The ride to the hospital was nearly silent, except for Lia's unnecessarily loud breathing.

Isiah had taken it upon himself to call her and tell her where her son was. She was still at Josiah's apartment when she got that call, so they rode together.

Something Josiah didn't want to do.

Faelyn chewed on her nail, nervous to know what had gone wrong tonight. She knew he shouldn't have gone with Grace.

When Josiah parked, Lia jumped out, running to the entrance.

"She never letting this shit go." Neriah stated, observing her brother's face in the rearview mirror, "It's probably not even that bad."

He ignored her, approaching the doors himself and trying not to be angry until he found out exactly what had happened.

That was easier said than done since he couldn't understand why Grace would even take Hassan to not only drink but also take him around people who were sniffing shit off of a table.

By the time he made it inside, Lia had been directed to the waiting room, so they walked there to see Grace sitting on the floor with her head against the wall.

Isiah was there as well, speaking quietly into his phone as he confirmed what he already knew. The police wouldn't be called since Hassan's situation fell under the medical amnesty law, a law which protected people who sought medical attention as a result of illegal activities, from being prosecuted.

He didn't tell Grace that on the phone because he wanted her to at least think there were going to be some repercussions for doing something this stupid.

Lia's eyes were on the girl who was visibly sweating, a shaky hand coming up to wipe moisture from her forehead. It wasn't her concern what she was going through though, "What did you do to my son?"

Grace's head lifted, staring into eyes full of hatred. The only thing she could think to whisper was, "I'm sorry."

After thanking their lawyer and hanging up, Isiah looked towards Lia, "How about we calm down, yes?"

"Of course that's what you'd say. You didn't get a call saying that your son is unconscious in a hospital."

"I'm the one who called you." Isiah pointed out, "So as I said, let's calm down until someone talks to us."

For some reason, Grace was expecting to find some sort of comfort when her gaze met Josiah's.

It was more so anger.

Pure, undiluted anger.

"Can I talk to you?" Grace asked Josiah, spinning her ring around her finger.

Lia shook her head, "No. You can talk to us, and tell us what happened tonight."

Neither of them paid her any attention, and Grace followed Josiah out of the hospital.

"I didn't know he was that drunk." Grace began sadly, "I would've never let him get that drunk."

"But you did. Why would you even take him drinking Grace? What sense does that make?"

"He asked." She defended, "He's old enough to make his own decisions."

Hassan was old enough to make his own decisions, but he wasn't old enough to drink. Grace was the reason he was in the hospital right now.

"And you know how I feel about that shit. This whole situation pissing me off."

Grace didn't say anything, so Josiah asked, "What if something would've happened? If he got arrested and lost his scholarship? Or-"

"If he lost it, I would've asked my dad to pay for him to go to school." She cut him off, thinking she was helping by giving him a plan.

How funny.

"You can't just call people when you fuck up!" He yelled, "Life doesn't work like that!"

Life does work like that for her, which is what Lia was trying to explain to Josiah in the beginning. They led entirely different lives, and Grace took advantage of that difference.

"It's the least he can do," Grace replied, missing the entire point that Josiah had made.

Josiah sighed loudly, angry that they were again back to her dad who didn't even seem to do shit to Grace.

Maybe he worked a lot or didn't always have time for them but Grace was now older. He thought it was time for her to let it go, move on.

"Grace you gotta grow up. Even if he doesn't like you, that man living his life while you out here stuck on him. Just let it go."

"I said I was sorry," Grace responded.

"Sorry ain't fixing shit right now. Sorry don't change the fact you took my brother to get drunk when you know I don't even drink."

"What does you not drinking have to do with him?" She questioned, growing irritated that he was acting as if she wanted this to happen, "Drinking wasn't the problem. You were the problem. If you need an excuse, that's fine, but don't expect everyone to live by your rules because of mistakes you've made."

"It's funny how you a psychologist when it comes to everybody else, but you won't acknowledge shit that's wrong with you."

