Rocco

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “Mr. Turner, I’m Nurse Cindy. I’ll be taking over the rest of this shift.” This nurse had a kind smile and actually seemed to care. She wrote her name on the board and then came over to me. “I was told that it’s time for you to get up and walk around. We won’t push it too much since it’s only been a few days since you woke up. I’m sure you’re pretty tired.”

  I nodded, not really having the energy to say or do much else. God, why was I so fucking tired?

  “It’s just going to take time,” she said in understanding, like she could read my mind. “You were very sick and your body is going to need a lot of recovery time. You’re going to want to sleep a lot, and that’s a good thing. It’ll give your body time to heal. But we still need you to get up and move around. It’ll keep your muscles from atrophying.”

  “Sure,” I grumbled as she slipped her arm under me to help me stand. She pushed a walker in front of me and I glared at the object, pissed that I had to use the fucking thing. But when I leaned on it, I felt immediate relief of not having to support myself any longer and decided to go with it. Nurse Cindy was true to her word and didn’t make me walk very far. By the time I was back and went to the bathroom, it felt like bedtime to me.

  Except, when I fell into bed and drifted off, I was constantly woken up by someone coming into the room. I noticed over the past few days that the more I was awake, the shittier my naps were. When I first woke up, it was like I passed out and that was the end of it, but now, I couldn’t manage to stay asleep with all the racket around me. I was tired and fucking crabby, and now that they were backing off on the pain medication, I could feel all the aches and pains from my wound. Luckily, I had been healing when I was out of it. If I hadn’t had that massive infection, I probably would have healed a lot faster.

  When I woke up again, Cap was sitting in my room, typing away on that damn keyboard. I wanted to snatch it from him and throw it out the fucking window, but thought better of it when he looked at me and raised an eyebrow in challenge. I wasn’t exactly in the position to challenge anyone at the moment, so I kept my mouth shut on the subject.

  “When can you get me out of here?”

  “A few more days.”

  “Days?”

  He stared me down in annoyance. “You were septic. If the doctor says you need to stay for a few more days, then you stay for a few more days.”

  “Can’t they just transfer me closer to home?” I grumbled.

  “No.”

  He didn’t even bother to look at me as he made that decision. Apparently, the subject was closed. I laid there for a few more minutes, completely bored out of my skull. If this was the way the next few days were going to go, I was fucked.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Brooke

  “He’s coming home today?” I asked Sebastian in excitement.

  “Yes, but I have to warn you, he’s in a really pissy mood.”

  “Hey, I can deal with that. I’ve been taking care of a toddler for weeks. This should be a cakewalk for me.”

  I heard him snort over the phone. “Yeah, keep telling yourself that.”

  “Well, what do I need to do for him being home?”

  “Not a whole lot.”

  “Well, what about food?”

  “He’s not really eating a whole lot,” Sebastian said. “Apparently, this is just something that happens when you recover from septicemia. He doesn’t do a whole lot but sleep. The most important thing is that you make sure he gets up every once in a while and move around. Take a shower when he feels up to it. But I have to warn you, if he could lay in bed all day, he would.”

  “I don’t care what he does, as long as he’s home.”

  “I knew this would work,” Sebastian said. I could hear the laughter in his voice.

  “Knew what would work?”

  “The whole house arrest thing.”

  “You set that up on purpose?”

  “Of course. When Sinner told me that Rocco was on the run with a woman, I knew that whoever that woman was, she had to be really fucking special.”

  I stared at the floor a minute, trying to understand what he was saying.

  “I’m not sure I follow. How did you get all that from him being on the run.”

  “Rocco has never chased any woman. And ever since Evie came into his life, he hasn’t really been seeing anyone. His daughter always came first. The fact that he took you on, knowing it was going to be a pain in the ass, shows that he saw something in you from the start. I figured that given some time, he would see it too.”

  “So…”

  “So we all fucking knew it as soon as he called. It was clear to us, even before he fucking knew it.”

  That was interesting. “Hey, can I ask you a question?”

  “Of course.”

  “Um…this whole club that the guys all say they belong to…is there one for the women?”

  He snorted. “We’ll see you in a few hours.”

  He hung up without another word. Well, that seemed a little unfair. If there was a club for men, there should definitely be one for the women. I got to work, making sure everything was just right for when Rocco arrived. After three weeks of not seeing him, but knowing that he could very well die, my nerves were practically shot. I wasn’t sure how I was going to react to seeing him. I didn’t want to be one of those weepy women that cried at the drop of a hat, but I also didn’t want to seem aloof. Plus, the fact was, I was just the woman that he loved, but there was a little girl that meant way more to him than I ever would.

  When the truck pulled up to the house, I stared out the window, not really able to move. Evie was in my arms, and when she saw her daddy get out of the truck, she started squealing and pushing away from me to get down. I let her go, but held her back as Derek and Hunter helped Rocco through the snow to the house. He looked like shit. I mean, knowing what he had gone through, I completely understood it, but I kind of wondered why they let him out of the hospital.

