"I can listen to you all day..."
Zendaya Coleman
"It's been a long time, we shouldn't have left you. Without a dope beat to step it..." Timbaland's voice says through the radio in the kitchen.
"Z, ain't this ya song?!" My mom screams from the kitchen.
I look up from my spot on the couch and immediately grow happy. Aaliyah is my role idol and I love dancing to this song.
I start to get up from the couch, but a little girl beats me to it, raising out of the spot that I'm in.
As she races to the kitchen, I can see a familiar ponytail, telling me that this little girl is my young self.
I stand up from the couch and follow after her. As I past by a wall mirror, I can see that I am still me. The only thing is that I'm dressed in all white and my hair is straightened to my back.
"Hey, that's my baby girl!" My dad says from inside the kitchen.
I continue to walk into the kitchen. As I near the kitchen, I can see my younger self showing off in front of my parents, mocking Michael Jackson's moves, a huge smile on her face.
I can feel my heart warming at the sight of my mom smiling, her smile as big as ever. The smile that I've missed so much.
I remember this day.
It's 2005.
I'm only six years old.
That was the day...
"Hold on, Z. I got a call," my mother says, picking up her ringing phone from the kitchen table.
My younger self doesn't mind, she only keeps dancing while my dad watches on, laughing and joking around.
I watch as my mother walks past my present self and into the living room, talking on the phone.
I turn around and follow my mother into the living room. She sits on the leather recliner and as I near her, I can hear her conversation.
"So how long do you think I have, Dr. Kendall?" My mother asks, her words sending my stomach into a puzzle of knots.
I stand in front of her as she awaits an response. Every second seems to go by so painfully.
After a second she gasps, covering her mouth," 5 weeks? Wh- I thought it was at least a couple of months."
I can feel the back of my eyes burning, tears threatening to spill out. Five weeks. And she didn't tell us...
"Yes, I understand. I just don't know if I can tell them just now... Yes I understand. Okay. I'll call you later, thank you."
As soon as she hangs up the phone, she breaks down into silent sobs, hugging her chest as if her life depended on it.
I can feel my lip quivering as I squat in front of her, wanting to hug her. She looks so broken down up close. As if she aged ten years in a two minute time span.
I come closer to her and wrap my arms around her,"mama. It's gonna be okay," I whisper, as if she can hear me.
"I know, baby. I know," she says, wrapping her arms around me.
The fact that she can hear and see me surprises me and I pull away.
"Mama, you can see me?" I ask, staring into her eyes.
"Yes, baby. I can," she says, a weak smile coming to her face.
"Oh my god! I-"
She interrupts me, placing a finger on my lips,"hush, baby. I've been good where I'm at. So don't you worry about me. I'm the one worrying about you."
"You know what's been happening?" I ask, surprised to the max.
"Yes. And I see the position you're in. You've been in a coma for about a week."
"A week?"
"Yes. And if you don't know... People up top are rooting for you. It's not your time to go yet. You've got a lot of people who care about you, so the best thing you can do right now is fight. You're a strong girl, you know that?"
I nod, feeling tears fall from my eyes. Everything that she's saying to me is striking a nerve.
"But mama, daddy-"
"I know what that son of a bitch did. And believe, he's got what's coming to him. Think he's a big man now, there are bigger in the penitentiary. You don't have to worry about him anymore."
A weak smile casts across my face,"ok mama."
"Good girl. Now it's about time for me to go."
My eyes widen,"g-go? Where are you going?"
"Home, baby girl. You already know that," my mother says, her body starting to fade out from the couch.
"N-no! Mama come back!" I say, trying to grab ahold of her, but she's fading too fast.
"It's ok," a very familiar voice says from behind me.
I turn around and see my younger self standing behind me, arms stretched out.
I smile and gather my younger self in a hug.
"It's gonna be ok. Don't you worry." She says her chest touching mines.
As soon as our bodies make contact, I feel my body jerk forward, as if my body just pulsed.
A flash of pain goes through my chest, making me double over, grabbing ahold of my shirt. The pain is unbearable, and no matter what I try to do, it won't dissipate.
"Ah!" I cry out, tears rolling down my cheeks. Everything around me becomes white, momentarily blinding me.
What's happening to me?
Another shockwave of pain ripples through my chest, causing me to hit the ground.
The lack of oxygen that my body is getting is causing me to choke and gasp for air.
"It's ok, Zen. Breathe. Breathe." A voice says.
"Huh?" I manage to get out, patting my chest.
My vision returns and I can see the whiteness of a hospital. I'm in a hospital...
I turn my head and see a thick girl with shoulder-length hair and a very beautiful face. I feel like I know her, but my mind is drawing a blank.
