Page 12 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

Stormi

It’d been a week, and Noah still hadn’t woken up.

I felt like my prayers were just bouncing off the ceiling like God didn’t wanna hear from me.

Hell, I barely knew the man until I needed something.

And right now, I needed this. I needed Noah to wake up, to make it through.

Because if he didn’t, I wasn’t sure I would.

Jo hadn’t been back here since day one. She swore she had a million things to handle getting the house ready for when Noah came home, picking up his work from school.

But I knew better. She was somewhere, probably getting high or messed up.

Jo was getting on my last nerve, but I needed someone beside Noah in this damn room.

RJ had been popping in here and there between shifts. He promised he’d come by today since he finally had a day off. I was actually looking forward to the company.

Then my phone rang, snapping me out of my head.

“Yeah, Jo,” I said, voice tight as I answered the phone.

“What happened to Mommy Ma or Mom? Stormi, you know I’m your mother, right?”

“How could I forget?” I said, trying to keep calm.

“Whatever. That damn boy still ain’t woke up yet?” she asked, her voice cold.

“How about you come see for yourself?” I snapped, frustration creeping in.

“I can’t sit up in no hospitals like that. Did enough of that when Sweetie was sick,” she said, lying through her teeth, like she always did.

I clenched my jaw. I could count on one hand how many times she actually showed up when Sweetie was sick. I was there, every day, every night, for two weeks straight. Jo? She was nowhere to be found. Almost didn’t make the funeral.

“Whatever, Jo,” I said, voice barely steady.

“That’s why he won’t wake up now your mean ass is there. Leave that hospital so my baby can wake up.”

I swallowed hard, wanting to scream at her. “Goodbye, Jo.”

“Wait so, where you been staying? With Seth? I ain’t seen you in days,” she asked, shifting gears like it was no big deal.

Hearing his name made my chest tighten. Seth. We hadn’t even gone on a real date yet, but he was the only thing keeping me sane. He checked on me and Noah all day, every day texting, calling, even bringing me food. His mom’s cooking reminded me of Sweetie, and that small kindness kept me going.

“I’ve been at the hospital. I’m not leaving until Noah wakes up.”

“Girl, that’s crazy. You being there ain’t gonna wake him up any faster. He’s stubborn just like his sorry ass daddy.”

Jo had no filter, no respect for what we were going through. She talked shit about our dads like it was nothing. At least I knew Noah’s dad. My dad? He was just a ghost from Jo’s past. A ghost I never even got to meet.

“Really, Jo?” I said, voice breaking.

“Shit, both my children, just like your damn pappys. Look like their asses too. Maybe I should have another one and make sure this child’s just like me.”

“Please don’t,” I whispered, picturing the chaos Jo would bring into another life.

“Well, why don’t you give me a grandbaby to love me?” she demanded.

I stared at my phone, stunned. This was Jo all over the place. She was supposed to be calling about Noah, but in less than ten minutes, she’d dragged both our fathers through the mud, me too, and then flipped to asking about grandkids.

“Are you coming up here?” I asked, needing to hear something real.

“Yeah, when he wakes up. I’m not about to be sitting there talking to that boy while he chases that white light.”

I pulled the phone from my ear, heart pounding. “Who the fuck says that?”

“It’s true. You never seen those shows where somebody in a coma follows the white light, all dressed in white, talking to the dead? I hope Sweetie told him to turn around; it ain’t his time yet. Knowing her ass, she’d grab my baby to stay up there with her.”

I swallowed hard. “Really?”

“You right, Stormi. Sweetie’s down in hell, nowhere near no white light. More like resting by a fire pit.”

Jo’s words hit me like a punch to the gut. I rubbed my temples, feeling a headache coming on from the nonsense.

“What happened with you and Sweetie? Ms. Serena mentioned something from your childhood, something that made her understand you better. What happened, Jo?”

“What the fuck that heffa say to you?”

“Nothing. She said you’d tell me. So I’m asking.”

“Your mother-in-law better shut the fuck up.”

“Jo, she’s not my mother-in-law. And why can’t you talk to me?”

“The shit ain’t even worth bringing up. You need to tell your man we need groceries over here. The lights and water bill’s due. Hell, I want cable TV.”

“Jo, I’ll get groceries. All the bills over there are paid.”

“Why you spending your money when Seth ass probably sitting on millions?”

“Because that’s his money, not mine. Jo, it’s not even like that.”

“It could be. You don’t see how that man looks at you?”

I thought about the few moments Seth and I shared, and how his eyes lingered, the way he looked at me like I was the only thing that mattered. It made my chest ache.

