by Skye Turner
I stiffly nod in agreement.
Ty nods at Willis and his partner, Shelton. Shelton says, “This is Robert Edwards. This is his mother’s home. A neighbor called us when they heard shouting from inside followed by a large crash. He was attacked with a chair and has some minute lacerations on his face and hands from fighting off the attacker. His right bicep has a deep laceration with substantial bleeding that may need stitches. He was also clocked in the head so he has a possible concussion.”
Ty smiles slightly. “That hard head will be fine.”
Cruz grimaces as he stares at me. “It is hard,” he says. “It hurts like a bitch, too. He threw my momma’s antique brass lamp at me and it hit me square in the back of the head.”
I take the blood pressure cuff out and start taking his vitals and Ty leads Willis and Shelton a bit away. They are talking quietly.
I need to remember to thank him later.
“So, what happened?” I keep working as I ask.
He frowns as he grimaces as if in extreme pain. “Momma called me when he just showed up. He said since I wouldn’t meet with him, that he was going to come here so I wouldn’t have a choice.”
My hand tightens on his arm and his breath hisses out. “I’m sorry. I’ll look at that in one second. I just need to grab some gauze to wrap it.”
He nods. “Ok. I raced over here and told him to get out. He laughed at me and said he wasn’t going anywhere. He said I was his son and he had a right to know me. We got into it and I told him again to get out before he really pissed me off. It got really heated and when I tried to throw him out, he grabbed the lamp and hit me with it. Then, he grabbed a chair and broke it over me as he hit me with it. He also stabbed me in the fucking arm! I finally managed to get up and screamed at Momma to get out and call the police. She ran out and I restrained him. They showed up a few minutes later.”
My lips are tight as I listen to the hell he endured today. I knew Lucian was bad news. Cruz was right to want to avoid him, but if he just showed up here, then he’s stupider than I originally thought.
Of course he also raped Cruz’s mother twenty-six years ago, so I can’t imagine what he’s thinking right now.
After cutting away the sleeve of Cruz’s long sleeve shirt, I check the wound on his bicep. I mutter a curse. “This needs stitches, Cruz. No major damage, but he cut pretty deep and your tattoo is going to be fucked up with a scar.”
He mutters a curse, too. “Shit! Can you stitch me up?”
I look up sharply. “I’m not a doctor, Cruz.”
“I know, but you can stitch me up, right?”
I look at him calmly. “I can, but I also have to check for wood splinters. It’s going to hurt.”
He nods. “Ok, then do it. I trust you and I don’t particularly care for hospitals.”
Ty, Willis, and Shelton walk back over. Willis flips his pad closed. “We have everything we need for your statement. We’re taking him in to the station to be booked. But, be forewarned, he won’t stay there. Even with the litany of charges, with his name and all… I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s out by morning… even with the parole violation. My advice, like I told your mom, get a restraining order.”
Cruz nods. “Thank you. We will. We both will.”
They watch as I probe the last of the gash for splinters. His breath hisses out as I finish and stitch him up. When I’m done, I wrap his arm.
We’re left alone again as Ty walks with them, talking quietly. I can see them all casting covert glances at us.
Cruz notices too. “Great, let the tongue wagging begin.”
I laugh lightly. “Yup, best way to have gossip make the rounds is tell some cops.”
He rolls his eyes. “Yay, me. Sorry.”
I ask with surprise as I clean and bandage the rest of his injuries, “Sorry for what?”
He laughs. “For being the subject of more speculation and gossip thanks to me.”
I grin at him. “It’s ok. You keep life interesting.” He laughs with me before cussing as I bandage a particularly nasty cut above his eye.
We’re interrupted by a soft voice. “I’m assuming this is Tifanie?”
Chapter Twenty-One
Cruz
I’m sitting here in my momma’s driveway surrounded by cops with Lucian in the backseat in handcuffs as Tifanie sews up a deep cut on my arm. That asshole broke a chair over my back and then stabbed me with it in my arm.
