I snort through my crying. “I should’ve told you sooner.”
His head shakes. “I already knew. I don’t need your words, I can feel them.
He closes his eyes again, but not from exhaustion this time—it’s more like relief.
Moments later, the nurse strides in with a smile. “Looks like someone’s awake.”
Dominic nods. “Barely,” he groans.
She laughs and proceeds to check his vitals, recording each one as she does. When she’s done, she points to a poster on the wall with smiley faces, each one different based on the number.
“On a scale of one to ten, one being the lowest, ten being the highest, can you tell me what your pain level is?”
“Three,” he grits.
I snap my head at him. There’s no way his pain is at a three.
He flops his head back onto the pillows, huffing. “Seven.”
The nurse places her hands on her hips and sighs with a smile. “Seven is on the high side, so we don’t want that.”
“I want to be alert,” Dominic says.
She nods and types into the computer. “We can try to manage your pain without narcotics and see how it goes.” When she’s done typing, her attention turns to me. “The doctor will come by in about an hour to check on your husband and answer any questions. He’ll probably be released in about a day or two.”
Once she’s gone, Dominic gives me a tired, but very cocky smile. “She thought you were my wife, querida mía.”
I breathe out a laugh. “I told the staff we’re married so they’d keep me informed on everything.”
He laughs and moans at once. “My little criminal.”
“I am not a criminal.”
Grabbing my hand, he laces our fingers together, giving me a squeeze. When his eyes settle with mine, they’re soft around the edges. “We’re going to have to make it legal, then. Can’t have you getting in trouble. I heard they take HIPPA violations pretty seriously.”
Before I can react, a soft knock sounds, and a second later the door opens. Silvia steps in first, eyes already glassy, followed by Adrian. They arrived yesterday and we’ve been trading shifts, sitting by Dominic’s side.
“He’s awake,” I tell them as they walk in.
“Ay, dios,” his mom breathes, hurrying to his other side. Her hand trembles as she reaches for him, wrapping her arms around him. Adrian doesn’t say anything right away, just nods at me before gently bumping his fist against Dominic’s shin.
“I’ll give you guys a minute,” I say, standing.
Dominic glances at me, reluctant to let go, but he doesn’tprotest. His mom needs to know he’s okay. Between the two of us, we’ve cried enough to fill a well.
I slip out into the hallway, rubbing my hands together to shake off the nerves still buzzing under my skin.
The waiting room is packed. My family, Dominic’s coworkers, friends, neighbors, acquaintances—it’s like the whole town has taken up residence in the hospital.
My mom’s sitting stiffly in a plastic chair, a coffee cup cradled between her palms with my dad pacing beside her. Layla’s curled up next to Ariana, both of them looking like they didn’t sleep. Gavin has Lily resting on his lap while she watches something on his phone. Ethan and Marisa are next to them having a quiet conversation. Scottie is conked out on a bench, exhausted after flying in on a red eye. And Shane is standing near the back, arms crossed, looking more stressed and tense than I’ve ever seen him before. When he sees me, he walks straight over.
“How is he?” he asks.
“He just woke up.”
His shoulders drop and he lets out an exhale. “Thank fuck.”
Any resentment Shane felt for Dominic disappeared the moment he found out he took a bullet for me, and ever since then he’s been riddled with worry. I have a feeling they’ll be making up fairly soon.
