The doctor swallowed hard and nodded. He left then, and Vinnie dispersed the crowd. He went into the office and waited for the inevitable.
Antonio stared at Anna. He had wanted her too much. God was punishing him for his lust. He had probably already taken his child from him and now his Anna.
Antonio had never gotten a chance to get to know her. He had such intense feelings for her. Maybe he should have let her go to the hospital.
No, her place was here. He couldn’t protect her if she weren’t here, by him. She would get better, and he would see to it that she adjusted here. She was only tired. After she rested, she would be fine.
His thoughts drifted, and he saw them carrying her to the cemetery out behind the house. He didn’t want to lose her. He took off his shirt and trousers and lay down with her. Her bed was so tiny. He held her close so neither of them would fall out of the bed.
He fell asleep quickly already used to sleeping next to her.
Chapter 17
Antonio woke in the morning with the first rays of sunlight. He looked down at Anna. He could only see the back of her head. She was lying on his chest. He felt her hand on his stomach. That was how he had positioned her when he woke a few hours ago to check on her.
He stared at her rounded back. He watched closely to see if she was breathing. Her back slowly raised and sunk again. She was alive. She had made it through the night, and she would make it through the day too.
Antonio inched his way out from under her. He laid her head gently on the pillow. He kissed her cheek before he went off to shower and shave, wanting to look nice for her when she woke up.
She still hadn’t moved when he came back. He sat down and stared at her. Was she breathing or not? He found her pulse and held his hand over her mouth to feel the air moving there. She was doing fine.
There was a knock on the door, and he rose to answer the door himself. The doctor had been wrong, and he was right.
“Good morning, doctor.” Antonio stepped aside so the doctor could enter.
The doctor slowly did. He didn’t like the idea of being alone with Antonio in a room. He had thought about what had happened last night. The doctor had been awake all night, turning the events from yesterday over and over in his head. Antonio must be very disturbed and loco. “How is she?”
“She’s still sleeping,” Antonio answered.
The doctor checked her pulse and listened to her heart. She was alive and stronger than last night. She could pull through. “Has she woken at all yet?” He wanted to sound as positive as he could so the young man wouldn’t be displeased with him.
“Not yet. She is still very tired. It was a very long trip to get here. She needs a couple of days to adjust to the new climate.”
“Yes, something like that can take weeks sometimes even months. She needs lots of time,” the doctor agreed with him. If she did wake up, the boss needed to understand that she would be weak. Too weak for beatings or anything else he did with her.
“I think I need to get her undressed and have a closer look at her bones. Should we call for a woman to help?” the doctor asked him.
“No, I’ll help you.” Antonio lifted his Anna gently into his arms.
The girl wasn’t conscience. When he moved her, she looked like a rag doll even though he was being so careful, the doctor thought.
Antonio opened her dress and tugged it down over her shoulders. He let the fabric lie around her waist.
The doctor checked her back. She had several bruises but not as bad as he thought. They were fresh, definitely from the fall last night. He felt along her arms and ribs, checking for broken bones.
He had Antonio move her so he could check the other side. More fresh bruises, he guessed that none if the bones were broken, but he couldn’t be sure. He checked her legs. She had been very lucky. He didn’t dare check her hips.
The gossip in the village had said that he had beaten her black and blue. That didn’t seem to be the case. He couldn’t see any signs of abuse other than the single bruise on her cheek.
Obviously, she had hit her head soundly. He found a couple of bumps. “She may have to throw up when she wakes up. She probably will. I will leave medicine for her. She will be in a lot of pain then. Call me. I have to ask her questions to be on the safe side. My biggest worry is internal bleeding. If she doesn’t wake up soon . . .” The doctor let his voice drift off, picturing them burying the young girl who was too young to be finished with life. “Someone should sit with her. I need to know if she wakes up, even if she only wakes for a minute.”
“I’ll do that,” Antonio offered right away. She should see him first when she woke up. She would see that he was taking care of her. No matter what kind of stupid stuff she did. He still held her in his arms. As soon as the doctor left, he would remove her bra and change her into a pajama then. Maybe she would wake up for him then.
“I’ll tell the cook about her meal plan for the next week, and then we can see from there.” The doctor was worried about the poor girl. “She needs lots of rest. She shouldn’t stand up and she’ll only be able to sit up only with lots of help.” He looked over at the girl. It would probably have been better for her if she had died. The rumors about the boss man were horrendous. “Call me as soon as she wakes up.” He left.
Antonio opened her bra, and her breasts hung freely. She was so beautiful. He let his hands roam over her softness for a while and then he laid her down and got her pajamas. He had never had to take care of someone who was sick before.
Antonio wanted to rise to the challenge. His Anna could have it so good with him, if only . . .
He sat down and waited for Vinnie to show up. He knew that Vinnie didn’t approve of Anna. Antonio couldn’t explain it himself, but he wanted to keep her. He wanted to talk to her and touch her and make love to her.
Chapter 18
Vinnie answered the phone.
