Page 49 of The Associate

* * *

I am starting to get impatient, waiting for the doc to finish with Viv.

He doesn’t need me hovering around him whilst he is trying to work. This is probably retaliation for what I did to Rico’s brother.Shit, I mean the little piece of shit deserves everything he got that night, and I never thought they would get to Viv before we could get everything sorted. How fucking wrong am I.

Pacing the basement hallway, I want to do something. Why did I have to hurt her? Why did I let her out of my sight?

The blackouts are causing more issues than they were now that I have someone I have to watch out for. I have to stop them from happening.

This is all my fault. I am the one who put her here. I pushed her away, scared of what she’d think of me when she saw the man I am.

I’m not the stupid teenager I used to be.

* * *

I don’t know how long I have been down here, but the sound of the medic’s room door opening echoes through the quiet room. I open my eyes just in time to see Sal walk in.

He heads towards the door that leads to Viv’s room. I watch him, his head turns – slowly – his eyes locking onto mine, cold and unblinking.His body shifts to follow his gaze. His shoulders rotate, changing direction and walking over to me instead. His jaw is tight, his lips pursed like he is trying to hold something in. As he moves closer towards me, there is a cold, focused intensity that strips away any sense of calm he may have shown moments ago.

“How could you let this happen, boy!” he yells in my face as he gets closer, clearly forgetting how he addressed me earlier outside.

I just stand there watching him. I am not feeding into this.

My silence only makes him angrier. He steps back and, as quick as I can blink, he raises his right hand over his left shoulder, swinging back and hitting me across the face.

I step back slightly from the impact but still don’t say a word. Sal’s face is red and he is shaking slightly.

He turns away from me and walks back over to the door to the medic’s room, where Viv is lying on the hospital gurney just on the other side.

Why is he coming to see her when he is in one of these moods?

He steps into the room, closing the door behind him. A way of saying he does not want to be disturbed.

I watch him through the single square window. His back is to the door. Even from here, I can tell that the way he stands over her is overpowering.

His fingertips run down her left cheek in a soft touch. It is a touching moment between a caring father and his injured daughter. There is slight bruising on her cheek from where, I assume, she had been struck. Rico is going to pay for doing that to her.

I hope they realise that it is going to be me who is gunning for them now, and nothing is going to stop me from ending them.

I am about to turn around and let them have their moment when I watch Sal place his hands on Viv’s shoulders, shaking her until her eyes open.

Fear laces her features. It takes a moment for me to realise what is going on.

His right hand lifts up to his left shoulder before coming back down, making contact with her face, striking the same place where the bruising is. My hands ball into fists, nails digging into my palms. My jaw clenches so tightly, my teeth ache.

“What the fuck is wrong with you, you stupid fucking girl!” he yells.

I move, grabbing the door handle, trying to pull the door open. It is locked.

“Fuck.” I need to get into that room.

“What did you think you were achieving by going out alone?” He is right in her face now. “It would have been better if you were killed.”

She starts shaking her head, her eyes wide with fear. She’s mouthing the words ‘no, please’.

“I should just send you to Rico now, let him do whatever the fuck he wants with you.” Spit flies from his mouth as he screams at her. “Don’t you know I am trying to protect you from him! You don’t know anything about Rico. He is dangerous and ruthless, a man worthy of ruling an organisation like Blackmere. But you” — he points his finger in her face — “you are my only daughter, and you are weak! Just like your mother. You deserve every last part of what has happened to you, maybe now you will realise just how strong you need to be!”

I am shaking the door harder now, trying to get in. His head spins around and he glares at me, pure rage covering his features. Shaking his head, he turns back to Viv. “You’ve even got that little bastard out there trying to protect you. He should just walk away from you and leave you to the wolves.”

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