𝐈𝐍𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐈𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍 - 𝐗𝐗𝐗𝐓𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐎𝐍

STROKE

(trigger warning, drug abuse)

serenity "renny" rivera

june 10, 2017

"babygirl, you gotta wake up."

i opened my eyes, furrowing my eyebrows at the sight of robb hovering over me, and i sat up in confusion, alone in the bed and trying to figure out if i was hearing things, or if he'd actually called me babygirl.

"weef in the hospital, we gotta go." he said, pulling me by the arm and guiding me out of the bed, and i rose from the bed and rubbed my face before i spoke.

"what time is it?"

he glanced at his phone, which was in hand, and answered. "5 ish."

i walked into the bathroom, to which he walked in with me, but i was too tired and confused to even pay it any mind, and i hurriedly cleaned myself up and brushed my teeth, while he sat on the closed toilet lid and kept invested in his phone.

once i was done, i paused, everything starting to make sense as i became more awake, and i turned to him, with furrowed eyebrows. "wait, you said isaiah's where?"

"the hospital, hurry up." he said, and i groaned, drying my face and walking back to my room, where i slid into my slides, grabbed my phone and walked down the stairs, following robb outside, where he got into the car where ski and a few others were.

"what the fuck is going on?" i mumbled, squeezing in from the backseat where there were already four people seated.

"you just gone have to sit on my lap." robb said, pulling me up onto his lap and pulling the car door shut before i could even respond, and tank, who was driving, pulled out of the driveway as soon as the door shut.

i was silent, tiredly staring out the window for the entire ride, with a million questions in mind that i wouldn't speak, while tank sped down the roads and ran red lights.

it seemed everyone around me knew what was happening, except for me, and i hated the feeling of being the uneducated one, or the odd one out who knew nothing, but it seemed like i wasn't being told the details for a reason, which only stressed me more.

we pulled into the hospital parking lot, and i opened the door and jumped out of robb's lap immediately, which made him chuckle, though i found nothing funny and just wanted to know what was wrong with my cousin.

within minutes we were checked in, on our way up to the room where isaiah was, and the only bit of information i'd received was that jahseh was the one who brought isaiah here, about an hour earlier.

when we reached the door, everyone stepped aside and gave way for me to open the door and enter first, which made me blankly glance at everyone before pulling the door open and walking in, seeing jahseh sitting in a chair beside isaiah, who was awake and hooked up to an iv.

i kept a blank expression as i walked in slowly and made my way beside him, on the opposite side of the bed that jahseh sat, and glanced over him, trying to find what was wrong with him, while he just laid there, rubbing his face.

i was quiet for a few more moments, while everyone held their few-lined conversations with him and asked him how he was, and i crossed my arms and finally spoke up. "so who's gonna tell me what happened?"

everyone glanced around at each other, though no one spoke, and i just glanced around the room, while everyone avoided eye contact, until i reached jahseh, who didn't look away, and instead cleared his throat and spoke up.

"he had a stroke."

my eyes went from jahseh to isaiah, as my mind started to register the possible causes of his stroke, and i narrowed my eyes as i put hope that the cause would be health related and not from an outside factor.

"isaiah?" i asked, eyes glued to isaiah, who broke the eye contact with me and looked down at his hospital band silently.

"isaiah." i repeated sternly, and he sighed, before looking up at everyone in the room.

"can y'all step outside real quick-"

i interjected as everyone began to shift, putting up a finger. "no, nobody fucking move. i wanna hear it."

"fuck, renny, i overdosed." he sighed, making me take a deep inhale before shaking my head and drop my crossed arms.

"we're going home, and you're getting actual fucking help." i said blankly, to which a voice behind me spoke up.

"but the shows-"

"fuck the shows!" i shouted, turning and staring down everyone in the room. "who the fuck even brought him shit? or who let him bring shit? y'all supposed to be his friends and y'all about to be the fucking reason he dies, do y'all not feel bad?"

there was silence, and everyone seemed too upset and embarrassed to speak, and i went on. "what the fuck is actually wrong with y'all? why don't y'all give a fuck about him?" i continued to shout, turning to isaiah.

"these aren't your real fucking friends if they're letting this shit happen to you, and we're fucking going home. as soon as you fucking check out of here. y'all can stay, since the shows are so fucking important, but he's not staying."

there was more silence, and then eventually robb shifted from where he stood and made his way out of the room, to which one by one everyone followed, including jahseh, which left isaiah and i alone in the room, and he sighed as he finally spoke up.

"renny, i'm sorry."

i stared at him, and i shook my head, looking down at him on the bed, looking drained and half dead, before i sat down in the chair and put my head down, sighing as i spoke and tears filled my eyes.

"izzy, you can't do this to me. you're the only one i have left, i can't lose you." i sniffled, letting the tears fall out of my eyes, not even trying to fight them or be strong in front of him.

i could tell him seeing me cry made him uncomfortable because he wasn't used to it, but after a moment of watching me, he pulled my hand into his and spoke. "i know,"

he was quiet for a minute, before he spoke up again gently. "i'm gonna get help, and get clean. i promise."

~
ugh