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His presence was unexpected, but welcomed. I stepped back aside, offering the cool breeze my home was willing to gift him the moment he was close enough to the entrance.
“I’m not here to intrude,” he told me, opening his outstretched hand and revealing a key fob in his palm. “That motherfucker nice.”
Furrowed brows displayed my confusion.
“I don’t understand.”
Pointing toward the driveway, he smiled. “Cut him some slack, Nature. The nigga trying. Even if it doesn’t feel like it.”
As swiftly as Malachi had come, he’d gone, leaving me on the porch with my eyes fixated on the beautiful white BMW sitting in my driveway with a red bow on the hood. The body on the XM was sickening, leaving me speechless as I stepped back into my home and closed the door behind me. I headed straight for the man responsible, running full force until I reached the bedroom, where he rested his head on my pillow. I leaped on top of him, centering his face as he stirred in his sleep.
“Naaaay,” he groaned.
“Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I love it.”
He rubbed his eyes, gathering his thoughts and taking a good look at me. He forced my body off his, sliding me down on the bed beside him, showcasing his depleted energy. Milo was exhausted. Juggling Mason and his daily activities was wearing him down. I was instantly reminded of Malachi’s words and decided to give Milo the grace I knew he needed. As long as he continued to show up, that was enough for me. The rest would work itself out.
“Good, now tell that nigga to quit texting your phone before I put him in the trunk of that bitch,” he grunted, pulling me down onto his chest where I rested my head. “Go to sleep.”
NINE
“CBT is not effective for everyone,”Jim added.
“Neither is the drug you’re suggesting. Because once the brain fog clears, the issues still exist. Instead of taking away their ability to think, why not focus on improving their thoughts – about themselves, others, the world, and whatever else matters to them? Couple it with a medication that levels them out and not one that makes them hit rock bottom, and the results are far more promising than what I’m seeing here.”
This meeting was dragging and we weren’t getting any closer to the solution. All they were seeing were dollar signs. I, on the other hand, wanted improvements. Not only for the company’s reputation, but for my patients as well.
“Justin, the twenty-four-year-old I visited this morning, he can’t tell me his name right now. He’s only been out of bed twice this week. He’d been throwing up off and on since he arrived. This trial is doing to him exactly what I’ve been afraid it will do to at least 70 percent of the people who will consume it.
“People want to feel better, not to feel comatose. They want to see the sun, hear the birds chirping in the morning, have a sip of coffee at the kitchen table, watch their children grow, and work among the rest of Americans to earn a living for their families. I think we’re forgetting that absolutely none of them chose this for themselves.
“They were chosen. And while your boots aren’t on the ground, mine are. While you’re seeing their disabilities as problems that need to go away, and quickly, I see them as people, just like you and I. It doesn’t matter that our brains don’t work the same. Our hearts, all of them, beat the same. That’s enough for me. They’re human just like you and me, Jim.”
The alarm on my phone sounded as the device vibrated in my pocket. Instantly, I remembered the single marker on Nature and I’s shared calendar. Mason was now four weeks old and due to see the doctor for his first visit. He’d been able to see Marcie the day after his birth and was given a clean bill of health. This appointment, however, was with his new pediatrician that I was anxious to meet. It was an associate of Nature’s, one she referred a handful of her clients to.
“I’m running behind for my son’s appointment. I’m signing off. Have a blessed day, fellas.”
I slammed the computer screen down without another word aimed in their direction.
“Fucking pigs. Fuck all you fat fuckers. Trying to medicate these people until the day they die. Not on my fucking watch,” I fussed, gathering my belongings as I rushed out of the door.
“Dr. Dom—”
“Not right now, Christina. I’m running late. Cancel the rest of my day.”
Without a doubt, ass kissing was in my near future. I could see the look on Nature’s pretty face as she chewed me out for the second time this week, proving that my promises to make Mason the priority of my life were falling short. My phone buzzed again in my pocket. Upon retrieving it, I watched her name on the screen, debating on answering the call that I knew the nature of. Swallowing back the fear of hearing the disappointment in her beautiful voice, I picked up.
“Yeah?”
“Where are you? His appointment,” she whispered just as the phone began to cut out.
I pulled it away from my ear, peeking at the bars in the top right corner. The phone never made it back to my ear. The call dropped.
Fuck.
Dialing her back was pointless. Apologizing, at this point, was pointless. The quicker I got to them, the less brutal the blow would be for us all.
I sprinted toward my whip as if my life depended on it. Inside, I revved the engine of the brand new XM I’d purchased in addition to Nature’s. Instead of the white paint that she loved, mine was wrapped in matte black. The Forgiato rims lifted the body slightly higher and elevated the look altogether. Together, as a family, we’d taken a total of two trips to the store inside of it and it was proven I’d chosen the right ride each time.
