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I can hear him moving around the room, and then he says, “There, try again.”
Peeking an eye open, I find the room bathed in darkness. The sharp pain is gone, so I try for the other eye. I blink them open, and Rex is smiling at me from a chair next to my bed.
I can’t bring myself to smile back. What is he doing here? All the hateful words he said to me come rushing forward, and the monitor on the wall goes crazy, making a loud, shrill sound as I shift in my bed, trying to get away from him.
“What are you doing here?”
Eyes wide, he reaches for me, but I flinch away.
“It’s okay, baby. I’m not gonna hurt you.”
More than anything, I want to believe him, but he chose his father. When it came down to it, he didn’t choose me.
“You shouldn’t be here. You need to leave, Rex.” I reach for the call button, but he beats me to it, his frantic eyes pleading with mine.
“You don’t remember what happened, do you?”
The last thing I remember was him turning the gun on me. Everything after that is a big, dark hole.
“You were going to kill me.” My chest heaves, my palms sweating with the fear I felt in that moment. “You pointed a gun at my head.”
“No, baby, that’s not how it ended.”
“I remember, Rex. I—” A sharp pain engulfs my head, my vision blurring, and I wince as more of the fog surrounding me lifts.
When Rex reaches for my hand again, I remember seeing him turn the gun on his father. “You weren’t going to kill me.”
Eyes glistening, he shakes his head. “I would never hurt you. I told you I’d protect my family at all costs, and I meant it. You’re my family, Shae.”
“You saved me.”
He shakes his head, stroking his fingers through my hair. “No, baby, Dante saved you. He took a bullet for you.”
Lifting a heavy arm, I rub my head as the other memories slowly filter in. Dante pushed me out of the way, and I heard two loud pops before everything went dark. I want to feel good that he chose me, but what if he was just trying to make up for something horrible he did to Cami so long ago? He saved my life, but can we ever have a normal relationship? Nothing can erase what he did.
“Is he okay?”
“Bullet grazed his arm. No damage. Just a flesh wound. He’ll be sore for a little while, but considering the circumstances, I’d say he’s pretty lucky. It could’ve been much worse.”
“He shouldn’t have done that. He could’ve been killed.”
“He was protecting you.”
I don’t have a response to that, so I just keep asking questions. “What about your father? Did he make it?”
Rex shakes his head. “No.”
“I’m sorry, Rex, about your father.”
He shakes his head. “Don’t be. He ripped your family apart, Shae. I don’t expect you to be sorry he’s gone.”
Taking a deep breath, I let the knowledge of Sal’s death settle in my heart and in my soul. But the relief I thought would come from knowing my father’s and sister’s murderer is gone doesn’t come. Instead, I’m left with an emptiness where the hate used to be.
“How’s your mother?” I ask. Questions are easier than all that’s swirling in my head.
“She’s okay. A little shaken up. She was here for a while, but Dante and I made her go home and get some rest.”
“She and Dante—are they okay?”
