Page 5 of A Kingpin’s Weakness

Stormi

RJ’s phone rang, cutting through the heavy silence we’d been sitting in. A few hours had passed since Seth and the rest cleared out, leaving just me, RJ, and Jo.

“Yeah, I’m right here,” RJ said quickly. “We’re headed back to the waiting room now. ” He hung up and turned to us. “The surgeon is coming out to talk to the family.”

My chest tightened. My legs moved before my mind could catch up, rushing back toward the waiting room like the answer was waiting there.

Please, God, just let it be good news.

I couldn’t lose Noah. Not after everything. Not like this.

“The family of Noah Sparks?”

The doctor’s voice sliced through the air just as we stepped into the waiting room. My body froze. Everything around me blurred as I braced myself for what was coming.

“Right here,” Jo and I said at the same time.

“I’m his mother,” she snapped quickly, stepping forward. “You can talk to me.”

The doctor gave a polite nod. “I’m Dr. Gray.

I was the lead surgeon on Noah’s case this morning.

He was brought in with two gunshot wounds; one to the right leg, just above the knee, and one to the abdomen.

He lost a lot of blood, but no major organs were hit or affected.

We were able to remove both bullets and stabilize him. ”

I let out a breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

“He’s not out of the woods yet,” Dr. Gray continued. “Now we wait for him to wake up. He’ll be moved shortly to a recovery room, where two visitors can sit with him.”

Jo’s voice broke through. “There’s a chance he might not wake up?”

“We can’t say for sure,” Dr. Gray replied calmly. “He’s off anesthesia now, so he could come to at any time. It varies from patient to patient, but the surgery was a success. Right now, things are looking hopeful.”

He turned slightly, gesturing toward RJ. “Any questions or concerns, Nurse Alexander can help answer them.”

I barely registered the handshake as Dr. Gray wrapped up. “Once Noah is in recovery, Nurse Alexander will bring you back,” he added before quietly exiting the room.

“Let me check on some things, I’ll be right back,” RJ said, pressing a gentle kiss to my cheek before walking off with the surgeon.

I watched him go, feeling the warmth of his support fade the moment he disappeared down the hall.

“Go ‘head, let’s hear it,” Jo said, folding her arms and leaning against the wall like she was ready for a fight. “I know you got some shit to say.”

I looked over at her, like really looked.

She was expecting me to snap, waiting for me to tear her a new one like always.

But she wasn’t worth the energy, not right now.

Instead, I sat down in the corner, crossed my arms, and stared straight ahead.

She didn’t deserve my words. Not today. I was saving everything I had for Noah.

“Stormi? Is that you?”

I looked up and immediately recognized the warm voice before my eyes even fully registered her.

A light-skinned older woman with soft, curly hair hanging just past her shoulders.

Her long sundress swayed as she moved toward me, graceful like always.

Ms. Serena. I stood up out of respect, offering a small but sincere smile. “Ms. Serena. How are you?”

“I knew that was you,” she beamed, pulling me into a hug before stepping back to look me over. “What a beautiful young woman you’ve grown into.”

“Thank you,” I said softly, the compliment hitting somewhere deeper than expected.

Her smile dimmed slightly as she glanced around the waiting room, searching for answers. “Is everything okay? Why are you here?”

I hesitated for a moment. Saying it out loud made it real all over again. “Noah got shot yesterday. He just got out of surgery.”

Her face dropped. “My God.” She didn’t ask any more questions. Instead, she pulled me into another hug, this one warmer, tighter. A silent apology. A shield against the weight I was carrying.

“Can I pray for you?” she asked, her voice like a whisper wrapped in silk.

I nodded, and without another word, she took my hands in hers.

We bowed our heads. Her prayer was gentle, filled with grace.

She asked God to cover Noah, to touch every nurse and doctor who had worked on him, to bring healing and peace.

And somehow it did. That peace. It came, subtle and soft, like a quiet breeze finding its way into a sealed room.

When she opened her eyes, she didn’t say anything right away. Just looked at me… really looked. She let go of one hand, only to wipe away the tear that had escaped down my cheek.

“I’m here with my church group,” she finally said. “We’re praying for the sick. But I’d love to catch up. Take my number.”

