Take My Hand (Interracial Erotic Romance) by Sophia Banks Read Free Book Online Page B

hope everything works out,” the nurse said before walking away.
    Gracie closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths. “See what I mean, Lamar? What are we supposed to do? It’s us against the world.”
    Lamar hugged her. “It will be ok, we will figure something out.” He hugged Gracie and whispered in her ear, “Now, pull yourself together and act strong for your sister.”
    Gracie closed her eyes and tried to control her breathing. The last thing she wanted to do was upset Tamika. As pissed as she was at the girl, Gracie knew she was fortunate her sister was still alive and the last thing she wanted to do was make Tamika feel even worse than she already did.
     
    *
     
    “I’m sorry,” Tamika cried. “I didn’t mean for this to happen.”
    Gracie wiped a tear from her face, bent over and hugged her sister. “You don’t have to apologize, baby. The important thing is your still alive.”
    Tamika lay back on the hospital bed and sobbed. “At least Mama isn’t alive to see me like this. I don’t know what happened to me. I didn’t want to end up like this, one thing just led to another.”
    Gracie gripped her sister’s cold hand and smiled. “I know baby, I know. How you ended up here isn’t important right now though. We need to figure out a way to keep you clean.”
    Tamika pulled the sheets up close to her mouth. “I’m afraid, Gracie. I don’t want to use anymore, but I don’t know how to stop.” Her eyes danced from Lamar back to Gracie.
    Lamar stood in the corner with his arms folded and a stern look on his face. “When did you start using needles? Have you been sharing them with other people?”
    Tamika shook her head. “No, tonight was the first time, I swear. John gave me a fresh needle for my shot, I saw him take it from the package.”
    Lamar snarled. “Who is this John motherfucker? Some rich white boy?”
    Tamika looked to Gracie for help but Gracie just looked down and shook her head. “He’s just some guy, Lamar, a friend. Please don’t hurt him.”
    “Why are you defending these people?” Lamar barked. “Look at where your friends have led you. Is this the life you want to lead going forward? I can assure you if you continue down this path you will end up dead, and sooner rather than later.”
    Tamika curled into a ball and began crying. Lamar looked at Gracie and shrugged. “Hey, she needs to hear the truth.”
    Gracie shook her head. Lamar was usually so calm and collected but she’d seen this look in his eye before. It was obvious he wanted to punish those he felt were responsible for the condition Tamika was in. There were more important matters to deal with first, however. Namely, what were they going to do with Tamika?
    “Lamar, would you please wait outside?” Gracie asked. “I need to talk to Tamika alone for a few minutes.” Gracie did indeed want to talk to Tamika, but she also wanted Lamar to calm down. All he could seem to think about was tracking down those responsible for Tamika’s current state. The only problem was, in Gracie’s estimation anyway; the person responsible for Tamika’s current state was Tamika.
    Lamar grunted and made his way towards the door. “I’ll be right out front if you need anything.”
    Gracie nodded and looked down at her sister, who was peering up at her from underneath her blankets. “We need to talk about a few things, Tamika.”
    “I don’t want to talk about anything,” Tamika cried. “I just want to stop doing this to myself, but I can’t stop! Please, help me Gracie, I don’t know what to do!”
    Gracie leaned forward and kissed Tamika on the forehead. “Calm down, baby, calm down. We will figure something out.”
    “Does the hospital have a detox wing? I’m so scared that I will use again, Gracie, I think I need to be kept off the streets.”
    Gracie took a deep breath. She couldn’t think of a way to break the news to Tamika without scaring the shit out of her so she decided to be blunt. “There are no