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JALEN STILL COULDN'T move which meant his other senses were now working in overdrive.
Although his mind was still foggy and his eyes still half closed he could recognize the feel of a car's buttery soft leather seats below the length of his body and the unmistakable scent of Noelani's conditioner, a mix of raspberry, passionfruit, and vanilla.
"Lani," Jalen attempted to say but it came out as a mumble.
"It's okay," Jalen could hear Noelani say from above, "We're almost ho-. To your house."
"Not even an almost. We're here." Kevin Porter Jr responded to her as the car finally stopped.
"I don't know. I still think we should've taken him to a hospital." Noelani's voice sounded worried and tense and Jalen could feel one of her thumbs begin to rub his forehead in a comforting manner.
"No." Kenyon replied in a gentle but firm tone, "We need to save his rep not destroy it further. How's it gonna look if we say he's drugged?"
"It's gonna look like he was drugged and needs medical attention because that's the truth."
"No one believes men when it comes to this shit." This time Noelani was quiet for a moment at Kevin's interjection.
"Okay. Okay." She sighed finally.
"Lani..." Jalen attempted to say once again but his tongue was beginning to grow thick and the soles of his feet were tingling and falling asleep.
"Shh," Noelani said as the sound of a car door opening resonated in the still cold March air, "Don't speak. You're okay."
The warmth of her body withdrew and Jalen's head came in direct contact with the seat.
Through his half-closed eyes, Jalen could see a pair of brown hands pull the other backseat door open, firmly grip his ankles then pull him, feet first out of the car.
"Be careful. Make sure he doesn't hit his head," Noelani's voice sounded far away now and all Jalen could see was the dark but star-filled sky above them.
He tried to focus on his favorite constellation, Orion, but his eyes still weren't fully open and he wasn't stationary causing the man's vertigo and nausea to increase.
Jalen rapidly tapped the hand of whoever was holding him upright forcing the moving sky to stop and Noelani to turn sharply around from where she was standing just a few inches from the now open door.
