“Are you good at winning prizes, Nick?” Ava asked happily. Sam turned around and sat back in her seat properly.
Nick looked at Sam before he looked at Ava through the rearview mirror. “I’m really good at winning prizes. When your aunt was a teenager, she had a collection of stuffed animals I won for her.” The traffic was beginning to open up and he let go of Sam’s hand reluctantly, shifting the truck into drive.
“Do you still have the prizes, Aunt Sam?” Ava asked, curious and Nick couldn’t help but wonder too. Sam pushed her sunglasses down from the top of her head, and shielded her eyes.
“Of course not, that was a long time ago, sweetie.” And just like that the temperature grew cold again in the confined car. Nick sighed and turned the radio louder, keeping his eyes firmly on the road, hoping it wouldn’t be long until the softer side of Sam, emerged again.
* * * * * *
Luke lifted his shirt up over his abdomen and looked away as the doctor injected him with one of three injections he needed in order to donate the marrow to Jake. Leah had warned him that it would be more painful in the stomach, still it was the most effective and Luke was all about results. He looked over at Jake, who hooked up to a huge machine that was filtering his blood, or at least that’s what he thought it was doing.
He couldn’t have been sure, since they had arrived at the hospital everything had been a blur for Luke. He hissed out a breath as the doctor finished with his task. He sighed and sat down, preparing himself for the rest of the process.
“Jake, we’re ready for you now,” said a nurse, with an inviting smile. Jake glanced up and stared at her blankly for a minute. They all looked at him the same, like they pitied him and envied him all at the same time. He nodded towards her before turning in his seat to face Cara. She took both of his hands in hers, squeezing them ever so tightly. She leaned her forehead against his and peered at him from under the fringe of her eyelashes.
“I’ll be waiting for you, baby.” She untangled one of her hands from his and lifted it to his face, with the back of her hand she softly caressed the slight stubble that emerged along his jaw. “I love you.” She whispered and he closed his eyes, relishing in the way the words sounded from her lips. She was his heaven on earth. When he opened his eyes, he leaned forward and pressed his lips against hers softly.
“I love you more than anything, Cara.” He said huskily between kisses. When he reluctantly began to pull away from her, she grabbed his face, and cradled it in the palms of her hands.
“September nineteenth.” She said as she stared into his eyes. He furrowed his brows and tried to rack his brain for what was on September nineteenth. Surely, it wasn’t an anniversary or a birthday. He’d remember that.
“What?” He asked cautiously, praying he hadn’t forgotten an important date. Shit, why couldn’t he place that date.
“It’s the day you’re going to marry me.” She smiled. “I thought I’d let you know.” She winked at him and then dropped her hands, letting him process that she had set a date for their nuptials. “Go get yourself well because I have big plans for you Jake Lanza.”
Jake stood up and felt as if his legs wouldn’t work. She had set a date. His heart was heavy as he stared at the nurse. A vision of Cara walking down the aisle flashed in his head, and he closed his eyes, hoping to cement the image of her, dressed as his bride, to his mind. Slowly, he opened his eyes, and with newfound courage, he turned to Cara. He bent down and pressed his lips to her forehead. “I can’t wait.” He whispered.
* * * * * *
Nick crouched down over the toy rifle and aimed it at the clown’s mouth. He glanced to his left and then to his right, sizing up the competition. Sam rolled her eyes as she watched him from the sidelines. She already had a huge stuffed animal tucked under each arm, but Ava had set her sights on the large pink unicorn that loomed over Nick’s head. The buzzer sounded and the race was on to see who’s balloon filled with water quickest.
“Go Nick! Go!” Shouted Ava, from beside Sam, she looked up at her aunt, her face covered with powdered sugar from the Fried Oreos they had consumed. “Do you think he’ll win?” She asked hopefully, and Sam looked over at Nick as the bell rang signaling there had been a winner. By the smug look on his face as his hands released his weapon, Sam expected they would be adding the unicorn to their list of conquests.
