It happened a week and a half ago, she won't talk about it. She can be damn near impossible sometimes. "Let me help you."
"No, Justin, I can do it."
"Fine, I'll let you guys help me," she says, feeling the area with a look of fear on her face. Leilei has popped the stitches on her side at least six times and if those are the ones, she has to get stitches and staples, the latter being something she wanted to avoid.
I check her stitches on her side and those aren't the ones that popped, so I check the stitches from a mirror shattering and cutting her hip. Sure enough, those were the ones that popped and she screams at a pitch I thought only Whitney Houston or Christina Aguilera could manage as she grabs the front of her hip. "Let me see how bad it is," I tell her, trying to stay calm to keep her from losing her mind.
"James! I want James! JAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!"
Lance comes running in and sees pure fear on her face. "The stitches on her hip?" he asks me. I nod and upturn an eyebrow. "Justin, get JC."
"Why?"
"Look at her side, it's bleeding pretty bad," he points out. I look and sure enough it's bleeding horribly, causing me to go through the house, screaming for JC.
He's coming up from the studio. "What is so important to warrant you to freak out?"
"Leilei, stitches, hip, popped, bleeding," I blurt out, pointing in the direction of our hurt friend.
"Shit! Leilei!" he says, bolting up to her. Less than two minutes later, he's got her in his arms and booking it for his jeep. He stops long enough to grab his wallet and keys, she's crying and whimpering the whole time. I call his cell and let it ring, the only voice that picks up is his voicemail.
Nobody outside of us, Aaron, AJ, Nick and Darren know because that's how she wants it. Leilei begged and demanded Lance, JC, Aaron, AJ, Darren, and I keep it this way. Nick has done it before and she knows he won't say anything, he won't even speak about it. This time is different because she usually goes back to him after she heals. Now that we know, we'll be damned that she goes back to that woman beating, two-faced, self-contradicting bastard. I will wring his neck if I ever get the chance or, better yet, beat him like he has Leilei. I know if Chris and Joey found out, he'd be DEAD! I'm considering telling them just to see their reaction and how long it'll take for them to find and maim him. I sit at JC's island counter and think about the pros and cons of telling them, oblivious to what's going on around me. My cell phone rings and it's JC calling me back. "Hello?"
"She's being admitted again, 24 hour watch. She's popped her stitches pretty bad and she might have an infection. That could've been why it happened so easily," he explains.
"Is it a serious one?"
"The doctor said that it's a minor bacterial infection and that she consented to surgery to check if anything that may have caused the infection was left in the wound when they stitched it closed."
"Thank God," I sigh, releasing the breath I wasn't aware I was holding in my lungs.
"I'm just glad that it was caught early enough that with some meds, rest, fluids and help, she should recover just fine in a month or so."
"As long as she can get better and as fast as she can," I honestly tell my best friend of almost 20 long years.
"She could be almost entirely healed in a month, but it could take up to three months. The doctor is taking her up in five minutes. I'm going to talk to her before they take her into the OR."
"Alright, just keep me posted so I can let everyone else know."
"I will," he confirms before he hangs up.
"Who was that?" I look at Lance and he's scared shitless about Leilei. He's known her since he's known Darren. Darren's Leilei's big cousin and they're the best of friends, telling each other everything. Darren and Lance have been friends since seventh grade when they were 12, totaling 20 years of friendship with them.
"It was JC. The stitches that popped were infected, they're doing surgery to clear the wound, admitting her for 24 hours, and it was caught early enough to help her heal. They're hoping she heals pretty quickly, but it could take up to three months for her to fully heal."
"From the way they looked when they popped, they had swollen a couple days ago. We completely missed it because she refused to let us check it. You know how stubborn and independent she can get."
"Yeah, I do. I just wish she would let us help her more because she needs it."
"I've known her since she was seven and I'm pretty sure that her whole philosophy on help is along the lines of if she's not dying or in the hospital, she's going to do it herself."
