AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I jumped out of my brief slumber, clutching the butt of the gun tucked at my waist.
“Mommas.” I yawned, noticing her phone was sounding off. “Your phone.”
“Hmm?” she stirred.
“It’s time for you to clock back in before ya people come looking for you.”
“It’s time?”
“Yes, baby.”
She was disoriented and the cutest fucking thing. Her struggle to readjust was soothing to my soul. As she rose, head finally rising from my lap, she stretched her arms high in the sky. The side of her face was marked with lines that went in every direction and were red like fire.
“Mommas, I can take you home. You don’t have to stay. You need some rest. Real shit, we can walk out of this motherfucker and never return. Your safety is vital, staying employed isn’t. Say the word and I’ll have your year’s salary in your account in minutes. Just say the word, Glacier.”
“Makai, everything will be okay. As much as I’d love to spend my days getting on your nerves to no end, I can’t. I put off nursing school three times, wasting valuable years of my life. I don’t want to waste any more of them. I love being here. I love my patients. I love the staff. I love the atmosphere. It really gives me something to look forward to each day I’m on the schedule. Nursing brings me joy. I’d grow miserable staying home.”
“Is there nothing else you want to do in life?”
“Yes. There is something else. But this is where I am now, and I love it here. There’s no need to think about anything else until this no longer serves me.”
Nodding, I agreed. Glacier danced every night as she put on the form-fitting ass scrubs. Her career was the highlight of her weeks. The three days a week that she clocked in, she never complained. Watching her fall in love with her profession was beautiful, but I’d be damned if I didn’t want her to put it on hold briefly. Not just for peace of mind, but for her safety as well.
“Aight. Get back to work. I’ll be right here.”
“I know,” she told me.
I pecked her pursed lips and watched her disappear behind the waiting room door. The buzzing of my cell pulled me away. Mercer’s name crossing the screen prompted me to answer.
“Yeah?” I yawned.
“Where you at?”
“Sitting with Glacier, keeping an eye on shit. What’s up? It’s going on three. Hell you doing up?”
“Fucking around in the kitchen.”
That was his sacred place. Any dish one could think of, Mercer could create. Any dish that one’s mother made after perfecting it for years, Mercer could make it better.
“You called to hold the phone or what?” Another yawn muddled my words.
“Nah. Just making sure you straight.”
“I’m good and you don’t sound like you in no fucking kitchen, either. Lying ass nigga.”
“Then stop asking dumb-ass questions. What other reason would I be up right now, nigga?”
“Mercer, that’s mine. If you take that opportunity away from me, consider us done.”
I stood to my feet, trying my hardest to shake the exhaustion. There was no use.
“I’m a lot of things, but a hoe ass nigga ain’t one. I have no intention of fucking you over. But you won’t stop me from looking out for you. It’s your job to protect your girl, but it’s my job to protect you. Ima do that to the fullest. I don’t give a fuck how that makes you feel, either.”
The line died as I sat in the recliner. Knowing that Mercer had replaced his oven mittens with black gloves that easily squeezed a trigger made it easier for me to find comfort. I scrolled my phone for notifications I’d ignored over the last twenty-four-plus hours.
Milo had called me every name under the sun because I hadn’t answered his calls. The group message was full of rants from his line. I peered at the time at the top of my screen and decided to call him back after sunrise.
Resting my head against the seat, I glued my eyes to the television across the room. I didn’t hear a fucking word that came from it. Everything was muted except the thudding of my heart. Violently, it pumped in my chest for the woman who’d chosen to love me for the nigga I am. I closed my eyes with her vengeance heavy on my mind.
