His Vanilla Girl | ✔

Chapter Seven

"I'm fine. I just wanna go home," Sylvester ranted to his family. They were surrounding his bed, and he felt like a sardine in a tin can.

"If you were fine, you wouldn't be squinting in pain after every word," his sister, Tammy, said.

Sometimes he hated that she became a cop, she was far too observant. But then again, she's always been more into detail than the rest of his family, except for his mom. She had eyes like a hawk, that's probably why his dad never got away with anything. Not that he tried, she had him leashed in like a good boy.

"Your sister is right, honey." His mother, Betsy, patted his hand gently. "We almost lost you, so you are going to stay in here for as long as I or the doctors deem necessary."

"I'm not a child anymore, Mom," he complained, but even as he spoke the words, he covered her hand with his, squeezing gently.

"You two will always be my babies," Betsy said.

His mother always clucked around them like a crazed hen and it drove him crazy. But he couldn't stop her because it was what made her happy.

Tammy walked to the head of his bed and folded her arms, zoning in on him with her detective eyes. "Hey, bro, what can you tell us about Maria?"

"Maria?" His mother's eyes lit up with hope. "Who's Maria?"

'The girl he was with last night before this all went down."

Sylvester shrugged. "We just happened to get stuck in the same elevator," he said, not wanting to give them any reason to hunt her down and pester her.

"What were you arguing about outside?"

"Sis, just back off, will you. She didn't have anything to do with this."

"You don't know that. She shows up and suddenly you have two near death experiences."

"I didn't walk into the light, so don't worry."

Tammy threw her hands into the air and stormed out of the room in a huff. She obviously wasn't as convinced as he was that Maria was innocent. His Father, Leo, followed after her. He chuckled...if only they knew how innocent. It still burned him though that he botched his only chance at going out with her by letting his frustration get the better of him. He wasn't usually that much of a hot head.

"So about this Maria?" his mother started.

"It's nothing. She's just a girl I met last night." Sylvester looked around the room. "Do you guys know where my phone is?"

Betsy stood up and wandered over to the small wooden closet beside the bed. "It's in the bag the hospital gave us when you came in." Opening the door, she took out his phone and handed it to him. Her mouth kept opening and closing as if she wanted to say something more, but for once in her life, she remained quiet, although hope sparkled in her eyes.

"Don't put too much stock into it, Mother," he said, trying to get her off his case. "She's just a girl I met last night. You know, another one of my subs."

She frowned and folded her hands on her lap as she sat down in the chair that was pulled up beside his bed. "I want you to come home for a while. Get away from all that for a bit."

Sylvester sighed. She never stopped trying to intervene and break him free from what she believed to be a deplorable life, and he stopped trying a long time ago to explain that it wasn't what she thought it was. Who wants to discuss those types of things with their mother?

"I have a store to run," he argued.

"Why don't you sell it and go into business with your dad. You know he'd love to have you."