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Maddie knocked and the door sprung open, Nico on the other side. His smile was grim as he greeted Maddie then his eyes moved to Lauren.
“Lauren? Hey. I didn’t realise you were still in Italy.” He kissed her on both cheeks in the Italian fashion.
Lauren nodded stiffly, but she only had eyes for Raf. She was conscious of the others – not all of them, but some: Luca and Max sat in chairs against the wall. Fiero was pacing by the window. And in the bed in the middle of the room was Raf. His eyes were shut, his chest moving in a good – no, a great – sign that he was breathing unaided. His colour was pale, indicating – just as Maddie had said – that he’d lost a lot of blood. She crossed to his chart and lifted it from the holster, reading the medication instructions as if she could understand what had happened.
“He’s out of immediate danger,” Maddie said again, moving closer.
Lauren looked at her, nodding, but the chart didn’t give enough information.
“He suffered blood loss. From?”
“His side and back,” Maddie offered, a far from sufficient explanation.
Lauren nodded, seeing only his body as it had been the last time they’d made love. When he’d curled around her and she’d realised how deeply she loved him.
“Any broken bones?”
Silence.
She jerked her gaze to Maddie’s face. “Maddie?”
“I – they – he’s fractured a vertebrae, possibly damaged his spinal chord. They’re not sure yet what that will mean.”
“Oh, God.” She nodded, because the ambivalence was definitely not a good sign. As if to confirm that, and because she couldn’t help herself, she reached for one of his feet and squeezed it. He didn’t react.
All of her thoughts were for Raf and how this would affect him. To lose the movement in a limb was not easy to deal with, and for someone like Raf who lived to challenge himself physically?
For several moments she stood there and it didn’t occur to her to feel like an outsider, or to ask herself if they were wondering why she was there. She couldn’t have been anywhere else and maybe they just understood that?
“Lauren?” She looked towards Luca. He stood,
walking towards her. “Would you like a coffee? Tea?”
She nodded, his kindness reaching inside and soothing her. “Please. Anything.” And then, as an afterthought. “How’s Yaya?”
“Beside herself,” Luca grimaced. “Waiting for him to come home.” He looked towards the bed and Lauren nodded. Waiting was all they could do.
He was dreaming. Her voice was in his mind, his ears, her voice was all around him. He lay there with his eyes shut and listened, all too familiar with these damned dreams. If he opened his eyes, she’d disappear and he’d be alone again. Here, like this, he had Lauren, and he was happy.
She watched him sleep with the coffee cup braced between her hands. No one spoke for long stretches of time. People came and went. Maddie and Nico left with Estelle. Fiero arrived shortly after, carrying a bunch of flowers Elodie had picked. Night came and then it was only Luca, Gabe and Lauren.
“Are you working nearby?” Luca prompted, hands clasped between legs that were spread wide in his seat.
She shook her head.
Gabe’s phone rang. He grumbled something then answered it. A few grunts, before he hung up. “It’s Yaya. I’m going to go to her.”
Lauren looked at Gabe, her heart anguished. “Why don’t you both go? I’ll wait here with him. I can call if anything happens.”
“You don’t have to do that,” Luca demurred. But he looked dreadful, as though he hadn’t slept in a week.
“I want to. Honestly. Tell Yaya I’m here and she won’t be worried.”
Luca hesitated.
She sighed. “You can’t wear yourself out. He’s likely to face a long road back to recovery. It’s better for him to have a fresh support crew. Go home, rest. Come back in the morning. I’ve got this.”
And perhaps because they’d only seen her in a medical light, they stood and did as she’d said, Luca pausing only to hand over a business card with his private mobile number. She slid it into her back pocket then nodded, waiting until they’d left.