I unlocked my phone and entered it, knowing deep down I’d probably never use it. Not because I didn’t want to. Just because that’s what I did. I disappeared. She turned to go, but then paused.

“Actually, how about you come over for dinner Sunday?” She smiled, knowingly. “And let me get your number too.”

I smirked a little. Word must’ve gotten out I was a ghoster. We exchanged numbers. Hugged one last time. And just like that, Ms. Serena walked away, leaving behind a trace of calm in all this chaos. I agreed to a dinner I wasn’t excited about but maybe, just maybe, it would be good for me.

“I was told to give you this.”

RJ said as he walked back toward me, handing over a small, folded note. We moved together, silently, toward Noah’s room. Jo trailed behind us, slower now her usual bravado slipping into something that looked like fear.

I unfolded the paper. Written in sharp, confident handwriting:

The first one to talk to him

888-658-2869

My heart dropped a little. I already knew who it was from. Still, I asked.

“How do you know him?”

I looked at RJ, searching his face for signs, something that would tell me if Seth was someone I could actually trust or just another man who talked smooth and moved slick.

“Josh works for him,” RJ said, eyes still facing forward.

Josh was his older half-brother. I knew of him.

Everyone did. While RJ came from the kind of home I used to dream about having, which was two loving parents, a fridge always full, Josh had jumped headfirst into the streets.

He chose chaos. I never understood how two people could grow up under the same roof and become polar opposites.

But then again, Jo and I existed, too. I stared at the note again.

“What does the paper mean?”

“He wants to talk to Noah before Ronnie does,” I answered. “Wants to see if the stories line up.”

A heavy silence fell between us for a few steps.

“Can I trust him?” I finally asked, voice lower than I intended. I wasn’t even sure if I was asking RJ or myself.

RJ paused, just slightly. “He’s not like Ronnie but he’s not clean either.”

That didn’t help. Not really. My first instinct was to pack Noah up the moment he could travel, take him back with me, and never look back. But my gut told me Seth wasn’t done with us. Not yet.

Jo walked into the room, took one glance at Noah, and spun right back out.

“I can’t do this. I can’t see my baby like this!” she shouted in the hallway. But I knew what that meant. That was code for: I need to get high.

She was already scratching and shifting in the waiting room, her skin crawling with the itch that only a hit could scratch. She didn’t have the strength to stay clean, not even for Noah.

“I’m sorry,” RJ said gently beside me, but I couldn’t hold it in anymore.

The moment I saw Noah pale, still, with tubes running from his body, I just broke.

Right there in his arms, I crumbled.

"Why are we so fucked up?” I cried, fists balled against his chest. “Why can't I just have a normal family?"

"Jo is fucked up. Not you,” RJ said, steady and sure, pulling me away just enough to look me in the eyes before guiding me into the chair beside Noah’s bed. He sat down next to me, never letting go of my hand.

“I’m fucked up too, RJ. ” My voice cracked as guilt poured out of me.

“I’ve been running from this life since I turned eighteen.

I left him. I left Noah. I knew what it was like growing up with Jo.

I knew. And the moment I got my chance, I dipped.

I thought I could manage it all from thousands of miles away, and I couldn’t. I should’ve come back sooner.”

“Everything isn’t on you, Stormi.”

I let out a breath like it hurt to release. "I've always been the adult. Jo’s been sick since I was a child. I’ve been raising her and him."

RJ leaned closer. “You did what was best for you, and that’s not a crime. Noah's not a baby anymore. Even if Jo influenced him, he’s old enough to know right from wrong. You offered him a way out, remember? You gave him a chance to leave with you. He chose to stay.”

I knew RJ was right, but it didn’t stop the ache in my chest. Didn’t stop the voice in my head whispering you should’ve done more .

“If Seth says he just wants to talk to Noah, you can trust him.”

RJ's words hung in the air. I didn’t respond.

Didn’t look up. I kept my face buried in his chest, tears soaking his shirt, letting him hold me the way he had so many times before when Jo was tweaking, when the power got cut off, when Noah was crying in the next room and I didn’t know how to comfort him.

RJ had always been the safe place I could fall apart in.

And right now, I needed that more than ever.