Redemption | A Drake Duology (2016)

20 • One Last Time

I ran my fingers through Roman's hair as she slept in my lap. Since returning home from the hospital, this has been her favorite spot. It was a challenge getting her to cheer up and move around outside of completing her normal hygiene routine and to eat. She was moody and this was the first time in two days that we've had any physical contact.

She stirred around and yawned a bit opening her eyes to look at me. "Good afternoon," I said.

"Why did you let me sleep so late?" She croaked sitting up. Her knuckles rubbed against her eyes to clear the crust out of them.

"You needed it,"

I watched as she walked into the kitchen grabbing the pill bottle that sat at the edge of the counter. "You took that one already," I reminded her. "Take the two behind it,"

Her memory came and went a lot lately. I figured it was from hitting her head when she fell. The medicine wasn't much help either, it was supposed to keep her from being so active but the side effects that came with it were terrible. Sometimes she's forget what she was doing while she was doing it so I had to keep a close eye on her.

"I don't like those. They make my stomach hurt,"

"I know but they're keeping you alive, so take them,"

She huffed and poured herself a glass of water swallowing down each pill then rambled through the refrigerator finding something to snack on before returning to the couch.

"Aren't you supposed to be in the studio?"

"Yeah but Noah isn't speaking to me right now. Can't do anything without him unless I start over,"

"He's so dramatic," She rolled her eyes pulling the small blanket over her body.

"Did he say anything to you?"

"Nothing that I'm not used to hearing from the rest of my family," She shrugged.

"Like?"

She rested her head on the back of the couch focusing on the reality television bullshit that occupied the TV screen. "He can be mad at me all he wants to be but ya'll have work to do," She responded ignoring my question.

"Is that your way of saying that it's none of my business?"

"It's my way of saying that I don't want to focus on that. I honestly don't remember a lot of what he said to me. He was yelling and after certain point, I zoned out. I'm sure it'll come back to me later but now, I just want to figure out what the hell is going on,"

She sighed curling up in her spot. "I don't like not remembering things. I have to go back to work soon, I have choreography to finish, artists to meet with, clients to serve—"

I got up grabbing her calendar book. I opened it to today's date and handed it to her. "I met with Ashley yesterday and we adjusted your schedule. She agreed to take over until you get better and I agreed to increase her pay for the time being,"

"No," She said flipping through the pages. "I appreciate your help but I can't just sit around. That's going to drive me crazy,"

"You don't really have choice," I sighed taking the book back. "You don't have to stay home all day but you need to give your mind a break. None of this is good for you,"

She stared down at the floor before burying her face in the palms of her hands. Taking breaks made her feel like she was behind, especially since she worked so hard to get to this point. I understood her frustration but her health was more important.