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TEN
‘WHEN IT’S ALL OVER’ RAIGN
Lexi
Icheck on Gio once more, ringing a new towel out and wiping his face, grateful he’s no longer sweating. He looks so peaceful sleeping. It reminds me of the times I’d check on him when he was younger, only now my heart beats differently for him, and he’s not the beaten little boy under his father’s abusing rule.
I lay a kiss on his cheek, inhaling him and sending all my gratitude to God, the universe, and any other higher power there is, that he’s alive and well. I only wish I could say the same for Maxine.
Oh, how my soul aches for Luce and for the giant hole in my heart Maxine’s death has caused. It’s a deep darkness, a wound that feels as though it will fester until the day I’m laid to rest.
I know the universe holds her now, but kill me now because I just want her back. The stars don't need her like we do...like Luce does.
With one last brush of my fingers through Gio’s hair, I leave the room with the first-aid kit in hand. Luce is on the verge of breaking completely, and I vow to do everything I can to keep that from happening, but even if I fail, I will pick him back up again. When I was in Alan’s cruel hands once more, it was Luce’s face and voice that got me through some of the more horrifying moments, him and Gio both. Sometimes, it was as though they were both there with me, and while I know that’s not possible, I still felt as though I wasn’t alone.
Gio was the light that pushed me to continue fighting, and Luce was the fire that protected my mind in the darkness. They’re both a part of me, two opposites that piece me together without even knowing it. They are the ones who kept me going, kept me smiling in the face of impossible odds, they kept me alive, and I will repay that now.
They’ll never face anything without me.
Alan thought he was breaking me, and while he and his lowlife scumbag friends wrecked my body for their own disgusting uses, they made one mistake.
They left me alive.
I remember their faces, even some of their names; I will find them, and when I do, I’m going to make sure they’ll never be able to hurt another woman again. I will save Alan for last, however. I want him to see me coming, I want him to look over his shoulder wherever he goes…I want him to feel as small and disposable as he made me feel. When I finally have him, it won’t be a quick death. No, what I plan to do to my husband will make even the demons of Hell tremble. There’s no wrath like a woman’s, and I will make sure every inch of Alan feels the scorching touch of my fury.
I reach the guest bathroom and find Luce leaning forward, his good elbow on his knee as his cast sits across his lap. I try to remember the car accident, what could have caused his arm to break, but all I remember is him screaming my name before everything went dark.
He notices me standing there and sits up, tossing his phone onto the counter as his green eyes appraise me.
“Hi.” I tell him while mentally palming my face.
He huffs, his lips slightly curling into a smirk, but it doesn’t reach his eyes, “Hey.”
I shake my head, a little grin pulling at the corner of my lips with how he tries to humor me despite my obvious awkwardness and his sadness. I hate this day for so many reasons, but I’m also grateful, and that makes me feel selfish and heartless.
I quickly shove those thoughts aside and wash my hands thoroughly. I may not be a nurse or a doctor, but I’ve seen enough TV shows to know that I need clean hands before I even touch the latex gloves. Once I’m done, I pull them on and inspect Luce’s head. His hair around the three-inch-long graze is dried and matted with blood, so I take the scissors and snip away along the edge. Once I’ve cleaned the area with disinfectant, I’m able to see how bad the wound is.
“You will definitely need stitches.”
Luce groans, “Fuck. Well, at least I took some painkillers. Let’s get this over with.”
I get everything ready, pull on new gloves, and step up close to Luce’s side, my thighs pressing against the outside of his left one. I bring the needle to his skin, wasting no time before sliding it through. My breath catches when his hands shoot up and wrap around my thigh, a curse spilling from his lips. I don’t stop though, doing my best to ignore the way his fingers burn into my skin in a surprising way that makes my stomach flip.
I continue through every stitch, slowly realizing that Luce has either become used to the pain, or the painkillers kicked in, because his hands no longer grip me tightly. Instead, they draw soothing circles on my skin, his eyes watching the goosebumps raise with every stroke of his thumbs.
I do my best to ignore him, to block out how my skin flushes or how good he suddenly smells. His scent is weed, blood, and gunpowder, a scent that sounds like a gross combination, but it works so damn well on him. Finally, my shaking fingers reach the end of the cut, tying off the knot and snipping away the excess.
I place the tools back on the counter, my body unwilling to move from his grasp.
“Luce,” I warn him, “what are you doing?”
He doesn’t answer right away, he just continues to look down at my thigh, his good hand sliding down to my knee before dragging his fingertips slowly up the inside of my thigh.
“I didn’t think I’d get the chance to do this. To touch you, feel you, hear your voice,” He looks up at me, his green eyes hungry with half-mast lids. “I didn’t think I’d ever get a chance to see if your body reacted to mine.”
He tilts his head to the side as I swallow thickly, my body trembling under his heavy gaze. I don’t know what I should do; stay or go, stop him or beg for more?
His fingers tighten at the middle of my thigh, my gasp lodging in my throat as he drags one finger from his broken arm up the length of my shirt. I watch his index finger travel towards my braless breast, my breathing picking up as he circles my nipple, making the hardened point sharpen even further.
