Page 46 of Corrupted By the Capo

“No,” I said.

The doctor, an older South Asian woman with kind brown eyes, smiled at me. “I’ll have the receptionist give you some information,” she said.

“Thank you,” I responded and started to tear up when she patted my hand. Her skin was warm and dry, and the simple touch nearly undid me.

It made me think of my grandmother, and how much I missed her and the past that was gone.

It made me think of Enzo, and how much I missed him and the future that could never be.

I coughed and wiped my eyes. “Stupid hormones,” I said.

“I know,” she responded.

The woman patted my hand again and then left, and I got dressed. The crinkle of the paper on the table and the paper gown felt thunderous in the quiet. They’d tried to decorate the place, walking the line between professional and welcoming, and in truth, they hadn’t done a half bad job. Best of all, even the antiseptic scent that burned my nostrils wasn’t so bad. This wouldn’t be the worst place to see this through if that was what I decided to do.

This doctor’s appointment had just been a formality.

I was pregnant.

Thinking that didn’t send me reeling as it had in the last few days. But having it confirmed did put a bit of a different spin on things. It was real now. Like really real. And the truth somehowfelt heavier than I’d expected and lighter than a feather all at the same time.

First and foremost, I’d have to talk to Enzo. I didn’t want to do that.

Or rather, I wanted to talk to him badly, but didn’t feel like I was equipped.

But how I felt was now secondary.

I still wasn’t sure what I was going to do, but he deserved to know.

And as soon as I gathered my courage, I’d tell him.

On the walk home, I felt lighter than I had in days. I’d made it through whatever life hurled at me.

This would be no different.

I had my grandmother to thank for that. And I knew, no matter what, Hope was in my corner. I looked around at the scenery I so often ignored. Saw the way the rays of sunlight bounced off the concrete, felt the air on my skin, not too cold but brisk enough to remind enough to feel, the sounds of traffic, music floating out of windows as I passed by.

All of it together bursting with life.

I couldn’t stop the smile that spread across my face.

Still smiling, I rounded the corner and stopped in my tracks.

I would have recognized him anywhere, and even from down the block, I could tell it was Enzo. Some part of me wondered if I was imagining him.

But that couldn’t be. Nothing I could imagine compared to the man standing in front of me. Even with the distance between us, I felt him, could feel that gravitational tug that pulled me toward him

I forced the smile off my lips and looked into his eyes. “You coming to drug me again, Enzo? Maybe do worse?”

“I just came to talk,” Enzo said.

The jerk couldn’t even give me the courtesy of acting defensive.

I frowned, but then gestured toward the door to my apartment building.

Enzo followed me up the stairs.

“I haven’t seen anything about Fabiano on the news,” I said once we were inside my apartment.

---