It was Emilio, Antonio’s father. He was only calling to check in, he claimed, but when Vinnie told him he was alone and that no one else could hear him, Emilio demanded to know who this Anna was, and why she thought that she was going to be marrying his son.
Vinnie explained that the girl probably had no interest in marrying him. He told Emilio, his childhood friend, everything he knew. He ended it by saying that some men like to hurt women for no reason. Maybe Antonio was one of those men.
That was hard for Emilio to take. This wasn’t the life he had wanted for his son. He would be there this evening.
Great, Vinnie thought, as he hung up the phone. All hell was breaking loose. He got up to inform the staff that the big boss was on his way. He went up to Anna’s room so he could speak with Antonio.
“Come in.” Antonio called over his shoulder when he heard a knock on Anna’s door.
Vinnie stepped in and found Antonio holding Anna’s hand. He didn’t appear to be blinking as he stared at her. Vinnie had never seen Antonio go near anyone who was sick or laid up. Antonio wasn’t known for his compassion.
He couldn’t figure the kid out lately. He had never raised a hand to a woman before. Why now, and why so harshly?
The girl must hate him. She looked terrible. Her face was bruised her lip had been bleeding. What could she have done to deserve a beating like that? He had seen women who had been unfaithful looking better than she did after their husbands were through with them.
“How is she?” Vinnie asked him.
“She’s doing a lot better, but the doctor said it will take a while for her to get back on her feet. She needs me just now. You have to take care of the plantation today. I trust you.”
The girl didn’t look as if she needed anyone except maybe a priest for the last rights. She couldn’t even tell that they were in the room with her.
Damn, he’d killed her. She wasn’t going to pull through. Getting rid of her wouldn’t be a problem, but the kid had told Francesco about her. It had gotten out of control.
“Your father is very worried about her. He
is on the way.” Vinnie was curious how he would react to that.
Antonio nodded. He didn’t take his eyes off of Anna.
Vinnie left. He had never seen Antonio like this before. He was worried that the kid had cracked.
The problem was that Vinnie loved him as if he were his own son. His own marriage wasn’t that great. They had no children, which was a blessing in their case.
Vinnie knew all about controlling a wayward wife, but little Anna never said or did anything. He thought that she was boring. She wasn’t like Antonio’s normal girlfriends who were flashy look-at-me types.
Anna had been pretty that first day, but that seemed like years ago.
Chapter 19
It was getting dark, and Anna still hadn’t woken up. Antonio felt that he had gambled and lost. Why did every pore of his body tell him to leave her exactly where she was? Going to the hospital was obviously the appropriate action to take, but his instincts screamed to him that he shouldn’t.
She hadn’t had anything to drink in so long that her lips were dry and cracked. The doctor had set up a drip for her, but she still didn’t move, not even when she wet the bed.
Señora Raposa had changed her and the bedding every time that happened. She cleaned her up and left.
Anna didn’t respond at all. Antonio wouldn’t let go of her hand at all anymore. He had a feeling that she wasn’t going to make it now too.
Antonio hummed to her. He was ready to let her go now. He hoped that she would stay asleep and feel no pain in her passing. Tears were flowing down his cheeks.
She had given him a look in the clearing as if she expected him to kill her, and now he finally had. He had punished her for things that weren’t her fault because he had still been mad at his previous girlfriend. When he thought about her, he squeezed Anna’s hand too hard.
She tried to pull it away from him. She was crying. He let go and stroked her hair back. She was rolling around slightly as if she were trying to fight off a terrible weight or push someone away. She opened her eyes and looked at him. The tears burnt as they rolled down her face. “What happened?” She was shaking and reaching for him.
“You fell down the stairs,” he told her. He took her hand.
“Really? And it was so much work to get up them,” she said to herself, but he had heard her.
He rubbed her hand. “How do you feel?”
“I really don’t feel good at all,” she admitted.
“Do you have to throw up?” he asked.
She cried, and nodded.
Antonio got out a bowl from under the bed that he was keeping ready for this moment. He sat on the bed with her and held her hair back. He could feel the shaking getting worse.
She cried until she was finally able to throw up. It wasn’t much, but she was glad to be rid of it. Stomach acid was still coming up. She could hear him praising her. He wasn’t mad at her because she fell or because she was throwing up. She had expected that he would be.
When she was finished, she leaned back into his chest. He set the bowl aside and kissed her head. The doctor had been right her head was full of bumps. He imagined her falling alone and being scared, and hitting her head on every step. He wrapped his arm around her waist.
“Let’s get you cleaned up.” He picked her up in his arms and set her down on the counter next to the sink. She leaned back against the mirror.
Antonio got a washcloth out of the drawer and got it wet. He cleaned up her mouth and chin. Then he helped her wash out her mouth and helped her go to the bathroom. He praised her the entire time. He got her back into bed, and she was exhausted.
This was his chance to call the doctor, he thought as he plugged her drip back into the wall.
“I’ll be right back.” He left the door open as he looked down into the courtyard. The servants were lined up. His father was arriving. He barked down the order to call the doctor before he went back to Anna.