Thank God he came after me and ignored Momma. I was able to engage him enough to get her out of the house and call the police. She’s safe. If he’d tried to hurt her again, he’d be leaving in a body bag and not a cop car.
He did a number on me, but only because he snuck up on me. It was stupid of me to turn my back to him though. My vision is spotty and I feel like I’m going to hurl, so I’m pretty certain I have a concussion, not to mention the cut on my arm and my face feels swollen too. I got him too, though. Once I was able to get up, I gave him a pretty good lashing before I restrained him.
I was hoping it would be anyone but Tif and Ty to show up here, but I’m kind of glad it was them now. I don’t want to go to the hospital and I’m comfortable with her stitching up my arm, though it hurts like hell.
She mutters a curse and I look down at her. Her face is scrunched up in concentration and she’s biting the tip of her tongue. She tells me that the cut is deep and went through my tattoo, meaning the scar is going to mar it. I cuss in rage. That tattoo is for Momma! And that criminal just messed it up.
But at least he didn’t hurt her. That is the most important thing. He’s also under arrest for breaking and entering, kidnapping, assault, and his parole violation.
The cops walk back over with Ty and tell me Lucian will more than likely be out by morning. It infuriates me, though I already figured as much since he’s a rich asshole with a powerful family behind him. They say Momma and I both need restraining orders.
Oh, she’s getting one. This is one thing I am going to make her listen to me about. She’s getting a restraining order.
As the officers walk off with Ty and whisper about me and Tifanie, I glance over at Momma. She is pale and wringing her hands as she watches a cop car leave her driveway. I make a smartass comment under my breath about the gossiping that I’m certain is happening.
Tifanie laughs and replies about cops and rumors.
I don’t like it. I don’t like that people are going to talk about her because of me. I don’t care if they want to talk about me, but they are not going to talk about her. They shouldn’t talk about her.
As she’s smirking and grinning and being Tifanie, I’m thinking about all the shit that they could be saying and getting angry and annoyed making my head hurt worse than it already does.
What a shit day!
Suddenly, my momma is next to us. I never heard her walk over, but here she is… asking, “I’m assuming this is Tifanie?”
Tifanie looks at me quickly and then smiles up at Momma. She stands up and takes off her gloves before holding out her hand. “Hello, Ma’am. You would be correct. I am Tifanie. And since he looks just like you, I’m guessing you’re Cruz’s beautiful mother.”
Momma looks Tifanie over in her pressed uniform and pulled back hair. She smiles and takes her hand in a gentle shake. “Hello. I’m Corrin Edwards, his mother, though I’m not sure of the beautiful part. Thank you for taking care of my baby.”
Tifanie grimaces. “Well, it is my job. Though, a heads-up that he was my call might have been nice.”
I sputter, “Yeah, because I totally freaking planned this shit.”
Momma glares at me. “Robert Cruz Edwards, you watch your tone. Tifanie just sewed up your arm. No one planned this. And I imagine she was saying she was shocked!” She mutters under her breath about manners. “I would think seeing you here was unexpected.”
I feel chagrined. I’m almost twenty-six years old and I just got scolded by my momma… in front of my girlfriend. Wait, my girlfriend? Did we dete
rmine she’s my girlfriend? Why would she want to be especially after today’s events on top of past events? Why the hell is she not running like Flo Jo?!
Tifanie smiles and my insides ignite. I stand up and almost fall on my face. Fucking concussion.
Momma and Tifanie both grab me before I hit the ground. Tifanie calls out, “Ty! Help us! This stubborn ass has a concussion.”
He runs over after closing the back of the ambulance and takes me from my momma with his arm around my waist as they lead me toward the house. As we get to the front door, I take in the destruction on the inside and groan. What a mess!
Momma’s face is pinched as she looks around. There’s blood on the carpet where Lucian and I scuffled, though to be honest, I’m not certain of whose it is. Tif frowns.
She looks at Ty. “I’m going to need the rest of the shift off.”
He nods. “I know. I already called it in and said you had a personal emergency. Bently is coming in to work with me.”
