Marli
Marli wasn’t sure, but she was certain she’d gained and lost a boyfriend all in a matter of seven hours. That had to be a new world record. As the elevator door closed on Dru, regret for what she’d said immediately sunk in. She didn’t really want him to leave. He’d been the only person keeping her sane. Under different circumstances, she might have gone after him, but her son was her priority right now. She’d reach out to Dru later and apologize. Turning to the nurse, she wiped her eyes.
“I’m ready,” she whispered. Kay grabbed ahold of her sister’s arm, and they followed the nurse down the long hallway that led to Tres’s room. Ms. Woodard was right behind them. She was glad that Max hadn’t tried to come back with them. She didn’t want to see his stupid ass face. The fact that he’d allowed their son to shoot himself disgusted her to her core. Max was a lot of things, but she never thought he’d be this damn careless. She would never trust him with her boys again. As they approached the room, silence fell over them. Marli expected to hear the usual EKG beeps, but there was nothing. Just dead silence.
“Is he awake?” Marli took a deep breath, attempting to prepare herself for the sight that awaited her beyond the hospital door.
“No, he’s asleep. He will probably sleep most of the day due to the anesthesia and the pain medication,” the nurse stated.
“Okay.” Marli pushed open the door. Tears immediately pooled in her eyes, and her breathing became erratic. Nothing could prepare her for what she was seeing. Her baby boy was lying there with tubes down his throat, he was hooked up to all sorts of machines. There was a large bandage over his wound. Marli’s heart was broken. Ms. Woodward and Kay both placed their hands over their mouths. The sight of Tres had to be too much for them, too. Her baby didn’t deserve this, and the more she stared at her son, the more hate she formed for his father. He was truly a trash ass parent for this.
“It’s okay, sister. He’s okay.” Kay rubbed Marli on the back. She heard her sister’s words, but she couldn’t help but think of the long road to recovery that was up ahead. Building enough courage, Marli moved to Tres’s bedside. He looked tired, and there were small specs of dried-up blood around his mouth from where they’d placed the tubes, but other than that, he looked like himself.
“Mama’s here, baby. Mama’s here.” She touched his hand and gently kissed his forehead. He was sleeping so peacefully like none of this had happened. She hoped like hell this wouldn’t affect his sweet, childlike innocence. The longer she stared at her baby, the heavier her heart became. She needed to have a seat. Searching the room, she spotted a blue hospital recliner in the corner next to his bed. Sitting down, she placed her face in her hands and allowed the tears to freely flow. The fact she even had any left was surprising. She had barely stopped crying since she received the news. Kay hovered over her for a second, dropping to her knees. She wrapped her arms around her sister, and they wept uncontrollably together.
“I’m so… so sorry your day had to end this way!” Marli cried.
“Don’t you dare apologize. Don’t you dare.” Kay shook her head. “My nephew being okay is the most important thing right now!” She cried, kissing her sister on the forehead. The sound of the hospital doors creaking open made them lift their heads. The sight of two tall, dark-skinned uniformed police detectives entering the room made Marli gasp. She wasn’t expecting to see them. Her first thought was they were coming to ask her about the commotion in the lobby. She prayed they weren’t coming to put her out. She had no intentions of leaving her son. Kay stood to her feet and rounded the chair Marli sat in.
“Hello, Ms. Martin. I’m Detective Dan, and this is Detective Collins. We realize this may not be the best time, but we want to ask you some questions about your son’s accident. We can do it now, or we can leave our cards and you can speak with us in the morning.” Detective Dan spoke. Marli let out a sigh of relief. They were just there to ask questions about Tres. She didn’t have many facts, but she would greatly tell them what she knew. Maybe they could even help her to piece together what was happening since no one was volunteering the information.
“No, I can answer them now,” she replied. She didn’t have anything to hide.
“Do you know what happened?” Detective Dan began as his partner took out a pen and paper.
“Um, only what I was told. I was out of town for my sister’s destination wedding.” She pointed to Kay. “The boys were with their father; it was his scheduled weekend.”
The detectives both nodded. “Got it, and when were you notified, and what did they say?”
“My phone was turned on airplane mode because of the wedding. I didn’t get any calls or messages. My mother informed me around four that um…” Marli’s voice cracked. “Umm… that my baby had shot himself.”
