Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
AYOLUWA COULDN'T GET the image of Joshua laying unconscious in the car next to her.
Broken and bloody and unresponsive, all because he had tried to save her.
Ayoluwa was pacing back and forth in the waiting room of Lenox Hill Hospital on the Upper East Side, her hands protectively woven together over her son and a security guard standing in front of the door to make sure that no fans got in.
The tears of panic and guilt had freshly dried on her face but they were threatening to come back at any moment due to Ayoluwa being on the brink of a mental breakdown.
"If you're looking to find a love that will stand to the end of time," Ayoluwa sung to herself in a low and shaky tone, "Baby, relax your mind-."
A panic attack was stuck in her throat and it was making it hard to sing and breathe and think.
With shallow, rapid breaths Ayoluwa slumped to the white and blue tiled floor, "Oh, shit. Oh, shit."
"Ayo!" Shareef's voice was in the hospital corridor, "Let me through."
Ayoluwa waved Shareef and Caleb through into the empty room and the two rushed in to help her up.
"What happened? You have cuts all over your face." Shareef said.
Ayoluwa blinked up at him in surprise and Shareef lightly touched the spot above her left eyebrow and both of her cheekbones.
When he pulled his index finger away, there was dark red blood stained on his skin, letting Ayoluwa know that the injuries on her face were more serious than she thought.
"It doesn't matter right now. Josh has been in surgery for hours now. The doctors won't tell me anything." She turned to Caleb, "I need you to call your parents. I tried to call Patrick but no one is answering."
Caleb nodded and began to pull out his cell phone then stepped away to the lonely side of the room.
Shareef joined her in sitting down, "What exactly happened?"
Ayoluwa could feel the panic attack rise again like bile as the recollection of the accident floated to the front of her mind.
She managed to push down the panic attack and then coughed, "The guy driving in front of us was turning the corner too slow and our driver tried to run a yellow and this truck came out of nowhere and I've been here for almost five hours and I don't even know if he could be dead- Ooh!"
Perhaps sensing her panic, stress and fear, Nas began to kick, making Ayoluwa surprised.
"You good? Is my nephew okay?" Caleb asked, turning halfway around to face her.
"Yeah to both," Ayoluwa sighed out some of her anxiety.
"He pushed me out of the way. It should've been me," Ayoluwa whispered then pushed the palms of her hands against her forehead, forcing her locs away from her face.
Shareef nudged her forcefully, "Do not say that."
Before Ayoluwa could respond, Nas kicked again.
Ayoluwa poked her stomach, "Stop. Stop it now. Stop it right now."
A doctor in scrubs and gloves, clearly coming from surgery, came into the room, "Are you all here for Josh Christopher?"
Ayoluwa rose to her feet faster than she was supposed to, causing a bit of a rush to hit her like a brick, "Yes. Is he alright?"
Doctor was quiet for a moment, "Well, the left side of his ribcage and his leg have been broken and there's a bit of internal bleeding. We managed to correct most fit but we are gonna have to keep him here under surveillance for a couple of days."
"Can we see him?" Caleb asked as he hung up the cell phone and slid it
"One at a time. He needs to rest. He's in room 243." The doctor nodded at them before departing from the room.
"You should go first," Ayoluwa said to Caleb.
"No, you go first. Josh'll probably wanna check on you and Nas." He replied, "It's fine," Caleb continued at the reluctant look on her face.
Ayoluwa tucked both lips in and then let out a groan when Caleb gently prodded her in her shoulder blade, "Fine. Fine. I'm going."
As she walked down the hall, Ayoluwa rubbed her hands anxiously.
She stopped at the hospital room that held the numbers '243', took in a deep breath and then stepped into the room.
Joshua was laying on the bed that was reclined halfway up and his broken left leg was bandaged, plastered and elevated above the rest of his body.
The left side of his chest was also bandaged and there was multiple cuts and bruises over his face, collarbone, arms and hands.
It was honestly a wonder that she hadn't started crying from guilt again.
When Joshua saw Ayoluwa, he struggled to sit up and then let out a groan of pain, "Ugh. Are you okay?"
Ayoluwa walked closer, an ironic chuckle on her lips, "You're the one in a hospital bed and you're asking if I'm okay?"
"Yeah," Joshua closed his eyes for a second, "How's our son?"
"He's fine," Ayoluwa pulled up a chair next to his bed and as soon as she was close enough, Joshua slowly laced their hands together.
"This is all my fault. If I had just called you about the damn appointment instead of sending people after you then you would've found your own ride and then you wouldn't have had to pull me out of the way in the first place."
"Do not blame yourself," Joshua squeezed her hand, "I would do it all again if I needed to. It's you. I had to save you."
At his words, Ayoluwa could feel her eyes tear up again and she leaned down a little to rest her lips upon his.
"Oh, I'm guessing this is a bad time now." Caleb interrupted from the room doorway.
"Uh," Ayoluwa pushed back her locs, "I should probably go."
"Yeah," Joshua agreed, "You need some sleep. C'mere."
Ayoluwa leaned down once more to kiss him then stood up and vacated the room.
