Free God Don't Like Haters 2 by Jordan Belcher Page B

between them, but they were still poking their chests out at
each other.
    "I'm here for Gee, bitch!" Kirbie hollered.
"If anybody shouldn't be here, it's you! You don't care about Gee.
You're only here because Coras is here!"
    Other visitors were watching. It was late
into the night so there were only a few people here to stare.
    "I do too care about Gee!" Ashleigh flared.
"The only person I don't care about is YOU!"
    "I don't know why," Kirbie said back. "I
didn't do shit to yo uppity ass!"
    "You've been trying to fuck my man since I've
met you!"
    "Really?! That's the delusional side of you
thinking that."
    It was getting harder and harder to hold
Ashleigh back. But I was separating them for her sake.
    "No, bitch, I'm stating facts!" Ashleigh was
raging. "You were kissing Coras in the studio and Monifa caught
yall asses red-handed! So don't sit here and act like you don't
want the dick!"
    Fuck!  I thought.  She
knows. But how did she find out?
    I started to deny it. "Ashleigh, me and
Kirbie never—"
    She smacked me. "Shut the fuck up with the
lies, Coras! What is this then?" She shoved her phone in my face
and I saw Monifa's Site profile on her screen. I didn't get a
chance to read the whole status before she smacked me again. "Gee
wouldn't even be here in the damn ICU if it wasn't for Kirbie
trying to spread her legs for you all the damn time. And I'll deal
with you later, Coras. Move out of my way so I can deal with that
ho."
    "You keep calling me a ho but you're the one
sleeping with somebody else's man!" Kirbie hollered. "I don't share
men.  Monifa's man  came on to me!"
    Oh fuck! I thought.
    "People, please!" It was the doctor that
interrupted us. He was walking our way in his white lab coat, his
brow scrunched in either concern or shame that we were causing a
commotion. For the moment we were all calm in his presence, and I
was thankful.
    "Good news?" I asked.
    "He's going to survive," said the doc.
    We all breathed sighs of relief. Kirbie
uttered an almost silent  thank you  and I
instinctively put my arm around her. Then my common sense kicked in
and I removed it. I patted Ashleigh on the back to be fair.
    "But," he began, "after he leaves the ICU
unit he's going to need rest in order to recover. He lost lots of
blood. He's very weak right now."
    "When can we see him?" Kirbie asked.
    "I'm not clear on that, but not tonight."
    "Tomorrow?" I asked.
    "We're going to have to play it by ear. You
can't put a time on health. Everybody's body is different. And Mr.
Gerard Higgins's insides are ... at risk." Doc crossed his arms.
"Does Mr. Higgins have a dependence on alcohol?"
    We all looked at each other. Of course Gee
had a drinking problem. He had just gotten through puking up blood
before the shooting. I told the doctor that, yes, Gee was an
alcoholic.
    "I ask because he had an unusually high blood
pressure for his age. We also found suspicious inflammation in his
pancreas and early signs of liver disease. These symptoms can
eventually become just as fatal as the gunshots he sustained." The
doctor handed me a card. "When he gets better, I think it would be
beneficial to have him give that number a call. The more
encouragement he receives from friends and family, the better
chance he has of overcoming his addiction."
    I looked at the card. It listed a company
called First Call located in south Kansas City. First Call had
programs that educated you on alcoholism. They also had
technological solutions to help stop abuse. I knew this because I
had given Gee this card before.
    Gee had torn it up then, and I knew he would
now.

Chapter 13
    Kirbie Amor Capelton
     
     
    I left the hospital first because I didn't want
Coras having to choose between me and Ashleigh. I knew he would
have picked, and it wouldn't have been the girl with the
short-cropped hair who sang her heart out for him and didn't ask
for shit in return but respect and couldn't even get that because
he was too busy sleeping with—
    I stopped myself. I was