30.

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I sighed as my phone buzzed again, Wyatt's name lighting up my screen like an alarm I didn't want to deal with. I swiped away the notification and shot a quick text to Mommy instead.

Me: Please cover for me. It's important.

It took her less than a minute to respond.

Mommy: Already on it. But you better be ready to explain.

I exhaled in relief, slipping my phone back into my bag. I'd deal with the fallout later. Right now, the only thing that mattered was Ren.

I carried the food tray back to where Zuri was sitting at one of the small round tables in the hospital café. She had barely said a word since we left Ren's room, just sitting there with her arms crossed over her chest, deep in thought. I set her burger down in front of her and slid into the seat across from her.

"You okay?" I asked, unwrapping my own burger.

Zuri shrugged but didn't say anything.

I chewed my bottom lip, trying to think of something to distract her. Then I remembered.

"You wanna see this picture of Ren?" I asked, pulling out my phone again.

Zuri's eyes flicked up to mine, her expression softening just a little. "Please."

I scrolled through my camera roll, past all the old pictures and videos I hadn't been able to delete. Then I found it—the one I was looking for.

I turned my phone toward her.

The second she saw it, her whole face changed.

It was a picture of Ren with two pigtails sticking out of her dreads, a cheap plastic tiara sitting lopsided on her head. She looked ridiculous.

"She let you do that?" Zuri asked, eyes wide with disbelief.

I grinned. "She didn't have a choice. I made her do it so I could stop being mad at her one day."

Zuri let out a short laugh, shaking her head. "That's crazy."

"She acted like she hated it, but she kept that tiara for months," I said, smiling at the memory.

Zuri stared at the picture for a long time before finally looking away. She picked at the wrapper around her burger but didn't take a bite.

"She better wake up," she mumbled, almost to herself. "I don't know what the hell I'll do if she doesn't."

I smirked and shook my head. "Ren is way too stubborn to die."

Zuri let out a loud laugh, the first real one I'd heard from her all night. She wiped her eyes and shook her head. "Yo, that's so true. She's entirely too damn stubborn."

She leaned back in her chair, a nostalgic smile creeping onto her face. "Man, lemme tell you—Ren was sick as hell for a whole week one time 'cause she refused to take medicine. She kept saying, 'I ain't sick, I don't get sick,' meanwhile she was hacking up a lung and sweating bullets."

I laughed, shaking my head. That sounded exactly like Ren. "So what happened?"

"She finally took the medicine," Zuri said, rolling her eyes. "But only after Nanny tricked her into drinking some tea with it mixed in. She was mad as hell when she found out, but by then she was already getting better, so she couldn't even be mad for real."

I laughed again, picturing Ren scowling over a cup of tea, knowing she'd been played.

"That girl is so damn difficult," I said, shaking my head.

Zuri nodded, but her smile started to fade. "Yeah... but she's my sister. And I need her to wake up."

I reached across the table and squeezed her hand. "She will."

Zuri looked at me, her eyes glassy but determined. "She better. Or I swear, I'm gonna bring her back just to kill her myself."

I chuckled, squeezing her hand again. "She's not going anywhere, Zu."

She exhaled deeply, then finally unwrapped her burger and took a small bite. I did the same, and for the first time since we got that awful news, things felt just a little bit lighter.

Zuri looked up at me with hopeful eyes and asked, "Can we go back to the room?"

I nodded without hesitation. "Of course."

We walked back through the quiet hospital halls, the weight of the night still heavy on us. The sterile scent of the hospital filled my nose as we stepped back into Ren's room. Machines beeped steadily, the soft rhythm of her heart monitor filling the silence.

The doctor was already in there, checking the monitors. When he noticed us, he offered a small smile. "She must be a fighter," he said, nodding toward Ren. "Her stats are improving by the hour."

Relief washed over me like a wave. I hadn't even realized how tense I'd been, waiting for bad news at every turn. I smiled softly and stepped closer to Ren's bed, brushing a few stray locs out of her face before pressing another gentle kiss to her cheek.

"That's my girl," I whispered.

Zuri stood beside me, arms crossed, as if she was trying to keep herself together. I turned to her and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "I should get you home before Nanny kills everybody."

That finally made her laugh, shaking her head. "Yeah, she probably already cussed out like three nurses by now."

I chuckled, knowing she wasn't exaggerating. Nanny didn't play when it came to her grandkids.

I turned back to Ren, brushing my fingers along her hand. "We'll be back in a few hours, okay? And you better be up."

Zuri huffed out a laugh. "Yeah, for real, Ren. Don't make me start playing gospel music on your phone, 'cause I will."

I smiled at that, my heart feeling just a little lighter.

We gave Ren one last look before stepping out of the room, the weight of the night still lingering, but hope settling in its place.

When we got back to Steph's penthouse, the exhaustion was starting to set in, but I pushed through it. Zuri was quiet beside me, her face still tense from the night's events. As soon as we walked through the door, Nanny was waiting, sitting on the couch with her Bible in her lap like she already knew something was wrong.

She looked us over, her sharp eyes scanning for injuries, and when she didn't see any, she asked in that firm but worried voice, "What happened?"

I took a deep breath, already knowing this wasn't going to be easy. "When we went down the street, we saw that Ren had been shot," I told her, my voice steady but soft.

Nanny's hands flew up to her chest, her Bible almost slipping from her grip. Before I could say anything else, she squeezed her eyes shut and started praying right there in the middle of the room. "Father God, I come to you now, Lord, asking for your protection over my baby. Cover her, Lord. Be with her in that hospital room, Lord. Give her strength, Father. We rebuke the spirit of death in the name of Jesus."

