Reuben Chapter 12
I let out a roar when I saw Tonio hit Cristiana, heard her scream, and then saw her drop.
Luckily, I was able to catch her before she hit the floor and did worse damage.
The women were crying out in dismay. Papá and others yelled in alarm and moved toward us.
I lifted Cristiana’s crumpled body in my arms. When I saw Tonio coming toward us, I glared at him.
“You’d better stop where you are. If you come any closer, I’ll knock your damn head off. You fucking hit her!” I snarled.
“Reuben, Christ, I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt her. She got between us. I tried to stop, but it was too late. I pulled my punch as much as I could,” my brother said.
“Am I supposed to believe that?” I asked. Fury filled me. I saw red, and my rage was directed mainly at him, though the rest of my family wasn’t innocent. None of them had spoken up to defend my woman.
“What does that mean?” Tonio asked, scowling.
“It means that I’m not sure you couldn’t stop. What easier way to get rid of her than to hurt her and make her too scared to stay with me or come near any of you again?”
“He’d never deliberately hit a woman, Reuben. You know that,” Rosalia protested. I expected her to defend him since he was her husband.
“Take her upstairs to the guest room. After she wakes up and we determine whether she’s okay or not, we’ll sit and discuss this,” Papá stated.
I was so disappointed and angry over how my family took the news and how they acted toward her, as if she were unclean and had some disease they’d catch, that I couldn’t trust myself.
It was doubly so with my unconscious girlfriend in my arms. What if Tonio’s punch seriously hurt her? I shook my head at Papá’s suggestion.
“No, I don’t believe that’s a good idea.
I’m taking her to the ER to be checked out.
I want to make sure nothing’s been broken or worse,” I muttered darkly before heading for the door.
Protests and cries for us to stay followed us.
I paused only long enough to snatch up her handbag, then opened the door.
The pounding of feet behind me, along with more overlapping voices, followed. I ignored them. All I cared about was her. I lengthened my stride. I was almost to my car when my arm was grabbed and tugged on. Whipping around to confront whoever did it, I found Mamá staring beseechingly up at me.
“Por favor, hijo mío, please, my son, don’t leave. Let Rosalia check her out,” she pleaded.
Rosalia was an RN, but I wasn’t exposing Cristiana to more of my family’s toxicity. I knew they disliked and disagreed with my lifestyle. But to accuse her of being a whore was wrong. I shook my head.
“Mamá, no. I’ll take her to the ER, where they have everything to treat her. Besides, there, no one will know we’re deviants and treat us poorly,” I added snidely.
Tears were in her eyes, but this was one time my mamá couldn’t sway me. She gasped, and a look of pain then regret flickered across her face.
“Hijo.” Papá’s tone held a warning to it.
Choosing to ignore it and them, I swung back around and opened the passenger door. I sat Cristiana down as easily as I could, then buckled her into the seat. Closing the door, I rounded the car to get behind the wheel. Papá’s hand on my upper arm made me pause long enough to tell him one thing.
“Nothing you say will make me stay here. We’re done. I thought my family would be happy for me and celebrate my love. It’s good to know the truth. I won’t expect anything more from you. We’ll keep our unwanted selves away from everyone. Thankfully, we’ve got good friends who accept us.”
I said it to inflict pain, and the way he flinched told me that I scored.
Without another word, I opened my door and got in.
The others stood there, uncomfortable and lost. The tears running down the face of Mamá and the other women didn’t move me.
The men were stern. Turning on the ignition, I shot out of their driveway and down the street.
The nearest hospital wasn’t far. I’d take her there.
I had to concentrate not to speed as I pushed thoughts of my family’s actions and words out of my mind.
I wasn’t risking a wreck. I had precious cargo.
When I arrived at the ER, I pulled into a drop-off spot and then ran to get her out of the car.
Cristiana hadn’t moved the entire ten-minute ride.
I was scared. Had Tonio seriously, possibly fatally hurt her?
The automatic doors opened, and I ran inside. “I need help!” I called out. I didn’t go through the waiting room. I’d brought her straight to the doors the ambulances used.
A woman in scrubs hurried toward me. “What’s wrong, sir?”
“My girlfriend was punched in the side of the face. She screamed and then passed out. That was almost… thirteen minutes ago,” I told her, after glancing at a nearby clock to figure out the time difference.
