Page 84 of Play With Me

“Where is Anders?” I ask weakly. My throat feels like the Sahara Desert.

“Mellie, I need you to listen to me,” Mick whispers as he picks up my hand. I’m too tired to fight him, so I let my fingers hang limply in his. “I know it was Kate. I went after the footsteps I heard running from your office.” His thumb strokes mine softly. “I’m so sorry, tiny dancer. I never…I never thought she’d be capable of something likethis.”

Kate?

My head hurts as images flood my mind, rippling like water as I remember what happened—Kate in my office, admitting to working with Vinny and her plan, Luca.

“Luca.” I muster the strength to speak more than a few words. “Luca was there, too. She was working with them.”

Surprise flickers across Mick’s face. “Morroni? Are you sure?”

I’m beginning to feel the telltale signs of nausea, wanting nothing more than to go back to sleep. But I can’t sleep without talking to Anders first. So, I ask again, “Where is Anders?”

Mick frowns. “He’s outside with your parents. You don’t need him any longer, Mellie. Everything is going to be fine now. You, me, and Maya are going to be a family.”

God, I never thought I’d see the day when I wanted to vomit when Mick told me he was finally ready to be a real family. “You sound delusional, Mick.” A cough erupts, causing my chest to burst with pain. When I get through it, I weakly tell him, “Just stop already. I don’t want to be with you.”

He laughs awkwardly. “You don’t mean that, tiny dan?—”

“Stop calling me that. Just stop all of this!” I pull my hand out of his, pressing the button on my bed for my nurse, before reaching for the ice chips she left. Placing a few in my mouth, I try to relax as theymelt on my tongue, soothing my scratchy throat and chasing away the nausea. “A part of me will always love you, Mick. You were my first love, and you gave me Maya. But I’m not in love with you. Not anymore.”

Squeezing my eyes shut, I wrestle with the pain. I want nothing more than to see the man I love and tell him how I feel. Well…sleep. I want to sleep a little bit more, now that I’ve exhausted my energy on the man who’s already taken far too much of me.

Mick is quiet for a while, and I’m grateful for the silence as I wonder what’s taking the nurse so long.

After a glorious minute, he asks solemnly, “So, it’shimthen?”

My only answer is a nod as the nausea begins to creep back.

“I need to hear you say it, Carmela.” The use of my full name makes me turn my head toward him.

“I love him, Mick. I’ve never felt this way about anyone—even you.”

An eerie stillness settles over him. The door opens, and he quickly raises his finger to the nurse as he spins to face her. “Can we just have one more moment? Just another minute, please?”

He asks like I’m a prisoner they are about to take away from visiting hours. In a way, it’s kind of true. I’ve been his metaphorical prisoner for so long, and in his eyes, the people right outside the door are taking me from him.

The nurse looks at me for confirmation to leave again. Against my better judgment, I nod slightly. “Justonemore minute.”

Mick watches her go before facing me again, though his eyes are downcast. “About Kate… She’s going to grant me the divorce with no fuss. If… If, uh?—”

“If nothing comes of this?” I pick up my hand, shaking my head in abecause, of course, she didmanner. I may not know which of them pulled the trigger, but the gun was only there because she brought it. “Yet another way for me to get fucked by the two of you.”

“All of your bills are being taken care of—physical therapy, trauma counseling?—”

“Were you in on it?” The question is quiet as I cut him off.

He reels back like I hit him. “How could you ask me that? Do you honestly think I’d allow someone to physically harm you? To harm Maya?”

“You’re letting Kate get away, aren’t you?” I ask softly. “All so you can get a divorce. You’re going to be a lonely man when this is all over, Mick.”

“There’s more to it than that,” he tries to argue.

“Just go.” I can’t help the tear that escapes at being treated like another business deal. And he really is delusional if he thinks Anders will let this slide.

“Mell—”

“Go!” I snap, causing pain to burst in my chest.

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