Making her way briskly up the halls of the hospital, it was early in the morning when Mackenzie received a call to come in urgently. Confused and terrified about what might be the reason, she prayed to God that her mother was safe and nothing more.
"Hi, good morning." She spoke at the nurses station. "Um. Mackenzie Carter. I received a call from a doctor Lewis I believe."
Looking through some files she had in front of her, the nurse nodded an asked her to have a seat and wait.
Doing so, she sat nervously, trying to keep a positive mind. Though it was her alone at the hospital, she just wanted to know that her mother would make a speedy recovery and her sisters father would be caught instantly.
"Miss Carter?"
Hearing her name, she looked up and saw the doctor standing there.
"Follow me please." He instructed.
Standing up, she followed behind him into her mother's room. Her heart broke more, seeing her laying unconscious, connected to those machines. All night she prayed that this was all just a nightmare but more and more, reality set in that it wasn't.
"I apologize for calling you down here so early." He began.
"It's no problem, is my mother going to be fine?"
Taking a deep breath, he exhaled.
"I'm not sure if any doctor before me told you anything."
"Not really." She sighed.
"Alright. Miss Carter, after doing a full CT scan of your mother, a few things which are detrimental to her, showed up. It's been clear to us that she has been through an extensive amount of bodily and head trauma and we are insisting that she be moved to the intensive care unit."
"Okay. But why do I feel like there is something you're not telling me?"
Sighing, he looked at her.
"This is hard for me as a doctor to say to any patient but your mother suffered two post traumatic seizures. These happen due to severe traumatic brain injuries and as of right now she is unresponsive."
Hearing that last word, it felt as though Mackenzie's world came shattering down. Though the doctor continued to speak to her, she wasn't hearing what he was saying as she had zoned out.
"We're going to keep a close monitor on her brain activity and hope for the best." He finished speaking.
"Okay." She simply said.
"I promise you, I will do everything in my best ability to bring her back."
"I believe you and please keep me informed about anything else."
"Most certainly."
As the doctor left, Mackenzie went to her mother's side. Holding her hand, she laid her head on hers and prayed hard. Despite how everything was before, Mackenzie never gave up completely on loving her mother.
Yes she was hurt and upset by the way she chose to live but she never stopped loving her and only wanted the best for her.
"I'll be back later." She whispered before kissing her on her cheek.
As soon as she let up, two male nurses came in to take her to intensive care. Watching as they did their job, they then wheeled her out of the room and down the hall through two big doors. Sighing, she left the hospital, heading back to the hotel.
~••~
Laying on his back as Mackenzie laid with her head on his chest, finally sleeping, August mind wondered all over the place. Since she left early that morning to go to the hospital, he hadn't been back to sleep. Awake when she got back in, she explained everything the doctor in formed her.
Though she was calm, that was what bothered August the most, the level of calm she was at. From her past, he knew she was beginning to shut down and that's what he didn't want.
Stirring and shifting in her sleep, she gripped his side tightly. Closing his eyes as the pain of her nails digging into his skin set in, August exhaled as she let up. Not bothering to wake her, he placed a kiss on her forehead.
"Aug?" He heard a soft whisper.
Looking to his left, Skylar stood there.
"Wassup baybeh?" He whispered.
"Is it okay if I order breakfast for us?"
"Of course love. Y'all go ahead."
"Thank you."
As she turned to leave, he noticed a scratch to the back of her leg.
"Sky?"
"Yeah?"
"That's from yesterday?"
Looking at it, she nodded.
"It don't hurt or anything?"
"Not anymore. Mrs. Nancy took care of it for me."
"Okay."
Once she was gone, he shifted his body a bit, easing his way out from below Mackenzie. Going into the bathroom, he used it and did his morning routine. He knew that from the moment Mackenzie got up, she was going to be focused on her sisters so he wanted to at least make sure they were settled and the room was cleaned.
Greeting the girls, Skylar informed him that she had ordered breakfast for him and her sister as well. Sitting on the couch, he pulled Madison on his lap, kissing her on her temple while Mila cuddled up next to him.
"I'm hea if y'all wanna talk aight?" He reassured them.
Answering yes or with a simple 'mhmm', they left it at that. While watching cartoons, there was a knock on the door and the person announcing room service. While they took their respected breakfasts, Mackenzie came out.
"Anything for me?" She asked.
"Always." August smiled.
"Morning girls." She said taking her plate.
Sitting on the floor, they said grace then indulged in their meal quietly. It was clear of the obvious tension in the atmosphere but no one wanted to make it anymore hard as it already was.
"Mack?" Skylar spoke.
"Yeah sis?" She looked back at her.
"We gotta get clothes."
"I know. I'll go get it for y'all."
"Okay."
As they went back to eating, there was a knock on the door. Getting it, August greeted McKinley and Terrence.
"Which one of my goonettes sharing their breakfast with uncle T?" He joked as he tickled Mila. "Y'all good?" He asked.
"Mhmm." They answered and nodded.
"Aight because I only want to see smiles on those beautiful faces and that includes you Mack."
