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“You aren’t the one who gets to make that call.”
The sliding glass door opens again, drawing everyone’s attention to the little boy on the gurney, clutching a stuffed bear with a t-shirt that has the hospital’s logo on it. Enzo and Derek must think better of arguing, whether that’s because of of Matteo or the tech transporting him back into the room, I don’t know. I’ll take the silence over the tension.
“I’ll be back to talk to you later, Emma,” Derek says as he slips out of the room.
“Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!”
The pain killers have worked wonders with Matteo. He’s practically vibrating on the bed, though he does still wince when his ankle is jostled.
The tech tells us the doctor will be in shortly to go over the results of the images with us. Matteo plays with the best absently while watching the TV. His kids grow heavy and he drifts off to sleep, despite his best efforts to stay awake.
“What was that?”
Enzo scowls. He glances at Matteo, watching the gentle rise and fall of his chest before he says anything. I almost want to roll my eyes, Matteo is so quiet his family sometimes forgets he’s there when they start talking about the mafia business. He’s heard things most four year old should not.
“Derek Vitalis…”
“Derek George,” I correct him.
“Derek George,” he scowls at the name, “is the illegitimate son of Andreas Vitalis, head of the Greek mafia. Andreas had a baby with a stripper, and she gave him the boy his wife never did. Derek got himself quite the reputation, by age 16 he was already known as a ruthless killer. I heard he died a couple years ago. Guess I was wrong.”
I’ve had classes with Derek for years now, and the man Enzo is describing does not match up with the image inside my head at all. Derek is gentle and kind. He’s always been a passionate voice in classroom discussions, the one who has the most to say about social injustice and the catastrophes of our legal system.
A ruthless killed. I struggle to reconcile the two images in my head.
“He’s also my friend,” I tell Enzo. He sneers at the comment, and I’m not sure if it’s because of who he is or because he’s a man. “I’m going to talk to him before I leave.”
Enzo doesn’t try to change my mind but he sulks in the chair. Arms crossed, face sullen, I’m tempted to tell him that while Matteo can pull that off and look cute, he cannot. I kiss him instead. It’s wipes the sullen look off his face and leaves something cocky in its stead.
Men.
“Hello,” the doctor says as she walks into the room. She pleasant and smiling, which I take as a good signs.
“We don’t see any obvious breaks. It’s swollen, but most likely just a sprain. That being said, I’d like to put him in a boot until you guys get home and he can see an orthopedist. The foot has so many bones that little fractures can be easy to miss in the first couple of days, and obviously we can’t assess for tissue damage with an x-ray. So, follow-up with the orthopedist when you get home but I see no reason you would need to stay here.”
I let out a sigh of relief. Someone comes in after the doctor leaves to put a boot on Matteo, but he barely even wakes as they do. I don’t know if it’s the pain medicine that they gave him or the fact we’re nearing the middle of the night, but I don’t think he’s going to be doing much until morning. After we sign the discharge paperwork from the nurse, Enzo picks up the sleeping Matteo and takes him out to the car. He nods his head at Derek as we’re leaving. His message is clear.
If I want to talk to him before we leave, now is my chance.
I give him a grateful smile and walk over to Derek, who pulls me into the empty refreshments room. This isn’t a conversation he wants to have in public.
“So Matteo’s dad is Lorenzo Lombardi?” he asks me, confirming what he already knows.
“Yeah, he is.”
Derek is quiet for a bit before he pulls out a piece of paper. “Save my number under something discreet. Sofia, maybe. Something he won’t ever think to delete. Then if you ever need out, if you ever aren’t safe, call me. I’ll get you and Matteo out of there.”
“Derek…”
“No, listen to me. I’m not accusing him of anything. He can be a wonderful partner and a wonderful father, but there may come a day when you decide you need out. I faked my death to get out of that life, and if you need me, I’ll get you out, too.”
If I were to meet the Derek that Enzo claims to know, the ruthless killer, I wonder if I would even recognize him. I don’t see a trace of that man here. I pull Derek into a hug, giving him a kiss on the cheek, before saying my goodbyes and heading back out to the car where Enzo has a sleeping Matteo strapped into his car seat.
“Can you do my a favor?” I ask him as I approach. He gives me a grunt, which I think is the best I’m going to get out of him right now. “Can this stay between us? I don’t think Derek wants it getting out that he’s not actually dead.”
“I don’t care what he wants.”
"No. But you care what I want."
