Mahogany Desires

Chapter 28

         MACHAYLA COULDN'T HELP but feel horrible for Jason and his friends as Doctor Connor made the announcement to Brandon’s little sister Cameron, his parents and to the rest of his crew that he was unresponsive. In other words, the chances of him surviving the crash were less than fifty percent. He’d suffered from not only TBI (traumatic brain surgery) after hitting his head multiple times as the car flipped but also he had several severely broken ribs caused by his body being thrashed around and repeatedly hitting the driver’s door and steering wheel. Last but certainly not least, one of his legs was broken and he’d receive some random internal tissue scarring.

“It’s a miracle that he didn’t die instantly from his injuries due to the fact that they are so severe. He probably would’ve sustained less injuries had he worn his seat belt and he’d be in need of a blood transfusion had it not been for what looks like a suspect who helped slow down the bleeding. Only questions now are who that person that was there to help him is and what they were doing there to begin with, US-27 is a closed road after all. Has been for a while now due to past incidents.”

Fear quickly struck her as she wrapped the leather jacket that Jason handed her before they headed inside the hospital that she frequently was sent to for work, tighter around her body in order to prevent curious eyes from seeing the blood –Brandon’s blood to be exact—on her clothes. Not even the smell of the guy that she was deeply infatuated with could calm her nerves. ‘What if we get caught?’ She started to panic.

A hand landed on her shoulders and brought her close to a large chest. Looking up, she watched as Jason’s demeanor transform from sorrow to anger then determination as he continued to pay attention to Dr. Connor’s explanation. She wanted to comfort him and apologize for her own fiancé’s evil doing but instead she just wrapped an arm around his waist and leaned into him. His stiff posture loosened a bit as his hand squeezed her shoulder but not once did he look at her.

It was almost like he was in a trance.

But of course, Jason’s wavering emotions was only half of her worries. What really had her bugging out was the thought of what Mason was going to do to her when she went back home.

She had to go at some point. Running away was pointless because he’d only find her…again. Anyways, she knew things that Mason didn’t want anyone finding about, things that could place him behind bars for the rest of his miserable life. So he wouldn’t let her go and she couldn’t stay with Jason and his friends after this whole ordeal was over though, she did want to stay and be there for him but then again, he had his brother and everyone who was in that waiting room with him.

She had no one. No one at all. The minute this situation with Mason was over –if it ever ended—he’d bail on her and she didn’t mind –a lie—but if she got any more dependent on him coming around to get her out of trouble or being around, she’d be setting herself up for a world of hurt when the time for him to ditch her came.

After a while, Dr. Connor proclaimed that he had to take some more x-rays of Brandon’s skull for more tests and told the bunch that they’d be able to see their friend some time after.  He returned into the Intensive Care Unit where Brandon was located and Jason released his hold on Machayla. With a small wry smile that was meant to reassure her, he went over to where Cameron sat arm in arm with a distraught looking Victor and her parents.

 Machayla over heard Jason and Victor try their best to not look so guilty while lied through their teeth to Brandon’s already heartbroken family about “what they thought” happened to their son and brother. To the left of the dreary and off-white painted walls of the waiting room she spied Sierra trying her best to comfort Carter as he fought what seemed to be a wagering battle inside of his head. Meanwhile Dennis and Valentino… or was it Chico were both somber as they watched Jason try to calm down Brandon’s hysteric mother.