  I opened the door and smiled when I saw Rocco, but he just looked exhausted and barely spared me a glance as he walked through the door. Evie pouted as he walked past, obviously wanting to see her daddy.

  Derek scooped her up in his arms and started tickling her and playing with her. Then he started explaining that Daddy had a boo-boo and we had to be really careful with him. She nodded along seriously, but when he set her down, she took off from the room and then I heard a groan in pain. I winced and chased after her, hoping she hadn’t done too much damage. By the time I got there, Hunter was already pulling the bedroom door shut and ushering Evie out of the room. I caught just a glimpse of Rocco before the door closed.

  “It was a rough drive. He just needs some sleep,” Hunter assured me.

  “Oh, okay. Should I do anything?”

  “Nope. He’ll be fine.”

  “Okay. What if he’s in pain?”

  “I’ll show you all his meds.” Hunter motioned for me to follow him into the kitchen and showed me what all his pills were and when he should take them, reminding me not to let Evie anywhere near them. I kind of figured that one out on my own.

  They turned for the door and I panicked. “Wait! You can’t just leave me here alone. I barely took care of a toddler for three weeks. I can’t manage a toddler and a sick person! I don’t know what I’m doing. Someone’s going to end up dead!”

  Hunter quirked an eyebrow at me and strolled back over, snatching my phone off the counter and entering his number. “If you need anything, just call. I’m not that far from here.”

  “Okay,” I nodded to myself.

  “Relax, it’ll be fine.”

  When they left, I stood in the house, staring at the bedroom door and wondering what the hell I had just gotten myself into.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  After I had Evie down for the night, I snuck into Rocco’s room and climbed onto the other side of the bed. I wasn’t sure that it was a good idea. I mean, what if I bumped him in the middle of the night or something?
But I was so tired, and after weeks of worrying, I finally had him back with me. It was hard enough to not be near him, but then to be responsible for Evie on top of that, and trying not to freak her out with my constant worrying, it was impossible.

  I slipped under the covers and inched my hand closer to his, slowly linking our fingers together. I felt him squeeze them slightly and he stirred, moving his head in my direction. His eyes slowly blinked open and a small grin split his lips.

  “Now, that’s the face I should have woken up to in the hospital.”

  I grinned back at him and leaned over to brush a kiss across his lips. “I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “You are?” I nodded. “Well, that’s good. I would hate for the woman I love to not really be that concerned that I almost died.”

  “Well, the woman you love is feeling pretty shitty right now.”

  “Why?”

  “Because she didn’t tell you that she loved you when she had the chance. It kind of felt like a bad omen.”

  “Yeah? Well, maybe she’ll have to find some way to make it up to me.”

  I put on a serious face and nodded. “I’m sure sexual favors will be offered. I can speak with her agent, make sure it’s in the contract.”

  “You’d do that for me? That’s awfully kind.”

  I shrugged slightly. “I do what I can.”

  “So, how’s Evie been?”

  “Well, I think I did a bad job of reassuring her that you were okay. She was pretty upset that you were gone so long.”

  “She gets like that every time I go on a job. It’s not you.”

  “What happened?”

  He chuckled slightly. “It’s actually a funny story.”

  “Really? I’d love to hear it then.”

  “The job was going fine. We were almost out when a bullet hit my vest.”

  My chest seized up and I stopped breathing. “That doesn’t sound very funny.”

  “The bullet didn’t go through. Now, I can’t promise you that you’re going to want to stay with me after you hear what happened. You may decide to leave me.”

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  “The bullet knocked me back and I tripped over something. I fell on a spike from some farm equipment.”

  I stared at him in shock. “You…impaled yourself with farm equipment?”

  “See? I told you you might not want to be with me.”

  “I suppose we could rework the story into something more…heroic. I’ll talk with the guys. I’m sure we can come up with a better story.”

  “I would appreciate that. My man card is in jeopardy.”

  “I’m sure. So, how did you get out of there?”

  He yawned and shook his head. “Very carefully.”

  He motioned me closer, but I was hesitant. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

  “It’s healing fine. You won’t hurt me.”

  Against my better judgement, I scooted closer and snuggled into his uninjured side. I felt his hand brush against my skin and then drop to the bed. The light sounds of his breathing filled the air and I drifted off to sleep.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  10 am the next morning…

  “Hunter, something’s wrong. I need you to come over here.”

  “What’s going on?”

  “I don’t know. He won’t wake up. He’s just lying there. I think he’s dead,” I shouted hysterically.

  “He’s not dead. Go in there and check his pulse.”

  “I can’t check his pulse with his daughter here!”

  “I’m not asking you to give him a blow job. Just go over and feel for a pulse.”

  I crept into the room and stared at Rocco’s limp form. Evie was in the living room, completely enthralled with her television show, so I didn’t need to worry about her right now. I pressed my hand against his neck and waited.

  “There’s nothing. Oh my God! I killed him. He’s really dead!”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Hunter hung up and I sank to the floor, crying hysterically. It was only a minute or two later that Hunter burst through the door and ran over to Rocco’s side, checking his pulse that I knew wasn’t there and lifting his eyelids. Hunter turned back to me, but I couldn’t really see through the tears streaming from my eyes. He walked over to me and picked me up, carrying me out of the room.

