Chapter 10
CLARISSA
Iwas nervous walking into that emergency room. The whole place felt sickly, even if there weren’t many people waiting to be seen. The pale white walls reminded me of the delivery room when I gave birth to Ralph back home. The smell of poorly made black coffee brought me back to reality.
“Hey, Cole, there’s Rocco, Moretti’s son, sitting in the corner,” I pointed out.
Rocco looked at us and waved. We walked over to the corner. Rocco stood up.
“Moretti, I mean, my father, is being looked at by the doctors. I don’t have any other information,” he said. “My father gave the hospital staff and doctors permission to tell me everything.”
“Is he going to make it? Did they mention anything about that?” Cole asked.
Rocco shook his head.
Cole was really nervous and started to scratch his head. He always did that whenever he didn’t know what to do.
“Settle down,” I said. “Everything is going to be alright.”
“What about the police?” Cole said, raising his voice.
“Shhhh. Settle down, Cole,” I whispered.
“I took care of that,” Rocco said quietly.
“Well, you should have said that from the get-go, Rocco,” Cole said, lowering his voice.
Rocco shrugged and sat back down.
“Stop taking it out on the poor kid,” I said.
Cole turned to Rocco.
“So, how did you take care of the police?” Cole asked in a very hush-hush tone.
“They’re on our payroll. The ones that work in this area anyway.”
“Jesus, I didn’t need to hear that,” Cole said.
That was a relief. I knew Moretti had been working to get the local police in his pockets even before I left the business. Apparently, he had been successful. It was only a matter of him pulling through.
I needed help, and he was the only one who could give it to me. I had to convince Cole to sell the clubs, at least one of the four he owned, so I could cover the treatments. I needed money. And I needed it fast.
We waited for a little while. Cole grew impatient.
Suddenly, the double doors opened, and Ralph walked through. He greeted me as soon as he came in.
“Hi, Ma. I mean, hi, ma’am. Sorry. Hi, Mrs. Bennett,” he said.
Idiot. You’re going to make Cole suspicious.
Cole frowned.
“Finally, you’re here. What took you so long?” Cole asked impatiently.
“I was running some errands for Mrs. Bennett. I’m sorry, but the cell signal was no good,” he answered. “But I’m here now.”
“Just stay put. Go sit down or something,” Cole said.
Cole looked more irritated that his chauffeur was not answering him than anything else at that point. He didn’t like not being in control of his employees. Things were so out of control since his father passed. I’m sure he felt a little lost. I could sense it.
“Hey, Cole. Relax,” I said. “Why don’t you go outside and smoke a cigarette?” I suggested.
He went outside for a moment and lit up a cigarette.
What am I going to do if this guy croaks? His father is even more ruthless than he is. Moretti Senior is not going to take this too kindly. He’ll kill Cole.
Cole walked back in and saw the doctor speaking to me, Ralph, and Rocco.
“What’s going on with Moretti, doc?” Cole interrupted.
“I’m sorry, who are you?” the doctor inquired.
“I’m Moretti’s closest friend; he’s like a brother to me,” Cole lied.
More like a boa constrictor that squeezes the life out of you.
At least, that’s what he did to Cole’s dad.
“Fine. Alright. Like I was saying, the bullet went through; no vital organs were hit, thankfully. But Mr. Moretti has lost a lot of blood, and we need a transfusion.”
“Okay, then do the transfusion. What are you waiting for?” Cole said aggressively.
The doctor blinked in surprise at Cole’s bad manners.
“Rocco, is it okay to tell them what’s happening as I had explained to you earlier?” the doctor asked.
“Well, of course, it is,” I chimed in. “We’re practically like family,” I lied.
The doctor gave me a confused look. Cole was getting impatient, and Rocco looked worried. Ralph was calm.
“I need permission from him. His father gave me permission to divulge information only to him. I’m sorry. I need his okay.”
Rocco nodded.
“It’s okay, doc,” Rocco said sadly. “I’m not sure it would matter anyway.”
The situation seemed tense. I didn’t understand what the big deal was with the transfusion and everything. But the doctor explained, and everything became abundantly clear.
“Mr. Moretti has cancer. He’s been coming here to receive treatments. The treatments have lowered his white blood cell count, and now he needs a blood match. He’s AB negative.”
My heart dropped.
This guy is roughly our age.
What’s he doing getting cancer like that?
Who’s going to help me convince Cole?
“Oh, my God, Doctor. What can we do to help?” I asked.
“If all of you are willing, can we test your blood for AB negative?”
We all stayed silent for a moment. The doctor seemed anxious to get our approval. Rocco still looked sad, and I was petrified, but I hid it really well.
“Fine, I’ll go first,” Cole volunteered.
“Splendid,” the doctor said. “What about the rest of you?” he asked.
We all agreed.
We’ll see what happens.
You have to pull through, Moretti.