41

Alicia sat by Bugsy’s bedside with a sad face. Seeing her man in such terrible condition—his face swollen, jaw broken, eyes puffy and bruised—was disheartening. The only thing she could do for him was pray for a full recovery. Then there was the gunshot wound she knew about but he failed to tell her about. It was all becoming too much for her. She was sick and tired, and more than afraid for her thug boyfriend. Yeah, he wore the nice suits and nice shoes and was very polished, but he was still a gangster.

First her home had been shot up and now all this. Her simple life was becoming more complicated and dangerous. She didn’t know when a bullet would have her name on it. What if they went after her to get to him? His risky life was eating away at her well-being.

Sure, Bugsy helped her sell the house, allowed her to keep the profit, and bought her a much better place without a mortgage to worry about. It was more than enough to make up for her troubles. Then there were the nice cars, stylish clothing, and expensive jewelry he showered her with. But they were all material things, which wouldn’t mean shit to her if she was dead.

Alicia wiped the tears that trickled down her face. Looking at Bugsy with his swollen face like the Elephant Man broke her heart into tiny pieces. She let out a big heavy sigh and closed her eyes, trying to hold back more of her tears, but the floodgates were already open.

“Damn it, Bugsy,” she muttered.

It was a hard decision to make, but she had to make it. Her mind was made up. It would take a lot of courage, but she needed to leave him. Her heart could take no more worries and troubles. She loved him deeply—more than she’d ever loved anyone—but she couldn’t do this. She would nurse him back to good health, but that was as far as she could go with him. She worked hard and had a good heart. She didn’t deserve to be tethered to someone whose clock was counting down. In her profession, Alicia had seen men like Bugsy come into the hospital beat up, shot up, and stabbed, and it was always a tragic sight to see. Whether they lived or died, they would forever be changed, as would the people who loved them.

She strongly felt that Bugsy had an expiration date, and she couldn’t sit by and wait for it to approach.

***

The day Bugsy opened his eyes and woke up from his coma, the first person he expected to see by his side was Alicia. He wasn’t disappointed. There his angel was, standing right there by his bedside looking heavenly. He smiled, but it was harder than he thought. His jaw had been wired shut.

He wanted to say something to his queen, but speaking was almost impossible. The only thing he could do was communicate to Alicia through his eyes and hand movements. He hated every bit of his condition, but he thought, Charge it to the game, right?

He had been in an induced coma for six days. It took several days for all the medication he was being fed intravenously to leave his system, and then his cloudy head began to clear. Through the slow recovery, Alicia and Maxine hardly left his side. Alicia comforted him the best she could, and Maxine got him whatever he needed. It would be a long road to recovery, but Bugsy figured that if he had Alicia there to support him, he could get through this. He could become whole again, for her.

The moments he was alone, he had time to think. Meyer did this to him. He remembered everything. They tried to hide behind their masks, but their identity was clear to him. The sneakers were the first thing that gave his brother away, then body language and finally the only thing visible—his eyes. It was Luna who had attacked him. And his boy, AJ, was dead.

He had a lot to think about—the audacity of Meyer coming after him and taking from their father.

His body ached, and his face felt like stone. They fucked him up good. It was a miracle he was still alive, but Bugsy remembered Meyer pulling Luna off him. Meyer was trying to save his life, but Bugsy deduced that it was Layla who had masterminded the robbery.

He decided that he wouldn’t tell Scott. He would keep things quiet for now. He knew that once Scott found out the truth, then Meyer and Layla would both be dead. No, once he was healed, he would handle the situation himself. He wasn’t even going to confront his brother about it—not yet. Revenge was a dish best served cold.

***

Three weeks went by, and Bugsy was healing well. He felt in good hands with Alicia. Her being a nurse helped him out a lot too. He had been released from the hospital and could finish recuperating in his home. Day after day, Alicia took care of him. Maxine kept him company in the evening while Alicia was at work.

Bugsy’s days were spent watching TV, lifting weights, and reading. He had frequent visits to several doctors to check up on his condition. He was receiving the best treatment that money could buy. His speech was still put on hold since his jaw was wired, but he could talk to his girlfriend with a notepad, his touching, and texting. Bugsy wanted to speak so badly, but the condition with his mouth and jaw would last for six weeks.

Ironically, he received a visit from Layla, Lucky, and Meyer. Layla played the role of a worried mother. She hugged her son passionately and shed tears about his condition. Meyer asked the questions.

“Yo, you know who did this to you? Just tell me or write down a name, and I’m on these fools fo’ real—gun ’em down, my nigga. I got your back,” Meyer said.

He said it in front of Alicia, and she frowned and left the room. Bugsy wanted to curse his brother out. He didn’t want that talk around his woman.

He knew Meyer was fishing for information, trying to see if he knew anything. But Bugsy shook his head no. He would play it like that—pretend to be clueless of his brother’s involvement for a while until he figured things out.

Meanwhile, he and Meyer played video games to pass the day away, and it was like when they were kids again.