The emotional sequel to "Will You Stay?" 🤍 [Please read first]
Jay's on his own now, left to figure out life after the death of his first love, Domonique, 5 years ago. He's working on himself, trying his best to be a good father, and searching fo...
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Jay
I thought he would crush her.
Raheem wasn't all that muscular, but he was a lot bigger than D. I remember being so scared of him back around the time D first reconnected with her family. His demeanor made up for everything he lacked-- which was nothing. He was always mugging me, grumbling and talking shit any opportunity he could.
I hadn't noticed the drastic difference in their size until he was laying on top of her, half conscious and leaking blood.
I never thought I'd ever see him as anything other than the intimidating, rude, nonchalant, strong ass nigga he was. But here he is, looking more vulnerable than I could have ever imagined. My eyes scanned his body until I spotted the bullet wound in his side. He coughed up blood, his eyes half opened, his skin turning pale.
It was all too familiar, and my body locked up in horror at the realization that I had been here before.
Suddenly I was back in Monroe, holding Domonique in my arms as she bled out waiting for the paramedics to arrive. It was like I could feel my hands pressing against her side trying to stop the blood, not moving an inch because she asked me to stay with her. Instead of getting a towel or some shit to help me stop the blood, she asked me to stay. So I did. And then she died-- but she didn't.
That day has replayed at least a thousand times in my head, and now it's happening all over again.
He was crushing her.
As much as I wanted to scream and panic and feel all those emotions I felt that day, I needed to snap out of it and help the both of them. He had fallen right on top of Domonique, and she hadn't moved since she realized it was her brother. In fact, I think she stopped breathing; she looked just as frozen and pale as he did.
I grabbed under her arms, gently tugging her up from under him. Her eyes were wide and tears streamed out freely. I think she was trying to speak, but no words came out.
I wanted to just sit there with her, rub her back, tell her it would be okay. Nina was good at calming me down like that when I had panic attacks or felt overwhelmed, and I had learned a thing or two from her. But we didn't have time for that, not when Raheem looked like he was barely hanging on.
I helped her stand and braced her shoulders. "Nique, look at me."
Her eyes were full of terror as she looked down at Raheem. I pushed her chin up, not wanting her to see him like that. It would only make this worse, more traumatic; once you see some shit like that, it lives with you forever.
"We gotta get him some help, aight? I need you to call or text whoever Raheem's contact is and tell them what happened. Can you do that?"
She started shaking her head, her breathing coming out panicked. "I--I can't... I--"