I see her nod and hug him before I close my eyes. I hear, “Thank you, Ty. I’m going to stay here and help clean up. I also want to keep an eye on Cruz with that bump on his head. Stubborn ass!”
I squint at them. “I can hear you, you know!”
She glares at me. “I’m aware!”
I see Momma smirk as she walks to the couch. She fluffs a pillow and places a blanket over me. Tif sits next to me. “You can go to sleep, ok? You have a concussion and since you won’t go to the hospital, you can go to sleep, but I’ll need to wake you frequently, ok?”
I nod and the movement makes me want to vomit. I just want to rest.
She rubs my leg. “Go on and go to sleep. I’ll stay here and check on you. I’ll also dim the lights. Do you feel like you need to vomit?”
She’s so stubborn. I know she’s a paramedic, but the thought of her wanting to stay here, to take care of me… it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Maybe it’s just the trauma to my brain though. I murmur, “Yeah, I’m really nauseated.” She gets up, but it’s way too much effort to open my eyes to see where she’s going. I just want her to come back though.
I feel her set something next to me on the floor and her cool hand touches my forehead. “I put a trash can next to you. If you need to puke, it’s right there.”
Momma says quietly, “I’m going to make some tea. Would you like some, Tifanie?”
I crack my eyes open and look toward my feet. Tifanie nods at my momma and says very quietly, “I would love some. Thank you, Ms. Edwards.”
Momma glances from me, lying on the couch, to Tifanie, sitting at my feet and smiles softly. “It’s no problem, sweetie. And please, call me Corrin. You are, after all, with my stubborn son.”
My eyes fly fully open and I groan as my head complains heartily. I mutter, “Hey, be nice to the dude who got hit in the head. And stabbed!”
Closing my eyes again, I hear her soft footsteps disappear into the kitchen. Tifanie scoots closer to me and moves to the floor near my hip. Her hands are rubbing my head softly and with the soothing gesture and her whispered voice, I drift into slumber.
I can’t be awake. I just went to sleep… But I am awake. Something woke me. What is it? Some whisper of a sound in another room woke me. What is it? What time is it?
Opening my eyes, I see that I’m in my childhood bedroom. What am I doing here? We haven’t lived here for fifteen years.
It’s a small house, but Momma always keeps it neat. It’s little, but it’s homey. We’re comfortable here. Momma works hard to keep us in this house. We always have enough food and I always get little trinkets and treasures when I’m a good boy. I try to be a good boy, but kids are mean. I don’t talk to anyone. I keep to myself. I’m different and I get teased a lot.
My eyes are really light blue and my skin is light brown. I’m not white and I’m not black. Kids call me a zebra. I don’t like it, but I just stay quiet and walk away and hope that they’ll leave me alone. They don’t though.
There’s a girl in my class. She’s small and really skinny. She gets picked on too, but she doesn’t just take it. She’s sassy, but she’s nice to me because she’s like me. Her brother takes care of her and she doesn’t have any parents. Her name is Clove. She’s kind of pretty. She talks to me and shares her snacks. I always have a snack, but I don’t really like Froot Loops and I get them almost every day. She usually has an apple or carrot sticks. I like those better, so we share.
Today at school a boy pushed her down at recess because he said I’m her boyfriend and he called me a zebra. I don’t like being called that. It makes me mad when people say it. Momma says people say that when they don’t understand something. She says they are kids and don’t know any better because they weren’t taught the right way. She said I’m perfect and her blessing, but it doesn’t feel like that. I don’t feel like a blessing.
I hear her crying sometimes. I don’t know why but I know something bad happened to her. I’ve heard things people say. I know people are mean to her… because of me.
It’s not fair. She’s a good momma. She takes care of me and loves me. She doesn’t like when people call me names either. I don’t tell her about what happens at school, but sometimes at the store or movies, people point and whisper and say mean things loudly enough that she can hear them.
I don’t like when Momma is sad.
Oh, that’s what I heard… Momma is crying. She has bad dreams. Sometimes, she wakes up screaming and crying, but when I go check on her, she’s not really awake. She’s just crying and fighting the bad man in her nightmares. The man who hurt her.
