"Nana?" Sevyn called out entering the dark suite, confused. "Na'imah whea' you at?!" she yelled at the sight of the shattered glass everywhere.
She was immediately on alert, trying to flip the lights on, being made aware that the electricity was cut. She tiptoed around, looking for any sign of Na'imah or anyone. She started to panic, and her movements became quicker until she slipped, and fell knee first into glass.
"Shit! What the fuck..." she mumbled, turning the flashlight on her phone on, seeing the blood all over the floor, leading up to her best friend's body splayed out on the wooden floor, basically surrounded in a pool of her own blood.
She felt a scream leave her throat and pierce the air before she scrambled up, rushing over to Na'imah immediately checking her pulse.
"Come on, Nana," she said shakily, feeling around her arm. "Thank you! Okay-okay Ima get you outta here babygirl I promise, I swear you gon be okay," she cried, trying to lift Na'imah—which wasn't successful. "Shit! I'm so sorry baby,"
She wiped across her face to rid herself of tears, pulling her by her arms, dragging across the floor, through the broken shards and pieces of glass her toward the back door, where her car was parked.
"Wh-who did this to you?!" Sev spoke to no one in particular, heaving Na'imah into the backseat of her Benz. Her mind was on go, she didn't have time to think of anything else but keeping her alive, she had to keep her alive.
She hopped in her front seat, immediately speeding off to the nearest hospital, thankful she knew this city like the back of her hand.
Sev ducked and dodged through traffic, speeding though lights and ignoring the horns blaring around her. Her other hand was securely holding Na'imah's, terrified she'd never get to see her eyes open again.
"Y-yas—Yasir," Sev heard, followed by two loud coughs.
"Sh, shh! Ima get you ta' him baby i promise, j-just stay wit' me, Na'imah. Don't close yo eyes, Nana!" she called to her.
"I—I c-ca—an't,"
"Try! You gotta try mama," she felt her throat form a lump before looking in the rearview, seeing Na'imah's eyes roll into her head. "Fuck!" she banged her hand on the wheel.
Then she remembered Yasir. She had to call him.
She shakily grabbed her phone, dialing his number as tears fell rapidly down her cheeks and she tried to gather herself as much as possible.
"Wassam?" Brix answered, with a yawn.
"Yasir! I'm—I—she's," she began hyperventilating, and on the other end of the line, Yasir's eyebrows furrowed. Grim looked at him confused, they were together now, in the backyard.
"Sevyn calm down," he said. "What's the problem?"
"She—she got shot! Twice," she croaked out through her tears. "Yo-you gotta come! Yasir you have to—"
Yasir's heart fell to the floor. It seemed like his entire world just stopped spinning.
Shot? How could she have gotten shot? Who would shoot Na'imah of all people. He just saw her. He was just with her.
"Yasir!" Sevyn's loud cries snapped him out of his head.
"Yasir what happened?" Cordell asked when he jumped out of his chair and started running back through the house. He followed nonetheless, picking up his phone that fell from his hand. He furrowed his eyebrows when he saw Sevyn's name on the screen.
"Baby?" he spoke.
"S-somebody shot her!" Sev cried to Cordell, his eyes immediately widening.
"Her? Somebody shot—"
"Na'imah!" she yelled. "I'm—I'm goin ta' Tulane, hurry up please Cordell, please" she continued to sob over the phone.
"We—we comin bae," he stammered, getting in Brix's car. He didn't hesitate for a second before pulling off. "Tulane," Grim said simply. Yasir nodded almost robotically before heading in that direction.
He didn't know what to feel—he couldn't feel. He was numb. All he knew was that he needed to get to her and would do so by any means. Like Sevyn, he weaved through the streets, not caring about the colors of the lights as he raced to her.
He prayed they got there in time. He couldn't lose her, too.
Back at the hospital, Sevyn bursted through the door, covered in blood, nearly falling to her knees as people rushed around her. "E-excuse me I-I need some help!" she called to nurses who were running around. "Scuse—CAN I GET SOME FUCKIN' HELP!" she yelled at the top of her lungs, stopping all activity around her.
