Something New

“And I don’t want you to. Move to Atlanta with me.”

“What?”

“Hear me out. I have a house, a home in Atlanta. You can move in, you’ll have the baby, and we’ll be together. You don’t have to do it alone. No more being apart. And we’ll come back to The Pines and Potomac Falls once a month just to make sure everything with the restaurant keeps running smoothly. Plus, you can help me figure out what the hell I’m gonna do with my childhood home because it’s been months, and I still haven’t done a damn thing.” He chuckled.

“Elijah, I–”

“Besides, the change of scenery will do you good.”

“Eli–”

Each time she spoke up, he continued to cut her off. “Stop being scared, Isa. Nothing is holding you back here anymore. Nothing.”

“I know, but–”

“Ain’t no buts. I’ve been fighting this shit since I met you, and I don’t want to do it anymore. I may regret some shit I’ve said, but I don’t regret one second I spent with you, Isa. Not one. You mean the whole fucking world to me, aight? So just feel safe enough to fall and know I’ll always be there to catch you.”

“Okay,” she agreed.

I poked my head around the corner to see them in a tight embrace. A warm smile stretched across my lips. I was happy my sister had found her roundabout way to a genuine happily ever after. They may not have had all the answers, but they were okay with figuring out their future one day at a time.

Bleu

The fluorescent lights were bright and calming as I blinked slowly. It was my first time opening my eyes in what felt like months. The continuous beep of the heart monitor made me turn my head in its direction before I realized there was another hand wrapped around mine. I sluggishly turned my neck to see Imani asleep in the chair beside my bed, hand glued to mine. My heart did a backflip in my chest. What was she doing here? How long had she been there? The last thing I remembered was heavy rain and a car crashing into mine out of nowhere before everything went black. Although I was awake, I didn’t feel any pain. I didn’t know if that was thanks to the pain meds or if I was paralyzed.

I kept my eyes on Imani, watching her sleep peacefully for a few seconds. Even though her eyes were closed, I could see the puffiness under them. She must’ve felt me watching her because her eyes slowly cracked open.

“Oh my God, you’re awake!” She shot up, releasing my hand from hers. “Let me get the nurse!”

I grabbed her hand before she had a chance to dart away. “Chill. Sit. Tell me what happened.”

“Maybe I should get the doctor first. They’ll want to know you’re awake,” she insisted.

“Tell me, Imani.”

She licked her lips while toying with the hem of her T-shirt. “You were involved in a car accident on the bridge a couple of days ago. And um, you fractured your femur, broke a few ribs, and yeah.”

“What’s the recovery time?”

“Bleu, just let me call in the doctor.”

“Fine.”

Imani darted away for a few minutes and returned with two doctors and a nurse. “How are you feeling, Mr. Alexander?” the taller doctor asked.

“I just woke up, and I’m tired of laying here in this stupid bed already,” I told them.

They chuckled. “Well, you suffered a nasty femoral fracture. Most take about four to six months to heal completely, but you’re in good shape, so you should be able to resume a lot of your activities long before then with proper physical therapy. And that’s where Dr. Montgomery comes in.”

“Yes, we’d like to get you up and walking today if possible to start the process. But we are also aware that you suffered some broken ribs, which will typically heal on their own in a couple of months. So, we don’t want to stress your body out too much today, but we want to get you up on that leg,” Dr. Montgomery insisted.

“My dojo is opening soon. Will I still be able to make it to that?”

“Maybe you should consider pushing it back a week or two until we’ve gotten down a good rhythm with your PT,” Dr. Montgomery suggested.

I sucked my teeth. I’d be damned if all my hard work went down the drain. “I’m tired. This medicine has me feelin’ out of it,” I said, unable to put up the fight I wanted to.

“We’ll let you get some rest before we get you up. Let us know if you have any questions.”