“I’ll be gone for a few minutes, baby, but I will be back. Here is your bowl just in case. I’ll hurry.” He kissed her head before he left her.
He went down to greet his father. The greeting was different than usual. It was colder.
The doctor came in a few minutes later and Antonio left his father and hurried up to Anna with the doctor.
“She woke up?” the doctor asked surprised. He wasn’t sure if that was good news or bad news. “You cut it very close young lady.” He checked her vitals. They weren’t good, but they were okay. “I want you to stay in bed the next couple of days, and you will get a very bland diet until your stomach gets back to normal.”
Anna debated telling him about the problems she’d had as a young child. She’d had terrible stomachaches and had always vomited easily. Would that get her into trouble, or could he help her? She didn’t muster up the nerve to tell him.
“Where does it hurt?” the doctor asked her.
Her hand went to her head. “I feel dizzy,” she admitted.
“Yes, that was quite a fall. Where else does it hurt?”
She wasn’t going to admit that her backside was hurting. “I’m sore all over, but my head hurts the worse.”
“Make sure she stays in bed. I will be back in the morning. If anything happens, call me back sooner,” the doctor whispered to him.
Antonio appeared to be truly worried.
Anna was so confused and tired. She quickly fell asleep again. Antonio was holding her hand.
Chapter 20
There was a knock on the door. Antonio called ‘come in’ over his shoulder. He nodded at his father as he entered.
Emilio walked to the bed and gazed at the sleeping girl lying on it. He couldn’t tell if she were pretty or not. He saw a very pale face.
Emilio was a little disappointed. He had expected a real looker, but this girl was plain, nothing more.
He sat down on the bed and looked at his son who was holding the girl’s hand. “Antonio, what is going on here?”
“Anna fell down the stairs, I’m helping her. She needs me just now.”
“Some think you pushed her. Is that true?” Emilio asked carefully.
“No, she fell. I was nowhere near her when it happened.” Antonio gave his father a look that he had never given him before.
“Watch it, son,” his father warned him. “Don’t forget who you are dealing with. I have been getting reports that you kidnapped her, beat her, and then you announce that you will marry her. You asked her, and she said yes?”
“I told her,” Antonio confessed.
“And she agreed?” He dug deeper.
“She has yet to comment about it. It doesn’t matter anyway. She will be my wife as soon as she is feeling better. The doctor said she has to get used to the climate. That might take a couple of weeks.”
“And when she starts feeling better, you are going to dress her in a white dress and pull her to the altar?” his father demanded to know.
“I will marry her, even if I have to bribe the Priest. I feel that she belongs to me.”
“Why her? Why not someone who wants you too?” Emilio asked, thinking that his son sounded crazy.
“She will want me back eventually. When she is good, I’ll spoil her. She’ll like being with me.”
“And if she doesn’t clean her plate, then what?”
“I won’t let her play with me like the others did. She won’t make a fool of me. I will be strict with her, but I will be good to her too.” Antonio wanted his father to know that she didn’t make him weak. The truth was that she made him stronger.
“Why her?”
“When she smiles . . .” Antonio smiled, thinking about Anna’s smile. “Never mind, but I want her and no other. This is not up for discussion.”
“Of course it is. We can talk about anything. I have always told you that. I still mean it. You want her; I understand that. How do you plan to get her to the altar with Francesco giving her away? She could tell him all kinds of things if she wanted to get away. Francesco is very fond
of her.”
“I’ll threaten to kill him if she does. She doesn’t want anyone to get hurt. She is very nice. Once you get to know her, you’ll see.”
“Antonio, you are talking like a madman. You kidnapped her and beat her. She will never want you.”
“She was a virgin. I am the only man she knows. She could be pregnant with my child right now. I have to take care of her. I have a responsibility for her.”
“Son, you are talking as if you’re not right in the head anymore.” Emilio laid his hand on his son’s shoulder for a moment before he left and went to Vinnie to get more information about her.
Chapter 21
Antonio stayed by Anna as much as he could. He had made it his goal to get her to smile again. He smiled at her every time she smiled at him, but it was always forced. Her smiles weren’t like the one she had given him on the street.
It wasn’t easy for her. Señora Raposa came by and talked to her a couple of times every day, but she only spoke in Spanish. It sounded as if she were scolding her. If Antonio came by, her tone changed completely, and she smiled at Anna.
Antonio came and went all day. The doctor also came by once a day, but for the most part she was very lonely. She wasn’t allowed out of bed.
Antonio had been feeding her as if she were a baby. Baby, that was a big word for him. He wanted to know when she’d had her last period. She cried saying she didn’t know anymore. She couldn’t concentrate.
He didn’t press the point. He was being very kind to her, and he hadn’t hurt her in any way.
Antonio was being Dr. Jekyll, but Mr. Hyde was right around the corner.
One day when she woke from her nap, she saw a man sitting next to her bed who she didn’t know. She tried to sit up, but she couldn’t yet. She suffered from headaches and her muscles were still sore and tight from the fall. Antonio always leaned her against his chest when she had to sit.
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