis if she weren't here. A core piece of my support system is missing right now and while I know it's nobody's fault, I still don't like it. I only want to talk, tell him what's happening, hear him tell me God won't let me down.

I can still feel my legs guiding me without the permission of my mind as I am dragged out of the room and to the hallway on a path to finding a payphone. A single phone resides at the end of a long, long deserted hallway. I insert my dime and dial up Prince's hotel's phone, recalling the message he left on my phone this early morning as he stated he was in Dortmund and wanted me to call him when I got the chance. I thought it was ironic that he left that message on my Chicago phone when I was supposed to be in LA. Now I only see it was a fate.

All I can think while standing here is, 'Please pick up. Please pick up!' I don't know the time difference between us but I do know my 3:17 PM has to be nightly hours for him.

"Hello," The familiar voice of a woman I know answers the phone once I am transferred to Prince's room through the front desk.

Oh, hell no.

"Hey," I greet Sheila, trying to force a smile. I know he isn't okay with her answering his phone. He's running too much of a sex circus for that to be a privilege but if she wants to risk it all, that is her business. "It's Lyric. Is Prince around right now?"