“Love?” Rian screams shaking me awake. “Dominik is here,” he screams in my ears they ring but I don’t care. I fell asleep? How could I?
“Is he ok? Can I see him?-”
“He’s in surgery but Damian clamped his- doctor talk sorry, in regular human speech, he stopped the major bleeding and kept him transfusing while flying here. Damian refused to address his own wounds. I was wondering if you could convince Maya to ask him to let me check-”
“Got it,” I say in autopilot. “When can I see him?”
“He’s been in surgery for three hours so hopefully in three hours they’ll be done,” what?
“Why didn’t you wake me up?” I ask Rian and he laughs. His pearl white smile, he rarely presents, showing. “And give you three more hours to worry for nothing? No way,” he says and leaves the living room, keeping the entry door open. I get up, excited and scared I move towards the outside of the house, in our new condominium.
I look around the street and see everyone is outside. Damian is standing with Marcus while Sammy and Maya talk across the street from me. Rian and Aiden are by the infirmary’s entrance.
“Maya, can we talk?” I ask her and she nods, I look at Damian again and notice he’s holding pressure to one arm. “Sorry, Sammy,” I say as Sammy steps aside to let us talk privately.
“I’ll go check on Dominik’s surgery status,” Sammy saysand I thank her, giving her a small side hug before turning towards Maya.
“Rian already gave me the talk,” Maya says, displeased, her lips into a thin line, but she lets them shake slightly, barely when she looks in Marcus and Damian’s direction.
“I know. I’m not here to bother you. I’m here to warn you that no matter what’s happening between you and Damian, you clearly care-,” she almost stops me and lifts her hand to gesture but I hold her hand and put it down. “Don’t deny. Even if there’s the scarcest possibility that you care, you should make Damian get his arm checked. You know how our guys are, too proud to ever let anyone see them anything but perfect. He’s pressing his arm. If he doesn’t check it, it might cost him his life. If not by the injury itself, then by someone who knows about the injury and will use it against him,” I say and Maya looks up as if she’s gathering strength from God to make a decision.
“I’ll talk to him. You have to stop being so persuasive though. It’s scary. You’re passing way too much time with Dominik,” she says and my heart migrates back outside my body to my feet, too tired to beat, too scared to be in place, like me. So when Maya leaves. I take my heart and pace back and forth, forcing it to keep beating. There’s still a reason to keep beating.
“Keep fighting,” I whisper looking towards the infirmary, and I notice Aiden looking at me his ice blue eyes, for once don’t seem attacking, or conniving, or inquisitive, he looks concerned. “Not now, Aiden, please,” I ask but he keeps moving in my direction, he stays at a safe distance.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry for overstepping. Even though Dominik’s face was totally worth the beating, I’m sorry because I hurt you. And I hope he gets better for your sake,” Aiden whispers and I just nod smiling at him for one second. “If you ever do change your mind, I’m always here, little spark,” Aiden says and I punch him in the arm.
“I’m starting to think you’re a masochist.-”
“Perhaps you’re right. Who knows?” Aiden replies interrupting my line of thought and winks at me before sitting near my feet at the side of the road.
“I don’t know what to do, Dee. I’m lost. If I lose him-”
“You won’t. There’s no way in hell that guy is giving up on you,”
“Thank you, little Satan. I needed to hear that,” I whisper one tear falling, I clean it trying to stay composed. But as seconds turn into minutes, and minutes into hours of waiting. I’m losing my shit.
“Dad?” I call when I see him get out of the infirmary, I run towards him, my heart flipping. My dad takes his hands to his head, and I fall, or faint, or die. I’m not sure. Someone is holding me, yet I can’t tell who. It’s not him. It’s not his arms.
“No,” is all I manage to whisper, I hear voices around me but everything is muffled I can’t tell what they’re saying. He’s not ok. He might not even be alive. What the hell am I going to do? I succumb on top of my heart making it explode and all my blood stands on the floor, flooding everything, like Dominik’s must’ve been.
Chapter 22
Dominik
“Dom?” Love calls and for a second I think I didn’t make it. But then I see her angelic looks, her radiant ice blue eyes, rose blond hair, perky small nose, and round cherry lips. At that moment I knew there’s no way this is hell. I’m alive.
“Hello, ma Vie,” I say blinking away the blurriness on her figure and everything else. I’m in a hospital bed. But this isn’t a regular hospital. Love is too casual, too comfortable, the blankets, and Damian sleeping on the floor next to my bed scream no regular hospital too. “Where am I?”
“Infirmary. The condominium’s infirmary, sorry, I’m just so relieved,” she says and gets up, turning her back on me to wake Damian up.
“Good to see you awake, man. Can you tell me your full name, age and occupation?”
“Dominik V. Ricik, 30 years old, beating the shit out of sneaky people for business,” I reply slowly grabbing a water cup from a table standing between Love and me.
“That’s not your full name, but I’ll take it. You’re also sneaky, by the way. And I’ll take cup holding as full motor function,” Damian says and I slowly and painfully move my legs so he’ll get the fuck out of here. He gets the look, or at least I think he does, because he shines a light in my eyes and leaves the room. Probably going back to his life.
“What does the V stand for?” Love asks and I’d chuckle if the mere thought of it didn’t hurt.
