Why?
INVOLVED: Mia Blackwell & Tyler Blackwell. TIME FRAME: Sunday, June 11th, 2017. LOCATION: Mount Sinai Hospital; Miami, Florida. NOTES: Mia ask Tyler why he got shot and demands answers.
Tyler laid in the hospital bed, eating from the jello cup the nurse had left him as he stared at nothing in particular. Slowly his eyes traveled over to Mia and he held the jello cup and the spoon out, offering some to her.
Mia sat in the chair next to Tyler, she looked to her phone for a moment before she shifted. All of these days of missed work were starting to add up and there had been some demands placed on her but what were she to do? Mia looked up for a second, “no thanks” she said as she shifted in her seat again. Mia rested her elbow on the chairs arm, her hand resting on her aching head. Her head was killing her and her stomach was churning for no reason at all.
Tyler nodded slowly as Mia rejected the jello. Tucking his lips into his mouth he sat both down and just sat there, quiet as a mouse until he asked quietly, “are you okay?”
“Yeah, I’m okay” Mia lied as she ran her hand down her bare face. She sat her phone aside working for causing her head to hurt worse and so were the countless text messages from friends, coworkers, and family alike.
Tyler watched her in silence, shifting his upper body in the bed a little, a small wince passing his lips. His wounds were still healing and his bandages still needed to be changed on the regular because sometimes he would bleed through them.
Mia sat there for a long while, she was quiet for the most part she had two kids, her husband had been shot up, heavy burdens had been placed on her shoulder. She was stressed, not even a little she was stressed a whole lot. She closed her eyes as she rested back in the chair tilting her head to the side, her hands rested over her upset stomach as she just sat there.
Tyler was quiet. Mia was quiet. The room was just quiet. His eyes scanned the room slowly before they settled back on Mia as she rested her hand over her stomach. He just gazed at her, his tired eyes taking her in before he asked. “Are you pregnant?”
Mia opened her eyes looking back to her husband “huh?” she asked him as she licked her lips. “No, it’s all of this stress that has me so sick” she told him as she closed her eyes again before pinching the bridge of her nose.
Tyler pointed to her hand over her stomach before she explained and he nodded. “I’m sorry,” he said softly, and he genuinely meant it. His stupidity had her stressed out and feeling sick. He had never meant for any of this to happen. Since he had woken up, he began to remember things about that night and he knew he should have just turned back to his car when he had the chance but he was stupid and he didn’t and this was the price that he had to pay. He had been shot and almost killed by her ex-husband and now he would probably never walk again.
“Sorry for what Tyler?” Mia asked him as she looked over at him. “For being wheelchair bound for the rest of your life?” she asked angrily. “Or for putting your entire family through this? What the hell were you thinking?” she said nostrils flared. “I thought you had died” she said her voice cracking. “I didn’t know what to fucking think, we have two kids. TWO!” she yelled holding up two fingers in the process. She blinked letting her tears fall and she covered her face with both of her hands before she quickly wiped under her nose and chin with the back of her hand. “I thought you left that shelf shit behind, that life behind. What the fuck were you even doing out there!” she asked him demanding answers.
Tyler gazed at Mia as she began questioning him and yelling at him and he sat there, hands resting in his lap as he looked down. “I did leave that life behind,” he told her softly. “I was trying to tell Isaiah that I couldn’t do it. That I couldn’t help him,” he told her softly. “I was trying to get out,” he explained.
Mia looked to Tyler her hand on her head, she gave him a look of disgust as he mentioned Isaiah. “Isaiah, Isaiah, Isaiah” she mocked in a childish voice. “I tell you to stop fucking with that nigga, you keep fucking with him, and then he almost gets you killed. Is that enough? Enough for you to leave his ass alone?” she argued. “You don’t owe his snake ass shit” she barked as she stood up. “And if I was the old Mia” she said pointing to herself “I would whoop your fucking ass because you knew the shit was foul before you went out and did it” she said pointing at him as she walked up to his bedside. “Coming home fucking me to sleep so you can go out and do this? Sell some weak shit?” she said slapping him across his face and as soon as she did she did it she gasped. “Tyler, I’m so sorry” she breathed out apologetically.
