Finding a Loyal Love, page 10
They didn’t want to upset her more. She looked more like she wanted to vent more than anything. Her and Smoke had been in a full blown argument for the past forty minutes and she hadn’t shot him yet. Dallas watched Lay-Lay’s every move. He could end this whole situation but she was hurt. He didn’t know what she might do and he wasn’t trying to get shot.
“AAAAGGHHHHH!” Lay screamed.
She pointed her gun at Smoke’s head while she pulled at her hair. She was so frustrated right now. She wanted to kill him and Kristen both but she couldn’t. She wouldn’t do Caleb like that. It angered her that she loved him so much she wanted to kill him, but at the same time she loved him too much to end his life. She was just about to put the gun down when she saw Smoke look over at Kristen and mouth “Everything will be alright.” He didn’t know if she was about to kill them or not. Yet and still he wanted to console this bitch.
“You’re so fucking disrespectful. You don’t care about me.”
POW!
Lay-Lay shot Smoke in the stomach. He fell to the ground holding his wound. Everybody raced to him as the blood poured from his insides. Lay-Lay watched as he coughed and screamed in agony. She hadn’t wanted to shoot him but when she saw him talking to Kristen she snapped. Now she understood the meaning of temporary insanity. All of their friends including Kristen had run to Smoke’s aid. Morgan was doing the best she could to keep him stable with the small medicine bag she kept in her truck. When Lay-Lay looked up she noticed Jade walking towards her.
Oh shit! Lay-Lay thought as the realization of the situation set in. She’d made a huge mistake. One that was almost impossible to clean up. What if he dies? She didn’t want to go to jail, and furthermore she didn’t want Smoke to die. She looked around in horror until she finally realized what the perfect solution for all of this would be. Smoke opened his mouth to say something but was unable to because of the blood coming from his mouth. Everyone looked in his direction as he pointed frantically. When Morgan looked up and saw Jade running she followed her direction and almost fainted. They were both moving as fast as they could until King and Dallas stopped them. Lay-Lay cocked the gun that she had just placed to the side of her head and shook her head no.
“Lay-Lay, please no! NO SHALAYA NOOO!” Jade screamed.
Morgan’s cries could be heard in the background as well. Tears ran down Lay-Lay’s face rapidly. Her heart was beating so fast she could hear it. She knew this decision would hurt her friends and family but only for a little while. They would get over it, and she would no longer feel the pain of a broken heart.
“Jade and Morgan, I love y’all so much. Y’all are my sisters but I can’t take this pain. It’s unbearable.” She looked at them and blew each one of them kisses goodbye. She looked around at everybody in the yard and could no longer hear anything. She saw their faces and mouths moving but she heard nothing. All she heard was the loud click from the gun before she felt the body shattering impact.
“What the fuck is wrong with you? Have you lost your fucking mind Shalaya?” Kyle had a firm grip on her arms and he was shaking her.
When she finally zoned back in to what was going on she noticed Dallas and King both holding her crying friends. Smoke was lying on the ground covered in blood as Kristen hovered over him. She knew then, she’d almost made the second biggest mistake of her life. She was about to take her own life, and it wasn’t going to change anything.
Kristen would still have Smoke and she would have died in vain. More tears fell from her face as she stared at the way Kristen hovered over Smoke as Morgan tended to his wounds.
“Look at me Shalaya! You were going to kill yourself? What’s the matter with you? Are you crazy?” Kyle yelled as he pulled her into his arms and squeezed her tightly. She didn’t say anything for a while or hug him back. She stood motionless and withdrawn. He rocked her back and forth for a few minutes before he heard her clearing her throat.
“My heart hurts Kyle. I just want it to stop hurting.”
“Ah man Shalaya. This isn’t the way to make it stop baby. This isn’t the way.”
“I don’t know what else to do,” Lay-Lay said as her entire body went limp. Kyle caught her and held her up against his chest.
“I’ll make it stop for you baby. I promise. Just give me a chance. Don’t do this. Don’t take my chance away before you even give it to me. I can make you feel better. Do you hear me?” He looked down into her eyes as he shook her lightly. “Let me make it better Shalaya. Give me your heart and I promise to make it stop hurting.”
