DeLuca (Mafia Romance)

Carlo

I could hear voices, but I couldn’t tell what they were saying, like I was under water and people were speaking above the surface. I tried to take a breath and coughed, something was in my throat. I tried to grab at it but my arms were pulled back. I heard yelling and movement, but when I tried to open my eyes to see what was going on I was blinded by a bright light. There was a tingling sensation in my arm that traveled up and through my body as my muscles relaxed and floated off into nothingness againExclusive content from NôvelDrama.Org.

The next time I came back through the darkness I was able to breathe. I felt something squeeze my hand. “Carlo?” I heard, I would know that voice anywhere. Mia. I had no idea where I was but Mia was with me so it had to be okay, she was safe. The last thing I remembered was pushing her out of the way of Vlad’s gun.

I tried to speak but my throat was on fire. “Shh, don’t talk, I called the nurse. Just relax. Everything is going to be okay,” she soothed. I tried to open my eyes again, the light was still blinding but I was able to squint and after a while, my eyes adjusted. Turning my head to where her voice had come from I saw her. Tears in her red rimmed eyes spilled over when she smiled at me. “Hi.”

“Where?” I tried to speak again but the burning was too much. It felt like I had swallowed sandpaper.

“Don’t try to talk,” she said sternly, “You’re in the hospital. They took you off the drugs that were keeping you out a while ago. The nurse said you’d feel groggy, don’t worry, its normal.”

Just then a nurse walked in, “Ah Mr. DeLuca, glad to see you’re awake. I’m going to check your vitals and the doctor will be in to examine on you in a minute.”

She moved around the room to the opposite side of the bed Mia was occupying and looked at the machines I was hooked up to. “Everything looks good considering, your blood pressure is on the low end of normal but that’s to be expected with the heavy sedation you were under. I’m going to ask you a series of questions. Don’t try to speak, just nod or shake your head. Got it?” she waited for me to nod before continuing, “Okay, is your vision normal?”

I nodded.

Walking around to the foot of the bed she lifted the blanket exposing my feet, “Can you feel this?” she asked running the end of her pen up the length of my foot. I jerked my foot away and nodded.

“Good, can you move your arms for me?”

I lifted my arms one at a time and set them back on the bed. I was starting to get irritated. She was treating me like a fucking invalid. Mia seemed to sense my frustration because she spoke quietly into my ear, “You’ve been out for four fucking days, she’s just doing her job. Don’t be an asshole.”

I looked at her in shock. Four days? What the fuck happened to cause me to be unconscious for four fucking days?

“Now, Mr. DeLuca, do you have any head or neck pain?” The nurse asked. I nodded, my head was pounding. The rest of my body was sore too but it was my head that was killing me.

“That’s normal with the sedation. As soon as the doctor checks you out I’ll give you something for the pain.”

“How long until he can go home?” Mia asked.

“That’ll be up to the doctor, honey. I know you’re eager to have him home but right now the best place for him is here where we can keep him under observation.”

“Okay, thank you Florence,” Mia said giving the nurse a soft smile.

The nurse, Florence, gave her a quick pat on the arm, “Okay, I’ll let the doctor know you’re awake and come back with some medication for the pain and some water for your throat,” she said and left the room leaving Mia and I alone.

“She’s been here every day since you came in,” Mia said noticing my confusion at her ease with the nurse, “I’m not supposed to be up here during non-visiting hours but she called in a few favors and got them to let me stay. I haven’t left since you got here.”

She’d been here for four days? Where did she sleep?

“Don’t give me that look. I thought I lost you. There’s no fucking way I’m leaving your side until you’re safe at home.”

The door opened again and a tall woman in a white coat walked in. “Hello, I’m Dr. Marshall,” she said coming to the side of the bed and looking over the same machines that the nurse had. “Your vitals are good. I think it’s safe to say we’re out of the woods here. It will take some time and you’ll need to take it easy while your body heals but from what I can tell, you should make a full recovery. We’ll keep you here for a few days and get you on the right medication dosage to manage your pain at home. Now, your wife mentioned that you’re from the Seattle area. I have a colleague up there that I’m going to recommend you to see. He’s one of the best rehab specialists on the west coast, and he’ll make sure your recovery goes smoothly.” I gave Mia a sideways glance when the doctor referred to her as my wife. She just shrugged and returned her attention to what the doctor was saying.

“You’re a lucky man, Mr. DeLuca. Not many people would be able to recover from this kind of trauma. Thankfully you’re young and healthy so that will be a big factor in the speed of your recovery. Florence will give you some pain medication for any discomfort you’re feeling. In a few hours you should be able to speak in short sentences. It will take some time for the pain to subside since you were on the ventilator for several days but you should be speaking normally in a day or two,” she said and turned to Mia, “Do you have any questions for me?”

“No. Thank you, Dr. Marshall.”

“Of course,” she said and exited the room as quickly as she’d entered.