Zuri and I stood there silently as she prayed, letting her words wash over us. I wasn't the most religious person, but in that moment, I appreciated it. The way Nanny spoke, it was like she knew God was listening.

When she finished, she opened her eyes and looked at me, her expression still filled with worry, but a small smile broke through. "You said she's getting better?"

I nodded, giving her the reassurance she needed. "Yeah. The doctors said her stats are improving by the hour. She's in a medically induced coma for now, but she's fighting."

Nanny let out a relieved sigh, rubbing her hands together. "That girl is strong. Just like her daddy was."

Zuri sat down on the couch beside her, resting her head on Nanny's shoulder. For the first time since we saw Ren on that gurney, she looked like she could breathe again.

Nanny turned back to me. "Would you like to stay?" she asked gently.

I hesitated. The idea of staying was tempting—being around people who genuinely cared about Ren, feeling that warmth—but I knew I had to handle things back home. "I should get home," I told her.

She nodded knowingly and opened her arms for a hug. I stepped into her embrace, and she squeezed me, like she was trying to transfer some of her strength into me. I let myself sink into it for a moment before pulling back.

I turned to Zuri, who was already looking at me like she didn't want me to leave. "I'll be back in a few hours so we can go back to the hospital," I promised.

She nodded, not saying much, but I could tell she appreciated it.

I gave them one last look before heading toward the door, taking a deep breath. It had been a long night, and it wasn't over yet.

When I got back home, I moved quietly through the house, careful not to make a sound as I made my way to Mommy's office. It was late, way past when she usually turned in for the night, but when I cracked the door open, I wasn't surprised to see her still up. She was sitting at her desk, her glasses low on her nose as she scrolled through something on her laptop, her manicured fingers tapping lightly against the keyboard.

She didn't even look up when she said, "I had to lie to your father and Wyatt tonight. You need to get to talking."

I sighed, stepping inside and closing the door behind me. I knew this conversation was coming. Mommy didn't play when it came to covering for me—she would do it, no hesitation, but that meant I had to come correct when it was time to explain myself.

I walked over and sat in the chair across from her desk, my hands gripping the arms of it for a second before I exhaled. "I went to the career center event today."

Mommy nodded, still not looking up from her screen. "I know. I was proud of you for that."

I swallowed, my throat suddenly dry. "I ran into Zuri there."

That made her glance up, her brows slightly raised. "Zuri? Ren's little sister?"

I nodded. "Yeah. We started talking, and she introduced herself, and as soon as I heard her last name, I—" I sighed, rubbing my temples. "I knew she had to be related to my Ren."

Mommy was watching me carefully now, like she was putting the pieces together before I could even finish. "And?"

I licked my lips. "And then she showed me pictures of her work. She does hair, and she's really good at it, but—" I hesitated, meeting my mother's sharp gaze. "One of the pictures was Ren."

Mommy's face remained unreadable, but I knew she was processing everything.

"She's the one who's been doing Ren's retwists," I continued. "And when I saw her, I—I couldn't stop myself. I pulled her aside, and I told her who I was."

Mommy sighed, leaning back in her chair. "And?"

I chewed on the inside of my cheek before saying, "I asked her if I could come over for dinner."

Mommy's brows lifted slightly in surprise. "You invited yourself over?"

I shrugged. "More like she invited me, but yeah."

She shook her head, a small smirk on her lips. "That's bold, even for you."

I let out a dry laugh, running a hand over my face. "Well, I went. I met her grandmother—Nanny. She was really nice. We were waiting for Ren to get back, but—"

I felt my stomach twist as I thought about it, as I pictured the blood, Ren's body on that gurney, the deep red stain on her shirt. My hands clenched into fists.

"But she never showed up," I said, my voice tight. "We heard ambulances and went to check it out, and..." I swallowed. "She had been shot."

Mommy's expression finally cracked, her eyes widening just a bit before she schooled her face back into something neutral. "Shot?"

I nodded. "Right in the chest."

Mommy exhaled slowly, her fingers pressing into the desk. "Is she alive?"

"She made it through surgery," I said quickly, like I needed to get that part out before anything else. "She's in a medically induced coma, but the doctors said she's improving by the hour."

Mommy nodded, taking that in. She didn't say anything for a moment, just sat there, thinking.

I sighed, shaking my head. "I had to stay, Mommy. I had to make sure she was okay."

She tilted her head, studying me. "And how do you feel now that you saw her?"

My chest tightened. "Like I never should've left her."

Mommy sighed, standing up and walking around the desk. She leaned against the edge of it, crossing her arms. "Yanna," she said gently, "I don't doubt that you love that girl. I can see it all over your face. But you need to think carefully about what you're doing."

I looked down, my nails digging into my thighs. "I know."

"Do you?" she challenged. "Because you've been sneaking around, lying to your fiancé, and now you're wrapped up in something that could be very dangerous. This isn't a game, baby."

I looked up at her, my eyes burning. "I never said it was."

Mommy sighed again, reaching out and smoothing my hair back, just like she used to do when I was little. "I covered for you this time. But you're running out of places to hide, Yanna. Eventually, you're gonna have to make a choice."

I swallowed hard, nodding. "I know."

She studied me for a moment before finally stepping back. "Go get some rest. We'll talk more in the morning."

I nodded again, standing up. But before I walked out, I turned back to her. "Thank you, Mommy."

She just nodded, her expression unreadable again.

I walked out of her office, my heart heavy, my mind racing. I knew she was right. I did have to make a choice.

And deep down, I already knew what it was.