“The doctors are asking her if she wants to pull the plug or keep him on there.” Irish filled him in.
“Don’t take him off. He might pull through this shit.”
Noble was the first person to advise her on Rio’s condition. Everyone else looked to her to make the decision, not even bothering to help her sort through her emotions.
“Oh, my God! Where is he?”
Cali’s eyes widened when she spotted Rio’s mother, Ruthia, and his sister, Deasia, rushing down the hall.
“He’s here,” Cali told her as she grabbed her arms. Ruthia was just as distraught as she was.
“Is my son okay?” she asked with gawking eyes and a trembling tone. “Tell me, Cali. Tell me he’s going to be alright?”
There was this plea in Ruthia’s voice that almost made Cali fall to the floor in agony. A mother’s cry could penetrate even the coldest hearts. She peered at Cali, hoping to have good news but there wasn’t any. Rio was standing on the cliff of death, and no one could save him except God.
“Tell us, Cali,” Deasia begged.
Swallowing hard, she prepared her lips to give them the news. “He’s on life support.”
“Oh, Lord!” Ruthia screamed, falling against the wall.
Cali was so overstimulated that she started pacing with her hands covering the sides of her face.
“Cali don’t tell me that,” Deasia cried.
Lord, I can’t deal with this right now…
Mentally, Cali had checked out. She was already in a great deal of distress and didn’t have the emotional capacity to nurse Ruthia and Deasia’s pain.
“It’s okay y’all,” Irish’s raspy tone assured. “Let’s go in here and pray for Rio. All of us.”
Cali was so grateful for Irish because she was two seconds away from pulling out the little bit of hair she had on her head.
“Come on.”
Irish grabbed her hand then ushered everyone, including Noble, inside the hospital room.
Seeing Rio in such a grave state fucked with Noble mentally. He was one of the most solid members of TLM. Noble counted on him a lot and it sucked knowing he would have a long road ahead to recovery. That was if Cali even chose to keep him on life support. Zayd and Jovanis leaned against the wall, sporting solemn expressions that mirrored everyone in the room.
“Jovanis and Zayd, let me holla at you,” Noble requested.
Walking out the room, he waited briefly before they joined him in the hallway.
“Who was with him?”
“Nobody. He had just left the spot before it happened. He said he was going home to holla at Cali,” Jovanis informed him.
Noble bobbed his head, quickly putting a plan in motion. Despite Rio’s condition, Noble had to make sure that business still moved forward. Being the general came with unwanted issues such as this. Rio ran the pills so with him being out, Noble had to make a wise decision and put someone in his place.
“Zayd, you gotta take over for Rio.”
His brow peaked slightly. “You sure? I thought you would put Wilde in that position.”
“Has Wilde been steppin’ up?” Noble quizzed.
Slowly, he shook his head. “I mean, no, he hasn’t.”
“Then, it’s you, nigga. Make sure you can handle this shit before you agree. I don’t need no fuckups right now,” Noble warned him with an austere glare. “Can you handle it?”