  “Oh God, he’s really dead,” I cried into his shoulder. If he was carrying me out of the room, that meant that Rocco was dead and they needed me out of the room. I felt Hunter plop me down on the counter and he shoved some tissues at me.

  “He’s not dead.”

  I stopped crying immediately and wiped at my eyes. “He’s not?”

  “No, he’s not. He’s just sleeping heavily. What pills did you give him last night?”

  “The ones you showed me.”

  “And this morning?”

  “The same ones.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “Yes, I grabbed two from the blue bottle and one from the-”

  Hunter burst out laughing and shook his head. “It’s the other way around. You didn’t kill him, but you sedated him pretty heavily.”

  “Oh shit!”

  “It’s okay. Just don’t keep doing that. As much as he’s probably grateful for the extra sleep, he kind of needs those antibiotics still.”

  I slapped a hand over my mouth and cried out. “I can’t believe this. I told you that I couldn’t take care of him. I knew this would happen! Why did you leave him here with me?”

  “Relax. He’s fine. I’ll write a number on the cap so that you can’t mess up how many to give him.”

  “You need to take him. I’m a terrible nurse. I’ll probably sink him in hot water and pop open his stitches or something.”

  “He doesn’t have any stitches anymore. The only thing he needs are the right meds and sleep. You can’t really fuck that up. Well, not any more than you already have.”

  “This is a bad idea.”

  “So you’ve said.”

  He walked for the door, leaving me alone again. “What are you doing? Shouldn’t you stay here and monitor him?”

  “No, he’s fine.”

  “But how can you be sure?”

  “Because I am.”

  “But how can you-”

  “Brooke, you’re a smart woman. I’m sure it’ll be fine.”

  7am the next day…

  “Hunter, you need to come over here right now. Something’s wrong with Rocco.”

  “Is he alive?”

  “Well, yes, but-”

  “Then don’t worry about it.”

  “But you don’t even-”

  “Brooke, I promise you, he’s fine.”

  “Just listen,” I shouted, holding the phone up to the bathroom door. Rocco was in the bathroom where he’d been for the last half hour, groaning and moaning in pain. “Do you hear that? He’s in pain and I don’t know what to do for him.”

  “Alright,” he grumbled. “I’ll be right there.”

  I nodded to myself and knocked on the door. “Rocco?”

  “Go away,” he moaned.

  “Um…Hunter’s on his way here-”

  “Why the fuck did you call him?”

  “Because you sound like you’re dying and I didn’t know what to do!”

  Hunter walked into the house a minute later with a quirked eyebrow and a pissy look on his face. So, this may have been the fourth time that I called him since he came over yesterday. I wanted to be sure that Rocco was okay. So sue me. Rocco let out a loud groan and Hunter shoved past me into the bathroom.

  “Get out, fucker,” Rocco grumbled.

  Hunter shut the door in my face and I paced the hall, trying not to let it all get to me. It took three minutes and twenty-seven seconds, but Hunter finally came out again.

  “Well?”

  “He’s fine. Just like I said.”

  “If he’s fine, then why is he in pain?”

  “Digestive issues.” />
  I stared at him a moment. “What?”

  “Pain medication can make you constipated. His intestines were nicked when he was injured. There are certain foods that can make digestion more complicated when your intestines are recovering. So, he’s dealing with that now.”

  “Oh my God! I did this to him?”

  “You didn’t do anything. He knew what he wasn’t supposed to eat. The fucker did it to himself.”

  “So, he’s going to be fine?”

  “As soon as he’s finished in there, he’ll be fine.”

  I leaned heavily against the wall and sighed.

  Hunter walked past me, but stopped at the end of the hallway. “Brooke, I really like you, but I would prefer not to hear from you for at least a day.”

  And with that, he turned and walked out of the house.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Rocco

  “Rocco, someone’s here to see you,” Brooke said in a sing-song voice.

  I opened my eyes and rolled over to see Brooke holding Evie on her hip. She looked so fucking natural standing there. Well, besides the fact that Evie had duct tape all over her. I had no fucking clue what that was about. I pushed myself up and waved Brooke closer, but the thought of dealing with a two year old right now was just as exhausting as actually doing it. Evie was a little ball of energy and I had none to give.

  Evie practically jumped out of Brooke’s arms and onto my lap. I grunted from the impact and tried not to complain at the pain that shot through me. Evie didn’t know any better and telling her that she was hurting me wouldn’t do much good.

  “How’s my little peanut?”

  “Good. Daddy, you get up and pway?”

  “Not yet, baby. Daddy’s tired.”

  “Maybe you could take a shower,” Brooke suggested.

  “Maybe later. I need a nap,” I said, trying to stifle a yawn.

  “Yeah, but the doctor said that you had to keep getting up.”

  “Brooke, I know what the doctor said. He also said that my body needed to rest, so that’s what I’m doing.”