What is that? Is she talking? What is she saying?
I’m coming, Momma. I’m coming. I’m going to get big and strong and I’m going to stop the bad man from hurting you. I’m going to make the bad man never hurt you again.
I’m going to work really hard and I’m going to protect you from the bad man.
Don’t cry, Momma. I’m coming. I’m going to take care of you.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Tifanie
I’m sitting on the floor in Cruz’s mom’s house while he’s asleep on the couch with a concussion and surrounded by a hell of a mess. This is not how I expected my day to go.
I woke up this morning in a good mood. He was lying next to me after staying at my house last night.
I’ve been thinking about everything that happened this weekend, all day, and then I went to work. And the first call we got today was about him and the man who raped his mom and has been stalking him for a couple of months getting into a fight.
Not that I blame him for the fight. I can’t believe Lucian had the audacity to show up here. But can I really say that? Am I really that surprised about it all?
I know the family he comes from. I know how they operate. The restraining order is a good idea, but I’m going to make a call too. I’m a Bellaforte dammit. I might not use the name in my daily life, but I have it and I’m a part of that family. I can help them because of it and I’m going to use that. For the first time, I’m going to use that.
Ms. Edwards, no, I’m sorry, Corrin comes back in with two cups. She hands me one. “I didn’t know how you took it, so there’s nothing in it. There’s honey, sugar, and Splenda on the counter in the kitchen though.”
I smile. “I take it plain. I like my tea and coffee plain for the most part.” I chuckle. “Well, I like the frou-frou coffees too, but I drink it plain most of the time.”
She smiles softly as she gazes at Cruz, asleep on the couch. He’s so big, he’s hanging off of it, but he’s knocked out. His concussion is going to drain him for a bit as his body tries to repair the brain trauma.
Her sigh breaks my concentration on Cruz and I look at her. She smiles again and her face lights up. I can see the resemblance and I see that Cruz gets his good genes from her. She thanks me again.
I shrug. “It’s not a big deal. Really. I want to be here.”
“I know you do.” Her eyes are centered on me and it alm
ost feels like she’s reading into my soul. “You love my baby.”
Am I going to answer her truthfully? Of course I am. I do love him.
Nodding, I let my gaze trail over him. I’m so glad he’s safe. Still looking at him, I answer her, “Yes, Ma’am. I do. Very much.”
She chuckles. “I wasn’t asking a question.”
Her simple statement makes my head turn.
“I know you love him. Everything you’ve done for him the past few months… he talks about you a lot. More than he realizes… I don’t think he knows what he gives away.”
What? What does she mean? I can’t imagine Cruz talking about me with anyone, even his mom. The confusion on my face makes her grimace.
“Ma’am?”
“No, he doesn’t talk to me about you. He’s a very private man as I’m sure you know. He says a lot with very few words.”
I nod. I get that. He doesn’t open himself up. He has this wall, not a wall, a damn fortress.
She continues as she looks away from Cruz and right at me. “It’s what he doesn’t say that tells me as plain as day that you are good for him. You love him and I love you for loving him. He deserves to be loved. He deserves to be loved by a quality woman who will understand him and give him his space when he needs it. He deserves someone who’s willing to push him and not back down. He’s a stubborn, strong man so he needs an even stronger woman.” She smiles at me. “He has that now… in you.”
I can’t breathe. Cruz’s mom is telling me the things I need to hear. My heart is racing and my throat is tight. “I do love him. I know that. I’ve known that for quite a while. I know I push him, but it’s because I refuse to let him put himself down. I refuse to let him think he’s not worthy… of anything. He’s worthy of everything. He’s an amazing man.
“You have an amazing son. Yes, he’s gorgeous.” Chills race up my spine as I think of his utter beauty. “But, it’s so much more than that. He’s just a good man. He loves his friends. He’s loyal to a fault. He does for those he cares about without the first thought for himself. He’s just amazing.” My voice drifts off.