"You're lucky I'm off the clock. Why the hell am I in Tennessee?" He asked once he pulled up behind the motel and got out his car. Dashawn said nothing, only stepping to the side to reveal the dead body.

"His name is Bob. He's been using this nasty ass motel as a base for his operation. I don't know how long he's been buying and selling missing kids, but I only found out about it after I tracked my daughter down to this location. You know me, I got a little carried away and—"

"Now you need my help?"

"You know I wouldn't ask unless I was desperate, and right now I'm hella desperate. So yes, I need all this shit to go away—this body right here and all the ones back in Georgia. I don't know what you gotta do, but I need it all gone."

"Fuck, D," the man placed his hands on top of his head and started pacing.

"There are also ten little girls and a woman in room 15. The girls need medical treatment and some help locating their families. Will you handle it?"

"I have no authority in Tennessee," he stopped in front of Dashawn.

"I know, but I also know that you have connections due to your position," D said.

"I can't keep doing this," the man spoke.

"I got that, but you still owe me."

"I know, I know. But this is twice now that I've had to cover your ass in a big way. What happened to you being dead?"

"I still am. I didn't intend on making such a huge mess, but I had no other choice but to step in and find my daughter. I made sure to cover my tracks, but now I need you to double and triple check for me. I can't have my name or my crew's name tied to any of this, and you're the only person I trust to make it all disappear. Then I promise I will sit my ass down."

"Where is your daughter now?" The man asked.

"In the hospital."

"Do you remember which one?" Dashawn quickly searched his memory before reciting the name and address of the hospital.

"How is she doing?" He then asked.

"I don't know," Dashawn answered honestly. "I couldn't stick around, but I hope she's okay."

The man nodded in response. He then took a moment to think to himself. He had to somehow come up with a plan to effectively handle the situation—one that wasn't too complex, but also detailed enough to keep people from asking questions. And he not only had to keep Dashawn's name out of it, but also his name too if he wanted his reputation to stay clean.

And when he at least had the first part figured out, he disclosed his plan to Dashawn.

"I will send someone that I trust up to the hospital. I need you to have your daughter discharged immediately. The hospital will ask questions, but that's why I'm sending an officer. Go back to Georgia and have her taken somewhere private for treatment."

"What about those girls?" Dashawn asked.

"I will handle it. I'll take care of everything, but Dashawn I'm serious about this being the last time. We're even after this." Dashawn nodded to show that he understood the severity of the situation. He also knew that this final request of his meant that their agreement was now over.

"I'll need the full details of what happened so that I can tie up loose ends in Georgia, but for now just go make sure your daughter is okay and get the hell out of here."

.....

I stayed up for most of the night just watching Imani sleep. It wasn't completely dark in the room, so I could see her just fine. The nurse that took over for Jess came off as very unapproachable. And from the moment she clocked in, I could tell that she was one of them nurses that liked to claim their bitchiness as their personality.

She also might have caught an attitude when she saw me sleeping in the same bed as Imani, but it wasn't like I was trying to interfere with her job. So I honestly don't know what her problem is.

But enough about that. Imani still hasn't opened her eyes yet. I remember Jess telling me that the excessive sleeping might just be her body's way of coping with the stress, and that I should be patient as she heals. But the unresponsiveness has me worried.

And since I can't seem to stop worrying, I've just been running my fingers along her soft skin to confirm that she is indeed still real. And If I'm not doing that then I'm wondering why I even brought her into this world in the first place.

I can't deny that Imani is basically my whole heart. My life means nothing without her, and my heart only beats for her. But it sickens me that I ended up being the reason for her pain.

I love her so much that it hurts, which is crazy because there were so many times when I thought about getting an abortion. And out of all those times, I never once thought that Imani would ever come to mean so much to me. I honestly just thought that I was doing Dashawn a favor by keeping her, but he ended up leaving me anyway—something he said he would never do. He left me with the biggest responsibility of my life, and I hated him for it. I hated that I had put his feelings above my own, only for it to backfire in the end.

But now that I have Imani, I couldn't imagine my life without her. She's honestly made me into a better person, and if Dashawn's family hadn't stepped up and helped me get back on my feet, both Imani and I would be dead.

Even now, I owed everything to Meech for helping me when I couldn't ask Dashawn to. I definitely need to thank him whenever I get the chance. And I owe multiple people an apology and practically everyone a show of gratitude.

I sighed deeply as I thought about what I would say to them. It had to be something better than just a simple thank you. I continued to ponder over my thoughts as I caressed Imani's skin. But I had to stop and completely pull away when she jerked in her sleep.

"Imani," I whispered. I thought she wouldn't respond, but she actually opened her eyes some. I then sprung forward and tried to get her attention.

"Hi baby," I smiled weakly at her. I could see her trying to open her eyes, but they just kept closing and then reopening half way.

"Can you open your eyes for me?" I now had most of my body hovering over her. Imani tired again to open her eyes. This time she opened them all the way, but it still seemed as if she wasn't looking at me, but straight through me as if I wasn't even there.

"I'm so proud of you." A few tears of mine escaped and landed on her forehead. But I quickly kissed them away.

"Mommy's here. You don't have to be strong anymore." I whispered the last part more to myself, but it was as if my words held some weight to them because Imani instantly started crying. She even jolted up, reaching for me as she pulled on the cables that connected her to the machines.

"Mommy." Her voice was barely audible as she strained to talk.