"Is this your blood?!" A young black nurse asked her.
"N-no! My sista', she—she got shot two times, I can't carry ha' in hea'," she explained hurriedly and told her which car it was. Before she knew it, a gurney was whizzing past her. A minute later, Na'imah's limp body flew past.
Sevyn had been sitting in the waiting room alone with her head in her hands, rocking back and forth—speaking unrecognizable words when she heard Yasir's voice.
"Whea' she at?! Somebody—my girlfriend she-she-" he scratched out, and Grim spotted his girlfriend who stared at them helplessly. Grim tapped his shoulder pointing at Sev before rushing to her and scooping her up out of the chair.
"I'm sorry!" she sobbed into Grim's shirt. "I-I'm so—I'm so sorry," she hiccuped.
"It's not yo fault, baby," he hushed her. "You helped her as best you could," he spoke a Yasir stood off to the side looking spaced out.
"Wh-what happened?" he mumbled to her, trying his best to think straight as negative thoughts swirled around in his head. The last thing he ever wanted to happen to her was this. He could physically feel his heart shattering in his chest thinking about how much pain she felt, how alone she was feeling, what she may have been thinking.
If she was even alive.
"I—I just pulled up, and it was dark. I ain' know what was goin on, so I went in. I-it was broken glass everywhere, all her windows and mirrors busted, I-I slipped. I slipped in her—in her blood," she mumbled, instantly feeling nauseated remembering the amount of blood on the floor surrounding her.
"I had ta' drag ha' ta' my car—I'm sorry I-I couldn't pick her up,"
"You'on gotta apologize," Yasir muttered. "Thank you man, I—she would'a—"
"She didn't," Grim said firmly. "Y'all betta' have some fuckin faith she pullin through dis shit. Pray, cry—do what the fuck you gotta do but don't talk about ha' like she fuckin dead," he snapped them both back to reality.
Yasir nodded, but he couldn't help himself. He wished it were him, she didn't deserve to ever feel that type of pain. He thought of all the times he told her he wouldn't let anybody hurt her, and now here he was in the hospital because somebody did the unthinkable.
"Who the fuck shot her?" he spat, suddenly remembering there was somebody behind that trigger. She didn't shoot herself.
His blood instantly began boiling, he felt his temper rising and his leg tapped quickly.
"I-I'on know, she was—she was unconscious when I got thea'," Sev sniffed.
"Somebody gettin' put inna fuckin dirt, I put dat on my grandmother fuckin grave, whoeva' did dis shit betta' pray they die befo' I find em," he snarled.
Hours later, Slim, Nino and Kilo had arrived, all as distraught as everyone else. Sevyn held Yasir's hand firmly as he tried to relax. He hadn't shed a tear but his eyes were bloodshot red—making it look like he hadn't slept in days.
"Reneé, baby, you gotta change yo' clothes, you got blood all on you," he pushed hair behind Sevyn's ear. "You can't stay like dis,"
"I can't leave him," she said, glancing at Yasir who hadn't spoke. "I-I can't leave her," she said again, voice cracking. Cordell sighed shortly, understanding and nodded.
Nino paced back and forth, unable to sit still. Slim was chewing on her lip so hard—she wasn't surprised when she tasted blood. Kilo was like Yasir, stoic. She expressed her emotions similarly to him—but every knew how heartbroken she was. Grim was concerned with Sevyn but he couldn't get Na'imah's face out of his mind.
"What they doin' back thea' wit ha' man," Yasir stood, his sadness and anger getting the best of him as he grew impatient without any news.
"Scuse me," he said to a front desk person. "Y'all know whea' Na'imah Pierce at?" he leaned forward.
"Um, one moment—" she typed for a second. "20? Gunshot—"
"Yeah," he cut her off, not wanting to hear the details again.
"She still in surgery hun—a docta' gon be out ta' y'all when she in recovery," she informed him sadly.
