Page 52 of Perfect Rhythm

SHADE

I leaned forward slowly, elbows on my knees, dragging my hands down my face.

Seven days.

That’s how long Jassi had been in the hospital, and it had been four days since the doctor had taken her out of her coma. But she still hadn’t opened her eyes.

I’d only left the hospital long enough to go home and grab a change of clothes. I hadn’t slept in my bed. I hadn’t eaten a decent meal. I hadn’t even stretched out without a chair pressing into my back.

But none of that mattered.

All I wanted was to be the first face Jassi saw when she opened her eyes. I wanted to tell her how sorry I was for allowing this to happen to her.

“Son, you should go home and get some rest,” my mother said as she stood next to my sister’s bedside. It was just the two of us in the room. “You look exhausted.”

“I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not. Even your father and I have stepped away to get some rest. You’ve been here nonstop. You’ve even showered here. You need to go.”

“Mama—”

She gave me a stern glare, letting me know that she wasn’t taking no for an answer.

I lifted my hands. “Alright, fine. But if she wakes up?—”

“You’ll be the first person I call.”

I nodded and stood up. “Thank you.”

“Alright,” Nyx said as she stepped into the room holding two plastic bags while staring at me.

“I didn’t know what you might want, but I figured I would give you options, and I would take the one you didn’t choose.

Everything was cooked to order, so it’s fresh.

Do you want the fish, fries, and hush puppies?

Or do you want the double bacon cheeseburger and sweet potato fries?

I’ve already tasted both, so you can’t go wrong with either one.

” She cracked a smile. “The cooks they have in this hospital are amazing.”

“Take whichever one you want. I’ll eat the other one.”

She shook her head. “No, you choose. I want you to have what you want.”

“And I want you to have what you?—”

“Bro, just choose a damn meal,” Ocean snapped as he walked into the room, Skye following behind him. “It took her forever to pick that shit.”

“Ocean, watch your mouth,” Mama scolded.

Like always, she was wasting her breath. He’d been apologizing and getting his ass tore up since the day he started speaking.

“Sorry, Mama.” He shot a glare back at me before mouthing, “pick something nigga.”

I laughed. “I’ll take the fish.”

“Good,” Nyx said, handing me the bag in her right hand. “I really wanted the burger.”

“Now see, what if I had picked the burger?”

“Then I would’ve gladly eaten the fish.”

“But you wouldn’t have truly wanted it.”

“Does. It. Matter?” Ocean groaned.

“Leave them alone.” Skye nudged him in the arm. “They’re in love.”

I froze, and so did Nyx.

Time to go.

I grabbed Nyx’s hand. “Let’s get out of here.”

“Where are we going?”

“Home. I’ve been kicked out for the evening.”

“He sure has,” my mother chimed in. “The two of you need to sleep in a bed. Not those uncomfortable chairs they keep in the waiting area, and certainly not the ones they have in this room. Also, once you guys get back, we need to discuss doing shifts or something. That way, all of us can get an adequate amount of rest.”

I nodded in understanding. “Where’s Pops? Is he still in the bathroom?”

“He sure is,” she replied.

My nose scrunched as I stared at the bathroom door. “Do we need to check on him? He’s been in there for a while.”

“Son, I’m not going anywhere near that bathroom, and for your own safety, I suggest you don’t either.

” She shook her head. “I told his hardheaded butt not to get that butter pecan ice cream from the gift shop. But no, he just had to have it. Now look at him. He probably can’t even get his butt off the toilet seat. ”

Trying to hold back a laugh, I walked to the door and gave it a gentle tap. “Hey, Pops, you good?”

He cleared his throat. “Yeah, son, I’m fine.” I could tell his voice was a little strained, which meant he was far from fine. But I wasn’t going to stick around and ask him to go into detail. That was between him and the toilet.

“Poor toilet,” Ocean muttered. “Might need a moment of silence once he’s done.”

Skye’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”

“Yes! Growing up, we all knew better than to go in the bathroom after Pops. Not unless we wanted to be floating around in?—”

“Ocean!” Pops called out. “I can hear you.”

We laughed.

“My bad.”

“Mmhmm. Stop telling all my business.”

Shaking my head, I looked at my mother. “I’m about to head out. I’ll be back first thing in the morning.”

“Sounds good. Love you, son.”

“Love you too.” I moved closer to the bathroom door. “Try not to clog these folks’ pipes.”

“Get out of here!”

Laughing, I said my goodbyes to Ocean and Skye, then motioned for Nyx to follow Trace out.

“Well, that was an interesting fact to learn about your father,” Nyx said.

“Yeah. Stick around and you’ll definitely learn a lot more.”