Too Nice

XLVIII. Calm Down

Isaiah Daniels
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Viktor walked through the hospital as a surge of uncomfortableness rushed through his veins. He was way too familiar with the white floors, white walls, and white coats. Even the different colored nurse scrubs made him feel uneasy. He could practically hear the little doggies on the nurse's uniform mocking him as he walked past.

Viktor hated hospitals. He would rather bleed out than be in the clutches of these overcharging bastards. Nadia working here only added to his hate. He feared having to check in only for her to be his nurse. Unlike other people here, Viktor wasn't oblivious to Nadia's true nature. She was kind and sweet to anyone she met, but Viktor knew that it was all just a trap. Once you were close enough to her, she would feed on your happiness to cure her black soul. She feasted on Viktor for years.

"Alright," Andrea spoke as she stopped walking. "This is her room. She's not awake yet but-"

"MOM! IDA!" Andrea sprinted into the room when she heard Jermaine cry her name. She looked at his tear-stained face, her heart dropping instantly as she quickly ran to her daughter's side. She looked exactly how she left her.

"Her eyes! She just opened her muhfuckin' eyes!" Jermaine exclaimed. He continued to explain everything he saw to his confused mother as Ida walked out of the bathroom with dripping wet hands.

"Damn!" She swore, reaching for paper towels. "I can't even doo-doo in peace! What's wrong with ya-Holy shit!"

Andrea immediately looked down at Amari only to make eye contact with her. "Oh, my- Amari?? Baby!? Can you hear me?"

Amari ignored her panicking family and reached for the tube that lead out of her mouth. Much to everyone's dismay, she started to pull on it. "Jermaine! Hold her hands! Ida! Get a nurse!" Andrea barked orders to her children while trying to calm down her daughter who was starting to become violent. She thrashed around trying to sit up and remove all the cords that invaded her skin. Jermaine carefully pinned his little sister down and blocked all of her attempts at ripping the oxygen tube out. Both he and his mother began to say comforting words to try and get her to relax, but a long, pained groan downed out their words.

Both Ida and a flock of nurses rushed back into the room, hurrying to the irritated young woman's side. An older black nurse shooed Jermaine away and took his place. A look of anger appeared on his face but was quickly wiped away with a glare from his mother.

All three of them stood back and watched the nurses work their magic. Their dark magic. It was unreal how fast they managed to get her under control. The older black woman in particular. Amari looked up at that woman with glossy eyes, groaning illegible words to hers.

"Is alright, baby. We gone have this tube out in no time. I just need you to relax for us, ok?" The older black woman spoke with words made of silk, just like Mamu. Her voice had calmed Amari with each soft syllable. Andrea stood back and watched the nurse communicate with Amari as if they'd know each other for years. She felt a piece of her heartbreak knowing that she would never be able to bond with her youngest daughter.
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"Pooh Bear? You there?"

Aisha sat frozen, the tears spilling down her face of no importance to her. She gripped the phone tightly and found the air in her lungs to respond. "H-Hey...M-Mama."

"How are you doing? Isaiah has told me a lot about what's been going on."

She struggled to speak with her dry mouth. "I'm o-okay."

"Aisha Akilah Jones! Don't lie to me! I may be in prison, but I can easily reach through this phone and snatch a knot in ya' ass!"

Aisha giggled at how southern her mother's voice had turned. She never understood why her mother hid her accent. The Mississippi inside her never left, even after moving to Michigan. Aisha continued to giggle at her mother until her tears became ones of sadness and her laughs turned to sobs. Her voice cracked as she spoke. "Mama, I'm not okay. I'm not okay at all."

"I know, Pooh. I know..." The line went quiet as Destiny listened to her baby cry. She wanted nothing more than to be there, holding the bawling teen in her arms. Aisha was at a point in her life where she needed her mother most, but she wasn't within reach. There wasn't a day that went by that Destiny regret pulling that trigger. Her and Isaiah's marriage was already failing, but that argument that landed her in prison was the icing on the cake.

"Hey hey. Eesh. Stop," Destiny said to her bawling daughter as she wiped her own tears away. "Calm down, please. I need you to do something for me, okay?"

Small hiccups left her body as she tried to halt her tears. She knew her mom was on a time limit and wanted to make sure they used it wisely.

"Put me on speaker," Destiny demanded. Aisha did as she was told and put her mother on speaker. Isaiah watched with raised eyebrows.

"Pick up the spoon."

"Mama I-"

"Pick up the spoon."

Aisha's heart raced while she eyed the white plastic utensil. This single item would ruin months of progress. It would crumble the willpower she'd worked too hard to build. She could hear the voice in her head screaming at her to not listen to her mother.

"Look at me, Aisha," Isaiah said as he held her face in his hands. He could see the conflict in her eyes. "Calm down. You got this."

With her free hand, she shakily picked up the spoon. She looked at it with disgust that quickly faded with a squeeze on her shoulder from Isaiah.

"I hear you got a good ass looking breakfast in front of you."

"I-I guess."

"Pick anything you want. The oatmeal, fruit or pudding. We're going to start off slow okay, Pooh? You don't have to eat it all. Just one spoonful," Destiny said with softness in her voice. She did her best to hide the fact that she was crying. She had to be strong for Aisha.

Aisha looked between her options. The oatmeal was a definite no. She could smell all the sugar from a mile away. The calories from the oatmeal and the stupid machine put together would surely ruin all of her progress. She would be huge in no time! She looked at the fruit.

Old

All of the strawberries were bruised and tiny. The honeydew had a depressing grayish color to them and the apple slices were browning. Maybe she was being too critical. Either way, she wasn't going to eat that. That left her with only one option. The pudding cup.

Sure, it was small but Aisha knew it was all a trick. The tiny look was meant to deceive her. That pudding cup had to have over 100 calories in it! That was way too much for just one part of the meal, but it was okay because she was only eating the pudding, right?

'NO!'

"Aisha. Calm down. I'm going to kick your ass if you have an asthma attack."

She didn't even notice she was hyperventilating until her mother's playful voice came through the phone. The teen felt a gentle squeeze on her shoulder when her fingers grazed the red seal of the pudding cup. The voice in her head screamed as Isaiah opened it for her. It screamed even louder when she used her free hand to dip the plastic spoon into the calorie filled snack. When the pudding reached her lips, she gagged at the sweet scent.

"Take it slow, Pooh. You got this."

For just a moment, she pushed the voice in her head away, closed her eyes, and forced the spoon into her mouth. It wasn't long before she swallowed and sobs escaped her. She leaned into Isaiah as he wrapped his arms around her and mumbled praises into her hair.

"Good job, Aisha," Destiny's voice came from the phone. "Mama is so so proud of you. We're going to beat this, okay? Baby steps is all-" The sounds of shouting emitted from the background. "Dammit! I-I got to go, Pooh. I'll talk to you later. I love you."

"I love you too, M-Mama," Aisha managed to say between sobs before the line went dead.
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I apologize for the late update. Instead of editing the chapter I spent the whooooole day watching Game of Thrones. My bad 😔. Let me know what you think of this chapter!

Enjoy!