“He did it!!!” Ava ran into Nick and wrapped her arms around his waist. Sam watched him bend down and lift Ava in his arms as if she weighed nothing at all. The attendant handed her the unicorn and she hugged both the toy and the man who had won it for her, with all her might. Watching Nick with a child, did something to her, it chipped away at the walls around her heart. He was a natural, and for the briefest of moments she allowed herself to picture the fantasy of them with a family of their own. It was a dream she had put to rest the minute she came home from Seattle, but still a dream that played heavily in her head for some time.
Seeing Nick with Ava when she was a baby had provoked the dream originally, and seeing him with her now, resurrected the dream.
“Samantha!” Nick said, waving his hand in front of her face. She jumped at the use of her full name and shook her thoughts from her head.
“What?” She said trying to recover. Nick placed Ava down gently on her feet and rose to his full height. He lifted her chin with the tip of his finger and stared at her. The sun was beating down on his tanned body. He had on a white wife beater tank top that showcased every ridge of his muscular arms and shoulders. There was the slightest hint of sweat on his brow and he squinted as he studied her face.
“You okay?” He asked. Just the way he looked at her had her body temperature rising.
“I’m fine.” She put her poker face on and shoved one of the oversized stuffed animals into his chest. “It’s your turn to carry one of these monstrosities.” A moan escaped the back of her throat and she cringed when she realized it was just as audible to him as it had been to her. His chest was solid as a rock, and she yearned to run her fingers along it. He smiled slightly and threw one of his arms around her shoulders, tucking her snugly against his body.
“Why don’t we go on a few more rides, before we head back to the hotel and grab something for dinner?” He said, as his fingertips moved in a circular motion around her bare shoulder. One simple touch sent tingles straight down to her core. Ava looked up at them, still hugging the unicorn that was almost as big as she.
“Can we go on the Crazy Mouse again? Please? Pretty Please!!” She begged and looked up at the two adult’s doe-eyed. Sam nudged her hip against Nick’s, hoping she was affecting him the same way he was affecting her.
“I don’t know, Nick, what do you say?” She bit her lip as he dropped his hand from her shoulder. She shouldn’t have cared, but she couldn’t help feeling the loss. He wrapped his arms around her waist, taking her by surprise and leaned his chin on her shoulder, where his hand had been. He squeezed her slightly and smiled down at Ava.
“Let’s do it!” He said, and she shivered in his arms, his breath grazing her shoulder. She watched Ava dance around them happily before Nick released Sam and took one of Ava’s hands in his. She stood there as if her feet were tied to cinder blocks. Nick walked hand in hand with Ava a few steps ahead of her. He paused and looked over his shoulder at her, cocking one of his brows at her. “Are you coming, Samantha?”
If she wasn’t completely unraveled by his nonchalant touches, the use of her full name was enough to take her over the edge. When he winked at her and grinned at her knowingly. She grimaced, so maybe she wasn’t immune to Nick Foti, at least not as much as she thought.
* * * * * *
Luke was resting his eyes, in the darkness of his hospital room. They had extracted his bone marrow a while ago, and he was very weak and extremely tired. A knock sounded from his door, and when he opened his eyes, his mother poked her head inside of the room.
“Luke, are you awake?” She asked softly.
He tried
to sit up, but all he managed was to lift his head slightly off his pillow. “Is it over?” He whispered hoarsely.
Deb stepped into the room and made her way to the foot of her eldest son’s bed. Her face was drained but she managed a smile. “Just about, he’s still hooked up to the machines, but your blood is being pumped through him.”
Jake closed his eyes and nodded slightly. “Good. That’s good.” He let out a heavy breath.
“How are you feeling?” Deb asked him as she moved to the side of his bed. “Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable?”
“I’m fine, I’m just tired.”
“You look very pale, but Leah said that was to be expected.” She eyed the IV that dripped nutrients into his veins. “I’ll let you rest. I just wanted to check on you.”
