Chapter Sixty
“Maria, Maria you’re safe, you’re okay.” Dave spoke, stroking her face.
He wiped the tears away from her face with his fingers, careful not to touch her bruises. Seeing her awake washed all the worry, fear and anger he had when he was watching her lay unconscious and broken, but the guilt of failing to protect her was still there, like a dark cloud hanging over him and the pain on her face only drove the knife deeper into his heart. He was never going to be able to forgive himself, and he wouldn’t blame Maria if she hated him too after all the promises he had made to her.
“Maria, it’s me Dave.” he quickly wiped a tear away before he went on, “Your father is here too.”
Taking the introduction as a cue, Miguel moved and sat on the other side of her bed. He took her free hand and pulled it gently to his lips, “Mija.” he cried, letting a few tears flow more freely than Dave had allowed himself, “lo siento, lo siento mija!”
Maria opened her eyes slowly, the wave of pain slowly fading away as the grogginess took dominance again. She felt lightheaded, like she was floating, especially now that the pain seemed like a distant memory, like it wasn’t her body in pain.
She always thought she would end up like this again, in a hospital bed, courtesy of Ricky, but she never believed it would ever happen, not with Dave around and as much as it may hurt her pride, she had to admit she felt more secure with her scary criminal father around. But it was her fault, she was the one who took off alone, without either of them, so how were they going to protect her?
She looked at her father who had her hand glued to his cheek then she shifted her eyes to Dave who was hovering above her, stroking her hair away from her face, his other hand laid on her other side, his fingers weaved with hers in the sling. His eyes were hollow and pained, and his lips were curved up in a quivering tightly pressed smile. She struggled to keep her vision focused on his face, she couldn’t understand his emotions. It wasn’t pity or repulsion or anger at her stupidity, it was something completely different. Something she had never seen before.
She turned back to Miguel, he had the same look on his face, but she could also see anger in his eyes, and that she understood. She looked around the room for Edna and the kids, but there was only one more man who was standing at the door, she couldn’t see him properly, but the image of him standing at the door brought back the memory of the man who shot Ricky.
Ricky!
She looked at the two men seated at her bed. She wondered if they knew what happened to her, who had done this to her, she wondered if one of them shot Ricky.
Was Ricky even dead?
The stranger’s phone rang, and Miguel and Dave turned to his direction. He quietly excused himself, returning all the attention to Maria.
“Where’s mama?” Maria whispered. Her throat felt scratchy and dry, probably because of all the meds they had pumped inside her.
“She’s home with the children.” Miguel answered, planting another kiss in her palm.
Maria could feel her hands and head begin to itch. All the hands on her were beginning to make her uncomfortable. She struggled not to pull away, these were men who cared for her and would never hurt her, the way Ricky did at least.
Maria turned to Dave, “How is Michael?”
“He’s fine.”
“Izzy?”
“She’s fine too. You know her mood depends on Michael’s.” he answered with a smile then leaned down and kissed her forehead.
Maria inched back away from him, but she didn’t get far with the huge pillow under her head, “Yeah, Michael loves it when she tails after him.” unable to contain her discomfort anymore, she pulled away from both men and painfully pushed herself to a sitting position, “I just hope he doesn’t ask for a puppy.” She preferred lying down, but this was the only polite way to get their hands away from her.
“Mija, it would be better if you lay down.” He rose to help her, but she raised her hand stopping him.
“No, I’m fine. I’m already used to the pain.”
“You shouldn’t be used to anything like what you went through.” Dave’s anger crept out, his voice was low and harsh, echoing the anger in his eyes.
Maria turned away from him, she was back to square one, cowering away from the slightest hint of aggression, “I take it you know what happened?”
“Yes.” Miguel answered before a sadistic smile crept over his harsh face, “But he’s dead now and you have nothing to worry about.” He said, combing her hair with his fingers.
The look on Miguel’s face made Maria uncomfortable. He seemed psychotic, a sadist with a gentle touch and that frightened her because whenever Ricky had that look on his face it always meant he was going to hurt her.
“So” Maria swallowed the lump in her throat, “Am I right in assuming you shot him?”
Miguel laughed and to Maria’s relief, he stood up and moved to stand at the foot of her bed, “I would have loved to have had that honour, but no it wasn’t me.”
Maria looked at him, surprised by his excited yet disappointed attitude. How was it possible she and her mother attracted psychopaths? She shifted her gaze to Dave, his long face answered her question, besides cold-blooded murder wasn’t his style. At least she had one sane man in her life. She raised her hand and stroked his cheek, “I know it wasn’t you.”
Dave’s eyes rose to settle in hers. The harsh look in them made Maria pull away, “Why, because I’m too much of a coward to do what needs to be done?”
Maria couldn’t handle the callous air hanging around her. Yes, their anger wasn’t towards her, and yes she was glad Ricky was dead, but after the nightmare she just went through she just wanted peace and quiet.
“When do I get to go home?”