Page 25 of The Sicilian Bastard
Araceli
Ascreeching sound followed by gurgling caught my attention. A red handprint was on the wall. It looked like smeared paint, but in the back of my mind, I knew different.
"Araceli, run, baby. Don't look back," a woman's voice came to me from far away.
"Ama?" I called out into the darkness.
The door opened enough that I could stick my head in. She kept it closed, especially if she was busy. I fell backward at the sight before my eyes. There was something wrong here, but my mind couldn't comprehend what my eyes were seeing.
I tried to get up but I couldn't feel my legs. Three loud fireworks lit up to the sky and then I was falling backward. I crawled away and my hand slid on the slick floor. I didn't look down, knowing exactly what it was. I jumped up and started running. Just like my mother begged me to.
My eyelids fluttered open at a cooling sensation. It traveled down my throat and hit my empty, grumbling stomach. Panicked, I thrust a fist out and it connected on hard flesh, my feeble attempt noted but not acknowledged.
"Calm down, miss."
An elderly face appeared above me, and I blinked until it was clear. An old man hunched over me. I scrunched my face in confusion.Where the fuck was I?The walls looked the same. I tried to move my head around to see if he was here. The pain in my face made my head dizzy, but I forced myself to look over the room. My gaze connected to his sorrowful one, pulling me in. He sat hunched in a chair in the corner, his shoulders rounded as he folded into himself. His entire demeanor screamed defeated. As much as I wanted to hate him, his soulful baby blues wreaked havoc on my gurgling insides.
I wasn't naked. My body was covered with a huge white t-shirt that couldn't be anyone else's. It was Luciano's. I sent a questioning glance his way, indicating with my eyes that the new item hadn't gone unnoticed. He winked at me. I blinked in surprise. This silent communication was not going to fucking work for me. I tapped the doctor on his arm. He glanced back down at me, distracted from fiddling with the IV.
"Sir." The older man motioned Luciano over.
He rose from the chair and walked towards the bed without any urgency. Almost as if he was afraid his mere presence would damage me more. My heart clenched at the sight. I didn't think he should beat himself up so much. Did he hurt me? Yes, he did, but he also made me feel good. There was an instinct inside me that was screaming Luciano wasn't as bad as he portrayed. I also had the vaguest feeling that he was the only man I had ever met who made me feel good. That was irrational. I couldn't know something like that. I missed everything the doctor and Luciano spoke about above me. My head was all over the place, trying to rein in my feelings. So much had happened in the last few days.
The old doctor leaned back over me and peeled something off my nose. Confusion set in until he started pulling. I realized there was a long white tube coming out of me. There had been so much pain in my jaw, I was distracted, the uncomfortable feeling in my right nostril. The tube grated against my throat as he pulled it out real slow. If I could open my mouth, I would have gagged from it. Luciano had a suspicious sheen glistening in his eyes. I could feel my eyes narrow, my brow knit, as I searched his face.
Upon further inspection, Luciano was a mess. He wore only a shirt with the buttons done up wrong. It was untucked and his suit jacket was nowhere in the room, his ginger hair mussed and standing up in the air, as if he had run his hands through it tugging from the roots. He wasn't wearing any shoes and one pant leg hitched up his leg. There was only one explanation that I could think of and I balked at the very idea. Luciano looked worried about me. I almost wanted to ask if he was remorseful for what he did. I know I was. I shouldn't have bitten him. Especially in the genitals. That was wrong of me. I couldn't open my mouth to say that, but I hoped my eyes portrayed my thoughts.
The doctor stood back and started packing up his supplies.
"You will need to ice her jaw every ten to twenty minutes for the next three days. I have left three needles of antibiotics she needs to take in case infection sets in. Then I have left you four pain medications. She should be able to eat. But try to feed her once her meds set in, so she won't feel the pain. Keep her head and shoulders elevated; that will lower the swelling."
Luciano had a tiny notebook in his hands and was writing fast. The doctor kept throwing instructions his way.
"Soft foods only. No hot beverages at all and keep the hot food to a minimum. If it's warm or room temperature, there will be less chance that she tries to open her mouth to cool it."
He opened his mouth up and down a bunch, which led to laughter bubbling up in my chest. I let out a little squeak and Luciano held out the notebook so I could write what I wanted to say.
I imagine that was what I looked like eating pizza rolls fresh out of the oven.
Luciano looked down and laughed then handed the notebook to the doctor who grinned over at me. Then he shook off the levity and went back to business.
"Right, so you also need to avoid this injury again. No blow jobs."
He shot a hard look at Luciano, and I knew he blamed him for my injury, which wasn't wrong. It also made me want to throat punch him for shooting an accusatory gaze my Luci's way. I felt my eyes widen from the very thought. Luciano wasn't mine. He was a sick individual who needed help. I wasn't keeping him.
"What about the catheter?" Luciano's raspy voice filtered through my panicked thoughts.
"I'll come back in a day or so and remove it, or I can remove it now. I only placed it because she passed out. It's your call."
The doctor waited while Luciano thought it through.
"Don't want you coming back so let's do it now." He cleared the pebbles in his throat.
"Right, well, okay then." The doctor seemed offended. It was obvious. I didn't care what he was thinking because he treated Luciano without respect.
He snapped a new pair of gloves on and Luciano took the covers off me. Luciano was the one who lifted the t-shirt, baring me to the room. I wasn't wearing any underwear. As the doctor removed the catheter, I clung to Luciano's hand. Especially when it felt uncomfortable when I exhaled as the doctor demanded. I tapped Luciano's hand and he gave me the notebook again.
Why did I have a catheter and a tube in my nose?