“Stop worrying about me. I’m going to be fine.” He smiled slightly. “So is Jake.”
Deb leaned down and kissed his cheek softly. “Thanks to you.” It was all Luke needed to hear, before he closed his eyes and drifted into sleep.
* * * * * *
Nick cranked his neck from side to side, working out the tension in his muscles. He lifted his tank top, and discarded it fluidly with one hand. He leaned back, once his chest was bare, and cracked his back, he wondered if he could persuade Sam, to give him a back rub. He laughed out loud, that was definitely a stretch. They had, had a great day, but asking her to give him a massage was pushing it. He had chipped away at some of the ice, but hadn’t completely melted the ice queen.
He glanced over at the bedroom door, and pondered if she would join him for a little while. She was tucking Ava in for the night, and he hoped she hadn’t decided to tuck herself away too. His phone rang from inside his pocket. It was probably Luke with an update on the transplant. They hadn’t heard anything, except from a text Sam, had received from her mom, saying it went well. He reached for his phone without even glancing at the caller ID.
“Hello?” He said, holding the phone to his ear with his shoulder.
“So you are alive, well that’s good to know.”
Nick rolled his eyes as his shoulders slumped. Apparently not only did his mother have a flair for the dramatics, but his father as well. He was not in the mood for the bellowing voice that belonged to Nick Foti Sr.
“I’m sure you would’ve heard if I died.” Nick said curtly into the phone and walked towards the window that overlooked the ocean.
“I’ve been calling you for weeks, son. I’m starting to get the feeling you are ignoring me.”
“What could I do for you dad?” Nick said, hoping his father would get to the point so he could hang up on him and figure a way to block his calls.
“Well, for starters, you can stop playing grease monkey and get your ass back to the office. I have a major development deal in the works.”
Nick set his jaw, agitated with his father’s derogatory remarks regarding his career.
“I thought I made myself clear, when I left that I wasn’t interested in any future deals.” He ground his teeth as the anger began to settle in.
“You were serious about that?” His father asked incredulously. “You’re going to throw away a million dollar deal so that you can play with cars?”
“Do you like what you do, Dad?” Nick asked his father.
“Of course I do. Who doesn’t like making money? Forget I asked, apparently you don’t.”
“I do just fine for myself and I’m happy where I am. I’m not going back to Seattle.” Nick said firmly. His father had exactly ten seconds before he ended the call.
“What about the tart you left me here with? I’m just supposed to keep her under payroll? She barely knows how to send a fax!” The eldest Foti, roared into the phone.
“Erica? She’ll manage. Do whatever you have to do.” Nick said and shook his head, wishing he could erase the mistakes he made in Seattle. There wasn’t an eraser big enough though. “Look Dad, I’ve got to go. I’ll call you if I change my mind.”
“Just think it over. You were good with the business. You really are a natural. Don’t throw it away.” He paused and Nick was about to hang up the phone when his father began again. “Your mother was right, whatever or whoever is in that town has some hold on you.”
Nick had heard enough, the minute his mother was mentioned, he cringed. He ended the call without saying goodbye. When he turned around Sam was standing in the center of the room. Great, just fucking great.
“Sam…” He started as he swiped his hand over his face. How much had she heard?
“Don’t mind me. I left my charger on the table.” She said as she hurried towards the other end of the room to grab her phone charger.
His patience was running thin and when she started for the bedroom without uttering a word to him, he cracked. “Can you just stop, skirting around every issue that seems to tick at your nerves?” She stopped mid stride but didn’t turn to face him. He let out a strangled breath. “I know you heard part of my conversation. Instead of acting as if you and I didn’t have one of hell of a good time today, and putting on the face of disgust, ask whatever questions you want to ask. Yell if you want, but don’t, fucking pretend like you can’t stand me, not, after today, because I’m not buying it, Sam.”
She turned around slowly to face him. Her eyes bore into his as she lifted her chin.
