Date = 17 June
Place = San Francisco (UCSF Medical center)
POV – Enrique
“Make sure they fumigate, clean and sterilize everything, especially Leyla’s room. Thanks Aunt Betty.” I put down the phone on the bedside table. I trust that she would make sure things go smoothly. After all, she been with us for years and is like part of the family. I specifically hired her at first because of her name … she has the same name as the nurse that cared for us whenever we ended up in the ER. The nurse that later married Doc Barney. I thought it was a fated coincidence … and turns out I was right. Aunt Betty is just as wonderful as her nursing counterpart … a real mother hen. I keep on walking up and down next to my hospital bed.
“Isn’t it too soon. Shouldn’t you do that just before she leaves the hospital? You know she’s probably gonna be here another month or so?” Logan queries.
“Yes,” I’m fully aware about every step of her treatment and how long it takes, “I’ll repeat it again just before she gets out.” I want to guarantee the perfect environment for her recovery. This might be her last opportunity for a full recovery. The mere thought of Leyla not being around cuts through me and I increase my speed.
“You realize you’re creating a draft over here,” Logan jokes, “Are your back not sore?” Although slightly sensitive, the little punctures are not particularly painful. I don’t answer him, but stop my excessive walking and turn to stare out the window. It’s not my body that bothers me. It’s this divided dilemma inside … I want to support her and Leyla through this process. Be with them. Hold them. Comfort them. But I can’t take that risk.
There are people out there lurking in the shadows with a clear intent to harm us. And until we catch those cretins, I can’t jeopardize their safety by getting close to either of them. Even though their absence is killing me. And the worst part is that I had to lie to Aria. I don’t want her to stress about mafia killers when she has to focus on getting her sister better. Except I may have lost her forever with my behavior. But I had to. Didn’t I?
Even so, her tears haunt my thoughts. The sadness on her face when I told her that it’s over between us. I could literally see the devastation in those emerald eyes. I’m sure she hates me right now … first the baby thing and now this. And that’s what’s actually gnawing at my heart. Will she understand that I did it to keep them safe? Will she forgive me? Give me another chance? A light pain spreads from my heart, up to my head and settle in my nasal cavities. I rub my eyes with the back of my hand.
“It felt strange yesterday not to be able to celebrate Mel’s birthday with her,” Logan breaks the hollow silence by chancing the conversation. He must have sensed my gloomy mood and is now trying to uplift me. “I think it’s the first time ever she didn’t have at least one of us with her.” It takes me a minute to fully comprehend what he’s saying exactly.
“Yes, she was crying the whole time when I talked to her on the phone.” Not really the most cheerful topic, if that’s what he was aiming for.
“Shit, she almost made me cry.” Typical Logan. The boy with the big heart. Sometimes I wish I was more like him.
“Wow, look at that ugly ass.” Lee walks into the room. I don’t understand why my twin drags this guy with everywhere he goes these days, as if he wants to keep his eyes on him. I irritably tug at the stupid gown they made me wear. It’s all open at the back side and I’m thoroughly naked underneath. I swear it’s a size too small, and to put the cherry on the cake, it has this feminine floral pattern. The recovery room nurse instructed me to keep it on until the doctors finished their post-op checkups.
“Glad they didn’t need me to fill in … I’m so not wearing THAT,” Jackson chuckles strolling in right behind his roommate. He was on standby in case they needed a backup donor.
“Aw, identical naked butts in girly dresses,” Lee says in this teasing manner that’s majorly irritating. “Now that could be a front page scoop.”
“It already was … paparazzi once caught them sharing a tiny towel while skinny dipping on the beach,” Logan blabbers out leaving Lee curiously shocked. Yeah, after Damion and him stole our clothes and called the news to our location. But no worries, we got them good for that.
“Not identical anymore … his butt is now full of holes,” Jackson chops back with a voice dripping of sarcasm, “and mine is way sexier.” I stop trying to cover up and give the duo a sideways smirk.
“Actually, my butt is pretty famous being displayed on billboards all over the world. If you want I can have it autograph a piece of toilet paper for you.” I love messing with this boy … cause Jackson for no apparent reason gets irate when he’s playmate gets toyed with. It’s like hitting two birds with one stone.
Lee’s face turns red like a stop sign and those eyes lock on my posterior as if looking to verify my statement. Not exactly the reaction I was going for. The combination of those peculiarly stunning colored pupils and extra long thick lashes, is a touch unsettling when he stares at you. It’s like being stalked by a lion.
“Ah, I recognize it now,” his sparkling eyes finds mine, “it’s the one with the piles promoting that hemorrhoid cream, right?” My brothers burst out in full laughter.
