Unique II: Betrayal

Chapter 6 - Fresh and Clean

Kennard was bought out of his thoughts of the past by someone calling his name.
      “Kennard,” the voice was soft. “Wake up.”
      He jumped, startled. His first thought was that Unique had come out of the deep sleep and had gotten enough strength to speak while he had fallen asleep. He snatched his eyes open so fast the wind from his fanning lashes almost blew a cup off the table.
      “You should go down the hall and shower and clean up,” the voice said. “Change clothes.”
      It was Tyeedah. She looked genuinely concerned, both for him and Unique.
     Besides his parents, no one had been by his and Unique’s side during this crisis like Tyeedah. Kennard didn’t really know Tyeedah all that well before this whole ordeal, except that Unique had moved to New York to stay with Tyeedah and that they were aces, but now he knew that it was more than that. Their friendship trumped most others.
      Kennard’s mother, Ms. Katie, interrupted, “I brought him some nice clean clothes and asked him to go change, but he wouldn’t. He has his mind set on being by her side. And if you know anything about my Kennard, you know that once his mind is set, there’s no turning back.”
     Tyeedah took into consideration what his mother said but still tried to convince him. “Look, I can respect you wanting to be here, but trust me: Unique would appreciate it more if you go hit the shower. Blood is not a fresh smell, my brother.”
      He didn’t speak, but he heard her.
     “Unique’s gonna pull through this sooner rather than later and when she does, you need to have your shit together. And can I have at least thirty minutes to say that I was by her side, please?” She gave him a slight smile. “It don’t make no sense how you hogging her bedside from other people who love her, too.”
     She knew she was getting to him.
     “Now go ahead and shower, shave, and shit; I got this,” Tyeedah urged Kennard.
     He said, “I’m good. But it would be fucked up if I wasn’t here when and if she woke up.”
     By the look in her eyes, he could tell that she understood.
    “Well, first, I know more than you. Unique is a fighter and she will wake up. And when she does, you don’t look all that good. In fact . . . ” she said, “you look a mess.”
     Kennard usually was very conscious about his appearance and took notice of himself for the first time since the ordeal. He couldn’t help but note his wrinkled clothes had been saturated with blood, and that he smelled. The last thing he wanted was to be mistaken for a crackhead or a bum.
      “You don’t want to scare the poor girl to death when she wakes up, do you?” She flashed a quick smile. “Let me take the watch for now. You go clean, then get back down here as soon as you can.” Tyeedah’s eyes went over to Unique and softened more than they already were, before turning back to Kennard. “If she so much as makes a peep while you’re gone, I’ll call you immediately. Promise.”
     There were a few things that needed his attention. For one, he needed to put word on the streets that it will be very beneficial in a way of reward for the person that led him to whoever was responsible for this.
     He got a whiff of his body odor and thought to himself, A change of clothes and a shower wasn’t such a bad idea, either.
      “You promise to call?”
     “So much as a peep,” she said. “Now get outta here.”