The Beginning

Nicky

"You can't leave this bed, Mr. De La Cruz." Doctor Castor advised in a sober tone as he packed his bag.

"You hear him this time?" Marcelo eyed me pointedly.

"Sounded like he was talking to you." I replied nonchalantly.

"Nicky." Doctor Castor stared hard at me. "You do not have permission to leave this bed for the next week. You have lacerations on your liver, your stomach, your diaphragm and your left lung. You should be dead, do you understand?"

I pointed a finger and gave a wry grin. "But I'm not, right?"

He stuck his tongue in his cheek and let out a fiery breath. "You will be, if you pull another stunt like that." He stared hard at me.

I sucked my teeth. "We'll find out."

"Get out of my way!" Roni's anxiety ridden voice pierced through the wooden door before she burst through. "Jesus Christ, Nicky." Her brows turned up at the center and her lips pressed together.

"Roni's here, you can go." I dismissed Marcelo.

He kissed his teeth. "Man, fuck you." Marcelo went back to scrolling through his phone.

"He said get out." Roni placed a fist against her hip.

"He also ran from us earlier and he almost died on Si." Marcelo kicked his feet up on the end of my bed. "You ain't going nowhere, primo."

Roni's sympathetic gaze morphed into displeasure quickly.

"He's got Tess." I reminded her.

"What's our next move?" She questioned, moving around the bed. She knocked Marc's legs to the floor and perched herself in their place.

"Ozzy is going through the trailer again. Mateo and Julian are going to look around his mom's place tonight after lights out. Silas went to check on Dad." Marc listed off on his fingers.

"Why is Si checking on Dad? We already know he's involved in all of this." Roni's arms finally unfolded.

"Hannibal left a letter addressed to Dominic. He already cut this one up like a fucking mango, and no one's heard from other one." Marcelo shrugged lazily. His phone became the object of his focus once more.

"Marcelo." Roni bit, smacking him with her clutch.

"What'd I do?" He finally looked up from the lit screen.

"I would love it if you would leave." She replied through her teeth.

"So y'all two can make a little mischievous plan? I don't think so." Marcelo narrowed his gaze.

"Yes, because he's clearly up and ready to move." Roni gestured to my sunken state.

"Yeah, that's what we thought earlier. This fucker's got some get up and go, you know?" Marcelo laughed as he reached out to hit me. He thought better of it and rested a hand on my shoulder.

"Just—" Roni started to argue when we heard the doorbell sound off. Both Marcelo and Roni groaned. "Two minutes alone if I answer it." she bargained.

"Fuck that, I'll just answer it." Marc stood and headed for the front door.

"Tell me what you need." She turned to me, lowering her voice.

"He's got to have her some place significant." I answered with the last thought in my head. I watched out the dark windows, waiting for something to come to me. "No one's inside that trailer, Roni. No one's moved at his moms place. If I were Hannibal, I'd take her to last place anyone would suspect."