Page 212 of 4 Corinthians

“Get down, Judah,” Cori sighed. The foot of the bed moved, and I felt pressure on my legs. “For real, get down.”

“Four said I could always be next to him,” Judah replied. He was right; I did. No matter what or where we were. If he needed the comfort of me being close, I would. Same with his mama. I was their protection and support, and not being able to open my eyes was keeping me from that. I hated that shit.

“I know, but he had surgery; we have to be careful.”

“Because he can't feel pain?” he asked.

Cori sighed, and I could imagine her nodding. Her braids covered the side of her face. When I saw her in braids for the first time, I instantly loved them. I’d read that victims of assault tended to cut their hair afterward as a safety concern. Hair was easy to grab. Knowing that she was finding her power and allowing herself to relax and trust me never to hurt her was a blessing I would never take for granted.

“Partially yes,” she answered with a small laugh. “Uri is resting, healing. We need to allow his body to do that without the added pressure of us.”

“Why do you call him Uri and not Four?” Judah asked.

“Because he asked me to,” she said.

“Are you still going to marry him?”

“If Uri woke up right now and said, ‘Let’s get married,’ I would do it,” she replied. “What’s up with all the questions you have today?”

“Just wondering,” he answered. “You want me to stop?” The bed moved again, and I felt tapping against my ankle. The movement was small and quick, so I knew it was Judah and not Cori.

“Nope,” Cori said. “You can ask me anything right now, and I’ll probably say yes.”

“Can I have a dog?” he quickly asked. I wanted to laugh so bad. She’d set herself up with that.

“We will talk about it after Uri wakes up,” Cori replied.

“Four, can you wake up, please?” Judah asked. The tapping against my ankle stopped.

“Judah, it doesn’t work like that,” Cori told him. “And grab your stuff. Cross is here to pick you up.”

“Aww man,” Judah sighed. The bed moved, then I heard his feet hitting the ground. “I really have to go?”

“You don’t want to?” she asked. I could hear the concern in her voice.

“No,” he answered. “I like going to Deuces, but I don’t want to. I want to be with you. I want Four to wake up. I want to go home.”

“Judah…”

“I will be quiet,” he quickly said. “I will sit with Four while you sleep. I know it’s not a closet here, but you can sleep in the corner.”

“Judah…”

“Mommy, I don’t want to go,” he said, then sniffed. “I want to be with you and Four. Please don’t make me go.”

Cori sighed. “Okay baby,” she said. “Let's go talk to Cross, tell her the game plan, and then you can stay here with me.” Someone knocked on the door and then opened it. “I was just about to call you.”

“What’s up?” Cross replied. “Why is Judah crying? What happened? Something with Four? What’s wrong?” Her questions came rapidly.

“Chill,” Cori told her with a small laugh. “He’s okay. He’s going to stay tonight.”

“You sure?” she slowly asked. “Because it’s not a problem that he comes with us.”

“I’m sure,” Cori told her. “Hold on. Judah, put your headphones on, baby. You aren’t leaving.” There was a pause, and I could hear Judah unzip his backpack. The soft click-clack of his headphones being pulled out, then the backpack zipped back up. “I thought I was shielding him from all this, but apparently not. He needs this. Just some stability of knowing that everything is okay even though it’s not.”

“Do you want me to have Nine up the security on this floor?” Cross asked.

“No, we should be fine,” Cori said. “We’ve already moved him, and no one knows where he is. I just need to give Judah my attention and reassurance. Even with everything going on, I have to make sure my baby is okay.”