Tyler sat there, quiet as a mouse once more as Mia went off on him. He stared down at his hands in his lap, licking his lips slowly. He didn’t say a word as he allowed her to express all of her anger and pent up emotion and when she hit him, he winced softly, looking up at her with sad eyes. “I’m sorry baby,” Tyler said gently as he reached for her, trying to pull her close despite his injuries.
As Tyler apologized and tried his hardest to pull her closer she pushed him away “who did this?” she cried. “Did Isaiah do this to you?” she asked him curiously as she wiped her face. Mia shook her head as she sniffled hard crying a little harder because of it all. She sat down on the edge of his bed “I thought you were dead” she said barely audible as she broke down before him. It was the thing she had been holding onto because it was the thing that rocked her the most. It shook her to her core, the fear was unexplainable. “I didn’t know what I was going to do without you baby...” she said as hiccuped loudly.
Feeling Mia push him away, Tyler allowed her to slip from his hands as he gazed at her. “No, it wasn’t Izzy,” he said jumping right over the question. “Izzy was trying to get me out of there,” he said honestly. As Mia sat down at on the edge of the bed crying, he slid his arm around her, pulling her closer to him. He rested his head against her arm gently. “I’m alive,” he told her softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“I still hate his ass” Mia sniffled gently as she closed her eyes tiredly. She wiped a few more tears that rolled down her cheek, before she opened her eyes again.
Tyler gently reached up and slid his thumb across Mia’s cheek, brushing away the tears gently. “I love you,” he said gently. “And I’m so sorry.”
Mia sat there for a moment before she finally replied “I love you too” she told him in a whisper.
Tyler gaze her a gentle squeeze. “Sechrest…” he trailed off gently.
Mia sat upright and she looked to Tyler “Sechrest what?” she asked, she knew what he was implying however she needed him to say it outright. “Sechrest…”
Tyler looked away from Mia shaking his head.
Mia looked to Tyler again, licking her lips slowly “my ex husband shot you…” she said. “Isaiah works for Sechrest?” she asked him.
Tyler looked down sadly. “I didn’t know…”
“I hate his ass” Mia growled as she clutched her fist tightly, she inhaled and exhaled it slowly. “I can’t believe this shit Tyler” she said shaking her head. “So stupid” she breathed.
Tyler let out a deep sigh. “Isaiah didn’t know either,” he said softly.
Mia looked at Tyler out of the corner of her eye, her face bright red like a tomato she was fuming over this. She had been wracking her brain around how this could have happened and why. And now that she knew it infuriated her more.
Tyler kept his eyes down as Mia stared at him out the corner of her eye and he licked his lips. “He’s not going to stop until I’m dead…” he said knowingly.
“I guess he has to die first” Mia said sarcastically. “He’s upset, you fucked his wife and then stole her. His bad. I didn’t care about the shit he talked however this takes it to a whole new level” she told him.
Tyler looked up at Mia, his eyes a little big as shock displayed across his face. “W-what?” he said shaking his head. “Mia…” he took her hand into his. “Whatever you’re thinking, stop.”
Mia looked to him her chest rising and falling as her breathing became heavy, she shook her head. “No!” she argued “I am going to handle this myself” she said.
Tyler looked at Mia, grabbing her hand. “Mia…” he said shaking his head. “It’s not worth it.”
“You may never walk again” Mia said as she looked to him “and for what?” she asked. “You can’t play basketball with Mekhi, that means possibly not walking Kenya down the aisle, your art?” she told him. “I’m angry” she replied tearing up again, “I’m mad as hell” she told him.
Tyler gazed at Mia with soft eyes, shaking his head sadly. She was right. If he never walked again, what was he going to do?
Mia looked away from Tyler before she closed her eyes again. “I can’t believe any of this” she breathed again.