Chapter 4
Mimi
I sat there in the dark for the seventh day in a row. I couldn’t eat, sleep; I barely could breathe. My mind was clouded, and my heart was broken in two. It took me a week to finally accept the fact that Kaylin was the one who shot me. I couldn’t believe it. Hell, I didn’t want to. I thought that when I called his phone and it was disconnected, it was because of other reasons, not because he was in hiding. Now I had to face the fact that Kaylin shot me, left me for dead, and now he was on the run with my kids.
I still didn’t understand why he would shoot me though. I remembered bits and pieces, like Kaylin and me fighting, but I didn’t know why. That part was still unclear to me. Whatever happened prior to me being shot must have been serious if Kaylin felt he had to shoot me. Hell, I needed some answers, and the only one I could think to call was Troy. I had a major problem though: I couldn’t seem to recall her number. I racked my brain, but I couldn’t remember a damn thing, and that shit was frustrating as hell.
I needed to get out of here as soon as possible. I couldn’t do shit locked up in this hospital like a prisoner. I needed to get home. I needed to see my kids. I needed answers, answers that this fake-ass detective couldn’t give me. It was time to come up with a plan. I was leaving this hospital today.
I sat there waiting on Nurse Margie to come. For the past few weeks, we’d gotten close. She’d been my day nurse since I’d been in here. She’d been helpful. Any- and everything that I needed, she made sure that I got it. She’d been doing a little research on what happened the day that I was shot and, so far, she hadn’t come up with anything. It’s like they never even put the shit in the papers, or on the news. You’d think the shit had never even happened. I wondered what the hell was going on out there. I got shot four times, and it didn’t even make the news.
Pushing the call button for the nurse, I decided that this time was the best time. Since Detective Webber was gone on a little break, I needed to make a break for it. If there was a perfect time to try to leave, now would be it. Throwing the cover back, I sat up on the side of the bed, waiting on Margie. It was taking her so long that I started to think she wasn’t coming.
I attempted to get out of bed, but I sat back down when I realized that my strength wasn’t at 100 percent. Holding on to the side of the bed, I inched my way up. I was about to take a step when I heard someone walking through the door.
“What are you doing?” Margie asked, running toward me. “Why are you out of bed?”
“Making a break for it. I’m getting out of here while I have the opportunity. I need some answers, and Detective Webber isn’t trying to help me, so I’ll have to help myself,” I said, standing to my feet.
“But you’re in no condition to leave.”
“Don’t matter what condition I’m in, I’m getting up out of here,” I grunted.
“Now you know you can’t go anywhere like that,” she said, trying to stop me.
I looked in her eyes with a straight face and said, “I can and I will. Now you can either help me, or you can let me go.”
I stared at her intently. I could see the wheels in her head turning, wondering if she should help me. Hell, she was probably scared of losing her job.
“If you’re worried about losing your job, I can help you. I have money, I can give you some,” I said, trying to ease her burden.
“I don’t want your money, Amina, and although I know that you’re in no condition to leave, I’m going to help you. I like you. As a matter of fact, I care deeply for you. You’re like the daughter I never had. All I ask is that you be careful and take care of yourself,” she said with her voice cracking.
“Aw, that’s sweet. I promise that I’ll take care of myself, Margie. I just can’t stay in here not knowing what’s going on. I don’t know how I got here. I don’t know where Troy is, where Kaylin is, or where my kids are. I wanna be able to see, hear, and hug my kids, but I can’t do that. I need to find them and I can’t if I’m locked up in here.”
“I understand all that, baby, I really do. Now I’m going to help you get out of here, but you have to be patient,” she replied, looking at the door like someone was standing there.
“Okay. Thank you so much for helping me. I really appreciate it,” I said, hugging her.
“Child, you don’t have to thank me, just get out there and find those babies. When you find them, make sure you bring them by to see me.” She hugged me back.
“Okay.”
“All right, now, let me go get you a wheelchair. Lord knows you can’t walk up out of here in your own,” she said, preparing to leave, but she stopped just as she was about to open the door. “Will there be someone here to pick you up?”
“Hell, no. I didn’t even think about that. I can’t remember anybody’s number to try to call them,” I replied, looking stupid. I thought about a lot of shit, but finding a ride away from here wasn’t one of them.
“It’s okay. I’m going to get you away from here. Stay here.”
I sat down in the chair while I waited for Margie to return. I ain’t gonna lie, I was a nervous wreck right now. So many questions were flooding through my mind. What if Detective Webber came back and caught me? What if Margie was caught and lost her job? I would have been devastated if any of that were to happen. I made up my mind that I wasn’t going to do it.
“What are you doing?” Margie asked, seeing that I was trying to walk over to the bed.
“I’m not doing it, Margie. I can’t. So much shit can go wrong, and I don’t want you to lose your job behind me.”
“It’s okay, really. I’ll just act like I’m taking you for a walk, then act like I forgot something. When I get back, you’ll already be gone in my car.” She smiled, handing me the keys.
“Won’t you have to report your car stolen and shit? Margie, I ain’t trying to go to jail.” I handed her keys back.
“I won’t. I’ll give you my number, and you can tell me where you are. I’ll catch a cab to come pick it up, and I can check on you at the same time.”
