Salvador

Chapter 4

Mona

It's Thursday. I have today and tomorrow left and I finally get to go home. I started my period yesterday, and today has been the absolute worst. The cramps are so painful and the flow is disturbingly heavy. My back hurts, my legs hurt, my feet hurt, my head hurts.

I'm tucked away in the nurses room, like I am everyday. I just went to my prison-like accommodation room next door to change my tampon for probably like the fifth time today already.

It's raining heavily outside and I love the smell. The smell of the rain in the jungle. They don't have intense tropical storms like this in Italy. The strong rain and the accompanying thunder and lightning. I love it.

I haven't seen Salvador since Monday. And as stupid as it makes me feel, I miss him. I miss his smell, his large, muscly, tattoo covered body and his soft Hispanic voice. "Stupida." I call myself under my breath. How dare I let myself think such thoughts? My imagination is getting the better of me.

I hold my stomach tighter as the pain fluctuates, causing tears to form in my eyes. I still have brownies left over from last weekend, they're beginning to get stale, but at least they're chocolate and they taste good. I stand up to get one from across the room and just as I do, the pain hits me so hard that it feels like I'm being shot in the stomach. I fall to the floor. Fuck.

The aching stings and I hold my stomach as tight as I can, kneeling on the floor, breathing hard and wincing every now and then. The pain will pass, but until then I'm staying in the floor and clenching my arms around my torso.

I hear footsteps slamming against the concrete floor of the basement hallway towards this room. I have to get up, this is so unprofessional.

"Mona." I hear a worried whisper from the doorway. I look up to see Salvador. A concerned look on his face. He holds his fists hard at his sides. He rushes towards me, and with his strong hands, he softly and carefully helps me up and onto the hospital bed.

"Thanks." I mumble, clenching my teeth. He stares at me in alarm.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asks in distress, looking at me up and down for the cause of my evident pain. I force a nod. He places his hands on my shoulders lightly. "What's wrong Mona?" He asks again, he must think I've been stabbed or something, and honestly, it feels as if I have.

"It's just," I tell him, looking up at him for a second. He looks so worried, does he care about me? "my period." I finally admit. I expect his expression of angst to lessen, but it doesn't, it stays the same. Just as worried, and weirdly, it warms my heart.

"What can i do to help?" He asks me. Did he really just ask me that?

He moves his tattooed, vein-covered hands from my shoulders to my arms and to my hands. Holding my noticeably smaller hands in his. He wears rings, how sexy. The sounds of his rings clashing against mine circulates in the room. The pain falls slightly. Maybe his hands are magic.

"What can I do?" He repeats in an even quieter voice, even softer voice. I have a million answers; food, hot water bottle, sleep, let me go home, food. But he's still my boss, and he's still one of the scariest men I've ever known. So instead I say "nothing."

He cups my face in his hands. Causing my cheeks to squish slightly. He must know I'm lying. "Stay here," he says, stroking my cheek with his thumb "I'll arrange something. Okay?"

I look at him anxiously. I love this moment, but at the same time I hate it. He doesn't know who I really am. Like, who I really am. He'd have to kill me if he knew.

He lets go of my face and turns around, quickly exiting the room. I didn't want him to go, I miss his warmth already. The room grows cold again and the rain hardens outside. But I smile thinking about him.

***

Around twenty minutes later a man i don't recognise enters the room. Holding a large box. He places it on the bed next to me and offers me a smile. I look up from my phone and smile back. He reaches into his pocket, hands me a piece of paper and leaves promptly. It's a note from Salvador:

Hello
sorry I couldn't give you this myself, I'm very busy. I hope that this helps and I'll try my hardest to make time to check up on you later tonight.
Salvador

I unknowingly smile while I read it and i put the note in my pocket. It's formal, as it should be, but still sweet.

When I look inside, my heart flutters. It's filled with a hot water bottle, a bunch of chocolate and snacks, a fucking laptop and a bunch of pads and tampons. The clear consideration that's been put into this makes me want to cry of happiness. I don't think anyone's ever done anything like this for me. It's feels weird. Even if he hired someone to put it together, the thoughtfulness is astonishing.

What do i do when a man does something this sweet for me? I have no idea.

I place the box beside the bed, pulling out the laptop and a chocolate bar. The laptop already has Netflix open, I watch the American office, a comfort show, and begin to eat the chocolate slowly.

This is exactly what I needed.

***

After four whole hours of lazily sitting on the bed, watching Netflix and eating, Salvador is finally standing at the door.

No one came into my room the whole time I was waiting and I think that was because of Salvador. He must've done that. He must've ordered that no one bother me.

"Hello, Bonita [pretty]," Salvador says in a deep voice as he walks in "senti a sua falta [I missed you]."

"eu também [me too]." I reply, and his eyes light up at the Portuguese. He lets out a gorgeous smile and looks down as he walks towards me with his hands in his pockets. His muscles are blatant in his tight, white shirt. His sleeves are rolled up and I can see the veins on his forearms that are being pushed through his tanned skinned. What I wouldn't give to have those arms wrapped around me.

He closes the laptop slowly when he arrives in front of me. He sets it aside and throws the chocolate and snack wrappers and packets into the bin for me. "Thank you." I say slightly embarrassed as he sits next to me and places his gun to his side on the bed. Neither of us can hold back our smiles. I feel like a stupid teenager.

He places his hand on my thigh and my heart beats stupidly fast. "Do you feel any better?" He whispers. The stars and moon create a luminescent light that reflects into the dark room. I turned the lights off ages ago, they were giving me a headache.

"Yes." I answer, looking to the side and up at him. I smile at him and he smiles back. His masculine smell radiates off of him. The brightened floor reflects into Salvador's dark, dangerous eyes.

Suddenly he looks away. "You can't look at me like that," He whispers breathlessly "I can't handle it."

I chuckle lightly. He moves his arm over my shoulder and pulls me into him. He's so warm and gentle, I never want to leave. He's usually so violent, so loud, so dangerous. But in this moment, I feel the safest I've felt in a very long time. He brings his other arm around to hold me, all of me. He places his lips on my forehead for a kiss. Fuck, this is nice. This is way too nice. I hate it.