"It's okay, I'm here," I bent down to hug her when she started crying hysterically.

"I love you so much," my voice faltered and cracked awkwardly. I couldn't help but cry at listening to her painful sobs. What really broke me was how her small hands desperately grabbed for me even though I was already in her arms. And because she was now so worked up, the heart monitor started going off. I tried to slightly pull away but she began screaming into the oxygen mask, also causing her to go into a coughing fit.

I turned my head to the door as a bunch of nurses rushed into the room.

"She's only worked up," I said to them.

"Can I take a look at her?" one of them asked. I tried again to slowly get up, but Imani wasn't having it. I then completely dismissed the idea altogether.

"Imani, can you calm down for me? I promise I'm not going anywhere, but you have to calm down," I told her.

"M-Mommy," she tried talking in between coughs as she continued to grip me tight.

"Shhhh, don't talk. Just breathe in and out slowly." I used my good hand to wipe the sweat off her forehead while continuing to model how I wanted her to breathe.

"In and out Imani." She eventually relaxed enough for me to shift to the side of her. The other nurses left while Imani's nurse came over to take her vitals and reset the machine. She eyed me before smiling down at Imani. "Welcome back little one," she said readjusting the wires and cables.

"Do you remember what happened?" Imani didn't respond to her.

"What about those bruises—how did you get those?"

Imani's eyes frantically searched the room from corner to corner while I whispered encouraging words into her ear. Regardless of what the nurse was trying to do, I wanted Imani to know that she didn't have to answer her. She didn't have to talk to anyone if she didn't feel comfortable. Not to mention, she just woke up. It didn't seem appropriate for the nurse to bombard her with questions during such a sensitive time. And if Imani was gonna reveal anything to anyone, it was gonna be me and me alone.

"Can you please leave. Maybe come back later when she's not so startled," I told her. The nurse clamped her mouth shut and frowned.

"Thank you." I ended the conversation there.

She quickly turned and left the room. I rolled my eyes at her retreating frame and shook off the bad vibes.

I snuggled up against Imani as she continued to look around the room. Even after all the nurses left and it was just the two of us, it was still apparent that she just didn't want to talk at all. I would never force her to talk to me, but I also wanted her to know that she could if she wanted to.

So, instead of making her feel even more uncomfortable with unnecessary questions, I started talking about any and everything under the sun as long as it wasn't related to this past week. When I mentioned going to the beach, Imani turned her head to me.

"I would love to take you to the beach when you're feeling better," I whispered to her. She only looked at me and cried. I pressed my body as close to her as I could, and I just let her cry it all out. And nearly a whole hour went by of her soft sniffles before she fell asleep.

.....

A few hours later...

I was woken up out of my sleep by my phone ringing. It was on the other side of the room so I had to climb out of the bed to answer it. Before I could say anything, Meech was urging me to have Imani discharged as soon as possible.

"I can't just—"

"A police officer will be knocking on the door in a few minutes. He will escort you and Imani out of the building. Can you be ready by then?" He asked me.

"Yes, we'll be ready," I sighed in defeat. We then got off the phone and I quickly put together all the bags Penny got for me. I changed out of my old clothes and slipped on a pair of sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I placed the rest of my stuff in the bag.

And as gently as I could, I woke Imani up. Her eyes snapped open, but she relaxed when she saw me.

"It's time to leave," I told her. I pressed the call button on the side of the bed and waited for about twenty minutes. I tried heading for the door when no one came, but Imani stopped me with her screams. I cringed and quickly shushed her.

"I'm sorry. I won't leave you, but we have to go and I need a nurse to come and remove these," I said pointing to the cords.

Suddenly, the room door was pushed open. The police officer that Meech was talking about came in with the nurse following closely behind him. She looked to the officer before handing me a folder. "I have the discharge papers," she mumbled. I took the folder from her.

"The doctor was busy, so I spoke with him on the phone instead. We reviewed Imani's file, and I put some notes in the folder. I also included some aftercare routines, prescriptions that need to be filled, and a follow-up appointment," she said.

"That won't be necessary. Imani already has a PCP that I can take her to, so there's no need for us to come back here," I told her. The nurse eyed me, but said nothing and started to detach everything.

I held Imani's hand to distract her from the IV, and since she was so focused on me, she barely flinched when it was removed.

"Oh, and I put in an order for a nebulizer as well. Whenever you can get that filled, I would do that soon if I were you. And she can keep the mask," the nurse muttered as she turned off the oxygen valve and unhooked the long tube connecting to Imani's mask.

When she was done, I helped Imani off the bed. I grabbed a spare sweatshirt and pulled it down over her hospital gown. I then dropped the mask in a bag before turning to the officer.

"Can you grab these for me?" I asked him. He shuffled over to the bags and picked each of them up.

"Do you want to walk?" I asked Imani next. She shook her head no.

"Okay, that's fine." I lifted her up and she wrapped her legs around me. She placed her head on my shoulder, and I said nothing to the nurse as we left the room.

We took the elevator down, and the officer walked us to a familiar black car parked out front. Meech popped the trunk and got out the car. When he opened the door for me, I climbed in the backseat with Imani. She stayed in my lap while I watched Meech talk to the officer. They talked for about five minutes before they parted ways.

When Meech got in the car I wanted to ask him what was going on, but I didn't feel like being ignored or lied to, so I kept my mouth shut.

I had Imani now, so that was all I cared about anyway.

.....

💜