“Lenika Hill?” he called out. Alani jumped up. “That’s me. How is my aunt?”

“Please, sit,” the doctor said. It felt like the ground was pulled from underneath her, as she fell into the chair, preparing herself for the worst. “Your aunt has suffered a massive stroke. She’s alive, but there was significant damage. She’s in a coma and her scans show very limited brain activity.”

Alani reached out and gripped Ethic’s forearm. “What does that mean?”

“It means you have a decision to make. Since you are her power of attorney, you need to decide how we proceed from here. Right now, there is a machine breathing for her. You can remove her from life support and let nature take its course, or you can keep the machine’s breathing for her.”

“I can’t just unplug her. What if there’s a chance that she can wake up?” Alani’s voice was childlike. She felt three feet tall and defenseless against a world that wanted to leave her alone.

“The chances are very minimal, Ms. Hill. If there was some motion of the lines of her CT, I’d be more hopeful. I don’t believe she can recover from a stroke of this size. I’m sorry,” the doctor said.

“Can I see her?” Alani asked.

“Of course,” the doctor replied. She turned to Ethic. “Will you come?”

Ethic leaned into her, as he whispered, “I don’t think I should.”

“Please, Ethic,” she cried. “I can’t do this alone.”

She was distraught. Another hurt caused by him. Another life destroyed because of him. “Okay,” he said. She sniffed, as she stood, and they followed the doctor to Nannie’s room.

“I’m going to be right here in the hall,” Ethic said, feeling fucked up about being a part of this moment at all.

Alani went inside the room, and when she saw all the tubes coming out of Nannie’s body, she turned right back around. She ran into Ethic’s arms. “Get me out of here,” she cried. Ethic picked her up and carried her out of the hospital. He couldn’t take her home and expect her to be alone, so he broke one of his rules and took a woman to his house.

By the time they arrived, it was past midnight and even Lily had fallen asleep on the couch. Ethic went to wake her, and then sent her home, before escorting Alani to one of his guest rooms. She sat on the bed and Ethic kneeled on the floor between her legs, as she placed her hands on his head, tracing the pattern of his waves as he bent his head in despair.

“I’m sorry, Alani,” he said. “You’ll never know how sorry I am. I need to be honest with you. There is no easy way for me to tell you this…”