The Beginning

Nicky

I felt everything.

Achy, tender muscles refused to move. Throbbing in my skull was punctuated by the prickling pain behind my eyes each time I shifted them. Even the beat of my own heart felt explosive.

Fighting to lift my hand, a modicum of strength allowed my index finger to rise.

"Nicky?" Melodic, soft, Tess breathed my name. Her hair, usually allowed to fly free, had been twisted on top of her head in a bun. She stood to meet me, a heavy clunk sounding off as she did so. "You're awake." A gentle smile tugged at her lips.

I tried to open my mouth to speak but found it impossible. Instead, I was met with a stinging, radiating burn. My hand wanted to comfort the pain. It laid still on the bed beside me.

As if she'd read my mind, Tess placed her cold hands on either side of my jaw. "They wired it shut during your surgery." she informed me.

A wave of memories crashed against me. As though they were taken in a snapshots, I watched myself kill Hannibal and then Oscar.

My heart sank deeply in my chest.

Ozzy.

He was a loudmouth and a joker, but he was ours. He'd become another heart wrenching betrayal in the family saga. All the time I'd wasted suspecting Vincent, I was feeding information to someone who wanted me dead.

In two weeks, I'd lost three family members. Two, as far as I was concerned, were blood on my hands.

Two weeks? Had it only been two weeks?

I attempted to ask Tess and reignited that searing pain.

"Mija! Ayuda me!" My mom called from outside the door.

"Oh." Tess thunk-thunk-thunked to the door to hold it open for Mama.

"I brought everything for tacos." she sang happily as she strolled in. "I brought some for you, too." Mama turned over her shoulder to look at me. Her mouth fell open and her hands went limp. Plastic containers clattered to the floor. Her chin puckered as she fought tears that had already split. "Vida." she rasped. Something she hadn't called me in a long time.

I lifted the one finger that I knew I could.

Mama rushed to my side and took my one mobile hand in hers. "Oh, Nicky." she sobbed. Her free hand cleaned her face. "Did you call his cousins?" Mama asked Tess.

"I haven't even got a nurse yet." Tess replied.

"Ah-ah." Mama stopped her. "Family first."

"They need to look at him, Miss Juju." Tess contested. "He hasn't been awake in a week. What if he's--"

"Ay, Mija, go." Mama shooed her. "You talk to the nurses and doctors and whoever. I'll call the family."

Mama sighed heavily and rolled her eyes at me. "That girl, Nicky."

Oh no.

"She's as argumentative and persistent as you are." She clicked her tongue. "No, Miss Juju, you see him shivering, but it could be fever. No, Miss Juju, Vick's won't help." She mocked Tess. "What does she know?" Mama kissed her teeth.

"Though," looking up from her phone to gaze longingly at me, she admitted, "I suppose I wouldn't have it any other way." She chuckled to herself. "The doctor tried to tell us to let you go." Her expression shifted from her initial annoyance to solemn. Her gaze dropped to her lap. "That girl would've gone to hell and come back just for you." Her features brightened. A smile blossomed. "I might like this one." she confessed.

My brows rose. The only muscles that seemed to work. I managed to feel it in the jigsaw puzzle that was my cheek.

"I know what I said." she replied tartly, lifting a brow back at me. "You tend to pick the careless woman. The person who doesn't want you unless you look or act a certain way." Mama glanced at the door for a short second, then back to me. "She has been here as often as I have. She went to Rico's funeral in your place and ran right back here to tell you all about it."

That couldn't have been easy for Tess. Not only was she with a hoard of people that she didn't know, but she was subject to their scrutiny when I wasn't there to protect her.

Marc's sloppy, ugly grinning mug popped into my head. Had he flirted with her while I was incapacitated? That fucker would seize any opportunity he could get, and for him, it wasn't any daunting task.

I attempted one more time to speak; to ask if Marc had been kept at bay. This time the pain was accompanied by a ringing in my ears.

Loud footsteps clambered down the hallway. The soles of wet shoes clapped the tile floor, echoing up and down the hallway.

First through the door was Marcelo, celebrating his victory over the others. "You thought you could beat me!"

Mama stood to swat his shoulder. "Don't bring all that noise in here." she corrected him lowly. "You'll startle my baby."

Though the embarrassment overtook me, I wasn't able to roll my eyes or turn away from it.

"I had you at the corner." Silas continued their argument. "You're a cheater."

"I'm a 'use my surroundings to my benefit-er.'" Marc scoffed at him.

"Pushing me into the wall is not using your environment, you fucking cheater."

Mama caught Silas on the back of his head with her powerful hand. "What did I say?"

"How's Mama's little baby?" Roni snickered from behind them.

Her hair was frayed, and her eyes carried luggage. As petite as she already was, Roni managed to look frail. Her typical A-list celebrity fashion had been replaced by a pair of leggings and one of my Lakers T-shirts.

I lifted my index finger to greet her.

Roni's chin puckered at the same moment her nostrils flared. Her lips turned down, tears filling her eyes. She broke through her brothers to stand at my bedside. She lowered her head to my chest. "I thought this was it, Nicky." she breathed solemnly. "I didn't go back. I couldn't." she swallowed hard. "I gave everything to Vin. He'd know what do, right?" Roni lifted her head and cleaned her cheeks as quickly as she could. "Right?"

I couldn't do much more than blink at her or lift my finger. I made the same mistake one too many times to try again. The ringing in my right ear still hadn't stopped.

A familiar thudding sounded off before Tess made her way back into the room. "Uh--" she paused to scan the room. "How did you guys get here before the doctor?"

"We actually give a shit." Marc replied under his breath.

Mama shot daggers at him with her intense glare.

"Bring it in, Bowen." Silas opened his arms to her and did something that I had been dying to do since I woke up. He wrapped her in his arms and squeezed her tightly.

Once she was free from Silas, she held a hand up to Marcelo. He clapped it swiftly, then offered her another. Tess moved quickly to clap his hand, but he moved it before she could get there. "Too slow again, Bowen? We taught you better than that." he teased her.

"You're an idiot." she rolled her eyes.

"You're dating one." He snorted.

"He literally came back from the dead, can you stop for two seconds?" Roni barked at Marcelo.

Marc lowered his gaze and took a deep breath. "No." he argued. "We already cried about it. And this asshole's finally awake to hear everything I say to him." He moved in beside his sister. As if he knew it was all that I had, Marcelo linked his index finger with mine. "Glad to have you back, primo." he uttered in a sober tone.