The Keysha Diaries, Volume One: Keysha's Drama. Earl Sewell

Чтение книги онлайн.

      seven

      When I regained consciousness, I felt someone placing a cold washcloth around my face and neck.

      “Mom, what happened?” I asked.

      “You fainted. Your mom isn’t here,” said Maggie. “And your hand has been cut pretty badly. I called for an ambulance.”

      “I don’t need an ambulance,” I said as I tried to sit up, but Maggie placed her hands on my shoulders and held me down. She was a short, bony woman but strong enough to hold me down.

      “You need to relax,” Maggie reiterated. I didn’t feel like struggling with her so I relaxed. I studied her features. She had caramel skin with dark brown freckles around her nose and cheekbones. She was attractive but I could tell by the deep lines beneath her eyes that she’d seen her fair share of heartache, drama and pain.

      “Why is everything falling apart?” I started crying uncontrollably. I wanted Maggie to embrace me and tell me that it was going to be okay but she didn’t. I wanted to feel safe, loved and wanted, but all I felt was alone.

      When the paramedics arrived, they stitched up the deep cut on my hand and offered to take me to the hospital.

      “I don’t want to go to the hospital,” I said.

      “Honey, you really need to have a doctor look at your hand,” said Maggie, who seemed to be concerned about me.

      “I’m fine,” I said as I looked at the bandage on my hand. “See, the bleeding has stopped.”

      “Will the stitches hold until I can get her to a private doctor?” Maggie asked one of the paramedics.

      “Yes,” answered one of the men as he began putting away his medical supplies. “But make sure she sees a doctor soon. Don’t wait more than one or two days.”

      “Okay,” said Maggie. She thanked them as they walked out of the apartment and down the hall.

      Once the paramedics left, Maggie once again asked me how I got cut.

      “What do you care?” I snapped at her.

      “Okay, I’m just trying to help.”

      “You don’t really want to help me. You’re just doing a job,” I said as I inspected the bandage around my thumb. She then showed me all of her credentials to prove who she was.

      “You can’t stay here,” Maggie informed me.

      “No shit, Sherlock,” I said. “I suppose this means you want me to gather up my bags and go with you.” Maggie didn’t say anything; she just looked at me. I read her facial expression and deduced that was exactly what she wanted me to do. I walked around the room and gathered up my belongings. I took one last look around the apartment to make sure that I hadn’t forgotten anything I wanted.

      “What about the television?” Maggie asked. “Do you want to take it?”

      “No, it barely works,” I answered as I walked out the door. When I stepped out onto the stoop of the building, I thought for sure someone would approach me and ask if I was okay. I mean, I figured that they had to have seen the ambulance and should’ve known that it was for me. No one looked in my direction or even thought enough about my well-being to ask me what was going on. Toya wasn’t around, and I assumed that after she’d cut me, she got in the car with her boyfriend and drove away in case the police were called.

      “That’s my car over there.” Maggie pointed to an emerald-green Oldsmobile. She hit the remote locks and the trunk of the car opened up.

      “You can place your bags in the trunk,” she said as she moved past me. I took a deep breath and then headed toward her car and my unknown future.

      * * *

      As I drove away with Maggie, I just stared out the car window and didn’t say a word. I was angry at everything and with everyone. I was already making plans to run away from the group home. I’d rather take my chances living on the street as opposed to being forced to go into some home with a bunch of people I didn’t know. I thought perhaps I could go back and talk with Ms. Maze, Toya’s grandmother, and ask her if I could stay with her for a little while. I know the plan sounds crazy after Toya cut me with a straight razor, but I figured we were even now and we could move past that.

      “I’m taking you to a facility for distressed teens that is on 114th and Western Avenue,” Maggie said, interrupting my thoughts. I didn’t СКАЧАТЬ