Poking her on her side, she flinched, making the others laugh. Finishing eat, Mackenzie excused herself and went to talk with her father pertaining to her mother.
"So what are you going to do?" He asked.
"Well Aug's next show is in DC in four days so we'll be here until, monitoring mommy and according to how she is coming along we'll all go back to Atlanta."
"And what if she doesn't wake up in time?"
"I'll stay here." She shrugged.
"Like hell you will." August made his presence known.
"Aug?" Mackenzie groaned.
"Mackenzie I'm not leaving you in Jersey while his ass is still outchea."
"Well what do you want me to do. I can't just abandon them."
"They'll come with us and we'll put something in place with ya momma but I'll be damned if I leave ya hea."
Sighing, she knew she couldn't fight him with what he said.
"Get dressed, I'a take ya ta get their clothes."
Walking past her with his phone and money, he went back out front and waited. Once she was ready, they both left, leaving the girls with Terrence and her father.
"If I gotta cancel the rest of my tour, I will Mack."
"I don't want you to."
"Whether you want me to or not, like I've told you, you're what's important to me as well as your family."
"I know babe and I'm grateful for you and everything that you do for me."
"I know you are."
"I've been thinking though."
"About?"
"If they come back to Atlanta with us, I'm gonna go back to my condo. I really don't want to impose on your space."
"Ion got no problem with that Beanie. Whatever makes you comfortable is good with me."
"Okay."
Pulling up to their complex, they made their way to the apartment. Entering, it was just how they left it yesterday. Sighing, Mackenzie made her way to the girls room and began getting stuff for them.
Standing in the living room, August looked around in shock and hurt at how the place was, not wanting to imagine how it all went down. Taking a deep breath, he exhaled before going into the kitchen.
Finding where the garbage bags were, he took them along with the broom and scoop, making his way to the living room and began to clean up. Taking his time, he shook off the broken glass from the picture frames and placed them back where they were.
Gathering all the broken items, he swept them up and threw them in a bag. Shifting back the over turned table and couch, he paused and sighed seeing a blood stain on the carpet.
"What are you doing?" Mackenzie came out with three bags.
"Cleaning up. Ain't no sense in leaving shit like this." He shrugged. "We gotta get some new picture frames and ornaments aight?"
Not answering, he turned to see her just staring at him. Seeing her eyes well up with tears, he stopped what he was doing and hugged her.
"I ain't gonna tell ya to stop crying because I know ya hurting, so just let it all out."
Nodding her head, she cried some more before gathering herself.
"Thank you babe." She managed to say while wiping her face.
"Ya welcome." He kissed her forehead.
"Let me finish up hea and then we can go aight?"
"Okay."
"Make sure ya got everything ya need."
Double checking what she had, August went back to cleaning up.
~••~
Sitting in the waiting area of the hospital, Mila read one of the books August bought for her while Madison coloured with Terrence. Staring out the window, McKinley approached Skylar while Mackenzie sat listening to August as he sang to her quietly.
"You know." He began.
Looking back at him, she shifted allowing him to sit.
"The night you were born, Mackenzie had called me bursting with excitement."
"She did?"
"Yeah. Not just because you had born, but y'all mother let her name you. When she told me the name she chose, I asked her why that name and she said because the Sky was filled with stars that night."
"Like tonight." She looked up.
"Just like tonight." McKinley nodded.
"Mr. Carter. Mack is lucky to have you as a dad. Me and my sisters, not so much." She sighed.
"Let me tell you something, no matter what he has done, y'all are loved. It's unfortunate what y'all had to go through and when I think back to when Mack told me what he did to her and how mad I was and still is, I remind myself that at least she got three amazing sisters out of all this hurt and sadness. Whether he loves y'all or not, that girl over there, my daughter, she loves y'all enough for the world."
Glancing at Mackenzie, Skylar agreed with him. She knew her sister's love ran deep for them and when needed she would drop everything and come. Skylar never doubted her love but she sure did when it came to her parents.
"Mackenzie?"
Seeing the doctor approach her, Skylar observed their interactions. Not sure what he said but from the way she hugged him she knew it had to be something good.
Walking over to them with McKinley, Mackenzie smiled genuinely for the first time since she's been home.
"Doctor Lewis said that she's conscious and breathing on her own. He said they ran some tests this afternoon and though the swelling hasn't completely gone, it reduced significantly."
"Can we go see her?" Mila asked.
Looking at August, Mackenzie was a bit skeptical about her sisters seeing their mother. Giving her a reassuring look, she agreed to find out from the doctor if it was okay for them to see her.
Getting the all clear, Mackenzie led her sisters into the room where mother was in. Laying in bed, eyes closed, the sounds of the machines beeping was all that was heard.
"Just be careful okay." She told them.
Standing at the base of her bed, all three girls went to greet their mother. Each giving her a kiss on her cheek, Madison then climbed up and laid with her.
"Love you mommy." She said laying her head on her mother's chest.
As much as Mackenzie wanted to stop her, she couldn't. She knew both the girls and their mother needed to feel that moment of innocent love. Sitting on the chair in the room, Mackenzie left them to converse with her.