Lay-Lay looked up into his handsome face and began to cry again. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid her head on his chest. He hugged her for a long time before picking her up and placing her in his truck. After he was sure she was safe and relaxed he grabbed his bag from the truck and ran towards Smoke. He unzipped his stuff and immediately began working on Smoke. Between he and Morgan they had enough medical materials to keep him from bleeding out but he needed to get to a hospital.
“He’s fine now but he needs surgery. What are y’all planning to do here?” Kyle asked as he looked around the group of friends.
They all looked at each other waiting for the other to speak. No one really knew what to do in this situation. They needed to call the ambulance but if they did Lay-Lay would go to jail.
“It’s cool…call the…” Smoke was trying to speak but Kyle told him not to. Talking would only complicate things with his current condition.
“Just call the ambulance. We’ll explain everything,” King said. They all looked at him with worried eyes. “It’ll be fine. Smoke is a soldier he would never dime out Lay-Lay. Call them and tell them it was a robbery.”
“What if it doesn’t work?” Morgan asked
“It will. Just do what I say.” King handed Morgan the phone so she could call the ambulance.
When Kyle looked back at Smoke he was getting pale but he nodded his head at Kyle, letting him know he was fine. By the time the ambulance had gotten there Jade had scared Kristen enough to keep her mouth shut while Kyle and Morgan was able to keep Smoke’s vitals stable and his gunshot wound as clean as possible. Being that Kyle was a combat surgeon he was used to saving lives with barely nothing.
He’d been in worse situations than this in the war zone. He instructed Morgan and Dallas to bring Lay-Lay to the hospital while he rode in the back of the ambulance with Smoke. Once he’d told them he was a combat surgeon they’d pretty much let him have his way. With the necessary machines and materials he was able to practically save Smoke’s life, minus the repairing of his intestines. He needed an operating room for that part.
Chapter 7
“So you didn’t get a good look at their faces?” the chubby white police officer asked Smoke as he sat in the bed trying to eat. They had been in and out of his room since this morning and he’d told them all the same thing.
“I already told you no. I ain’t see shit! They walked up on me, stole my wallet, and shot me.”
It was obvious the officer could tell he knew more but he chose to leave it alone.
“Okay, well here’s my card. We’ll be in touch. If you remember anything else, give me a call.”
He exited the room. He stopped momentarily to speak with Kyle who was standing at the door. When Smoke saw him he nodded his head for him to come in. Kyle said something else to the officer before also taking his card and entering the Smoke’s room. Before he sat down he checked Smoke’s charts and the machine that was monitoring him. Satisfied with his improvement he sat in the chair closest to his bed.
“How you feeling man?”
“I’m straight. I’m happy as hell they ain’t giving my ass a colostomy bag.” Both men shared a brief laugh before the room went awkwardly quiet. “Thank you for saving my life. I appreciate that shit.”
“It’s cool man. Aside from that being my job, you mean a lot to Shalaya. She wouldn’t have been able to handle if something happened to you.”
Smoke looked at Kyle for a minute before looking at the wall. He was in deep thought about everything that had just transpired. He had gotten shot but he wasn’t deaf. He’d heard the things Kyle said to Lay-Lay after she tried to shoot herself.
“I know you have feelings for her, and after today I’m okay with that. I didn’t know how bad I was fucking up until I saw the way she looked with that gun. It wasn’t even her behavior that got me, but more so her face. She’s always so happy and today she looked almost dead.” Smoke shook his head and ran his hand over his face. “I feel like shit knowing it’s my fault she feels that way and I’m sorry about it now. I’m not good for her. She deserves to be happy. Don’t fuck up like I did. No hard feelings.” Smoke held out his hand for a pound. Kyle pressed his fist against his and leaned back in his chair.