"There's nothing wrong with me."

Done with the conversation, Josiah walked back to the waiting room where a doctor had just approached his family.

"Do you remember what he drank?" The doctor asked when Grace was in earshot.

Her head was still unclear, so she took a moment to answer, much to Lia's annoyance, "Um he had tequila... vodka, maybe some other things?"

"Maybe some other things?" Lia asked with a humorless laugh, "Is this a joke?"

The doctor noticed Grace's eyes, prompting him to ask, "Did he take anything?"

Those eyes moved to the floor, "He took ecstasy."

"Grace what the fuck?" Josiah demanded, "What the fuck?"

Lia didn't care about him cursing, placing a hand over her heart like she'd just heard the worst news ever, "I need to sit down."

"The good news is, he'll be fine." The doctor stated, "The bad news is, he currently has alcohol poisoning. The ecstasy prevented his body from shutting down like it was supposed to when his limit was reached, hence the reason he kept drinking."

Grace knew that which was why she stopped drinking after taking the first pill. Had she known Hassan had taken one, she wouldn't have let him drink anymore either.

"When will he be able to go home?" Isiah asked.

"He'll be here for at least a few hours. He's still unconscious, but you're welcome to join him in his room."

After thanking the doctor, and waiting for him to walk away, he looked to Grace who was still staring at the floor.

Despite what he'd said about staying calm, he was angry. Angry that Grace seemed to have no regard for anything, knowing that he would always be the one to fix whatever she messed up.

To add insult to injury, she and Mason had the audacity to pretend he never did anything for them, as if he wasn't always the first person they called.

Unable to hold it in, he spoke to Grace, "Here we are again, at the end of one of Grace's infamous fuck-ups."

She pressed her hands against her eyes, already upset over the events that happened tonight.

"I'd like to spend one hour in your brain, in an attempt to understand what leads you to make these decisions. Just one hour."

"And I, you." Grace replied, not moving her hands, "Then we'd figure out why you don't seem to give a shit about anybody."

It confused Josiah how she was able to come to that conclusion based solely on what Isiah had just said, because, to him, Grace had done something that could be considered stupid, leading to Isiah wanting to know why she'd done it.

"I gave my daughter an internship she isn't even remotely qualified for. That doesn't sound so bad to me." He looked at Josiah, "Does that sound like someone who doesn't give a shit about anyone?"

Grace had finally looked up, "Maybe one of you should tell him he's a shit father since the people whose opinion should matter, don't."

No one spoke, all of them looking everywhere but at the father and daughter arguing in the hospital waiting room.

"You should leave while it's still early." Isiah told Josiah nonchalantly, "It only gets worse from here."

He looked in confusion as Isiah continued, "Grace and her brother need someone to blame for their shortcomings, for being failures at such a young age, so I bear that burden for them because despite what Grace has probably told you, I do care about them. In reality, I haven't done a damn thing but help them. All I ever do is to help them."

Grace listened to Isiah talk about her as if she weren't standing directly in his face, "So how do you love someone who finds fault in everything you do? Holds on to every mistake until all you're diminished to, is a mistake?"

Again, Josiah didn't respond wishing this conversation wasn't taking place.

"I'll tell you how." Isiah said, answering his question, "You don't."

Suspecting something, and having it confirmed are two entirely different things.

Grace had always suspected that Isiah only tolerated having a family, didn't love them as a dad should.

But to have it confirmed by him, telling the man she was in love with that she wasn't worth loving, still hurt.

Josiah didn't follow Grace when she left the room, Neriah being the one to go check on her.

"That's some fucked up shit to say to your daughter," Josiah said, finally understanding why Grace had made her earlier statement.

Isiah had returned to the calm disposition that he was known for, "That's your opinion."

He found solace in knowing that one day Josiah would wish he'd listened and left in the beginning.

________

atp... i'm calling meechie for isiah. he deserves.

thanks for reading 💕