“Bring her this way,” the woman, a nurse I assumed, said before she darted into a curtained cubicle a few steps further inside. I placed Cristiana on the bed. I hated to let her go, even if it was to sit next to her.
“Sir, if you parked outside the doors, you’ll have to move your car or it’ll get towed,” the nurse said kindly. I glanced up to see her nametag read, Maddy, RN.
“I don’t want to leave her alone. What if she wakes up? She’ll be confused and scared,” I objected.
“I have to examine her so I can report to the doctor. I’ll be with her, I promise.”
With the greatest reluctance, I stepped back, stopped, then took another step.
Finally, I broke away and almost ran outside to move my car.
I found a parking spot nearby, thank goodness.
As I hurried back toward the ER doors, I heard my name shouted.
Turning my head, I saw Tonio, Papá, Mamá, and several others.
I scowled and paused long enough to shout back, “Leave. You’re not welcome here.”
My anger hadn’t abated, and I’d never been this angry or disappointed in my family as I was right now.
“Hijo, don’t say that. We’re here to make sure you and Cristiana are okay,” Papá stated.
“Why would you care about a deviant whore?” I snapped.
Without another word, though they were all protesting and saying they were sorry and all that shit, I turned and continued back inside the ER. I went straight to Cristiana’s bed. Maddy was still with her. Cristiana remained unconscious. My fear spiked.
“How is she? Do you know why she won’t wake up?” I asked.
“I’m still assessing her. We’ll send her for a CT scan or MRI. The doctor will probably order other tests. Does she have any medical history we should know of? Take any meds or drugs? Allergies?” Maddy fired off her questions.
“She’s healthy and takes no pills other than Acetaminophen or Ibuprofen occasionally. I don’t know about allergies.”
“You said she was hit in the side of the head. I see the mark and bruise forming. May I ask how she was hit?” There was a trace of suspicion in her voice. She thought I hit Cristiana.
“We were at my parents’ having lunch with my whole family.
It was the first time she was meeting them.
Some words were exchanged that led my brother and me to confront each other.
Punches were exchanged, and Cristiana tried to stop us, but ended up in the way.
My brother threw a punch, and it hit her. ”
I couldn’t tell if she believed me or if I’d find the cops coming in here in a bit to arrest me.
“Okay, let me finish my examination. I need you to step out.”
Even though I’d seen Cristiana naked, I did as she asked.
However, if Maddy or anyone else thought I was going to sit in the waiting area, they were in for a rude awakening.
I put my back to the wall, so I was out of the way of the others working.
As I leaned there, my phone vibrated in my pocket.
I fished it out to make sure it wasn’t work-related. It wasn’t. It was a text from Tonio.
Tonio: Reub, I’m sorry. I did try to pull my punch. I’d never hit a woman. How is she? What can we do?
I stabbed out a return message. I hit those letters so hard, it was a wonder my phone screen didn’t crack.
Me: I don’t have time for this. She’s still unconscious. If she’s seriously hurt or worse, I’ll fucking never forgive you.
I fired my response back like it was a bullet. To burn off my anxiety, I began to pace along the wall, still staying out of the staff’s way. My phone vibrated again. If he kept it up, I’d go out to the waiting area and express myself with my fist.
Papá: Reuben, your brother is genuinely sorry. He didn’t mean to hit her. We need to discuss what happened today. We’ll do that once we know Cristiana is alright. If you need anything, we’re here. I’m sorry things got out of control. We can fix this. We love you.
Me: Papá, I can’t think about anything but her right now.
As for us discussing today’s fiasco, I’m not sure when, or if, I’ll be open to it.
Today, I was ashamed of my family for the first time in my life.
Your disdain for who I am and my life became crystal clear.
And thinking Cristiana is a whore means you believe the same thing about me.
Just drop it. There’s no need for any of you to stay.
If I need support, I’ll call my friends.
I knew my words would wound him. I wanted them to. Pettiness and the desire to make them hurt, like Tiana and me, bubbled over.
Papá: We’ll be here no matter how long it takes or whether you’ll ask us for anything. Love you, hijo mío.
I didn’t respond. Instead, I placed a call. It was answered on the third ring.
“Hey, man, I didn’t expect to hear from you today. How’s lunch with your family?” Mikhail asked.
“It went to hell. I’m sorry to call, but I wanted to let you know that I’m in the ER with Tiana. There was a fight. And she got in the middle. Tonio hit her and she’s been knocked out for half an hour,” I informed him tersely.