“Shalaya and I have feelings for each other. It’s been this way long before she ever met you. She loves you, and I respect that. As far as y’all relationship goes, clearly it’s not healthy for either one of you. To be together or not to be together is up to y’all but either way it goes, I’m going to love her. I’ll try to help her move past this but I’m not sure how long it’s going to take. You just focus on getting better while I take care of our woman.” Kyle and Smoke both smiled and chuckled a little as Kyle got up to leave.
Smoke yelled Kyle’s name once more before he made it out of the door. “Was she with you these past couple of days when I couldn’t find her?”
“Yeah.”
Smoked nodded his head before lying back down on his pillow. He hadn’t expected he and Lay-Lay’s relationship to take this drastic of a turn but it had. Some of the things they’d done to one another was unforgivable, but hopefully one day they could forgive one another and be friends.
*****
The shower ran as Shalaya laid her head back onto the side of the bathtub. She had just gotten home and she was dog tired. The day’s events had taken a major toll on not only her body but her mind as well. She’d never felt like this a day in her life. Thank God! She’d wish this feeling on no one. She was wounded from a broken heart. The excruciating pain in her chest had just made her shoot the love of her life and almost take her own. This was just too much to handle.
She wouldn’t have believed it, had someone told her she would try to take her own life today. That wasn’t something she did. She loved herself. She loved the life she lived. To think she was prepared to end it all almost two hours ago was unbelievable. Her mind raced as she sank lower into the bathwater. She didn’t care about the water that was splashing into her face or soaking into her hair. She just wanted this moment of her life to be over.
She’d felt a slight relief knowing that she hadn’t killed Smoke or given him any permanent injuries. Oddly enough, he wanted to see her. He’d told King and Dallas to bring her, but she declined. She wasn’t ready. Although she’d tried to kill him, she wasn’t sorry. His betrayal still hurt and she wasn’t sure whether or not she could speak with him just yet. She was positive she should feel some remorse behind her actions but she didn’t. The only thing she was sorry and even more so embarrassed about was the thought of killing herself. That was weak and the cowardly way out.
Her actions could have hurt so many people had it gone correctly. Her mother, siblings, best friends, and Kyle. Oh Kyle. He had been there! He had been the person to save her from this earth shattering mistake. He’d been her saving grace today. Not only did he save her life, but he and Morgan together saved Smoke’s as well. Shalaya almost felt as if she owed him double.
In a way he’d saved her life twice. He stopped her from shooting the bullet into her skull as well as spending the rest of her life in jail. She would most definitely be behind bars, and not on her shower floor had Smoke died. Lay-Lay’s sobs got louder as the water massaged her body. Something had to give soon. This pressure was unbearable. She needed God to have some mercy on her.
“Shalaya, wake up.” Kyle shook her lightly and her eyes popped open.
Lay-Lay looked at Kyle, then around the bathroom. She wrapped her arms around her legs, shielding her body as she scooted backwards into the tub. Kyle stood and grabbed the towel from the sink and held it out for her to step into it. She sat silently for a while not moving until she began to shiver. Slowly, she stood and stepped out of the tub one foot at a time. When she was completely out she walked into Kyle’s embrace as he wrapped the towel around her. Finally! she thought as her head rested against his hard chest. In his arms she found solace. Comfort. It hadn’t been there before. Love and warmth surrounded her body as he held onto her tightly.
“You feeling better?”
“Not really.”
“It takes time.” Kyle kissed the top of her head repeatedly before leaving her there.
He returned with a smaller towel. He used it to dry her dripping wet hair. When he was finished he wrapped it around her head as best as he could so it wouldn’t fall. With her hand in his he led her into her bedroom. There was a pair of biker shorts and a tank top lying on her bed. She stood quietly and emotionless as he dried her off, put lotion on her body, and did his best to get her dressed. He brushed her hair into a ponytail the best he could once she was completely dressed. Lay thought she was about to lie down but Kyle grabbed her purse and pulled her towards the door.
“Where we going?”
“To see a friend of mine.”
“I don’t feel like going anywhere. I’ll be here when you get back.” Kyle stopped her just as she turned to leave. He grabbed her hand again and pushed her towards the door.
“Just take a ride with me. Please.” Kyle’s eyes searched hers for agreeance.
