Chapter 37

Athena

August 25th 4 PM

Main Residence

"We'll be back." I stood in Rome's doorway.

He looked up from the paper, "Y'all not gon let me come with y'all?"

"You got homework and Nina." I crossed my arms.

"Ms. Menoza got her, and I could do my homework when we got back."

I rolled my eyes, "Ask Bay it's not my place."

He got out of the bed and walked passed me and walked to wherever Bay was, I followed behind him and saw that Bay was at the door waiting for me, "Bay can I come with yall."

Bay eyes met mine and I shrugged sighing he said, "Yeah you can come jit."

"Don't say or do anything crazy Rome." I nudged him.

"I know." He kissed his teeth.

Walking out Bay opened the door for me and Rome got in the back, we were going to go check Diamond's Dynasty, the building was supposed to be done and Bay was going to check it out to see if it met up to his tastes. Even though he didn't say it I knew that he was still mad about what went down earlier. Pulling off he put his hand into mine, "Do you even know what Diamond's Dynasty is hombre?" Bay looked at Rome through the rearview mirror.

"Ain't it a club?"

I snorted, "You ever been to a strip club before?"

"Diamond's Dynasty is a strip club?" He leaned forward in his seat.

Bay chuckled, "Yeah man."

Rome leaned back with a look of unsure nestled in his eyes and I held back the smug grin that wanted to plant itself across my face.

Diamond's Dynasty

You wouldn't have recognized the place if you didn't know about it before, even though its doors wasn't opened yet I could tell that when it did, it was going to be the new hotspot for cheating ass men and balling ass athletes.

J came up to us still looking around the place, "What do you think?"

"You did good." Bay slapped hands with him, "Did you secure the guest list?"

"Everything is straight for tomorrow man all you got to do is let me know when you want shit to get rolling."

"I'll let you know but until then try to keep this shit as clean as possible, nine times out of ten the feds gon be watching our shit."

"You know it ain't a thing."

I felt my phone vibrating against my thigh and I stepped away from the conversation, looking at the Caller ID I saw that it was Caroline frowning I answered it, "Is everything ok?"

"No, no everything is not okay s-she didn't wake up, and her pulse was barely there, she starting throwing up blood, we're in the PPD right now, Athena it's not looking to good."

"Don't make a scene Rome is right behind you not even five feet."

I looked over my shoulder to see Rome wrapped up in whatever Bay and J were talking about, "Calm down Caroline just slow down catch your breath and tell me what's going on."

"She can't breathe Athena, their doing CPR but it's not looking good."

"What hospital?"

"Grace Hospital."

"We'll be there," I turned back to see that Rome was now talking and Bay was looking at me, "Just make sure they keep her alive long enough for Rome to say goodbye."

Hanging up the phone I slid it in my back pocket, "Bay.", walking over to me I whispered, "It's Nina according to Caroline she had a low pulse and started throwing up blood, it's time Bay."

"Take the car, I need to stay back here and handle some more business with Roberto and J." He kissed me before handing me the keys.

I walked up to Rome, "We need to go."

He kissed his teeth, "Man for what-"

"We need to go." I stared at him hard.

He searched my eyes before finally realizing what I was trying to say, I turned around and walked to the car and the footsteps I heard gave me reassurance that he listened to me, I hopped into the driver's seat and unlocked the door to the passenger's side. He got in and I pulled off, "Athena what's wrong with her." I didn't respond I just paid attention to driving, I had the guts to tell him, but I don't think he had the mind state for it. He slammed the dashboard, "Athena please tell me what's wrong with my sister."

These were the times where I felt like everything was starting to slow down and I couldn't comprehend emotions it was like my head couldn't comprehend what to tell him without hurting his heart but before I could even try my mouth was already forming the words, "Your sister's pulse is low, she is throwing up blood, she is unconscious, and unresponsive."

I didn't hear a word from him I guess he began to grasp the fact that his last memories with his sister was him having to identify her body and I couldn't tell him what to do because I was still mourning from my losses, "It's time."

I gripped the wheel, "It's time." He was going to remember everything about this day, he was going to remember the time, the place, the weather, how many traffic lights we passed, he is going to remember this day as the worst day of his life. The world was probably crumbling to the ground and everything he put his life on the line for is gone, he lost everything for nothing.