Kay rubbed her sister’s back as the detectives scribbled down what she was saying.
“You said the boys were with their father… Does he usually have guns laying around? Do you know if he owns any guns?” Detective Collins questioned. Marli was slow to speak. She knew her words would implicate Max, but she wasn’t going to lie to protect him, especially when her son was lying in a hospital bed. Marli looked at Ms. Woodard. She hated that such a sweet woman had raised such an asshole of a son. Ms. Woodard’s eyes filled with sorrow.
“Yes, he owns several. I always tell him to put those damn things away. You see, my son is famous, and he’s been shot at before, so he carries for protection. I’ve never seen them out around the boys.” Ms. Woodard answered for her. Marli was shocked that she’d said that. She knew Ms. Woodard was aware of what they were implying.
“And you are?” Detective Dan turned his attention to Max’s mom.
“Dad’s mom,” she stated. “I’m the first person my son called when it happened. I alerted Marli’s mom as well.” Ms. Woodard nodded in Marli’s direction.
“Have either of you ever seen him leave any guns out around the children before?” The attention was back on Marli, though they’d addressed it to both of them. Marli hadn’t, but she didn’t spend a lot of time with Max and the kids together. They co-parented, and that was it. There weren’t any times when they’d spent family time together.
“No,” Marli and Ms. Woodard replied in unison. Marli took a deep breath before continuing.
“Not that I know of. We aren’t together. We just co-parent. I’m not around when he has them, so I can’t speak on that.” It was the honest to God truth.
“Last thing, Miss Martin, how old is your other son?”
“Four, they’re twins.”
The detectives nodded.
“Thank you, ladies. We hope your son recovers well. Here is our card in case you need anything.” Detective Dan handed Marli a white business card. Marli tucked the card in her boobs as the detectives turned to leave the room.
“Detectives, is my son going to go to jail?” Ms. Woodard asked. Detective Collins turned to face her.
“Ma’am, we are still investigating. We do have to take him in for questioning, but ultimately, that decision to file charges is up to the prosecutors,” he stated as they exited the room. This time, Max’s mom burst into tears. Marli and Kay moved to her quickly, embracing her in a hug. Marli didn’t know what to say. There were truly no words. The entire situation was heavy for everybody. The possibility of Max going to jail and her sons being without their father was a lot to wrap her head around. Mistakes happened, but this wasn’t a mistake to be taken lightly. Tres could have died. Marli was glad he was being detained. Still, she felt for Ms. Woodard.
“Thank you, babies.” Ms. Woodard straightened her back. “I’m gon’ go get myself together. I’m gon’ let Max or your mom come in and see him,” she spoke through sniffles. The girls let her go, and she shuffled toward the door. Marli turned, kissing Tres again before following Ms. Woodard out the door. If Max was coming in, she wanted to get out of dodge. As they neared the waiting area, the sight of two of the reality show’s cameramen caused Marli’s heart to skip a beat. She really couldn’t believe that Max would stoop this low. Maybe they had come on their own.
“Um… what the fuck?” she blurted as she approached the camera crew. “What are you doing here?”
“We are here to get some hospital footage of you and Max,” one of the guys answered.
“Yeah, this gon’ be good. This the hot topic on all the blogs,” the other man stated as he removed his camera from the case. Marli felt as though she was being pranked. They couldn’t be serious, and this couldn’t be her life.
“No, we’re not filming this.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Max said you are,” the men responded. Marli’s blood boiled as she looked around for Max, but she didn’t see him.
“He’s talking to the police,” the cameraman offered. Marli took a deep breath. She could feel the bitch in her rising.
“We are not filming this. That is fucking final. You all can leave!” She placed her hand on her hip and pointed toward the entrance. The two men looked at her and continued to put up their equipment. They were moving as if her words meant nothing. Aw, they don’t hear me, she thought. Grabbing the first piece of equipment she could find, Marli threw it on the floor, shattering it into pieces.
“You hear me now?” She snatched the camera out of one of the men’s hands and launched it across the room. Her mother moved toward her, attempting to calm her down, but it was too late. All the pain and frustrations of the day had forced itself to the forefront, and she couldn’t bottle them back up.
“I said leave, the fuck! I’m not filming my son in no damn hospital for likes and money!” She was screaming at this point, grabbing anything that was in her reach and throwing it.