“Margie, I don’t think we should do this.”
“Amina, it’s going to be all right. Now while you’re standing over there wasting time, we could be getting you out of here before Detective Webber gets back.”
“Okay,” I finally agreed, walking toward the wheelchair. “But if you get caught and lose your job, you have to promise to let me help you.”
“Okay, little lady, just come on before we both get caught,” she replied, shooing me into the chair. I sat down and waited for her to move. Opening the door, she peeked out of it first before grabbing the chair and pushing me out.
“Be real quiet, but if anyone asks where we’re going, tell them that we’re going for a walk,” she whispered to me. We passed two patients who being wheeled out also. Smiling, we waved at them and kept on about our business. I could hear my heart beating super loud. The shit felt like it was going to come out of my chest. It wasn’t that I was scared of getting caught. I was scared of not getting up out of here and finding my kids. Shit, by the time they let me out of here officially, Kaylin might be long gone with my damn children.
We made it all the way to the elevator without getting caught. It actually went smoother than I expected. Now if the rest of our little journey went like that, we’d be on easy street, I thought as the elevators opened. Moving quickly, we bumped right into Dr. McKenley.
“Morning ladies, how is it going?” he asked, stopping to talk to us.
“G . . . good morning, Dr. McKenley. Everything is going good,” I stuttered.
“Good morning, Dr. McKenley. Everything is great. We’re just going for a walk,” Margie spoke from behind me. I was glad that she interrupted the conversation, because my nervousness would’ve given us away.
“Where’s Detective Webber?” he asked, looking through the elevator doors.
“Oh, uh, he stepped out for a little bit,” Margie replied. “He said he’ll be back shortly.”
“Oh, okay. Remember to take it easy.”
“We will.”
“Okay, then, have a great walk.” He walked off toward the nurse’s station.
“I thought he was going to catch on to us,” I whispered the minute the elevator had closed.
“Or get us caught,” Margie said chuckling, as the elevator started to move. It felt like the elevator was taking forever to get to the first floor. If I didn’t know better, I’d have sworn it wanted us to get caught.
“Come on, elevator,” I complained. My nerves were all over the place. I wanted to get away from here as fast as possible. I needed to get to my children.
“Finally,” I yelled when the elevator stopped on the first floor. We carefully made our way out of the hospital toward the front entrance. We were almost home free when we spotted Detective Webber outside, smoking a cigarette.
“Oh, shit, what are we going to do, Margie?” I started to panic.
“Child, calm down. We’re just going to have to go around back,” she said, pushing me in the opposite direction.
“Margie, we can’t do this. We’re going to get caught. Just bring me back upstairs.”
“We can and we will. Now hush up and save your energy for when you get out of here,” she fussed, picking up speed. We made it to the back of the hospital in no time.
“My car is parked on the left side of the parking lot. It’s a black Chevy Malibu with tinted windows.” She gently helped me out of the wheelchair. It took a minute for me to get my bearings, but I was fine after that.
“Thank you so much, Margie. You don’t know how much this really means to me,” I said, turning around to hug her. “I’m so happy that I’ve met you.”
“Aw, baby, you’re welcome. Now go out there and find those babies. Don’t you forget to call me when you get settled in.” She gave me a little push.
“Okay, I will. Thanks again,” I replied, heading out of the entrance. My legs felt like Jell-O at first, but after the first few steps, I was back to normal.
I slowly made my way to the left side of the parking lot in search of Margie’s car. When I couldn’t find it, I used the remote on the keychain to make the headlights flash. Once I located the car, I got in and started it up. I took my time as I backed out. I didn’t want to cause an accident because I hadn’t driven a car in a minute. On my way out of the hospital parking lot, I spotted Detective Webber by the entrance. I passed by him slowly, praying I didn’t alert him or hospital security. Once I drove past him, I turned out of the parking lot and headed for the expressway.
Pulling onto the highway, I finally breathed a sigh of relief. I’d been holding my breath from the minute I spotted Detective Webber by the hospital’s front entrance. Now that I was a good distance from the hospital, I could breathe right.
I had no plans on where I’d be staying. I knew I couldn’t go home, because that was the first place that they’d look for me. I could go to Troy’s, but I didn’t want her to know that I was alive and well right now. I needed a place to rest, gather my thoughts, and to form plan. I spotted a service station and decided to make a quick stop.
Pulling into the parking lot, I parked on the side away from the gas pumps. Looking in the glove compartment, I found a loose five dollar bill. I figured I could pay Margie back, so I took it and went in.
Walking to the back by the coolers, I reached in and picked up an AriZona tea. After getting my drink, I went to the front and got a pack of Skittles and a sample pack of Tylenol. Then I paid for my things, and I was out the door. The minute I stepped outside, I spotted a white Camaro. I thought it was Kaylin. I slowly crept over to where I had parked the car. I got in and waited to see if he got out. When the Camaro’s car door opened, I frowned. It was Kaylin’s car for sure, but he wasn’t the one driving. It was his stupid-ass friend Arthur. I never liked his loud, obnoxious ass, because he always thought he was all that.
“What is he doing with Kaylin’s car though?” I wondered aloud as I started up the car and drove off. Once I made it back on the freeway, I knew exactly where I was headed. It was the one place I’d be safe, and no one would find me.