AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Reuben nodded. “All right, I’ll see what I can do. But if I do this, you need to drink some water.”
“Uh-huh, sure.” Whatever.
Reuben arranged it so she could stay with him as they moved him onto a different floor and into a sizeable private room. It even had an extra bed, two hard-backed chairs, a big leather recliner chair, and a sofa under the window.
“This is fancy,” she said.
Reuben grunted. “Yeah, and you pay through the nose for it.”
They waited until the nurse had Alejandro situated, then Rafael dragged the recliner chair over for her.
Reuben disappeared, and she took Alejandro’s hand in hers. When would he wake up?
Didn’t he know how much she needed him?
That she couldn’t survive without him.
“Right, here’s some water and a sandwich,” Reuben said, walking in. “Drink all the water.”
“I will.”
“Now. I need to go do a few things, but before I go, I want you to pee.”
She gaped up at him. “What the hell?”
“You need to pee.”
“I’ve peed,” she muttered. “I went in the middle of the night.”
“That’s not enough. You’re getting dehydrated. The doctor has expressed some concern about you. Do you want to end up in a hospital bed as well? How will you watch over him then?”
Ouch.
That was just so mean.
She could feel tears welling in her eyes.
“What the fuck, man?” Rafael snapped, stepping forward. “Don’t upset her.”
“Fuck. Shit. Cat, sorry. I just . . . I didn’t mean to make you cry.” Reuben crouched next to her. “But I know Alejandro needs you to pull through this. You won’t be any good to him unless you let us take care of you. Understand?”
“I just want him to wake up. Please, Reuben, make him wake up,” she begged.
“Hey, he’s going to wake up. You need to be positive. Yeah? The doctors wouldn’t have moved him out of the ICU if they were worried about him. And right now, the person I’m most concerned about is you. To be honest, you seem spaced out and numb. I’m sure you’re still in shock, but that means you need some looking after. So let us do that. Drink your water. Please.”
The please seemed like an afterthought.
“Did that hurt something?” she joked. She tried to smile. But it felt more like a grimace.
“What?”
“Saying please.”
Relief filled Reuben’s face. Huh, he really was worried about her, wasn’t he? She wasn’t the one in the hospital bed.
Cat glanced over at the other bed in the room. She didn’t want to end up in a hospital bed.
Damn it. Reuben had a point. Reaching over, she took hold of the bottle of water. For some reason, though, the lid was stuck and she couldn’t open it.
Urgh.
She tried again.
“Do you need some help?” Reuben asked.
“No. I got this. It’s just a stupid bottle lid, I can do this!” As she tried again, her hand slid off the bottle and hit Reuben.
Right in the dick.
Oops.
He bent over, trying to breathe.
“Oh God! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to. Is your dick all right?”
“What . . . shit . . .” he wheezed.
“It was an accident! I’ll get the nurse. We need an ice pack for a broken dick, stat!” she cried out.
“Stop!” Reuben commanded.
Well, more like wheezed.
She stopped at the door, turning back to him. She could feel how hot her face was. Embarrassment flooded her.
She kind of wished she could go back to feeling numb and out of it.
Stupid Reuben. Making her feel.
“Do not . . . go asking for ice . . . for my broken dick,” Reuben managed to get out.
“Who . . . dick . . . broken?”
She froze. That wasn’t Reuben’s voice. Her gaze shot to the bed as Alejandro stared at them all hazily.
“Oh God. He’s awake! Rafael! The nurse!”
Rafael moved over to grab the call button, pressing it as she rushed to Alejandro’s side, ignoring Reuben who was still bent over.
Honestly, it was just a tiny dick punch. She didn’t know why he was overreacting.
“Papi? Papi!” Tears streamed down her face as she leaned over him, taking his hand in hers.
He scowled. “Who . . . make . . . you . . . cry?”
His words were faint and he looked confused. But he was awake and that was all she cared about.
A nurse moved into the room just as Alejandro started tugging at the different cords attached to him.
“Sir, what are you doing? Mr. De Leon, you can’t get up.”
“He’s upset because she is,” Rafael told her, moving over to Cat. “You have to stop crying.”
Oh crap.
She suddenly realized what was happening and placed her hand on Alejandro’s leg. “Papi, I’m fine. I’m all right. I’m crying because I’m so happy that you’re going to be all right. Happy tears.”
Maybe she shouldn’t be calling him Papi in front of the nurse, but frankly, she didn’t give a shit. The only person she cared about right now was him.
