Lev: a Shot Callers novel(52)
I groaned, clutching my stomach. “I need painkillers. Ibuprofen.”
He helped me sit before searching through the medicine cabinet. “I only have acetaminophen,” he said as he brought it over with a glass of water.
I shook my head. “No. Ibuprofen. It needs to be anti-inflammatory.”
“What’s wrong?” he asked again, but I ignored him.
“Call Nas.” I grimaced as another cramp took hold, causing me to grit my teeth.
He did, and she arrived soon after holding a white box of tablets in her hands. She shook her head at me. “Didn’t listen to the doc, huh?”
“What doc?” asked Lev.
I moaned in agony, my forehead beginning to bead with sweat, doubling over. “Do you have the meds or not?”
She sighed. “Yeah, yeah. I got ‘em right here.” She placed the box down. I opened it with shaking hands and threw two into my mouth, swallowing them dry. Nas clicked her tongue at me. “Look at you? You didn’t listen, and now you’re useless. You’re not working tonight. Go to bed.”
But Lev was stuck on, “What doc?”
Nas took pity on me and lied to her brother. “It’s Mina’s time of the month. I took her to a clinic to see if they could do anything about the cramping.”
I was hoping he’d shy away like most men. I didn’t like lying to him. Instead, he knelt by my side and placed a hand on my knee. “Why didn’t you say so?”
“It’s embarrassing,” I croaked, massaging my temples in a slow, firm circular motion like my mom used to whenever I had a headache. It never felt the same after she’d gone. It only felt better when someone else did it to you.
He shook his head, frowning at me. “No, it isn’t. You’re a woman, Mina. You can’t help menstruating. It’s what women do.” Then he shocked me further. “Do you need me to go to the store for you?”
He was willing to go to the store and buy me feminine hygiene products like it was no big deal.
Lev Leokov was the definition of the word man. He’d earned it. He certainly acted like one. Not like those * boys who shied away from the word ‘period.’
The thing was, I had used the only pad I’d been given and I needed more, as the spotting had been quite heavy. I looked to Nas. “Do you have any pads?”
She shook her head. “Sorry, doll. I’m a tampon girl.”
Miserable, I turned to Lev and nodded. “I need pads.”
His eyes softened. “Okay.” If I didn’t know better, he seemed pleased that I let him be of some help to me. “Tell me what you need.”
I prattled off the single item I needed and Lev helped me to bed before leaving. He returned a half-hour later with the box of pads. He didn’t seem squeamish by the situation. Rather, knowing what I needed, he lay next to me, holding my hand until I fell asleep.
Later that night, I woke for a single moment, long enough to feel Lev’s warm body slide in next to me. He worked gently to pull me in close and tuck me into the space that was made for me and me alone. He rested his chin atop my head and sighed softly.
No longer in pain, and in the place I felt most at home, I found my smile before sleep took me once more.
Chapter TwentyThree
Mina
Waking up alone but refreshed and well rested, I dressed quickly and rushed downstairs to have breakfast with Lev. Only when I got to the kitchen, there was no one there, the newspaper neatly folded in the center of the table.
Silence in this house didn’t always mean it was empty, but today, it seemed it was.
That made me sad. I wanted to wake every morning by greeting Lev, putting my arms around him, and taking warmth from him as his giant frame enveloped me.
The time on the oven read eight twenty-three. Too early for Lev to have gone for his workout.
Where is he?
I wouldn’t be that girl.
I wouldn’t text him. No sir-ee.
I would go have breakfast with Nas instead, and try to fish out information from her.
It was a nice day. The walk did me good, now that I wasn’t having phantom labor pains. The air was cool and the sun was warm. I smiled up into the sky.
Making my way up the steps, I rang the bell and waited.
And waited.
And waited some more.
Lifting my hand, I knocked. “Come on, Nas. Get up!”
She answered the door, blinking away sleep, her face bunched and hair all over the place, wearing a flimsy nightie. “What the f*ck, dude?”
I beamed at her, and not waiting for an invitation, I slid by her. “I’m hungry and I need coffee.”
Her expression dampened. I turned to her and stared, beginning slowly, “I actually came here to find out where he’d gone.”
She shrugged, yawning. “I don’t know. I’m not his keeper.”
I bit the inside of my lip, my nose bunching. “Yeah,” I muttered, sounding disappointed. “Me either.”
Nas rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Go wait in the kitchen. Let me excuse myself from my company.”
As she walked back up the stairs, I called out a little too loudly. “Morning, Vik!”
I turned on the coffee pot and poured two mugs full as Nas came back into the kitchen, her hair tied in a high ponytail. She’d dressed in sweat pants and a loose sweater, with last night’s makeup still smudged under her eyes.