INFLUENCE

Chapter FOUR Woodhall's G Unit stayed quiet in a way that felt unnatural. The city pressed faintly through the window. Sirens passing, traffic humming, life continuing without them. They didn't sleep. Bk sat on the edge of her bed closest to the window, knees pulled in, fingers laced tight. Anxiety moved through her in steady waves, never exploding, never settling either. Her reflection stared back at her in the glass, softer than she felt. Yeti lay stretched across the other bed on the other side of the room, staring up at the ceiling like it held answers. Calm on the surface. Too calm for the night they'd had. Eventually she sat up & crossed the small space between them, leaning against the wall beside Brooklyn. They shared silence. Sometimes Bk would pace the length of the room, stopping at the window, watching lights blur together. Yeti would lie down, close her eyes, & let her mind drift. They took turns without speaking. One resting while the other stayed alert. They stayed side by side the whole time. Awake. Morning arrived slowly. When the nurse returned with discharge papers, Yeturah reached for her phone immediately. Soon as she powered the phone on the screen flooded with missed calls & messages. Novi's name stacked over & over. Then her phone buzzed, vibrating, silent mode on. Novi Avi 💛💛💛 popped up on her screen She answered. "What the fuck happen?" He asked right away "Are you hurt?" "Is Brooklyn hurt?" Yeti kept her voice steady. "We were admitted babe. I'm fine & Brooklyn is fine we both just got discharged." Novi asked with worry still in his voice "admitted where?" Yeturah sighs then calmly tells him "we were taken to the G Unit at Woodhall. We spent the night together, & we're fine. I've got a small scratch under my eye that was disinfected & Brooklyn has a busted lip the doctors made her rinse out & a scratch on her cheek they disinfected as well. I'm sure you saw us minking bitches online." Novi exhaled sharply. "I stopped the tour. I'm not performing while my girl's face is all over the media. Someone leaked the shit on Avi Lanez while I was gone." Yeturah said quietly "I'm sorry you had to see it like that babe, for real." "You don't owe me an apology" he replied. "I just needed to know you were safe." While the girls sat in the lobby, Yeti on the phone with Novi, waiting for her personal driver John & Bk waiting for her Uber. Brooklyn's phone buzzed nonstop. Emails, Legal language, heavy subject lines. One email stopped her cold. MoniqueBrown@RoséLaw.org Representation confirmed. Court date set. Attendance MANDATORY. Court Date: 03/14/2022 Missed calls from Rosé stacked underneath the email notification. Mrs. Stewart's assistant who smiled in Brooklyn's face but laughed in office meetings behind closed doors. Then another email popped up on screen HR@RoséLaw.Org Immediate Response Required Unexcused Absence Urgent: Contact Administration Bk's stomach tightened. She locked her phone & let out a slow breath. Just a few more minutes until she was in her Uber.