“Fuck off, Lee.” I’m not in a disposition for jokes.
“Someone’s cranky,” Axel chuckles, carrying in some boxes. I immediately recognize the label from my favorite deli and my starving tummy grumbles.
“You would be too if you’re stuck in a room with a bunch of idiots, ” I snarl before I notice my two uncles behind him with trays of take-away coffees.
“Hey, so much for supporting a brother with a prodded ass,” Lee chuckles and I shoot him a glare, pulling on the ends of my garment, hoping that my free willy is not peeping out at the bottom. Fortunately the room is solely occupied by boys, thank goodness. Not that I’m shy … it’s just, going forward, I don’t want any other female eyes, except Aria, sexing my dick from now on.
“Why are you all here?” I ask looking at Uncle John, still slightly peeved.
“Well, your uncles are here to support you,” he gives a half-suppressed laugh, “and we brought food,” he continues to mock. I am hungry, that’s for sure. It lifts my rock-bottom mood slightly.
Okay, maybe I’m like one floor from the bottom-bottom at this stage … there are some good news even in all this chaos. I turned out to be a perfect match for Leyla (talk about fate). And I got rid of Amanda for good. But the rest is pretty bad. I had to crush the girl I love. My sister is in danger yet again. We don’t know who the fuck we’re up against. And I have to wear this stupid dress. Why is it always us? Can’t we ever just be happy? Maybe the Blackburn curse Jackson once blabbered about is true.
“The rest of us are here to talk about matters of utmost importance,” Jackson scoffs, “and to eat of course.” He reaches out to grab a box from Axel.
“No,” Uncle John inserts himself between my twin and the food. His voice is stern, but with a hint of zest. “Enrique eats first. He’s been fasting since yesterday.” Uncle Alex places the coffee trays on my overbed table.
“We can clearly see who’s the golden favorite here,” Jackson pouts.
Two nurses walks into the room, ending any further protests. The front one stops so abruptly that her colleague collides into her back. The first girl, a tall skeletal-thin blonde, quickly looks around the room, her sharp face filled with awe. The round brunette peeks around her comrade’s back and her jaw literally drops leaving her mouth gaping. She jerks her head from left to right and then her gaze travels up and down my semi-nude body. A bright red tint colors her face. I crunch. For the first time in my life I feel uncomfortable being perved over .
“Fuck, it’s Lauren and Harley,” Lee whiffs softly under his breath and I look down, scuffing the back of my neck trying not to laugh at the precise interpretation. The fact that he looks sternly serious not helping.
“Eh … mm … we … just need to check, Mr. Blackburn,” the skinny one then manages to stutter out and she elbows her co-worker in the side.
“Sorry,” the fat nurse blabs, her pretty plump cheeks still deeply flushing, “I just never saw so many hot dudes in one room before,” she comes clean and the whole room grins coyly at her, darkening her blush.
“Oh, girlfriend … wait till you see the full house,” Lee comments.
“More?” Her eyes almost pop from their sockets, and she receives a few more bony elbow pumps in the ribs from her companion. “Eh … sorry … mm …” she desperately attempts to regain her composure.
“You … mister … should get in the bed with us … ” she quickly grabs the file on the table and stuffs it in the scrawny one’s hands. The murmur of soft snickers fill the room. Her coworker gives her a slap on the shoulder. I restrain my grin and obediently get into the bed. Uneasily scanning the room, the nurse not yet grasping what she said. It takes a few more seconds before she squeezes her eyes shut, this time turning an almost purple color, so I guess it suddenly dawned on her.
“FOR us … you should get in bed FOR us. We need to look you over,” she tries to fix the mishap in a small voice while checking my IV. The morons in the room snickers softly as I cover myself with the sheet trying to hide my naked parts. This dainty attire will definitely put my family jewels on display when I stretch out on the bed. And if this round little nurse acted like that just from seeing a bunch of guys, she might go into cardiac arrest when she sees my junk.
Biting her bottom lip, she clips an oximetry onto my finger, places a thermometer under my arm, cuffs the blood-pressure meter around my bicep and inflates it, her fingers now lightly holding my wrist. Checking the gauge, she calls out my vitals so the bony girl can write it down.
“Is he going to live?” Lee teases. Evidently, the nurse doesn’t get his stupid humor.
“He’s gonna be just fine,” she replies dourly before rapidly scanning the room again. Her friend grabs her arm and they scatter out the room, bumping into Alejandro at the door. Both of them gasp and flees down the corridor.
“What’s that about?” D-boy asks confused.
“Never mind. How’s Leyla?” I ask, since I know he’s been with Aria. He grabs a coffee and a sandwich from the table.
