Page 78 of When We Fall: Part Two
“May I see it?”
I hesitated for a moment as he pulled the covers back. I let him lift my camisole, the cool air chilling my skin.
He lightly ran his fingers along the purple bruising on my ribs where I was kicked repeatedly, his green eyes dark.
“You’re healing well,” he commented after eyeing the healing wound. “This is good. I’m glad. You may barely have a scar. Your surgeon did well. Where are your pain meds?”
I pointed to my bathroom. He left and came back with one of the pills in his hand.
“Open,” he instructed.
I did so. He dropped the pill onto my tongue and offered me the glass of apple juice. I drank from it while he held it, feeling the pill slide down my throat.
“There. That should help. Mine made me so tired.”
I swallowed. “These make me tired, too.” I paused. “I’m sorry to pull you away?—”
“You need someone,” he said gently, his gaze meeting mine. “I know what that’s like.”
My bottom lip trembled, and a tear slid down my cheek.
He reached out and swiped the tear away, a pained look on his handsome face.
“This world is a cruel place,piccola fiamma.For what it’s worth, my heart hurts for you, and I am deeply sorry for what you’re going through. I, too, have suffered similar.”
I knew he had.
Bianca.
When she was taken, he’d tried to kill himself. And now she was gone again and marrying Anson, all while pregnant with Dominic’s baby.
He let my shirt fall back over my stomach before he reached for my phone. I watched him unlock the screen and tap on the keyboard.
“I’ve put my number into your phone. If you need someone to talk to, I will answer.”
“Thank you,” I whispered, another tear snaking down my cheek.
He reached out and thumbed it away, his touch gentle. Looking at him, one wouldn’t think he was the caring sort. As tall as my guys and just as built, he had the appearance of someone wicked, right down to the tattoos on his fingers.
But it was his voice and actions in this moment that made me realize he was probably one of the only people in the world who knew exactly how I felt. I was sure Levin and Vincent could relate, but Dominic had loved so hard he’d tried to kill himself to join Bianca when he thought she was dead.
“Don’t do it,” Dominic murmured.
I blinked at him, another tear slipping down my cheek. He swiped that one away, too.
“Leave to be with them. To find them. They’re here,piccola fiamma,not anywhere else. Believe that.”
“How do you know?” I whispered.
He took my hand and squeezed it. “Because a love as deep and fated as you have with them won’t leave you. It’ll return. True love never dies, I hear.”
A soft sob left me at his words.
He leaned in and hugged me gently, his cologne sweet on my senses. For whatever reason, his arms around me and the way he smelled calmed me. Maybe it was because I felt so alone,or perhaps it was because I believed him. After all, he’d gotten Bianca back.
“You need to eat. You’re wasting away.” He released me and reached for the food.
I watched as he cut the chicken breast and potato, then put some on a fork and offered it to me.
