2 days later, Jermaine has been staying at work later, meaning him and Kimberly hardly talk.
Kimberly
I woke up earlier than usual, I checked my phone to see that I'd had 2 missed calls from Jermaine. I instantly remembered I was supposed to call him after I got off work last night, but I'd forgotten and went straight to sleep. I cursed to myself, already knowing that he was probably pissed. I clicked on his name and call him, hopefully he was awake already.
The phone rung for a few seconds before he picked up.
"Hey Kim." His voice sounded weak, and possibly in pain.
"Hey Jermaine...are you ok?"
"I-I got hurt."
"Hurt? How?"
"There was an accident at my job, I fractured my coccyx."
"Are you okay? Do you have someone up there to come and get you?!"
"No...I'll figure it out though. I'll probably ask one of my siblings, whichever one decided to answer their phone first." He said sounding as if he didn't care.
"I can drive out there Jermaine, it's not that far."
"No no no Kim. Don't worry about it, I'll be fine."
"No seriously, it's no problem. Plus...I wanna see you." I insisted.
"Alright, only because you want to."
It wasn't hard to tell that I was worried about him. I decided I'd leave around 9:30, and packed my essentials for the roughly 3 hour trip. Unlike many other people, I didn't mind long drives. I actually enjoyed them, it was relaxing.
--
I left my condo, and quickly stopped to get gas for the ride. Not even halfway through my drive I got a text message from Lauren. I rolled my eyes at her name...that night at the Lounge left a bad taste in my mouth. The text read,
"Heyy Kimmy 🤗🤗 you wanna hang out today? #NewBestie!"
If there's anything in this world that annoys me, it is when people call me 'Kimmy' and when people put hashtags in text messages. I waited until I got to a red light and replied,
"I'm leaving town today, I have to pick up my brother from my dad's house."
I lied to her, to avoid her speech about how men are disloyal, and how I'm wasting my time. I knew good and damn well my dad was dead and my brother was grown.
Jermaine
I sat in the hospital bed, watching some cartoon on the television. I've been incredibly stressed after this "accident", and incredibly worried about my next career mood. I prayed it wouldn't have to be...my backup plan.
I wouldn't be in this predicament if it wasn't for the asshole, very experienced forklift operator who 'accidentally' knocked over the platform that I happened to be standing on. Of course when he saw I was injured it was no longer a laughing matter.
I'd been here for hours, with no family or friends in Tennessee..I was alone. The shit was bringing me down until I got the call from Kimberly, I didn't want to tell her..but her making the decision to come all the way here to get me was the best news I'd heard in weeks.
-
It was not around 1 o'clock, the nurses had been in and out to check up on me, but that was the only company I had. I've been awaiting Kimberly for only a few hours, but to me it felt like an eternity.
Just as I was daydreaming of her, I heard a soft knock on the door, before it slowly swung open. I expected to see another nurse with painkillers but I was pleasantly surprised when I finally saw, Kimberly.
When she came in, her smile turned into a sad frown.
"Oh my god you look so bad.." She said taking a seat next to the hospital bed.
"Gee thanks Kim." I said with a chuckle.
"Not like that- I just mean..you told me you just broke a bone. I didn't know you're face would be all scraped up."
"It was quite a fall." I said before explaining the incident in greater detail. I also explained more to her what it was like each day at work.
For some reason, she looked as if she was going to cry, but before she said anything her phone rung in her pocket.
"One second.." She said pulling out the phone. I gave her a simple nod and she answered it.
Her phone conversation was short, I didn't hear the words on the other line, but I heard her say words like "Yes","Anytime" and "Thank you so much." When her conversation was over, she no longer looked upset and was smiling excitedly.
"Good news?" I asked her.
"I got a new job!" She said grinning.
"Wow that's great, where's it at?"
"Tongue & Groove." She said doing a little shimmy. I'd been to that place a couple times with an old girlfriend of mine, of course I wouldn't tell Kim that.
"I'm so proud of you Kim."
She stayed silent for a moment, most likely thinking.
"So what about you...are you coming back after you recover?" She asked me. It made me feel good on the inside that she'd sounded genuinely concerned. I wasn't used to people really caring like that.
"Probably not...this shit is killing me. I didn't want to do this, but I might join my older brother's business he's been begging me to take part in. He drives a truck and fixes houses, I've been avoiding him because I wasn't really interested, but it's probably the thing I should do." I said with a sigh. This was the 'backup plan' I was avoiding. Working with my 30 year old brother was something I didn't want to do, but it was much better than the job I had.
"That's probably for the best.....oh! I forgot to tell you!"
Kimberly
"Tell me what?"
"About the girl I met! At first I thought she was cool..but then I invited her to the Lounge, and I was telling her about how I missed you-" I stopped mid sentence realizing that I was exposing myself.
"...continue?" He said, I guess not noticing what I'd said. Or, not caring.
"And she started talking all this mumbo-jumbo about how men are a waste of time and I would be better off with a girlfriend." I said rolling my eyes, remembering her nonsensical logic.
"Sounds to me like she wants you." He said with a shrug.
"I hope not. I kind of wanted to be friends with her, besides..I don't like girls."
"Good. I don't want nobody stealing you away." He mumbled.
"Oh please, I ain't going nowhere."
"Oh for real? Bet."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I asked him, raising an eyebrow.
"I'm saying I'm tryna make this for real..you know, me and you."
Before I could respond, a nurse barged into the room. I cursed to myself because our moment was ruined.
"Alright Mr.Wood, you're free to go. Here's your prescription those painkillers and your crutches and you're all set. Fill out that paperwork when you're ready." The red haired lady said, setting down a stack of papers. I tried my hardest not to laugh at her thick southern accent.
"Thanks." Jermaine said grabbing the stack of papers. When the nurse exited the room Jermaine looked my way,
"We'll finish that conversation later."
a/n
consistent updates like shit boi
another chapter soon :) thanks 4 the support