Too Nice

XLVI. Let It Go

William Sanders
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"William! Slow down! You're going to kill us!" Jae cried as William drove well over the speed limit. "Viktor you hairy fuck! Why would you let him drive!?"

It sounded like a good idea at first. Viktor didn't know which hospital the woman was located and William was too shaken to answer any questions. So instead of wasting time trying to get coordinates out of the panicking man, Viktor gave him the keys instead... Yeaaah, it wasn't sounding so smart now.

"We're almost there!" William shouted as he quickly hopped into another lane. "The hospital is right there!"

"Can you at least make sure we get there alive?"

Their cries fell upon deaf ears as William continued his erratic driving into the parking lot of the U of M Hospital. When the car finally came to a halt, William took off into the tall building leaving both Viktor and a carsick Jae behind.

"I would like to pass the bad driving stereotype to-" Jae paused to hold back a wave of vomit. "-the White people. Nothing can top that."

"Shut up and walk."

By the time the other two men finally made it into the hospital, William was already seated in one of the waiting rooms. Viktor gave the nervous white man a strange look.

"Do you know her room number?"

"Yes."

"...Why are you sitting here then?"

His shoulders slumped. "It's family only."

"Oh."

"Her mom is coming down here. I'll see her in a bit. She's giving her a sponge bath so it might take her a while to-"

"No. We're done," A woman's voice came from behind them. They turned around to see an older black woman looking back at them. Spots of her pink breast cancer awareness shirt were damp with what they assumed to be water. Her hair was tied up in a neat professional bun, but a few stubborn strands escaped their hold. Not to mention that she looked completely exhausted.

"O-Officer Daniels!"

She kissed her teeth and rolled her eyes at William. "Boy, stop it. I'm not even in uniform, and I told you to call me Andrea."

"Y-Yes Ma'am."

She refrained from shaking her head and instead studied the two men that stood beside William. One wore a muscle shirt that showed every detail of his body. She looked up at his face, studying features. He was definitely of Asian descent. His skin was flawless and his eyes sharp. Although he did have a bit of a green tinge to him, she thought he was handsome. Andrea didn't question it and diverted her eyes to the other man. He was muscular and tall, but his face contained way too much hair. However, he was definitely a guy that Amari would prefer. Beard and all. Out of the three men, Amari would have definitely picked the tall hairy one. "Who are they?"

"I'm Jae and-"

"My friends," William interrupted. Officer Daniels already looked irritated and knew one slip up would have all three of the men at the end of a gun. It was not a good idea to let Jae talk. "I-I hope you don't mind. They happened to be with me when you called and-"

"I don't mind. Just know that her brother is up there and he's not very friendly. He'll be a little rude but he's like that to all strangers. Don't take it personally. C'mon," Without another word, Andrea turned on her heel stalked through the double doors. The three men trailed behind her, unaware of the events that were about to unfold.
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Jermaine sat in the chair next to Amari's bed, his head bowed in prayer. He grabbed her encased hand and pressed kisses on her exposed fingers.

"Hey, MarMar," He smiled when she stirred slightly. She'd been doing that more often. Maybe she could hear him. She was probably trying to get away from his pathetic ass. Jermaine sank lower in his chair as every wrongful thing he did to his little sister appeared in his mind. Every bruise, broken bone and heartache plagued him. He wanted to shake her awake and beg for her forgiveness.

"You're looking a lot better," He spoke. "You're not so sweaty anymore."

Jesus, what was wrong with him? He was practically talking to himself and this bitch didn't deserve any of his sympathies! She ruined their entire family! It was just supposed to be him, Ida and Isaiah, but of course, she had to come along. Jermaine believed every word his father preached.

She don't love you!

She's just tryin' to break up our family!

She ain't one of us!

She don't give a fuck about you, Jermaine!

It's all a game! Don't fall for it.

Jermaine stood up, roughly tossing her arm back onto her stomach. He looked down at her in disgust, fighting the urge to spit on her unconscious body. He wasn't as gullible as Mamu and Papu. He knew all about her tactics.

This wouldn't work. He was too smart for her bullshit. Jermaine continued to stand over her, contemplating his next move. He looked at the tube in her mouth and an evil glint appeared in his eye. He slowly wrapped his fingers around the blue plastic, ready to finish what his father started.

But he couldn't.

Small drops rolled down the dark skin of his face, his beard catching every drop. His vision blurred as if his eyes had become foggy.  His chest becoming tight, air barely passing through his lungs. And then the sobs came. He removed his hand from the tube and quickly buried his face into the crook of his little sisters' neck. He cried for his ignorance. For his blindness. For his foolishness. For every bit of pain, he put her in.

He cried, for his baby sister.
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"I want to go back! Please, Mamu! Help me! I need to wake up!"

"Shoutin' at me won't do you any good, baby," Mamu explained. "I have no control over what's going on. You have to choose what happens."

Amari sat in between her grandparents with her face in her hands. When tears threatened to fall down her face, she couldn't figure out what was the cause. Frustration? She had thought of all the important reasons why she needed to wake up but was still in this heaven/dreamlike state. Maybe it was sadness? The thought of never seeing Aisha again cut her deep. Leaving the teen at this point in her life left an awful pit in Amari's stomach.

"Amari, calm down. You breathin' all funny," Papu said as he slung an arm over her shoulder and pulled her to him. "We don't need you faintin'. You know my reflexes are shit. I can't catch you."

Amari chuckled at her grandad. Papu was always so full of life. He did everything to make sure people were happy.

"I need you to let it go, big head," Mamu said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"The way that our family has treated you. I need you to let it go. Forgive them. I think that's part of the reason for you havin' a hard time wakin' up."

Amari couldn't believe her ears. Years of both physical and verbal abuse and Mamu just wanted her to let it go? No. She would take that shit to her grave if she had too. The only person she was willing to forgive was Isaiah because of how he was bullied into hating her. Everyone else could go fuck themselves. Amari wouldn't dare give them the satisfaction of reducing her back to her "Loving" self. She knew why the entire family wanted to be friends now. They couldn't function without her help. If staying here with her grandparents meant never being their victim again, then she would gladly never wake up.