Too Nice

LIII. Clash

There were a lot of things Amari didn't know at the moment. The time was a big one. It had to be somewhere around night time. The sun was completely gone, her large glass window no longer emitting rays of blinding light. Only the stars in the dark sky were visible. Another big thing she didn't know was where the hell she was. It wasn't home. Her bed wasn't this small and-

Oh...

Well. Just like that, she remembered now. Flashes of the events from...yesterday? A few days ago? She didn't know how much time had passed since the events that landed her in the hospital. The point is, it sent a boiling rage through her body. She wanted to get up and finish the job. People like Jennifer didn't deserve to live... but honestly, who was she kidding? Amari was too exhausted to move, let alone end someone's life. All she could really do right now was ponder.

Amari stared at the ceiling, the only interest thing in this room. Well, that and the person sitting in the recliner next to her. She tried to get a good look at the mysterious person, but all she could see was a dark silhouette. It couldn't have been Viktor, the person was way smaller than her behemoth of a boyfriend. Aisha maybe? No, that wouldn't make sense because-

"AISHA!" Amari shouted as she sat up abruptly. Her cries for her niece were quickly replaced with a pained scream when a horrible sensation came from her left shoulder and traveled throughout her body. She nearly fainted from the sudden shock.

Amari sat disoriented as a pair of arms steadied her. Her breathing both shaky and labored as the person held her tight and massaged the knotted muscles in her back. Once the pain finally dulled, Amari leaned into the stranger's warmth, sleep nearly overtaking her again...until the stranger spoke.

"Aisha's fine, baby," Andrea spoke, but that wasn't enough to keep her youngest daughter from nearly bucking her off the bed. "Take it easy, MarMar! You're going to reopen your wounds!"

Andrea couldn't tell if Amari finally calmed down because of her warning or if the young woman had completely depleted the little stamina in her body. It made Andrea feel a bit warm inside to think that Amari heeded her warning. It felt nice to be a good mother.

"You need anything? Food? Water?" Andrea asked, her hand gently massaging her daughter's hip. Andrea had been hospitalized before. She knew all about the pain and discomfort from lying in one place for hours. She wanted to make sure Amari was as comfortable as possible. Judging by the small moans that escaped her youngest daughter, Andrea was doing a great job of doing just that.

"Where's Viktor?" Amari spoke, her voice shaking from the few waves of pain that traveled throughout her body.

As soon as the question left her mouth, Andrea completely froze. Amari's eyebrows raised in question as she watched her mother walk out of the room and return with a styrofoam cup.

"Here, baby. You need to drink something."

She really did need to drink something. Her mouth contained absolutely no moisture and it didn't seem like any amount of saliva could fix the drought. She felt her body move upwards as her mother adjusted the bed into a sitting position. When the plastic straw touched Amari's lips, she drank the precious liquid greedily. Andrea refilled the cup multiple times before the young black woman was satisfied. Having prioritized water over oxygen, Amari panted as she repeated her question.

"Where's Viktor?"

Andrea visibility tensed up before releasing a defeated sigh. She took a seat on the edge of Amari's bed before speaking. "There was...an incident."

Amari's eyes widened. "Incident? What the fuck did he die or something!?"

"Wha- No! He's perfectly fine," Andrea reassured before continuing. "...But William's not."