“Iknow we are all still victims to the cause…”
Harbor
The phone slippedfrom my grasp, and sharp stabbing pains shot through my stomach as I lay there on the ground. Eyes shut tight, my head felt all fuzzy. Never ending gunshots echoed in my ears. Chaos surrounded me. My head throbbed, my insides cringed, and my vagina felt like my baby was trying to burst right out of it.
“Harbor!” Ivy’s unnerved voice pierced my ears, causing me to open my eyes.
Ledge knelt at my side. I hadn’t imagined that part. He really was there, saving my fucking life. The irony of that left me evenmore disturbed as I came to. He was swift and precise in his actions.
“Ivy, get in the car, lil’ mama. I’ll take care of her,” he insisted, and I could hear painful groans from the sidewalk.
Deviance had been hit.Was he okay?All these jumbled thoughts ran through my head. Sirens rang in the distance, but Ledge ignored me as he used both of his strong arms to scoop me into them.
“Come on, put your arm around me,” he urged, using his strength to lift me.
I did as he said, draping my arms around his neck to keep myself steady in his hold. Ivy had ducked into the back seat like she had been told, and Ledge carried me to the front passenger’s seat, stepping over Deviance.
“We can’t just leave him here.” I whined as Ledge slipped me into the seat.
“I know.” He took a deep breath and bent down near Deviance.
“D, you a big nigga, so I need your help on this. Can you move?” Knowledge had spread each leg over him and stared down into his anguish-filled face.
He nodded, keeping his hand over his wound and applying pressure.
“A’ight.” Ledge rested his hands on his knees and took a moment before he reached out to help him sit up.
Using every ounce of endurance, he helped Deviance ease himself into the back seat beside Ivy. There was so much blood, and she looked so scared. Ledge slammed the back door shut and raced around to the driver’s side. He put the car in drive, and we took off down the road at top speed.
“Agh!” I screamed and grasped my stomach as cramps invaded it.
“Shit, you a’ight?” Ledge asked, and he seemed genuinely concerned as he peered over at me.
I cut my eyes at him, irritated, annoyed, and still a little shaken up.Why was he here?In this moment, I would be okay with anyone being at my side but him.
“I don’t know. Something’s wrong,” I said, taking in deep breaths to push through the pain.
“OK, well, relax. Keep breathing, doing that Lamaze shit. I’ll get you to the hospital as soon as possible.” he stated, relatively calm.
I didn’t know how to take this particular version of Ledge. The nigga had me leery and nervous.
“What were you doing there tonight? Not that I’m not happy that you saved my life and Ivy’s.”
“I was coming to talk to Chevy. I didn’t like how shit ended with us tonight, and I wanted to apologize.”
“You just missed her,” I told him, squeezing my eyes shut and gritting my jaw so tight it hurt.
“Here, take my hand,” he offered, holding an open palm out to me.
I stared at it, then up into his face, skeptical as fuck. This was Ledge we were talking about here. Over a year ago, he had me trapped inside a van and was drugging me, so forgive me if I was a little skeptical about his genuineness. The nigga was a professional killer, and I was pretty sure a master manipulator because I didn’t know what the hell Chevy saw in his crude ass.
“Come on. Imagine being able to inflict pain on a nigga,” he kidded, a boyish simper on his face.
He had a point. I grasped his hand in mine and held it tightly within my own while trying to bite down on the pain. It wasn’t about him during this time, but I wasn’t so sure I could push through without him there beside me. An odd sense of comfort filled me.
“I tried calling Frequency? Can you reach out again?” I asked, sucking air in through my mouth and exhaling through my nose.
“I’ll do it,” Ivy piped up from the back seat.
