Page 154 of Vega

He gave me a bitter smile. “A couple of the homies came through and ain’t know what to say. They looked at my leg, then looked at the floor, then started talking about the weather like we old as hell.” He shook his head. “And these hoes? Word got around that I might not walk right for a while. Might need a brace. Might need help. Now some of them all of a sudden ‘so busy’.” He laughed sarcastically. “One girl texted me talking about she praying for me, then unfollowed me before I could even respond. Another one asked Lux if my dick still worked.”

“What she look like?”

His brows curled as he asked, “Why?”

“So, I know who not to let back in the club.”

That got half a smile out of him, but it disappeared fast. “This shit is embarrassing. I know I’m supposed to be thankful to be alive, and I am. But I’m mad as fuck, Vega. I’m mad I can’t get up and piss without somebody helping me.”

“You’re allowed to be mad.”

“Don’t make it easier.”

“Listen to me. You got shot multiple times and survived what should’ve put you in the ground. That don’t mean you gotta smile through rehab or be grateful every second. You can be pissed. You can hate it. You can cuss everybody out from the bed. But you can’t let this convince you that you’re less than who you were. You have to learn how to walk again, and that’s fucked up. But learning again don’t mean starting from nothing. You still you. Your mind still works. Your family still got you. And if some friends or women disappear because you got hurt, it’s good that they finally showed you who they really are.”

He blinked hard, looking away from me.

“The people who really fuck with and love you are going to ride through this with you. Lux is damn near living in this hospital. Your mama has been praying so much her throat is sore. Lowe, you got people who will be right by your side, dragging you through every step of this even if you hate us for it.”

His bottom lip trembled for a second before he pulled it between his teeth to keep the emotions in check. “I hate needing help, and I hate people seeing me like this.”

“We would rather see you like this than not see you at all.”

He took a rough breath and stared at the ceiling.

I gave him a second before saying, “Keep your head up. Because you not done. This is going to be a long road. You not even close to being done, so you can’t start giving up now.”

He nodded slowly.

The room went quiet for a little while. I opened the takeout from Jerk Villa and pushed one toward him.

He picked up the fork, asking, “How are you and Sonnet?”

“You in here fighting for mobility and worried about my woman?”

“Yeah.” He smiled a little. “Because if I almost died and you still fumbling that nerdy fine girl, I need to know so I can roast you before the next surgery.”

I laughed under my breath. “We good.”

“You love her?”

I didn’t hesitate. “Yeah.”

His smile grew, weak but real. “Damn. Vega Moretti in love. That’s crazy.”

“Don’t do too much.”

“Nah, I’m happy for you. For real. She good for you. I saw it before all this. You looked different around her.”

“How?”

“Less like you wanted to kill everybody in the room.”

“That ain’t saying much.”

“It is for you.” Lowe finally took a bite of food, chewed slowly, then pointed the fork at me. “Don’t let this shit make you push her away either. You probably on some extra controlling shit right now.”

I looked away, feeling guilty.