All I've Never Wanted(128)

“Parker.” Adriana’s tone was a warning, and I saw her flick her gaze towards Giselle, who looked even more distraught at the mention of the person who’d stabbed her son.

“Well, it’s true. I would’ve loved to give him a taste of his own medicine,” Parker muttered darkly. “If it wasn’t for him, Roman would be awake right now, and probably yelling at us for something.”

I cracked a small smile at that, as I felt Carlo come up behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders comfortingly. “Do you want to go in?” He tilted his head towards the closed door.

I swallowed. I did and I didn’t, but I couldn’t very well give him that answer. Instead, I just walked over, gave Giselle a comforting squeeze, and quietly opened the door to his private room.

Even though I’ve been here every day for the past week, the air still whooshed out of my lungs at the sight in front of me.

I walked over to the bed, my knees so shaky I probably would’ve collapsed were it not for Carlo’s firm grip on my arm. Tears blurred my vision as I stared down at the bed where Roman lay. His eyes were closed, his usually bronzed skin pale and waxy, and his chest rose and fell shallowly.

I’ve always thought of Roman as a larger-than-life person. Even when I hated him, his presence filled a room, and you couldn’t help but be drawn to him. I guess in my mind I always thought someone that arrogant and powerful was invincible. There had definitely been times when I wanted to cut him down to size, but now, I hated how frail and weak he looked in that hospital bed, hooked up to IVs and beeping monitors when he should’ve been out there in the real world, hanging out with his friends and laughing—or, in his case, scowling.

A sob escaped my throat as I grasped his hand in mine, squeezing it tight. Of course, he didn’t squeeze back. I hadn’t expected him to, but I crushing disappointment still filled my stomach at his lack of response.

“I’m sorry,” I whispered, smoothing a lock of dark hair back from his forehead. “I’m so, so sorry. This is all my fault. I shouldn’t have gone out. I should’ve just stayed in my house, and then none of this would’ve happened, and we would’ve had our one-month anniversary, and you wouldn’t be—be—“ My throat closed up, and I was unable to finish as the tears fell down my cheek.

I held my breath, trying my best to quiet my sobs. I couldn’t get hysterical here, what with everyone outside the door. Besides, I didn’t need to make his mother any more worried.

But what if he never woke up? The thought sent chills through my body, and my heart spasmed painfully. I squeezed Roman’s hand tighter, like the action might keep my worst fears from coming true.

“Maya.”

I jumped at the unexpected sound of my voice, and when I turned, I could make out the tall, leather-jacketed shape through my tears.

Rico.

Even though he’d helped save me the other night, a shiver of apprehension snaked through me, especially when I realized Carlo wasn’t in the room anymore. Although I now knew James was more than a little psycho, I still couldn’t forget what he’d said about Rico raping his cousin.


“H-hi.” I shifted in my seat. “Did you just get here?”

I’ve never seen Rico around here much, but then again, he didn’t exactly strike me as the camp-out-in-front-of-a-hospital-room type.

“No. I went to get something to eat.” He crossed his arms over his chest, and for once, I didn’t see the sly gleam in his eyes that told me he was checking me out. “Do you want to grab some food? Carlo said you hadn’t eaten yet.”

“No thanks. I’m not hungry.” I returned my gaze to Roman. It was an automatic response, but unfortunately, my stomach rumbled loudly, sounding like an angry lion.

Rico chuckled. “Right. Come on, the others will look over him. The food here’s not so bad, and we need to talk.”

I blinked. We did?

In the end, curiosity won out, and I reluctantly released Roman’s hand, casting one last glance at his prone form before following Rico out into the hall.

“We’ll call you if he wakes up,” Carlo assured me quietly.

I nodded, my smile small but grateful.

Luckily, the cafeteria wasn’t too far from Roman’s room, and I was surprised by the wide array of foods they had here. As I halfheartedly picked up a sandwich, I was aware of Rico’s gaze on me.

I felt a little more comfortable around him now, but that was mainly because I knew he wasn’t stupid enough to do anything in a crowded place. If he was going to do anything. Besides, if anything happened, at least I was in a hospital.

“So what did you want to talk to me about?” I asked, avoiding his eyes while I paid for my food.

“I figure James told you about Lexi.”

I froze, then looked at him, my eyes wide. “H-how did you know that?”

Rico smirked lazily. “He kept ranting on and on about how he was going to ruin us, and he mentioned her quite a few times.”

“You two were having an affair.” It wasn’t a question.

He blinked. “You sound awfully sure of yourself. You still believe everything James said?”

I lifted my chin up. “Well, I saw the picture.”

Rico’s eyes sharpened. “What picture?”

I gulped at the look on his face. Uh-oh. Maybe I shouldn’t have mentioned it. Well, it was too late to back down now.