“Shit, I’m starving.” He takes a big bite, chews and swallows. “Leyla is fine. Everything went well. But … ” he looks at me and a cold hand grabs onto my heart. “She saw you in the theater. Since they immediately inserted your bone marrow straight through her venous tube, she was awake through the whole procedure.”
“Fuck, they must have pushed her in after I went under.” I don’t want Aria to know that I’m the donor. Maybe because I don’t want her to feel obligated to me … as if she owes me or something. I take one of footlong pork-club-subs and try to find the least painful position for my harvested pelvis.
Lee also snatches one right away. “Since the golden boy got his share,” he mumbles and take a sizable bite. For such a small person he sure eats a lot. The rest of the group attacks the food and clears the boxes in a matter of seconds as if they never gonna get fed again.
“I called you all here so we can discover the identity of the individuals that is out to get us,” Uncle John starts while everybody is quietly chewing. “It’s a matter of utmost importance as it holds the key to our survival and peace of mind.” That’s the truth. The sooner we find them the sooner we get rid of the stalking spectre that looms over our existence. Nobody wants to live in constant fear and alertness.
“Well, since we eliminated the potential targets by hiding Mel and putting guards on Aria and Leyla, the next step is to identify their end goal as well as the reason for their retaliation,” Alejandro says and I notice that he looks jadedly hyped. Did something happen? Maybe he’s just worried about his family.
“Well, the reason is clear … they’re holding us responsible for the death of a friend. And we suspect there might be a connection to the Browns. They’re using Darren’s phone … and the mayday messages … it can’t be a coincidence,” Jackson reckons. “We just need to find out WHICH friend.”
“I might have some insight to that,” Uncle Alex speaks for the first time. Although our start with him wasn’t under the best circumstances, he turned out to be a pretty decent guy actually. A victim of Alexander just like all of us.
“My father … eh Alexander once told me that he and George are working with The Circle to expand both empires.”
“Shit, are you part of mafia then?” Lee prays.
“No,” Uncle Alex smirks, “Alberto confirmed that he ended all relationships with the mafia after he took over.”
“However, when I was working with Harry I once asked who’s backing him up. Turned out that his best friend since childhood married into The Circle … a guy named Mario Romano. He’s currently what they call ‘the spada’ or sword. The man responsible for law and order in The Circle.”
“So Harry could be the friend they’re looking to revenge,” Axel ascertains. It makes sense.
“Is he the Old Man?” Lee implores with big eyes.
“No,” Alejandro incidentally remark and all eyes turn to him. He looks guilty … as if he got caught saying the wrong thing.
“How do you know?” Jackson furrows his brows and leans his head slightly to the right. I know by now what that gesture means – he’s mind is running unraveling loops.
“Eh,” D-boy looks uncomfortable. Is he hiding something? “I’ve read somewhere that The Old Man’s surname is Lamorte. Dominic Lamorte to be precise.”
“And you’re telling us this just now?” Jackson still sounds suspicious. But why would Alejandro keep stuff from us?
“I just learned it recently … while I was investigating all the clues we have.” His icy eyes stares straight into my brother’s stormy ones.
“He’s right, Mario, for some reason uses the Old Man’s name,” Uncle Alex says. Jackson let’s out a deep breath and gives Alejandro one last glare before looking around the room, “Anything else we need to know?”
“Here’s what I found on Google … ” Axel starts, “The Circle was started in the 1930’s by the three biggest mafia families in Italy, Moretti, Romano and Lamorte of which the Lamorte’s is the most powerful. Other than that, there’s not much about them on social media.”
“True, but Alberto told me that Dominic Lamorte stepped down a few years ago and is not actively part of The Circle anymore, although he still holds the most power. He’s the one that helped you last time because he owed Alberto some kind of favor.”
So that man at the bar told Mel the truth. The Old Man is not our enemy. But why would this Mario guy try to frame him then? It seems whenever we get some answers, more questions just turn up. I just want this whole mess to end. Can we not just lead normal lives?
The dull head-ache suddenly rise into a throbbing one and starts punching against the inside of my skull, right between my eyes. I’m not sure if it’s because of the procedure I underwent, the stress of the last couple of days, or the perilous and emotionally taxing journey of finding the person who wants to kill us. All I know is that we’re in a live-threatening predicament again.
“All this because of our grandfather,” I mumble, pushing my fingers hard against my skull above my nose to try and relief the pain there.
“Maybe you guys are cursed,” Lee mutters incoherently. And I’m starting to belief he’s right. I’m not normally superstitions … but The Blackburn curse might be a real thing.