Page 94 of Star Crossed
Romeo squeezed his hand once more, reluctant to release him because a part of him would always see that enthusiastic little kid Nova used to be before life made him hard. It felt so final, but knowing it had to be done, Romeo did something he should have done years ago—he let Nova go.
After Tino and Nova stepped outside, Romeo decided he needed a nap. Grateful for the headache and the constant stab of pain in his side for distracting him from a far deeper hurt, he crawled into bed and closed his eyes.
* * * *
The need to hide from life must have put Romeo out almost instantly, but something woke him up. Now he had that heavy feeling of sleeping just long enough to feel worse than he had before he closed his eyes. He blinked into the darkness, his body still vibrating with exhaustion when someone curled up next to him in the bed.
Tino, smelling like soap, with his hair still wet from a shower, had crawled into Romeo’s bed like he had when he was little. The tears Romeo had fought earlier sprang up as if he’d never had the reprieve of sleep. He wrapped his arms around his baby brother, holding him tight.
“I’m proud of you too,” he whispered.
“Yeah?” Tino asked, clearly choked with emotion, making it obvious he saw what Nova was readily ignoring.
“Oh yeah,” Romeo said quickly. “But I want you to promise me you’ll get out. Win every fight. Make something you can be proud of.”
“Why the fuck do you think I’m here? It’s not for the nightlife.”
Romeo gave a broken laugh. “I love you.”
“Love you too.” Tino sighed. “Are you gonna wait till morning to leave?”
“Probably not.”
“I wanna go with you.” Tino’s voice quivered. “But what would it do to Nova if we both left?”
“Win a UFC championship belt instead.” Romeo squeezed him tighter. “Do what I never got a chance to do, okay?”
“Okay.” Tino huffed, his body tight as he obviously fought with the tears. “You know Jules came to the hospital while you were in X-ray. Nova told her to fuck off, but I think she held her own against him. He doesn’t know country girls are hard-core.”
Romeo couldn’t help but laugh despite the heartache. “That’s very true.”
“Maybe she’ll go with you. That way you won’t be alone.”
“She’s got a life here, Valentino. A real life.”
“I’m just saying. You should at least say good-bye. Maybe she’ll—”
Romeo cut him off by leaning his forehead against Tino’s shoulder. He knew Tino could feel his tears, but what did he care? It felt like his heart was being ripped out of his chest. This was a thousand times harder than going to prison. That time he knew he’d come back…this time he wasn’t so sure.
“I’m gonna miss you,” Tino whispered in a broken, childlike voice, making it obvious he was crying harder than Romeo. “I hate this. This whole thing fucking blows. Unfair.”
One of the things Romeo’d always loved about Tino was his ability to speak a truth no one else had the ability to give voice to, and this time was no different.
“It is unfair,” Romeo agreed. “We gotta ask God to deal us a new hand.”
“You think he listens to guys like us?”
Romeo sighed. “I sure hope so.”
* * * *
Jules had a headache that wouldn’t quit. It throbbed at her temples, and for some unexplained reason she couldn’t locate anything to help. She or Wyatt were always nursing some minor sporting injury, and they usually had a surplus of ibuprofen, especially since that had been Clay’s pain reliever of choice when he’d lived with them.
It appeared the drug fairy had visited and eaten every last one of them, because she couldn’t find a single bottle. Frustrated and stressed, she took a long shower instead, willing the hot water to wash away the horrors of the day.
She was still in the dark over Romeo’s injuries, but Clay had assured her they were more than survivable. Serious enough to take him out of the fight with Lipton, but nothing a seasoned MMA fighter couldn’t recover from. Somehow that didn’t make her feel better.
Clean and still bursting with nervous energy, Jules brushed her wet hair and then donned a thin, white nightgown. Not seeing Romeo was driving her crazy. She was kicking herself for overreacting and pushing him away before she could get real answers.
