Page 58 of The Prizes We Win
“How you feeling, Amico?” Luca says as he runs a hand over the top of my head.
“Like I got the shit beat out of me.”
“I didn’t have Doc give you any narcotics for the pain. I didn’t know when you’d wake up and wanted to talk to you about it first.”
“No. I don’t want them.” It’s not worth it. I’d suffer through this pain a thousand times over before I risked suffering through the pain of addiction all over again. “But thank you, Amico.”
“That’s what I figured,” he says softly before kissing my forehead. “You’re going to be in some pain for a while though.”
“But the pain means I’m alive.”
“Something wrong with your eyes?” Sebastian asks.
“It’s just so bright, and my head is pounding.”
“I’ll close the curtains,” he responds. I listen as he closes each one. “There. How’s that.”
Slowly, I open my eyes and despite the swelling I can feel around each one it really is much better.
“Here,” Dante says as he walks over to me with a glass of water and a straw. “Drink this for me.” He brings the straw to my lips and I start to sip slow, but the cold liquid feels so good on my dry throat that I guzzle the whole thing down in a matter of seconds. The corners of Dante’s lips turn up and his eyes beam with pride at the small accomplishment.
“Good boy,” Sebastian praises as he gently squeezes my calf.
“So what’s the damage?” I ask them. The four of them share worried looks. “Just tell me.”
Luca lets out a heavy sigh and sits down on the bed next to me. “You have an orbital fracture in your right eye.”Yeah, I feel that one.“Two fractured ribs and a punctured lung.”Definitely feel those.“Severe bruising covering most of your abdomen. But Doc did an ultrasound and nothing appears to have ruptured, thankfully.”Check.“You had a pretty deep cut on your templeand one on your cheek he had to stitch closed.”Scars are hot anyway. “Besides that, it looks like you’re going to just be pretty sore for a while. The bruises on your face and torso are deep so they’re going to linger for a while, but other than that, you got really lucky, Enz. It looked so much worse when we found you.”
I manage a humorless chuckle. “Is that all?”
“Oh, and you lost a couple of molars,” he says with a wink.
I do a quick inventory with my tongue, and sure as shit. Two teeth are gone. I don’t even remember spitting those out. Then Joe muffles a sob with her hand. Pushing through the pain, I manage to muster up enough energy to reach for her and grab her hand in mine. “Sweetheart…”
“We thought you were dead,” she cries.
I smile as wide as my swollen face will allow. “Come here.”
She doesn’t hesitate. Carefully, she lays on the bed next to me and gently rests her head on my chest. Knowing she needs to be close to me, I breathe deeply through the discomfort and kiss the crown of her head. “I’m right here,” I say softly. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m here.”
As Joe lays there with her head on my chest, Sebastian’s thumb making soft circles on the inside of my calf, Luca’s hand gently resting on the other side of my chest, and Dante’s eyes warming every inch of my skin as he stares down at me, my eyes suddenly grow heavy all over again.
And as much as I want to know what else happened, how they found me, or if Nikolai and Maxim are still alive, I can’t find the energy to ask one more question.
Noticing me slipping back into unconsciousness, Luca says, “We’ll let you get some more rest. One of us will be in here if you need us, okay?” I nod and he slides his hand from my chest to the tattoo around my arm. The one that matches his. And he lets his fingertips linger there for a moment before leaning forward and kissing my lips softly. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I love you.”
A smile is the only response I can manage as my eyes grow heavier and heavier.
Luca stands and Dante comes to stand next to me. He reaches out and brushes a stray strand of hair from my forehead. “I’m not a man who gets scared of much, but you scared the shit of me, Enz. Don’t ever do that again, okay?”
His fingers linger on my skin for a moment before he follows Luca out of the room. Sebastian stands from his spot at the end of the bed. “You going to stay in here for a while longer, Love?”
“Mhmm,” she says, not moving from her spot on my chest.
“Okay. I’ll come up and check on you both in a little bit. I love you.”
“We love you too,” Josephine answers for the both of us.
And as I fall back asleep the only thing I can think of is how lucky I am that I still have that gift.
