Page 10 of Revived
“I don’t know, Elena. Maybe this was a mistake.”
I bite back my annoyed sigh. “Papa, I’ve been here for three years. I’m fine. I’m so close to the trials. We’ve had this conversation a thousand times, and I’m staying here. You can’t just freak out every time my blood sugar gets a little crazy, and we can’t keep having this same conversation three times a week.”
“I know, Elena. I just don’t like you being so far away. And you never visit.”
“Papa, I’ll be home in a month for Easter.” My phone pings with a new reading from my dexcom. “See, Papa. 100. Completely normal.”
I talk to him for a few more minutes just to calm his racing mind before I get off the phone. Noticing I have one unread text, I realize Sully’s texted me outside of the group chat, which isn’t abnormal for us.
Monster: Come by the station on your way home? I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t see that you’re okay first.
Such a sweet man. His heart is my favorite thing about him. Sully doesn’t care about destroying anything in his path to get to where he needs to be… Unless you’re a woman. I’ve heard his brothers theorize that he’s like that because of me, but that’s just simply not true. He’s been like this for as long as I’ve known him. He can’t function if the women in his life aren’t healthy and thriving. Years ago when one of his sisters-in-law was having an incredibly difficult pregnancy, I swear he was a shell of who he typically is.
Elle: You’re being dramatic, but yes, I’ll come by. About to leave the gym now.
Monster: *Purple heart emoji* I’ll see you soon, Boo Thang.
Elle: *laughing faces* Please! Just Boo will do.
Monster: Okay, just Boo. I’ll see you in ten.
There was this song when we were younger that I used to love. ‘Boo Thang’ was in it, and as a joke, Sully started calling me that. It eventually turned into Boo, like that kids movie. So, naturally he became ‘Monster.’
Smiling to myself, I grab my keys and my bag, making sure to throw my trash away on the way out and leave the gym for the day. It’s just eight at night, but the last moments from the sun are still fighting to keep the sky just a little lighter. An all black SUV catches my attention from the neighboring parking lot. It’s a weird thing to notice for some people, but I can sniff out a mob car and an undercover car from miles and miles away. It’s engrained into me like second nature.
I shake off the feeling that I’m being watched and slide into my car. It takes me twelve minutes to get from the gym to the station, and when I pull up, Mr. Big Bad Lieutenant is pacing in front of the bay doors with his hands in his hair like a worried old hen. His eyes come to mine as soon as I shut the door of my car.
“Christ, I thought something happened to you.” He lets out a shaky exhale. Always the worrier.
I step into his outstretched arms and let him hold onto me until his heart rate slows. “I’m fine. My blood sugar is fine, and I’m ready to go home and go to sleep, where I’m sure good ol’ Flynnigan Byrne is waiting on my couch.”
He presses his lips to the top of my head and inhales deeply. His attempt to be sneaky isn’t at all working. Like always, the way he inhales my scent is felt all the way down to my toes, and the zip of electricity from being in his arms sets my blood on fire. I can’t stay this close to him for too long, or I’ll forget why I keep this divide between us.
“Flynn’s on your couch, and Dom’s on an air mattress on the floor. I’ve already seen the pictures.”
I groan in frustration while pushing back from his grasp, “Sully, this is overkill. I’m fine. It didn’t even drop that low. They live next door and have a key. That’s plenty close.”
He just glares at me as he turns on his heels and begins walking into the station. I know the drill, so I trail behind him, past his friends in the common area and a few meandering around the sleeping quarters. I smile and wave at a few guys, and they obnoxiously hoot and whistle like they always do. He works with a bunch of children, I swear.
Sul swings open the door to his office, allowing me to enter. The room isn’t big by any means. There’s enough room to have a desk with a chair on one side and two others on the opposite side, and on the other side of the room is a small twin size bed that sits high on a metal frame. I know that most of the time he doesn’t sleep here, opting to sleep with everyone else instead, but the bed remains all the same. He waits until I walk into the office before he shuts the glass door, and I jump up so I’m sitting on his bed, my legs dangling over the end. It’s not extremely high or anything, but it’s enough so my feet dangle off the edge.
“You’re a pain in my ass.” He grumbles as he pulls out what would look like a pencil pouch to anyone who doesn’t know better.
“Same, buddy. I could be asleep right now.” I smart back. He turns to face me and sets the now zipped open pouch beside me. He pulls out the test monitor, test strips, an alcohol wipe, and the lancing device before getting the test monitor turned on and set up.
“Stop giving me shit and let me do this so we can both go to sleep.” I study his face as he cleans off my finger with the alcohol wipe. His eyes look tired, and his posture is slouched slightly.
“Why are you so pissed? I’m sorry my sugar dropped, but last I checked that was my deal, not yours. No one told you that you had to check my sugar behind my dexcom every time.” I’m being overly grumpy, and I know it. I just don’t have time for his shit attitude right now when I’m feeling bad from the drop.
He lifts his head until our eyes meet. “You’re right and I’m sorry. It scares me when your sugars are out of whack. We’ve done this dance for years, but that never makes it easier. I’ve had a tough day with my brothers coming into town, and I let that bleed into us.” He leans in and presses his soft lips to my forehead as he uses the lancing device to prick my finger while I’m distracted.
I watch in silence while he squeezes out a drop of blood onto the monitor. He sets the monitor beside me while it reads my sugar and gently uses a small bandage to wrap around my finger. The monitor beeps beside me and I watch his face relax as he reads the device.
“One hundred.” His entire demeanor relaxes.
“See, I’m fine.” I smile at him. He’s so freaking cute when he’s like this. It drives me crazy most of the time, but I think that’s mainly because I’m so in love with him that I want to just throw myself in his arms and let him fret over me even though I can’t. I can’t let where we come from break us like that.
He gives me his most charming smile. All of his brothers have the exact same one, and they use it to get themselves out of trouble… I must admit that it works on me every time.