I was lonely. I was scared. I was hurting. And maybe that’s why I stayed on the phone with Jo so long, even though her words were driving me crazy. I needed something, anything to pull me out of the silence.

Noah began to stir in his sleep, and I quickly grabbed his hand, my heart pounding.

“Noah,” I called softly, hoping to coax him awake.

His eyelids fluttered, barely opening.

“What’s happening? Stormi, put me on speaker! That boy’s waking up he heard his mama’s voice, that’s why,” Jo shouted through the phone.

“Noah, get your ass up!” she yelled, her voice rough but desperate.

“Stormi, what are you doing here? Where am I?” he asked, his voice hoarse and weak as he tried to adjust to the harsh hospital light.

They’d removed the breathing tube earlier that day, letting him breathe on his own, but it must’ve left his throat raw.

I didn’t waste a second I hit the nurse’s call button. “He’s up! Jo, get your ass down here now!”

“Who’s the mama?” she asked before hanging up. “I’ll be there, got a few things to handle.”

The nurse rushed in moments later, her face lighting up when she saw Noah awake.

“Mr. Sparks, so happy to see you finally decided you had enough beauty sleep,” she joked softly as she came in.

RJ appeared behind her, giving me a quick hug and handing me a bag of food he’d picked up.

“Hey, Noah,” he said quietly, nodding at him.

Then the doctor stepped in, clipboard in hand. “Mr. Sparks, how are you feeling?”

“Sore... tired,” Noah answered, his voice weak but steady.

“That’s expected after being shot and having surgery,” the doctor explained.

“Shot?” Noah’s eyes widened in confusion as he tried to sit up, clearly disoriented.

“The details will come back to you soon. It happened about a week ago,” the doctor said gently.

“For now, I want to check your vitals, run some tests, and see how your body is holding up. Nurse Johnson here will bring you some water. Your throat will be sore for a few days, but we want to keep you hydrated so we can eventually remove the IV.”

I stepped back, letting the nurses and doctors do their work while RJ and I quietly left the room to eat lunch at the cafeteria, neither of us saying much, just relieved Noah was finally awake.

“He’s finally up,” I said, relief washing over me. My brother was awake.

RJ looked at me, concern etched deep in his face. “What does this mean now?”

I sighed, the weight pressing down on my chest. “I don’t even know. Do we want him to remember what happened? And how long before Ronnie and his crew come up here looking for their money?”

RJ squeezed my hand, steady and sure. “I got about twenty-one thousand saved up. Maybe that can buy us some time.”

I shook my head, bitterness creeping into my voice. “I’m not paying that slimy-ass fool one cent. Should’ve never had a kid doing a man’s job. He’ll learn that lesson one day. And Jo damn, she’s a piece of work. Sometimes it feels like I gotta raise both her and Noah.”

RJ’s eyes softened. “And when will you have a life, Stormi?”

I looked down, feeling exposed. “To be honest, RJ, they are my life. As fucked up as my mother is, and as hard-headed as my little brother can be, they’re all I got. I don’t know what I’d have done if Noah hadn’t made it.”

He studied me carefully. “You can’t let them pull you backwards. I know they’re family and you love them, but Stormi, they could be your biggest downfall.”

His words stuck with me. Maybe there was truth in there I wasn’t ready to face.

Trying to shift gears, I asked, “So, where’s Ari? Thought we were meeting today?”

RJ smiled faintly. “You can meet her now. She just walked in.”

I looked down at my phone as a text came in from Jo.

Jo: Where you at?

Me: Cafeteria

“Ari, this is Stormi, my best friend,” RJ said, introducing us.

“Stormi, this is my girlfriend, Ari,” he added with a smile.

Ari was about 5’4’, maybe two inches shorter than me.

Petite, with smooth chocolate skin that glowed beneath her pink nurse scrubs, her hair pulled back into a tight ponytail.

Of course, RJ would end up with a nurse.

He spent so much time in the hospital, it was like fate.

I wondered, would that mean I’d end up dating a teacher, since I was always at the school? My mind wandered for a moment.

“Nice to finally put a face to the woman who's been making my best friend so happy,” I said warmly.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Stormi. Sorry it had to be under these circumstances. I thought we’d be out at a bar sipping lemon drops instead,” she laughed softly.

“That will still happen. Trust me,” I replied, smiling.

“How’s your brother, by the way?” she asked.

“He actually just woke up. They’re running some tests, so I’m letting them do their thing,” I said, grateful for the reprieve.

“Thank God. I was praying for him,” Ari said sincerely.

“I appreciate that.” I smiled back.

“You hungry?” RJ asked Ari, pulling out the chair he’d been sitting in.