Page 93 of Star Crossed
Chapter Eighteen
The sun had long since set before the hospital released Romeo with a list of instructions on how to care for two bruised ribs and a concussion, as if he hadn’t done it at least a dozen times before.
He’d slept on and off throughout the day, but it’d been restless with the glare of fluorescent lights pulsing behind his closed eyes. He honestly couldn’t think of a time in his life when he’d been more tired. Going on three days without any real sleep, he was two blinks away from slipping out of the kitchen chair and curling up on the floor.
Instead he rested his elbow on the table, his chin in his hand as he listened to Tino and Nova. The headache was blinding, and he found himself rubbing his other hand over his forehead, unconsciously looking for some way to ease the pain. He couldn’t seem to sit in a way that lessened the ache in his ribs, but despite all the discomfort he tried to fight the concussion and focus.
“Do you have to go back to New York tonight?” Tino asked anxiously. “Alone?”
“I need to be there before the shit hits the fan. It looked bad for Rome to abandon his coaches and train here alone, but it’s helping us now. We can wait another couple days to report his injuries to the promoters. No one knows he’s outta the game.”
“Yet,” Tino added.
“Right.” Nova sighed. “And it’s a sure bet when Frankie finds out, he’s gonna think Romeo did this on purpose.”
“Maybe we should run,” Tino suggested. “Tonight. That’s the only option, right? To run? It’s either that or fight, but that could turn into a full-on war.”
“But I dunno if running’s a great idea,” Nova said, which was predictable. The solution had been discussed by the three of them before, but leaving everything they knew and surrendering their lives had never sat well with Nova. “We do that, and we’ll be running forever. Plus rats gotta bad tendency of getting caught.”
“He’s not a fucking rat,” Tino said defensively.
“He’s a liability, and we’ll all be liabilities if we just disappear. We’ll be on the move and looking over our shoulders for the rest of our lives. I’m not giving ’em that.” A deep crease etched its way across Nova’s forehead. “I’m gonna talk to Aldo. I’ll try to explain things and hope he leashes Frankie. There’ll be other fights. It’s not like Romeo wanted to get the shit kicked outta him.”
Tino snorted in disbelief.
Nova glared at Romeo. “Did you start something with Conner on purpose?”
“No.” Romeo let out a bitter laugh that nearly killed his ribs. “The asshole just went totally apeshit on me. No wonder Jules is always complaining about being alone.”
“But you let him beat you,” Tino said knowingly. “No way you would’ve ended up in the hospital if you were fighting back. You wanted the fight forfeited. You took that beating on purpose.”
Romeo grunted. “What difference does it make?”
“A huge difference,” Nova barked. “Frankie’s about to take a hit out on you because of it. This is just the sorta excuse he was looking for, and you handed it to him on a silver platter. What the fuck, Romeo?”
“I wouldn’t have thrown the fight,” Romeo assured them. “So he comes after me now or later. No difference.”
“I can’t deal with this bullshit anymore.” Nova stood, looking stressed. “I’m outta here. I need to clear my head and handle everything in New York. You try and talk sense into him because I’m officially done.”
Tino looked up at Nova in concern. “You think you can fix it?”
“Yeah,” Nova said with an exhausted huff of frustration. “I’ll get Aldo to pull Frankie off our backs until the next fight. He doesn’t want me pissed off, does he? And letting Frankie kill my brother would certainly harm my loyalty.”
“How the fuck did we end up with Frankie as a father?” Tino asked bitterly.
“Bad fucking karma, who knows?” Nova shrugged. “But what does it serve to complain about it? Doesn’t change a damn thing, Tino. Heisyour father. You just gotta deal with it and play the hand you were dealt.”
“Yeah, I know,” Tino said tiredly, obviously bored with the same old speech. “I’ll walk you out.”
Nova leaned down to kiss the top of Romeo’s head endearingly despite his frustration. “I’ll fix it.”
Romeo knew Nova probably would fix it. One way or another, he made things work for him, and there was something nice about that, the dependability Nova offered. He was easy to lean on—too easy.
Romeo caught his hand before he could walk off, clasping it firmly as he studied his younger brother. Flashes of their life together, of Nova as a toddler, curious about everything, eyes wide and bright, taking in everything so fast it was awe inspiring. A time before Nova absorbed the hurt, anger, and cynicism in the world as easily as he did all the beauty that had once made him a happy child.
“I love you,” Romeo whispered, the pain and exhaustion making him weak to the tears welling up in his eyes. “And I am proud of you. I want you to know that. The cards life dealt you were shit, but you did the best you could, and it’s better than most people would do—a lot better.”
“You’re not gonna die, Rome. I’ll fix it. I promise.” Nova patted Romeo’s cheek affectionately, giving him a grin. “Get some sleep. You look like merda. I’ll call you tomorrow.”