“The only acting I did today was when I acted as if everything between us was okay. Right now, I’m not acting. Ava’s asleep, there’s no child to put on a show for. I won’t ask any questions, because I’m not interested in the answers. I won’t yell, because quite frankly, there’s no point. Now if we’re done here, I’d like to go to bed.” Her voice cracked with the last sentence, proving to him that she wasn’t as hard as her words. That she was using them to mask the hurt she was feeling, but from what. Why wouldn’t she just tell him what he did to her? She turned around and walked into the bedroom, softly closing the door behind her.
Chapter Eight
Luke propped his foot on the chair beside his hospital bed, and reached over to tie his shoelace. He couldn’t wait to get out of there, he really had no idea how Jake had spent the last year in and out of this place, one night and he felt like his skin was crawling. The door opened quietly, and Leah stepped into his room. She had been checking on him all night, as she worked her shift. He looked over at her. She was still in her scrubs, and so he glanced at his watch. She should be off the clock by now. He looked at her face and saw the traces of fatigue, and something else he couldn’t quite put his finger on.
“Hey, how are you feeling?” She asked, as she walked towards him.
“I had a little pain, but the doctor came in about an hour ago and said he would discharge me.” He glanced at her. “Are you here to tell me, he changed his mind?”
She sat beside him on his bed and shook her head. “No, I’m not.” She let out a breath and took his hand in hers. Luke’s eyes fell onto their hands and then he looked back at Leah’s drawn face, dread lurked in the pit of his stomach.
“What’s wrong?” He asked sharply. When she lifted her eyes to meet him, he shook his head, he didn’t have time for her to sugarcoat whatever she needed to tell him. “Leah, speak.”
“Jake’s not doing well.” She stammered, her voice squeaking from her nerves.
He looked at her as if she had just punched him in the gut. Without caring about the soreness he was feeling, he quickly rose from the bed, cringing as the pain seared through him.
“That’s impossible. The doctor’s said the transplant went well.” He said more to himself than to Leah. She quickly stood up and rushed to his side.
“You need to take it easy, you’re not completely recovered.” She placed her hand on his forearm, trying to sway him back towards the edge of the bed. He tugged his arm from her grip and shook her off him, as if she was a pesky fly.
“Leah, do me a favor and don’t tell me what I need. Instead, tell me what is going on with Jake.” He said and clenched his
jaw, trying desperately to find patience.
She swallowed, defeated and took a step backward. “He’s had a dangerously high fever all night. It will not break and his immune system is too compromised from all the chemotherapy to fight off the infection.”
He looked at her and studied her eyes that were full of sympathy. He swallowed the lump in his throat, realizing her voice lacked any sort of hope. “But the bone marrow, was supposed to help him.” His voice was rough, almost desperate.
“What’s happening to Jake, has nothing to do with the bone marrow transplant. His body is too weak from the chemo Luke and his organs…” She shook her head not able to finish her sentence.
“His organs are failing.” Luke finished for her. She didn’t utter a single word. All she did was hang her head. Luke stood frozen for a moment, waiting for her to look up at him and give him some sort of good news. He’d take anything at this point. She never lifted her head. He ran his fingers through his hair, tugging at the ends. As he grasped the strands he wished his hair was straws, and he would be the one holding the shortest one and not his brother.
He brushed past Leah, and as quickly as his body allowed, he went in search for his brother.
* * * * * *
Nick sat in his assigned seat at the dance competition that was being hosted at The Atlantic City Convention Center. This place was a zoo, he thought as he took in his surroundings. He felt completely out of place, and made a mental note that if he ever had a daughter, she would be the biggest tomboy to ever live. He glanced beside him at Sam, who was watching one of the competitors perform. She had barely said anything to him the entire morning, it was driving him crazy.
He casually stretched his arm across the back of her chair, and leaned close to her ear. “When is she going to go on?” He whispered into her ear. Then, because he couldn’t help himself, he reached out and tucked one of her blonde strands of hair, behind her ear.
Broken Pieces (Riverdale #2) Page 7