Worth, Love (The Fever Of Desire)

21.

Chapter 21

"Don't Sleep"

I kissed her forehead wondering when she would wake up. The doctors said she didn't face any major damage Second degree burns on her legs, a broken rib, arm, a sprained wrists...but apparently that wasn't true what should've been a bad concussion became a week long coma. 

I was here day in and day out, only leaving when the nurse made me and she changed her timing of forcing me out to be later and later with each passing day. Her Pawpaw in the middle of all this had a heart attack from all the stress and was now in the same hospital, they moved him in the room with her. He often told the nurse to leave me be and let me stay. 

None of us knew what to do. Mavis...Quin...The famous little group of friends I had to meet with to talk about things, but Mavis whispered to me about Kevin or was it Demont? I remembered the names but not the faces that went with them, they were just...brown skin and blurry bodies to me. She mentioned how he had a "hookup" to Alex's illegal works and had mentioned it to Tareea's lawyer but she told me he said they had no real evidence or ground for that. 

We were all interrogated and everyone had an alibi and someone to back them up. 

I tried not to be angry about this. But the anger felt better than the sadness. I was so angry that even when I did leave for my studio I couldn't dance the feeling out. I wanted to hear her...to see her open those stunning brown eyes..I wanted her telling me about the next beat she's making even though I don't ever understand shit she meant. I want her warm arms around me, her plushiness pressed flush against me. I wanted to kiss her lips and feel her kiss me back. 

A month rolled by. Then two. Then three. 

The Alex sitch was not put on pause, it drove us to work harder, to gather every fucking thing we could on his ratty ass because we were all sure that it had something to do with him. We couldn't get on the stand without her but we all made sure we knew what were going to say and had our evidence tucked safely away and copies on copies of it. We didn't tell each other where we put it because we were all scared that it was one of us. 

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"Tareea sweetheart I brought another book for you," I said my voice deep with exhaustion. My sister Yonnie popped in with pity in her eyes, a soft smile on her face, and food I knew I wouldn't be able to swallow. 

"You gotta eat bro.." she said seeing how I was eyeing the chipotle bag in her hand. 

"I want to start this book first.." I turned away from her and back to my beautiful girl. "It's called Bullet Proof & Pink by, Elder. I think you'll like it a lot baby. I've read it about four times.." but I'd read it a thousand if you whispered that you loved it and opened up your eyes. 

I got through half of the book before my scarily similar looking sister made me settle and eat. She looked like a female version of me except for the pink skunk stripes and feminine roundness to her features. 

"You need a shower and to get cleaned up Zane." She whispered as I tried to shove the food down my throat. 

I did reek, my beard and hair had overgrown I probably had dragon breath although that was the one thing I did try to do everyday. I'd never felt this way. 

"I can't...." I murmured. "I don't want to miss...those brown eyes.." then a surge of tears  spilled from my eyes like little soldiers running to the muck of a battlefield. Yonnie wrapped me in her arms not letting go even after the food slid off my lap and onto the floor with a pitiful plop...I hadn't eaten as much as it felt like apparently. She held me for awhile and then the Yonnie I knew was back.