The Beginning

Tess

It was the second time in two weeks that I'd woken up in a hospital bed. The first time, Star was by my side. I looked to see that Veronica had taken her place.

Veronica glanced over her phone. With a gasp, she said, "You're awake." She stood, leaving her purse in the seat behind her, to wrapped me in a hug.

Unexpected affection threw me for a loop. I found myself frozen.

Veronica pulled away. Her brown eyes studied me. "Are you okay? Does it hurt anywhere? I can get you the good stuff." She rattled off. Her head swiveled as she searched for the opening in the curtain.

"I'm fine." I finally answered. A dull ache pulsed through my left ankle. I attempted to adjust it, but found it encased in a stiff cast. My fuzzy memory was caught with a sinister slideshow of events. Instants of intimacy ended in minutes of disaster. I felt my heart sink in my chest. "Nicky?" I asked, somewhat hopeful that my memory had played a malicious prank.

"I'm going to get the nurse, okay? And then we'll..." She balked as she searched for the right words. "We'll just talk about that when I get back." Worse than the mean girl Veronica was the phony kind version. At least the sourpuss in her was honest.

"Veronica!" I called after her. Never one to quit, I searched the room for my best option at escape. Or at least a way to find a connection to the outside world. As each De La Cruz had done, Veronica kept her cell phone glued to her palm. I crossed that option off of my mental list.

A wheelchair watched me from the corner of the room. With my ankle secured, I was sure I'd make it over there on my own. Yanking the cover back, I tried to lift my untethered leg over the edge of the bed. Every muscle seemed screamed back at me as I did so. I fought through the pain but found myself reconsidering my abilities. With a deep breath to prepare myself and the aid of the IV cart to which I was connected, I wobbled over to the waiting seat.

No sooner had my butt hit the seat that Veronica reentered with a man in scrubs.

"What are you doing?" She questioned accusingly.

"Stir crazy?" I offered.

"You should let your cousin help you." The nurse advised.

"My cousin?" I asked taken aback.

"Yes." Veronica said pointedly, eyeing me. "If we weren't related they would've called your closest living relatives."

Oh. She'd done me more than one favor now. "Thanks, cousin." I swallowed any sarcastic comments that teetered on my teeth and tongue.

Roni and the nurse worked to get me back into bed. He checked my eyes, scolding me every so often as they found a clock on the wall. As he took my vitals, he asked if there was anything I could recall from the past few days.

My mind was drawn back to Nicky, lying frigid on the kitchen floor. A glance at Roni gave me the only right answer. "No." I shook my head, then added, "Everything's a little fuzzy."

The nurse gave me a skeptical once over, and informed me that the doctor would arrive shortly. As soon as he'd disappeared, I leaned toward Roni.

"What happened?" I interrogated. "Is he okay? He's not, right? That's why you aren't saying anything?"

Roni held her hands up, palms out, as she dropped into her seat on top of her clutch. She took a calming breath, and her eyes drifted to the white tile beneath her feet. "Vin was suspicious from the beginning, about us, not about Dad. He caught Oscar's location and followed him to Santi's." She swallowed the lump in her throat. "When he got into the house, Oz was standing there one minute then on the ground the next. He said Nicky was the only one who could've taken the shot." She curled her lips into her mouth, tears brimming in her wide eyes. "We don't know why he did it."

That meant that Nicky wasn't around to explain himself. My lips turned down at the corners. Anguish gripped every piece of me. "So he didn't...?" I couldn't ask the question. In my heart, I already knew the answer.

"Come on." She urged, standing from her seat.

Somehow, I found it more difficult to pull myself from the bed, though I had an extra hand. My limbs weighed heavily and my heart sank in my chest. "Where are we going?" I wondered monotonously, feeling as though every ounce of emotion had leeched out. Good or bad, I was numb to it.

Down a long hallway, and through a heavy door, Roni wheeled me along.

It seemed like nothing except blankets, tubes and chords, until I saw those scraped knuckles. Tattoos marred by scabs and scrapes.

My heart hopped with anticipation.

The closer we drew, recognizable imprints of things he loved and the places he'd been etched into his flesh. Arms that held me tightly, now laid limply at his sides. The right half of his face swollen beyond recognition, the left was bruised and battered. My ear took note of the way his heart monitor still rhythmically beeped and how he pulled air sharply through his nose. Or was it his mouth? A tube wedged down his throat kept his airway open.

"You're alive?" I placed a hand on his warm skin.

"He was shot, Tess. Right through his jaw." Roni informed. "None of the doctors are sure that he'll wake up, and if he does, he's not going to be the same Nicky that you liked so much."

"What are you talking about?" I snapped, unable to take my eyes off him. "Are you really being an asshole? After everything, you still think--" A sharp breath cut my words short. I didn't care if his face changed, it would do that anyway. He would grow older, develop wrinkles, grey hair. His laugh lines would stick, his body would change, and I would remind him every day that we chose one another for a damn good reason.

I reached for him, but my movement stuttered. Unsure of what might hurt him, I tucked my hand underneath his. Typically rough hands had grown unusually dry.

He didn't twitch neither did he snore nor search for me. Somewhere inside his motionless figure, Nicky was there.

I could feel it.

"He's going to wake up." I told Roni with determination. "He'll be here."

She cleared her throat. "We should go back to your room before the doctor comes, huh?"

"Why aren't they here?" I suddenly wondered. "Where are your brothers?"

"Vin is covering Nicky for the time being. Silas needs to wrap some things up for your little friend Javon. The twins usually steer clear of anyone except each other and Marc-"

"Went to get food." He announced from behind us. "Welcome back." His eyes softened as they fell on me. He made his way around the hospital bed, waving the grease-stained bag in Nicky's face. "See what you're missing?" He asked, taking a seat on the rolling chair beside me. "Nothing?" He wondered as his hand disappeared inside the bag. "Got you something anyway." He withdrew glistening, salt covered french fries and propped them up between Nicky's torso and upper arm. "You wake up, you can have 'em." He offered somewhat hopefully. In silence, we waited for Marcelo's bribe to work. "Should've brought Tia Juju's birria, huh?" He glanced over at me. "My man never says no to tacos." He glanced at me for a second longer this time. "Well, you know."

"Marcelo." Roni scolded.

Suppressed laughter became unmanageable. I found myself bouncing with each giggle. Finally, desperate for air, I snorted.

Marcelo laughed out loud with a full mouth. "See?" He asked pointedly at Roni.

Nicky would've made the same joke with fewer words. I could already see his eyebrows waggling at the mention of anything remotely sexual.

"We need to get back to your room." Roni reminded me.

Finally, I was able to tear my eyes away from Nicky to look up at her. Nodding softly, I tried to roll myself backward. Unable to gain the momentum, Roni took the handles behind me and pulled me out of Marcelo's way. My gaze stayed glued to Nicky as we headed for the door.

"Hey." Marcelo called after us.

Roni and I both turned back to him.

"He's going to wake up." He promised.

A gentle smile pulled at my lips. "I know."