"Thank you," he mumbled, going back to slump in his seat, feeling helpless. He was supposed to protect her. He was supposed to take care of Na'imah. He couldn't do anything to help her right now and it was eating him alive. He was overwhelmed, he wanted her to live, he didn't want to be alive on a a planet she wasn't on.
He couldn't even comprehend a life without her.
After yet another hour—it was nearly 9:30, and somebody finally came out to them.
"Are you all here for Na'imah Pierce?" a doctor asked, looking over their tired and distressed expressions.
"Yeah," Yasir immediately stood to his feet. "S-she okay?" he asked, terrified to hear the answer. Everyone else stood up slowly, awaiting the news.
"Well—" she began with a sigh. "The first bullet entered on the lower-right hand side of her body, puncturing her appendix. To prevent any internal infections, immediate surgery was performed to remove the ruptured appendix. Luckily, the bullet entered at a slight angle—just missing her overies.
However, the second bullet caused the most damage. The bullet ruptured her Aorta, which resulted in the extensive amount of blood loss and bleeding. We managed to perform an open aortic surgery—repairing the ruptured Aorta. We were able to insert an aortic occlusion balloon to stabilize the patient and prevent more blood loss," she explained to them, causing Brix to feel faint and lightheaded, his knees beginning to give out on him.
Grim and Nino grabbed him, holding him up straight as he gained his balance again, seeing that the doctor wasn't finished talking.
"She flatlined on our table—" she started, a choked sob coming from Sevyn who was being held steady by Corinne. "But, we revived her. Due to the excessive amount of blood loss and the internal shock from both bullets, we had to place her into a medically induced coma so that she and her body can stabilize—and prevent any damage to her brain due to the momentary lack of oxygen and pause in blood flow,"
Everyone was silent. A heave and solemn silence falling over them as they digested the news that they could have lost her.
"Would y'all like to see her? She is in recovery now," he said and Yasir was the one to respond yes. His mind was spinning in a million circles. He was overjoyed that Na'imah lived, she was still here—but to hear that she flatlined, about all her blood loss, everything she had to go through—it tore his heart to pieces.
When they got to Na'imah's recovery room, he paused, not ready to see her in pain and suffering like that.
"We hea' wit' you, brudda," he heard Kilo's voice and everyone's followed—agreeing. He nodded shortly, pushing the door open.
Na'imah lay there, IV drips in her arm and left hand, an oxygen tube in her nose as her chest rose and fell shallowly. The beep of her heart monitor seemed to be the only thing keeping Yasir sane. Her hair was splayed on the pillow, and her eyes were shut, genuinely looking like she was asleep.
"She's a fighter—this one," the doctor smiled down at Na'imah. "She can hear you all, so if you want to speak to her, please feel free," she explained.
They all mumbled a thank you, and as he left to give them a moment, the silence fell upon them again—as if they were all thinking what to say.
The doctor said Na'imah could hear them, so Nino started. Saying he loved her, and that they were there with her, she wasn't alone. Everyone followed suit, even Sevyn through her silent ocean of tears.
Yasir sat silently. A blind man could see the fury and the hurt burning behind Yasir's eyes. He reached up, pushing all those angry emotions to the side and gently caressed her face. He didn't even know, he couldn't feel it, he just saw his tears begging to fall onto her bed and her hand that rested atop her hospital blanket.
It seemed as if the nurses removed only her clothing because her ring still glittered on her finger. Yasir ran his thumb across it, then wiping his tears from her hand as everyone watched in silence from the background.
"I promise you," he spoke out, voice strained and gravely. "Ima find who did dis ta' you baby and Ima put em in the fuckin' ground. I swea' on my life Na'imah—I promise. I love you so much," he said, meaning every single word that fell from his lips, the rage he felt waking up something inside him he hadn't felt in years.
hello there.
she's okay! this was meant to be a double update lol i had them both ready i just had to shake y'all up a bit 😅
well...um? leave me some more thoughts here.
shotouts WrittenbyAB for helping me with all the medical stuff lol
till next time 💕