Life After a Balla by Jackie D. Page A

man that it had almost cost them their lives.
    I don’t know what the fuck is going on with Cruze, but he might as well consider this relationship over , she thought.
     
    ****
     
    An hour later, Skye sat biting her nails with a huge bandage on her head while waiting for Payton to come out of surgery. After briefly talking to the doctor and confirming that his diagnosis was correct, they didn’t waste anytime getting Payton into the operating room. Ever since Skye walked along side her daughter’s gurney and watched as they wheeled her into the restricted area, she’d been on pins and needles.
    Getting impatient, Skye walked to the back of the waiting room area to use one of the complementary phones. When one of the paramedics retrieved her purse from her wrecked vehicle, her cell phone wasn’t in it, and neither were her pills. At a time like this, she really needed one to calm her nerves. Her heart was beating so fast it felt like it was going to pop out of her chest.
    She looked around at one of the families in the waiting area. Seeing some of them laid out in the chairs made her wonder how long they’d been waiting for their loved one to come out. It was such a nerve wrecking process.
    Skye decided to try calling Cruze once again. However, just like it had done all morning, the call went straight to voicemail, which had Skye seeing red.
    “Cruze where the fuck are you? Payton and I were in an accident, and she had to undergo emergency surgery. Come to Southern Regional Medical Center in Riverdale A.S.A.P!” she said, slamming the phone down. She stood for a few seconds thinking, before dialing Kareem’s number.
    Maybe Cruze went home and fell asleep , Skye thought, as she waited for Kareem to pick up his phone. She tried her best to give him benefit of the doubt.
    “Hello,” Kareem answered in a groggy voice obviously still asleep.
    “Is Cruze there?” she immediately asked him.
    Kareem breathed in the phone as if he was irritated. “No. He’s not here.”
    “Well, wake up, I need you to call him for me. His phone keeps going straight to voicemail.”
    Kareem immediately became irritated. “No, I’m not calling him. You need to stop sweating that nigga so hard. If it’s going straight to voicemail that means he turned it off.”
    Her blood pressure went sky high as soon as she started yelling. “Look, I’m not in the mood to deal with your bullshit right now, Kareem. Payton and I were in a car accident. I’m in the emergency room. Now, do what I told you!”
    Kareem’s tone instantly changed. “In the emergency room? Are you guys alright? What happened?”
    “I totaled the car. I’m bruised and banged up, but Payton is the one who really got hurt. She’s in surgery.”
    “Oh my God. What happened to her?”
    Skye could hear Jordan in the background upset, asking Kareem if he could speak to her.
    “Her leg is broken, and that’s all I wanna get into. Right now, I need you to keep calling Cruze for me so he can come up here. I lost my phone in the accident so I’ll have to keep calling you back. I gotta go,” Skye said, ending the call when she saw a tall woman holding a clip board walking toward her. Moments later, the Amazon woman stopped directly in front of her.
    “Excuse me, are you Ms. Washington?” she asked.
    “Yes, I’m Ms. Washington,” Skye replied. She was so glad no one had said Mrs. since she’d been there.
    “Sorry to interrupt you. Could you follow me to the registration area downstairs? I need you to fill out some paperwork for your daughter Payton. I promise the process doesn’t take very long, so you’ll be back in no time.”
    Skye cleared her throat, “Yes, sure.”
    When they reached the registration desk a few minutes later, the woman told Skye to have a seat. She then passed her a clipboard along with some several pieces of paper.
    “I need you to fill these out and attach your insurance card along with your driver’s license so I can make a