Lay-Lay really didn’t want to but agreed to anyways. She went back into her room, brushed her hair into a better ponytail, and put a hat on. Once she put her earrings in she grabbed her wallet from her purse and left it on the couch. Kyle’s truck was parked in her parking space. She wanted to ask where her car was but she didn’t even care at the moment. They rode in silence the majority of the time. Kyle kept trying to talk to her but she wasn’t really in the mood. Once the truck finally came to a stop they were in front of a large house. It was brick with white shutters and green grass.
The gold plated sign hanging on the door let her know that this was some type of business. She looked at Kyle, whom was already watching her, and nodded her head towards the door. He gave her hand a light squeeze before getting out. He walked around and opened the passenger side door for her. Kyle’s truck was big and Lay-Lay was short. She occasionally had a hard time getting in and out. Once they’d finally made it up the stairs Lay-Lay read the gold sign. Pete Webb MD Psychiatry. Kyle had brought her to a shrink.
Lay-Lay shook her head and started taking steps backwards. “I don’t want to go in there. I’m fine.”
“No you’re not Shalaya. Please just talk to him. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to come back.”
“What you mean if I don’t like it? I already don’t like it. This stuff is for white people. I’m good.”
Kyle shook his head in embarrassment. This was the problem with African-Americans now. They harbored so much instead of getting help. It was sad. There was nothing wrong with talking to someone that could help you figure out your problems.
“I’ll stay with you.” Kyle hoped him staying with her would make her more comfortable. He watched her eyes shift from side to side as she crossed her arms. She stared at him for a few minutes before releasing a frustrated breath and entering the building. They were greeted by the secretary the moment they walked in. Lay went to sit down while Kyle talked to her.
He and Pete had served together their first three years in the military until Pete got out. After their first tour in Iraq he’d chosen not to re-enlist. Kyle couldn’t say that he blamed him, but that wasn’t in his plans. He loved his job and didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. He and Lay-Lay waited for another five minutes before Pete emerged from the back. He was a short black man with salt and pepper hair. He wore glasses and slacks with a vest.
“Kyle, my man. How are you?” He embraced Kyle before reaching to shake Lay-Lay’s hand.
“Could be better. This is my girl Shalaya. The one I was telling you about.”
“Nice to meet you Ms. Hardaway. You two come on back.” He walked ahead and led them to a spacious room in the back. It housed two large leather sofas and a small desk. There were plants and flowers everywhere. He had two large bookshelves in each corner that were filled to the max. The overall set up was a very welcoming and comfortable one. Kyle could tell Lay-Lay was still a little nervous so he rubbed his hand up and down her back. They sat closely on the soft couch until Pete grabbed his notepad and took a seat in front of them. Initially he asked questions that she was reluctant to answer so he stopped.
“Would you be more comfortable if you and I talked alone?” He looked at her over the rim of his glasses.
Alarm spread across her face immediately.
“No. I want Kyle to stay here with me.” She wrapped her arm around his and squeezed him closer to her. Her behavior was strange. Kyle was momentarily caught off guard by it. Although he hated it was under these circumstances, he was happy she wanted him. It made him feel good to know she didn’t want him to leave.
“Okay. Whatever works for you. So tell me about you and Kyle. What does he mean to you?” It was obvious Lay-Lay didn’t want to talk about the incident just yet. Pete decided to try a new direction with his questioning. The slight smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth proved that his decision was right. Kyle observed the way her body language relaxed as she shifted in her seat. When she looked at him her eyes were glossy. With her head leaned against his shoulder she finally spoke.
“I love him. He’s everything. Any thoughts of a fairytale ending with a knight in shining armor, would be Kyle. He’s the most thoughtful and caring man I’ve ever known. I don’t deserve him.”
Kyle had enjoyed listening to her feelings up until that part. He scooted away some so he could see her face but she wouldn’t look at him. The rest of the meeting with Pete was hard to sit through. Lay-Lay talked about things he hadn’t necessarily wanted to hear, but he’d already knew that would happen. He was just happy she was finally talking. Letting it all out would be good for her.
