Ungraceful Tendencies Part 4
I wake up, and there’s a blanket draped across my body. Grace is playing with my hair.
“Morning.” She whispers.
“Morning beautiful.” I smile, staying where I was. “Nate and the Jacks left Omaha last night; they should be here at least by lunch. They’ve been worried about you, especially Nate.” She laughs, and runs her hands through my hair. I sigh, and smile, content. She never fails to make me smile, even in a hospital. A nurse walks in, the same from last night.
“There are three young men in the waiting area. They say they are Johnson, Gilinsky, and Skate. I’m not sure if they’re the same as the names you put on the paper.”
“Yeah, it’s their nicknames. Let them back.” I said, lifting my head, and looking at Grace. She seems nervous. “Gracie, what’s wrong?”
“I don’t want to disappoint Nate. I feel like he’s going to be really disappointed in me.” She mumbles.
“Hey, he still loves you. We all do.” I say, before the door opens, revealing the rest of the squad.
“Ay, lil mama!” Skate rushes over, and I back off, allowing him to see his little sister. “I missed you, why didn’t you call me? I was so worried.” He hugs her, and holds on tight.
“He crushed my phone.” She answered, voice muffled.
“Who?”
“My boyfriend, Juan. He’s also my dealer. He didn’t want me in contact with anyone else, so he took my phone and deleted all my contacts. Yours was the only one I had memorized, so I would message you, and delete the messages from my phone, for when he checked to make sure I wasn’t talking to anyone he didn’t say I could talk to. He came home early, and I had forgotten to delete your messages. He found them, and got mad, crushed my phone, and walked out. So, I had no way of getting a hold of anyone. Plus, I was more concerned with not making him mad, because he was my heroin source.” She answered, still keeping her face buried in his neck. I felt one of the Jack’s coming up behind me.
“Dude, I’m glad you found her.” It was Gilinsky. I look over, and Johnson was pacing a little.
“Me too. I think I found her just in time.” I whispered back.
~
Sammy called me, and told me he found Grace, but she was in the hospital. I got that call last night, and Johnson was on the computer, looking for tickets before the call ended. I had him on speaker, when he told me what was happening. My baby sister was on heroin, and killing herself slowly, also ending up overdosing right before he found her. We got on the plane, and impatiently waited to land. Right now, our UBER driver is driving us to Mercy Hospital in Queens. He’s taking his good old damn time too.
“Ay, man, could you speed up a bit? My baby sister’s in the hospital, probably on life support, we need to get there fast.” I say, causing him to roll his eyes.
“If I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard an excuse like that, I wouldn’t be an UBER driver any more. Calm down, son. Whatever you’re going to, can wait.” That pissed me off.
“Like hell she can wait! My baby sister, freaking overdosed, and my best friend found her, as she fell unconscious, in his freaking arms! She’s at the hospital, the one I freaking told you to go to, now if you don’t speed this damn car up, so help me God-” Johnson pulled me back, while Gilinsky covered my mouth.
“Nate, calm your ass down, man. We’ll get there. Sammy’s taking good care of her, and he won’t let anything happen. You need to get yourself in check, otherwise, you might scare her.” Johnson says, looking me straight in the eye. I nod, and close my eyes.
“Alright man. I’m good. Sorry.” A tear slips down my face, which is buried in my hands now. I feel the car start to speed up. About five minutes later, it stops.
“Sir, I hope your sister gets better. Give her my best.” The driver quietly says. “No charge.” I shake my head, confused. “The way you reacted, and got so emotional, reminded me of when I was trying to get to my mom. Ride’s free of charge. Go find your baby sister; she needs you.” I smile, and get out, running into the doors, with the Jack’s. We didn’t even stop to pack bags before we came. The only thing we have on us, is what we’re wearing, our wallets, and our phones. The lady at the front desk stops me.
“Sir, you need to check in with me. What do you need?” She asks.
“My baby sister, is here. My best friend found her, and she went unconscious from some kind of drug. I need to see her.” She nods, sitting in front of her computer.
“What’s her name?”
“Grace Maloley. I’m her brother, Skate, that’s Gilinsky and Johnson.” The nurse looks at us, suspicious.
“I’ll be right back. Stay here, with the security guard.” She leaves, and a fat security guard, carrying a box of donuts, waddles over. Some security this hospital has.
“We could outrun him.” Gilinsky comments, the security guard not even paying attention.
“No. We’re not getting arrested.” I say, waiting for the nurse to come back. Eventually, she walks towards us, smiling.
“Come with me. She’s with her boyfriend.” I follow her, confused. “Her boyfriend is Sam, right?” I relax, and chuckle.
“Nah, he’s my best friend. They’ve always been really close.” She nods, and smiles. There’s a door, closed, but it is glass. The nurse opens the door, and I walk through.
“Aye, lil’ mama!” I walk through, going straight over to Grace. “I missed you, why didn’t you call me?” Sammy gets out of the way, and I pull her into a hug, her face buried into my neck. I’m holding on to her, as if she would completely disappear if I let go of her. She doesn’t seem to mind, clinging to me like a lifeline.
“He crushed my phone.” Her voice is slightly muffled, but still able to be understood.
“Who?”
“My boyfriend, Juan. He’s also my dealer. He didn’t want me in contact with anyone else, so he took my phone and deleted all my contacts. Yours was the only one I had memorized, so I would message you, and delete the messages from my phone, for when he checked to make sure I wasn’t talking to anyone he didn’t say I could talk to. He came home early, and I had forgotten to delete your messages. He found them, and got mad, crushed my phone, and walked out. So, I had no way of getting a hold of anyone. Plus, I was more concerned with not making him mad, because he was my heroin source.” She answers me, and it breaks my heart, and fuels my hatred for whoever did this to her.
“You’re not going back, you’re coming home, with me. I won’t let you get hurt anymore.” I tell her, feeling the front of my shirt, dampen, with warm tears. I rub her back, pulling her into my lap. I let her cry it out, being careful not to pull or crush any of the wires and tubes attached to her. I hear the door open, and look over. Johnson walked out; he’s a sensitive dude, but he covers it pretty good. Gilinsky saunters over, sitting in an extra chair. We silently wait for Grace to calm down, before she slowly lets go.
“Hey, Grace; it’s been a while.” She relaxes, and turns, keeping her head laying against my chest.
“Hi, G.” She mumbles, still attached to me, but she allows him to brush some hair out of her face, and he smiles. She’s literally like a sister to him, and he worries about her like I do. Johnson’s pretty much her best friend who’s like a brother. He looks after her, but gossips and listens to her like a best friend. Then there’s Sammy, the best friend. They’re probably the closest, and honestly I don’t know why. But, I trust him. He would never go after her, and try to date my sister. I like his sister, but I ain’t about to do anything about it. I feel her begin to become limp, and look at Jack G.
‘She’s asleep.’ He mouths, and I nod, not even daring to wake her up, or put her down. I hold her tighter, thanking God she’s still alive. Johnson walks back in, and his eyes are red; they’re not red from getting high, he looks like he was crying.
“You good?” I quietly ask. He nods, and walks over. “She fell asleep from crying.”
“So we’re taking her home after she gets out?” I nod. “How long is that gonna take?”
“As long as she needs it. I’ll stay with her until they let her out.” I answer. He nods, before leaning against a wall.
“What about tour?”
“I’ll push it back. She’s my baby sister; she’s more important than going on tour.” I tell him, and I can tell no one’s surprised. “If my fans are really fans, they’ll understand.” The door reopens, and a nurse comes in.
