Total pages in book: 107
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 101524 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 508(@200wpm)___ 406(@250wpm)___ 338(@300wpm)
“Yeah,” she whispers.
“Go do that, honey. Zuri will call you when she can,” I tell her, and she looks at Zuri with tears brimming her eyes.
“Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Zuri tells her as Heather’s dad suddenly appears behind her, the moment he places his hand on her shoulder, and she turns to see it’s him she gets to her feet and falls against him crying.
“Let’s get you up,” I tell Zuri, but before I get to my feet, Logan is there, having just run from the field, with Harlen helping me and her off the ground.
“I dropped Ava and Lillian’s ice creams,” she tells Harlen, sounding devastated as she curls against my side.
“That’s okay, sweetheart,” he assures her while looking at me. “Did you check the wound?”
“Not yet.”
“It’s going to need stitches,” a woman says, and I look over at her. “I gave her the towel; the cut looked pretty deep.”
“Thanks,” I whisper to her, and she nods, wringing her hands together.
“Let’s get her to my Jeep,” Logan says, and Harlen lifts Zuri off the ground and carries her towards the parking lot. After he gets Zuri in the back, I get in with her and make sure she’s buckled in then pull her against my side.
“My head hurts.”
“They’ll give you something to help with the pain at the hospital,” I promise, then look out the side window as Billie comes running up with my bag.
“Thank you, honey,” I tell her when she places it over the door and onto the front seat.
“Is she okay?” she asks, worried.
“She will be.” I hold her gaze. “Thank you for coming to get me so quickly.”
“You’re welcome.” Her attention goes to her dad.
“I have Coop, and we’ll get a ride with Mom or Gigi.”
“Thanks, sweetheart,” he tells her, getting in behind the wheel.
“Harmony will call you,” Harlen says, and I nod at him, then wrap my arm tighter around Zuri’s shoulders as Logan backs out of his parking space.
It doesn’t take us long to get to the hospital, and the moment we arrive, the woman at the front desk has us escorted back to a room, and not long after that, the doctor comes in to see us. When he pulls the blood-soaked towel from Zuri’s face, I force myself not to react to seeing the open wound. It’s bad, but not as bad as I thought it was, given the amount of blood she lost, but it’s still bad enough that I see a dark bruise beginning to form around it.
After ruling out the possibility of a concussion, he cleans her up and places three stitches above her brow, then tells me that I can give her Motrin for the pain and ice to help with the swelling. He sends us on our way, making sure to remind me twice to check in with her pediatrician. When we arrive home twenty minutes later, Logan helps me get her inside, then I leave him in the living room and walk her down the hall to her bedroom.
Taking a seat on the edge of her mattress after helping her change her clothes and get tucked into bed, I smooth her hair off her cheek and tuck it behind her ear.
“Rest, okay.”
“Okay,” she agrees, her eyes drowsy. “Love you, Namalama.”
“I love you, too.” I carefully kiss her forehead, then pull the blanket up around her shoulders. I want nothing more than to crawl into bed with her, but my phone has been beeping nonstop. I checked in earlier with my family, but if I don’t start responding to my messages soon, everyone is going to start showing up at my house.
Picking up her dirty clothes, I carry them to the laundry closet across the hall from her room and spray them with stain remover. I leave them to soak, hoping that they can be salvaged, then poke my head back into her room and find her already asleep. Closing her door, I head down the hall.
“She okay?” Logan asks from my couch, startling me when I walk around the corner into my living room. I don’t know why I expected him to be gone, to have left quietly while I was with Zuri. Maybe I shouldn’t have, he’s already proven without trying that he’s the kind of guy to jump in when you need him, without you ever having to ask him to help.
“She’s asleep.” I walk towards the couch, you’d think he’d look out of place in his athletic gear, ball cap, and sneakers sitting amongst my frilly pillows and the bright pops of color everywhere, but instead, he looks like he belongs in the space. “Are Cooper and Billie okay?” I take a seat next to him with my cell phone.
“They’re getting dinner with my mom; she’s going to drop them off at home when they’re done.” He leans back, rubbing his hands down his face. “They were supposed to go home with their mom after the game today and spend the weekend with her, but neither of them are comfortable around her man, so they’ve been avoiding her house and her.”