"Oh my god, you're alive," the girl says, pressing a button beside my bed.
"W-who?" I can only manage one word because of the fact that my mouth is so dry.
"You don't remember me?" The girl asks.
I manage to shake my head, because to be honest, I don't.
"Roman. Roman Maraj," she says, smiling and showing a deep dimples in her left cheek. That sight alone sends memories flashing in front of my face.
I smile,"you're my girlfriend."
Roman blushes hard and looks away,"no. I'm not. That ended a couple of weeks ago."
"Why? Why would I break up with you? You're fucking bea-"
"I see you're awake," a voice says.
I turn my head and see a doctor walking into the room, clipboard in his hand.
I smile weakly,"I guess so."
He chuckles and checks my vitals on the screen beside my bed.
"Wow. This is crazy..." He says, tapping the screen.
"What?! What's wrong?" Roman asks, panicking.
I smile, staring at the beauty beside my bed. How can I break up with her? She so... I can't even find the right words, man.
"This is a miracle. She went from the possibility of death to recovering to full health."
"The only thing that's wrong is I can't remember anything," I inform the doctor.
"Yes. We were afraid of that. The answer is simple. Just have someone take you to a lot of places, see a lot of people. You have trigger memory. Every time you see something, it will trigger what you've seen before and some of your memory will be regained. It's obviously not long term memory lost because you can remember your name, where you are, how to talk, and your slang. But, you might have the tendency to forget things from time to time. But that's okay. It's only a phase."
I nod, taking the information in. I glance at Roman and see that she's in the hallway, talking on the phone.
I smile, turning my attention back to the amazed doctor.
"Well, your vitals seem as good as ever. The only thing you have to do is rest your shoulder. We've seen on your record that you play basketball, so we're advising that you get rest from any physical activity for at least two weeks. You should be ready by the start of basketball season."
I breathe a sigh of relief," thank you."
"You're welcome. You are very lucky. I hope you know that. I will be back shortly to give you your medicine, until then, stay put."
I nod. He walks out of the hospital room, muttering to himself. I can tell that he's still surprised over my whole ordeal. It surprised me myself.
Once he leaves, Roman sits back in her chair and sighs, running her fingers through her jet black hair.
It's silent for a moment, before I ask what's been on my mind for a minute.
"Did we fuck?"
Roman begins choking on nothing in particular,"w-what?!"
"Did. We. Fuck?" I ask, slowing it down for her.
I watch as Roman puts her face into her hands, her hair falling over her face.
I watch her in confusion,"what? Did I say somethin' wrong?"
Roman shakes her head and raises it to look at me. She moves her hair out of the way and shrugs,"No. You didn't."
"So can you answer my question?" I ask.
"We did, alright? We were both drunk and vulnerable. Things got out of hand and we had sex. Before that, we were best friends. After it, I caught feelings for you and I guess you did for me. But a lot of other girls got in the way, and you turned their direction. Completely forgetting about me. You didn't know about my feelings, until I confessed them to you one night. And you didn't say anything back..."
My mouth drops open,"what you mean I ain't say nothing back?"
"You said nothing back. You stood there on your porch, while I was in the pouring rain and... said nothing. That was the worst feeling for me. After a couple of minutes, you said that you're sorry and walked back into your house."
I sigh, sinking back into my bed. Thoughts and pictures are riding through my mind, but I can't make out any of them. It's hard for me to believe Roman when I can't remember anything.
I close my eyes as a pounding sensation takes over the left side of my head.
"What do you mean?"
"Exactly what I said. Or are you too dumb to see that?"
"Too dumb to see what, huh? To see that we fucked and now you think you have feelings for me?"
"I don't think I have feelings, Zen! I'm not a fuckin' robot! You got your head too far up other girls ass to see that I love you!"
"... You... What?"
"ugh. Damnit, Z. You really are dumb aren't you? I fuckin' said that I love you."
I groan,"fuck."
"So you remember now?" Roman asks, her voice cracking slightly.
I nod,"yea... I'm sorry."
"I know, Zen. You already said that..."
I sigh, feeling myself suddenly being drained of my energy. It seems like getting my memory back takes a lot out of me.
"I'm about to leave... I'll see you later," Roman says, just as my eyelids begin drooping.
I mumble something incoherently and that's the last thing I say before I feel myself falling into a deep slumber.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Got a new POV. ✨😍😊
This is prolly the only time I'll do one from Zen's. To me, I think it'll confuse the readers. 😓
Man... I've been so busy with soccer I almost forgot that I had to update... Almost. 😐 But I didn't.
Zen and Roman? 😏
Vote. Comment.
~Trina J.