Free Nookie (Nookie Series) by Anieshea Dansby Page B

sorry,” her uncle said, shielding himself behind the refrigerator door.
    They heard footsteps and looked at each other. Joy turned and ran back up the stairs before her mother walked in the kitchen. She closed the door behind her, hoping her mother hadn’t seen her. She wanted to leave so badly but had nowhere to go. Her own father could care less about her. She wished she had a different family. She laid back on her bed and closed her eyes. She thought of Kevin and wondered if he was thinking of her. Sleep wouldn’t come, so she just laid there until the sun came up. She got up and threw some clothes on, knowing she had to go to school but really not feeling up to it. There didn’t seem much point. She just didn’t care about anything.
    The front door opened. She looked out her bedroom door and watched her father come up the stairs. She couldn’t even remember the last time they had a conversation.
    “Hey, Dad,” she called out to him.
    “Hi Joy. How’s it going?” he asked as he continued walking to his bedroom, not waiting for a reply.
    Joy didn’t bother to answer because he had barely looked at her and didn’t slow down. “Fuck you, too,” she said under her breath.
    She closed the door and grabbed a duffle bag, stuffing in some underwear and a few sets of clothes, along with her toothbrush and other toiletries, making sure she didn’t forget anything she would need over the next few days. She would beg Kevin to let her stay with him.
    Joy moved to open the door and heard a whole bunch of commotion. She stood with her hand on the knob, not sure whether to open the door or not. Waiting only a second longer, she opened the door and saw her father dragging her mother out of their bedroom. Her uncle was trying to pull him off her, but with one hand, because the other was holding the left side of his face, which was already swollen.
    “You nasty bitch,” her father cried.
    “Let her go, man.”
    “Don’t fucking touch me.”
    Joy went back into her room to grab her bag. She just wanted to get away from them. As she walked out the door, her mother flew into her, causing her to fall back against the door. The back of her head felt warm. Blood trickled out. She couldn’t move and her vision blurred. Her eyes became heavy and everything got dark.

    Chapter Seventeen
    Joy woke up to a beeping sound. When she tried to move she felt severe pain. When the nurse helping a patient in the bed next to hers noticed Joy moving, she ran to get the doctor. A white man in his forties walked into the room with a goofy smile on his face.
    “Hi Joy, I’m Dr. Greenspan. The nurse is going to bring something for the pain. I know your head hurts; you have five stitches in the back of your head,” he said after looking into her eyes with a light. “We only had to cut away a small portion of your hair.”
    Joy pointed at her throat and made a drinking gesture with her hand. Dr. Greenspan poured some water into a cup and helped her drink it.
    “Thank you,” she said, her voice still somewhat hoarse.
    “You will have some pain for the next few days, but I prescribed something to help lessen it. You should be fine in a week or so. You will have a MRI before you leave, just to make sure everything is still okay, and then you will be able to leave after that.”
    “How did I get here?”
    “You were brought here by ambulance yesterday. You’re at Chestnut Hill Hospital. Do you remember what happened?”
    “Kind of,” she said, not wanting to disclose too much.
    “Well, do you have someone to pick you up?”
    “Yes.”
    “Okay, I’ll check on you before you have your test.”
    “Thank you,” Joy managed to say, her throat still dry.
    The nurse came in with more water and Joy guzzled it down. “Would you like me to call someone for you?” the nurse asked. “The phone in your room isn’t turned on.”
    “Yes … ummm … actually, no; but thank you,” she said, changing her mind.
    “Oh, Ms. Williams, I meant to