I pulled into the visitor's parking lot and he jumped out of the car and ran into the hospital, I stayed back from him for a few steps, I wanted him to do this on his own. "Ms. my sister is here, and I need to see her."

The nurse turned to look at me and she knew immediately, "We have been expecting you, she is on the east wing, third floor, room 3347."

I walked over to the elevator and pressed on the button, I ignored the pounding in my head and watch the numbers coming down, "What if this isn't her time and she is ok you know it's just one of her bad days."

"You have to be there for him Athena, whether you know it or not he looks to you like an older sister."

But that's the thing I am not his older sister or some mother figure I am the girl who helped him escape from Wark's men and looked out for him when no one else did. I couldn't put my heart into this and I have been doing that lately just to find it being broken into millions of pieces. "Every day has been her bad day Rome." We stepped onto the elevator and I pressed the number three and leaned against one of its walls.

"Why did you put your heart into Bay then."

Because Bay does not provide me with false prophets, he doesn't make me wear blinders and try to shield me from this fucked up planet, I put my heart into Bay because even though I didn't want to he made me to because of his blunt honesty and I came to the realization that if something happened to him he would tell me to go on.

She appeared in front of me and her once dead eyes were raging, "Look at him Athena, doesn't that remind you of someone." I glanced at him and saw that he was trying to hold in tears but was failing miserably, "He is going through the same hell as you and you're telling me that you can't help him because you don't want to be attached to anyone anymore, fucking pathetic."

Giving up the mental fight I had going on with myself I turned to Rome and put his head into my neck and he tugged me to him and sobbed miserably, I rubbed his hair and shut my eyes tightly. I was going to be there for him the way no one was there for me, the feeling of loneliness is a sinking feeling and if you have no one there to pull you out you're going to end up like me a shell of yourself.

"We don't need any more people like us Athena."

The doors opened, and I let him go and watched him run to her room, I jogged behind him, but my jog slowed to a walk as I saw the doctors coming out of her room with that look on their faces, everyone knows the look if you lost someone. The droopy eyes head hanging low and failure to meet your stare because they don't want to see the drastic change from hope to misery when they tell you that they did all they could but all that they could wasn't enough to save them.

Rome collapsed to his knees and put his head into his hands, I kneeled down beside him and yanked him into my hold as soon as I saw his view. There was once the live little girl who could talk about Greek Mythology until her jaw hurt lying in bed eyes open dead. I sat us on the ground and pulled his head into my lap, "The pain you're about to go through might be the most painful feeling you're going to ever have. You're going to want to die, you're going to be pissed at the world even more at yourself and this pain won't ever go away but in time it will dull but for now we're going to push through it and I will be here for you until you want to push me away."

His sobbing echoed the walls and it brought me back to the day where I was attending my mother's funeral, not that many people attended but the ones that did couldn't keep a dry eye even if you put a gun to their head and told them to. I remembered my Auntie throwing herself over her casket and sending empty prayers up to her God, screaming at him to bring her back to life and that he should have taken her himself. I had to force her off of the casket and hold her until the men were out of safe distance.

Rome's sobbing reminded me so much of my Auntie's, it was like I was holding him together if I was to move wrong or let him go he was liable to shatter to pieces. "Ms. Luck I would like to speak to you on behalf of the patient."

I wasn't going to leave him I was attached now, "You can talk here."

The man cleared his throat before continuing, "Well we are going to need for you to sign her death certificate."

"Ok anything else?" I looked up to see he had a paper and I took it from him.

He shifted from one foot to the other, "Nina's heart came back as a perfect match for another little girl and we were hoping you would like to donate."

"It's your decision Rome." I rubbed his back.

He lifted his head from my lap and turned to the doctor, "Will it save the other girl."

"Yes, yes it will."

"Fine but can I have a minute to say goodbye to her?" He stood up from my lap and walked into the room slowly.

Getting up from the floor I walked over to one of the chairs and put the palm of my hand to my forehead and watched him say something to her before kissing her head walking back out he nodded towards the doctor and sat next to me wiping his eyes, "You said you would be here for me?"

I wrapped my arm around his shoulder, "Until you push me away."

"Thank you." He said before leaning forward and putting his hands over his eyes.

We watched as they wheeled her out of the room and Rome stood up and continued to watch them until they got on the elevator and the doors were sealed shut, his sister was officially gone.

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Enjoy your back to back update ;)--A.A.