A Mother's Bond

58

Sarayah October 29, 2016
I watched Beyoncé quietly walk out of the room. The sight of her shutting the door behind her sent a pang of pain through my chest. She was leaving me again. I immediately scolded myself. Beyoncé was just being Beyoncé. Why should I be hurt? She wasn't there when I woke up. I shouldn't have been surprised that she was now choosing two randos over me too.

A few minutes had passed by when I heard the door open again. I looked up half expecting to see Beyoncé, but no one was there.

"Umm...hello?" I asked, hesitant.

A flash of blond popped in and quickly retreated back behind the door. My heart raced as I reached out for the remote that controlled my bed. I pressed the top button until I was in a seated position.

Suddenly the person was shoved into the room. He fell to the floor, blond dreads covering the top half of his face.

"Damnit Kai, why you always gotta be so extra?" A familiar voice complained.

Kai flipped his hair back, revealing his shining face. He laughed loudly, the goofy sound filling the room with its warmth.

"Kai." I whispered in wonder.

"The one and only," he bragged, jumping up.

I laughed, the shock of seeing my childhood friend in New York still muddling my thoughts. Kai grinned and ran over to me, only pausing briefly to ask if he could hug me. All I could do was smile and nod enthusiastically, unable to speak through my emotions. The smile reappeared on his face, and he bounded towards me, throwing his arms around my torso.

I tensed, anticipating a wave of pain, but he hugged me with a surprising amount of tenderness. Nevaeh stood back, watching us with an unreadable expression. My thoughts swam as I leaned into Kai's hug, resting my head on his shoulder. I felt my tears soaking into his shirt. Suddenly I was sobbing. It hurt my ribs, but I couldn't stop.

I'm not sure exactly what I was crying for. It was like everything hit me at once. Everything that had happened since the last time we'd all been together. Jail. Finding out I'd been kidnapped. Being abandoned. Moving across the country. Leaving my family. Becoming an addict. Getting raped. Being rejected by my mother. Overdosing.

"I fucked up," I sobbed, shaking my head. "I really really fucked up."

Kai rocked me gently, holding my head firmly against his shoulder. "It's okay. Just let it out."

"I don't know what happened...I don't know why it–I don't know."

Kai held me tighter. My body protested, but I held onto him for dear life. It took a long time for me to calm down, and even when I did, he still held me, his cheek pressed against my head Eventually Kai pulled away, holding my face between his two hands. His eyes were as red as mine. He used his thumbs to gently wipe away the tears that still lingered on my cheeks.

"Whatever you did, it's okay. I'm not trippin over it," he assured me.

I nodded. "I know." I looked at his pupils, narrowing my eyes. "Wait. Are you high?"

He burst out laughing. "I am! Shit. And what? I needed something to get me through all this sadness. You know I hate hospitals. People crying. Dying. Wasn't about to be in here sober."

I shook my head, chuckling. "Why did I miss you?"

"Because I'm the shit," Kai boasted with a grin.

"How'd you guys even...get here?" I asked, watching as he pulled up a chair beside me.

"Private jet. It's good to be rich," Kai gushed before plopping himself down in the chair and propping his legs up on the bed.

"You're still poor, Kai," Nevaeh reminded him, slowly walking around to my other side. I flinched slightly at the sound of her voice. I'd been studiously avoiding looking in Vaeh's direction since she'd walked in, and there was a reason for that. Kai was easy. He'd never been angry a day in his life. I could've ignored him for another three months, and he still would've welcomed me back into his life with open arms and a wide smile. Nevaeh on the other hand...