ROME
Chapter fifty-six
Istare through the glass panel, watching strip after strip of bloodied gauze be thrown away. A nurse moves toward the door, blocking my view. Ripping off her mask, she steps in front of us, Rain’s blood splattered all over her floral scrubs.
“He’s lost a lot of blood,” she informs quietly.
“And?” I whisper, my bloodied hands trembling at my sides.
She looks left to Blade and Aaron, then right to Xan with a nervous swallow. “It um, the bullet, it...”
“Spit it out!” I demand.
“It ripped right through his kidney; it’s a type designed to splinter on impact.” The weight of her words slam into my chest. “They’re removing his kidney.”
I lock my gaze on Rain, getting a glimpse of his beautiful face now and then. Police came earlier, but I refused to move, leaving Aaron to deal with them.
Aaron clears his throat. “Is he going to make it through this?”
“We’re not certain,” she whispers.
A painful chill sinks into my bones.
“I need a fucking cigarette,” Blade spits.
Aaron scoffs. “You’re leaving?”
“I’m about to go in there and hold a gun to that doctor’s head.”
The shattered pieces of my heart pierce my chest when chaos takes shape behind the doors and Rain’s flipped on his back.
“Clear!” the doctor shouts, and Rain’s body jolts.
I hold my breath, my body moving toward him when they charge the paddles again.
“Clear!”
Tears blur his beautiful face as I begin to run. Arms come around me, and I fight the two bodies trying to pull me back as Rain’s body jolts again, and a scream tears my throat, “RAIN!”
Beep. Beep. Beep.
That bloody noise has been haunting me for two days now.
I heard that gun shot and watched Rain’s body fall down that roof as I ran through the woods towards him, and everything has been moving in slow motion since.
He’s laying here, his pulse beating beneath my fingers, yet all I can see is his pale face, his blood-soaked clothes in the back of the ambulance, the paramedics performing CPR.
The events are playing on repeat.
Apparently, Rain surviving surgery was a miracle, and he’s been moved to a private room in the ICU. I slept on the couch the first night, and then Aaron had them bring in another bed so I could lie beside him.
I whispered profanities at him for over an hour, telling him he was stupid to go through with his plan. I then apologised and told him I want at least two children and a dog.
His breath deepens, and I sit up, squeezing his hand. His brows pull together, and he groans, slowly peeling his eyes open. “Baby?”
I lean across and cup his pale cheek. “I’m here.”
A delicate smile curls his mouth and tears burn my eyes as I softly press my lips to his.
“I told you to stay home,” he murmurs. “You made a deal, Rome.”
My chin trembles and I nod. “I had to.”
He sighs and looks disgustingly at the IV in his hand and the heart monitors stuck on his chest. “Can they get this shit off me?”
“You need it.” I clear the burning lump in my throat and stroke his hand. “They needed to remove your kidney.”
“Mmm,” he hums, closing his eyes. “Doesn’t matter…Wait.” They pop back open, and he pulls his hand from mine to slide it under the blanket. “Does that mean I have a—”
“Yes,” I groan. “I’ll admit I stared down the nurse who inserted your catheter. He came in this morning saying he needed to give you a sponge bath after changing the dressing on your bullet wound. I snatched the items and did it myself.”
Rain’s cheeks flush a beautiful pink. “You gave me sponge bath?”
“You needed one, and I didn’t want anyone else to touch—”
“You’re fucking useless,” Blade’s voice booms from somewhere in the hallway. “If he isn’t awake by tonight, I suggest you go pick out a plot in the nearest cemetery.”
“Sir,” a light but stern voice chastises. “You cannot threaten our staff.”
“Oh, boo-hoo, cry me a fucking river.” With his back to the room, Blade steps in and throws the door shut. “I don’t think any of these people have medical…”
“You’re going to get me thrown out of here,” Rain muses with a weak grin.
“You’re an ass.” Blade folds his arms over his chest, cocking his head. “The only person who can kill you is me. It was rude to make me believe I wouldn’t get that pleasure.”
Rain takes my hand again, the contact squeezing my heart. He narrows his eyes on Blade. “You were scared.”
“Annoyed, maybe.”
“Guess I’m glad you were still here.”
“I have a few things I need to set up before I go back for her.”
“Like?”
“Only she’ll have the privilege of knowing that.”
I bring Rain’s hand to my mouth, kissing his knuckles. “I love you.”
Tears blur his eyes. “I love you too, baby.” They flick to my white shirt and blue jeans. “You gave me a bath. How long have I been here?”
“Almost three days.”
“Pretty boy refused to leave, so I was kind enough to bring him clothes,” Blade says, moving to lean against the window frame. “But I blame the incompetent staff for your long nap, and your night nurse is a fucking bitch.”
“Maybe don’t swear at people,” I sigh.
“Even I know she has no bedside manner. Last night, she tried to take my food away. Bitch would’ve choked on a cheeseburger if you didn’t stop me.”
“You stopped him?” Rain laughs and then groans.
“I was trying to reason with him,” I sigh. “Which I realised doesn’t work. I then told him security would kick him out if he continued to be a bloody wanker, to which he said he’d just shoot his way back in. By the time our argument was over, she had already left the room.”
“Without my cheeseburger,” Blade adds.
Blade and I may never get along, and his plan to bring Rain’s ex-girlfriend here isn’t something I’m looking forward to, but I’ll tolerate Rain’s psycho brother, for Rain’s sake.
“Wait, Blade, you said Rome refused to leave.” Rain’s dark eyes move to me. “Baby, you had training.”
I lie down next to him, wiping away the tear gliding down my cheek. “My coach is furious but understands. I’ll probably be benched next game, but I don’t care. I wouldn’t be anywhere else but here.”
I guess I know what love feels like now. It’s all-consuming. It’s irrational. It’s dangerous and sacrificial.
I don’t want to spend a day without him by my side. I can’t go a second without thinking about him—I guess I haven’t since that first night. He’s been there for me through everything, every bad moment, every good.
He’s given me so much. I no longer feel that nauseating shame in the pit of my stomach. I can feel like I’m falling to pieces, and he’ll hold me together through it. He’s shed light on things I didn’t particularly want to see but needed to. When it came to his family, he put me first.
He didn’t think twice about taking the fall for me so my career wasn’t impacted. I was left drowning in shame because of Connor, and Rain hurt him purely because he’d hurt me. I can’t express to him how grateful I am to feel him there and know I’ll never sink as far as I think I will.
I only hope I give him as much as he does me, and lying here, watching tears well in his eyes as he stares at me, I’ve never been more thankful to be me.