"Why didn't you bring her on any tours?"
"She was on the first one out here and the PoP Odyssey tours."
"She was?"
"Leilei always found a way to get you and Chris out of trouble."
"What did you call her then?"
"Her middle name-Jasmin, Min or Jaz."
"Oh, that's why she looked familiar. Either way, you always kept her and JC apart. Why was that?"
"They've had a crush on each other since they met way back when. Maybe since 95? I don't remember exactly, but I do know we were still in Orlando."
"So Min's real name is Leilei?"
"Yes, Darren and I always called her Min. She has always been smaller than us and from the looks of things, always will be. I love her like a sister and it kills me to know what we know now."
"I want to tell Chris and Joey so bad, wring Nick's neck or beat him like he has her."
"I have been contemplating ways to kill him, but my conscious would kill me to keep it to myself."
"Hahaha! I would have NO trouble sleeping at night if I murdered him. After what he did to her?"
He shrugs, understanding my stand point on the subject before sitting in silence. I start thinking about everything that's happened in the past two weeks and start getting pissed about anything that has to do with her situation. I think of how I can help her without being overbearing and overprotective. Lance's cell rings. "Hello? Oh, hi! She's at the hospital. No, she popped the stitches on her right hip and that one spot was infected. Yeah, they're going to surgically check it, clean it and close it again. 24 hour surveillance after that. Most likely going to deal with a bed ridden Leilei, doctor ordered. She's going to hate it and she's probably going to hate us. Within three months, fully and I think she's learned her lesson. Yes, we will keep you posted. Yeah, right, this is Leilei we're talking about here. Bye." He hangs up and puts his cell on the counter, leaning over it. "How am I going to tell Darren that she's in the hospital because she popped stitches again?"
"I have no idea, depends on how pissed he's going to be."
"Righteously out of his mind pissed."
"Have JC tell him."
"Yeah, ok, we'll just throw the one man who's at her bedside and most likely scared out of his mind. He was so scared that he ran in, grabbed her, snatched his keys and wallet, got in the jeep and most likely has speeding and reckless driving tickets from rushing her to Sinai."
I start getting texts from AJ, wondering how Leilei is doing, I update him and he asks if he's going to need to beat his best friend's ass and tell Howie. Howie is so anti-violence until it comes to shit like this. I talk/text him down to just decking Nick a couple times in the face. I go lay on the couch and start thinking of how bad AJ is probably going to fuck that asshole up. I get woken up by my mom standing over me. "Justin, are you ok?"
"Yeah, I'm good, momma."
"I got a worried call from Trace, something about someone getting hurt."
"Everything's fine," I lie. Trace found out when we brought her to my house for something to eat on the way back from Sinai. My mom loves Leilei. She's like my sister and trust me, if the oldest Carter were in LA, I'd kick his ass almost to death. It's how bad he beat her and I can tell you that they had to give her enough pain meds to put me in a coma.
"Justin, tell me what happened."
"It's not my business to tell anyone." I receive a text from JC saying she made it through just fine and is expected to heal within six months. I text back saying good and if I can tell my mom. I get a call from his cell. "Hello?"
"Timby," Leilei says the nickname she gave me back in 95 and she was around 12.
"Flower."
"Momma Lynn can know."
"Ok, thanks. I'll let her know." I hang up, take a deep breath and tell her what Nick did to Leilei. "She's in recovery right now and it's because some stitches on her hip popped open today. JC took her to Sinai and hasn't left her side. We all want him to get his just dues, but she told us unless she gives the ok that we can't tell anyone else."
She hugs me. "Thank you, baby. Who else knows?"
"Nick, AJ, JC, Lance and Aaron."
"She should be back tomorrow?"
"Yes, back here tomorrow evening. Wait till she's settled in and one of us calls to let you know she said it's ok."
"She's calling all the shots on this?" My mom is weary about it and I don't know why.
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