𝟎. 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞
"𝐈'𝐦 𝐬𝐨 𝐠𝐥𝐚𝐝 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐉."
◈
Beeping wakes him up.
When he opens his eyes, he immediately knows he's in the hospital. He just doesn't remember how he got there. There's a mask over his face, probably helping with his breathing; he can feel an IV in his arm too.
What the fuck...?
He turns his head and a familiar head of dreads greets him. The panic rising in his chest evaporates, replaced by relief.
"Mir?"
He doesn't even twitch.
With a great load of effort, he places his hand on Zamir's head. The locs are soft underneath his touch and he wonders how long it's been since he's last touched them. Freshman year, maybe.
"Mir?"
Zamir bolts up, knocking his hand off in the process. He stares at him for two seconds, disbelieving, then lunges at him so fast he doesn't even have time to flinch. Solid, thick arms wrap around him tight and he goes stiff. This yo bro, he remembers and relaxes into the hug.
"Fuck, nigga, don't you ever scare me like that... fuck is wrong witchu..."
"Mir, what- what are you talkin' about?"
Zamir leans back, confused, "You don't remember?"
"To be real with you, I'm lost as shit,"
"Damn, you really might have amnesia," Zamir holds up two fingers, "How many fingers am I holding up—"
Kori's face goes flat, "You dumb as fuck."
Zamir laughs that windex bottle ass laugh of his. He almost smiles at the sound but manages to hold it back.
"My fault," he says, still chuckling, "But yea, doc said you might not 'member nothing cuz you hit your head. You really don't remember bro?"
"Nah,"
"Damn," Zamir runs a hand through his locs and he frowns; he knows Mir only does that when he real stressed out. "Uh, basically, you got in a car accident J,"
"..."
"..."
"You fucking wit me, right?"
"Shit nigga, I wish I was," Zamir sighs, running a hand over his face, "But nah, you was in the car with your girl heading back from Dame's party. A truck rear-ended y'all and you went into a tree."
"Shit, is Ve okay?"
"She fine nigga. She only got some scratches, you the one with the concussion and broken bones and shit."
"How bad is it?"
Zamir reaches down and trails his fingers over Kori's hairline, "Imma let the doctor tell you."
"Zamir."
"Nah bro, I don't want you freaking out."
"ZB."
"I ain't telling you, so quit that shit out right now."
"...fine. How long I been out?"
"Bout seventeen hours."
"Seventeen-"
"Pipe down nigga."
"Fuck you mean seventeen hours?"
"I meant seventeen hours, bro."
Kori leans back and stares at the ceiling, absorbing the information. Then, he realizes something. "And you still here, Mir?"
"Yea," His hand is in his hair now, massaging his scalp and Kori wonders why he isn't bothered by it. Near-death experiences will do that to your ass, he guesses.
"The fuck you still in here for, bro? Go take you a shower or sum, I know you hungry,"
"Nah," Zamir shakes his head, "Imma stay."
"Why?"
"Fuck you mean why?"
"I mean, you been here about a whole day bro."
"A few hours ago, I got the call from your mama saying you was in the hospital. Kori," oh shit he used my real name this serious, "My heart fucking dropped yo. You been my best friend since second grade, when we was little niggas, did you really think I wasn't going to rush my ass over here? The entire drive I was just hoping and praying you wasn't dead. You practically a brother now, of course imma sit my black ass down in these crunchy ass hospital chairs for you, even if it is a whole day."
"... Mir."
"Nah, don't even start that shit. I know you'd do the same for me, so don't even say it."
"Nah, hol' up, cuz that shit right dere was different. That might be the most I've ever heard you say in one sentence,"
Zamir lightly mushes Kori's face, laughing, "Shut the fuck up!"
"I'm suing you for assault. Deadass, my nigga."
"Yeah, aight." Zamir's finger catches on one of his thicker curls and he hisses, "Shit. You really need to pick yo shit out, nappy ass head,"
"Don't do me bro."
"My fault, my fault,"
Yeah, Zamir knows that Kori will go in on a nigga. He made Ty cry one time, he grilled the nigga so hard. Brought up his dead grandmama and everything, talm about some "what shoes she got on in her casket?"
"You want me to get the nurse?"
"...nah, not yet," Kori leans his head to the right, eyes shutting briefly as Zamir's hands card through the right spots.
"I thought you woulda been bit my hand off by now," Mir muses quietly to himself, carefully settling his weight onto Kori's hospital bed.
"Shut the fuck up, nigga,"
Zamir's only response is a laugh. The sound of the bed creaking reaches Kori's ears just as he feels arms wrap around him again. This time, he doesn't tense up; he leans into it.
"I'm glad you okay folks," Zamir mumbles, carefully resting his chin on Kori's head. "I love you, real shit. Don't scare me like that again."
"Love you too, bro."
They stay there, just like that. The thoughts running through Kori's mind ain't even about his girl Veronika, his family, or his injuries. The only thing he can really think about is how grateful he is to be alive, with the chance of being in the arms of the person who waited a whole seventeen hours for him to wake up. His favorite person.
Well damn, Mir his favorite person now.
Ain't that some shit?
ᴀɢᴀᴘᴇ ♡