by Zoe Glez
“Hey, gorgeous!” he says pulling me toward him.
“Hey yourself,” I tell him as I lay a kiss on his cheek and pull out of his embrace so I can finish getting changed. “I thought you were staying up with the rest of the clan,” I say as I put on my pajama top.
“Nah…I’d rather be here with you,” he says as he pulls me back and kisses that sweet spot between my neck and my shoulder.
“I really am tired Mickey,” I say, even though it pains me to do so. As if to make my point more clear, I yawn.
He chuckles, “I can see that. But, really, Laylah, I’d rather be here with you even if it means watching you sleep, holding you in my arms, and keeping you close to me,” I smile at his words.
“Good, because it’s the only action you’ll be getting tonight, Dimps,” I playfully tell him.
“I’ve got an eternity with you, one night won’t kill me. Though the shower wasn’t enough,” he says pulling me even closer to him. I lay my head on his shoulder.
“It wasn’t?” I ask with a soft voice.
“Nothing is ever enough with you, Laylah.” He holds my nape and makes me look up to him.
“I love you. I can’t wait for what’s to come. Thank you for everything you have given me,” I whisper.
“No, thank you, my heaven,” he whispers back and gives me a chaste kiss. “I love you, too.”
With that said, I get on the tip of my toes and start to kiss him. This is what I assume heaven feels like. Every time I am with him it feels new to me, it never gets old. This is true love, there’s no other way to explain it. Mickey saved me from myself more than once and I show him how thankful I am each and every day. I truly don’t know what I would ever do without him.
Above all the choices I had ever had to make in my life, choosing him, was the best out of all of them. And I frankly don’t regret one damn thing about it, about him, about us, nor about our future together.
I can feel the heat of our kiss growing stronger. My hands are gripping on what little hair he has on his head, while his are on my hips slowly moving further up my body. I know I told him I was tired, and I am, but I can’t bring myself to stop. I don’t want to. I tip my head to the side so we can deepen our kiss.
A small moan comes out of me, making Mickey groan. I start to move us toward the bed and he lets me. We’ve been standing close to the window, so we don’t have to move very far. I start to reach for the hem of his shirt with each step we take back, but all of the sudden I feel him being forcefully yanked out of my hold, out of our embrace. I lose my balance for a second, but recover quickly to see what or who had broken us out of our embrace.
Shit!
Chapter Seventeen
“I
tell you to stay the fuck away from my baby sister and I find you with your hands all over her,” Kevin says as he slams Mickey against the wall and punches him in the face.
“Kevin, stop!” I yell, my voice full of worry and panic. I can feel the tears starting to stream down my face.
“Don’t get in the middle of this, Laylah. This son of a bitch was taking advantage of you and now he’s going to fucking pay for it.” I can see the fury in his eyes before he turns his attention back to Mickey, throwing punch after punch.
I can’t get to him, it’s like he’s lost it. I feel so powerless and Mickey isn’t fighting back. He’s just letting Kevin punch him. I scream bloody murder, needing someone to help. When no one comes, I decide to take matters into my own hands. Bad idea.
“Get the hell away from him,” I scream at him as I try to yank him away, but he’s too strong and enthralled in his fury. When I do so, he forcefully pushes me away. I lose my balance and land on the floor on my butt, hard. I’m terrified. I don’t know what to do. I join my knees to my chest and let the tears start to flow out of me uncontrollably, pleading with him to stop.
This makes Mickey react, making me realize why he was letting Kev punch him. Mickey only retaliates when he has a reason to, a real reason. Seeing what my brother just did to me gave him the reason he needed.
“Don’t you ever fucking touch her like that again,” he screams at Kevin and punches him back.
In the blink of an eye, they are both on my bedroom floor interchanging punches and kicks. I want them to stop. I can see Mickey getting weaker by the second. He has received more blows than Kev. I can see the blood all over his face and it breaks me seeing him like this.
“Fuck!” Chino lets out a breath as he sees the scene in front of him. He runs quickly to stop Kev who’s on top of Mickey throwing punches, but he can barely get a grip on him.
I feel two sets of arms around me, soothing me to calm down. When I look up, I see that it is Ari and Mary. I continue to sob regardless of their effort. Kev throws a few blows at Chino. I can’t see if Mickey is breathing, I can’t see him move. That fact scares the hell out of me and I completely break apart in a meltdown. I can’t lose him this way. He’s my life line. I’ll die if I lose him.
“THAT’S ENOUGH, KEVIN!” my dad screams as he runs to pull my brother off of Mickey. My brother and Chino are bulkier than my father, making it seem unbelievable that he was the one that could finally get him off.
As soon as I see that Kevin is off of Mickey, I crawl to over where he is on the floor. I can see he’s unconscious. Chino is already there, checking his pulse. “Is he—” I sob. I can’t say the words.
“He’s still breathing and he has a pulse, Laylah.” he assures me.
I immediately start sobbing and willing him to wake up, to say something. But he won’t and it brakes me even more. “What the hell, Laylah? Get a grip. He deserves what he got,” Kev spits.
“Stay the fucking hell away from me and from him. I don’t ever want to see you again. I swear to God, Kevin, if he dies, you are dead to me,” I hiss at him.
“You are seriously going to cut me out for defending you?” he asks now, with an incredulous tone.
“Defending me from what?” I spit at him. “From the man I love? From my husband?”
“What?” I hear the question coming out from each member of my family who had apparently been by the door watching the whole spectacle.
I ignore them and continue directing my anger at my brother “Stay the hell away, Kevin. I can barely stand looking at you right now,” I say, breaking into sobs once again. He nods and leaves the room, practically bolting out of the house. My eyes turn to where my father is looking at me, I see the sadness in his face. “I suggest you do the same, Dad. If you can’t accept this, walk away. Because I’m sure as hell not walking away from him. He’s it for me.” I’m so mad that it just blurts out of my mouth while the tears are still streaming out of my face.
My dad comes to me and gives me a quick hug. “Let’s get him to the hospital, okay?” he ask in a soothing voice, kissing my forehead. I numbly nod as he looks at Chino and both of them begin to pick my unconscious husband from the floor so we can take him to a hospital.
I ignore everyone else as we exit through the door. Mickey is my main focus, right now. I feel a hand wrap around my shoulders. I’m a teary mess but as I look up I see that it’s my mom. She doesn’t say anything to me, a fact that I truly appreciate. I then notice Lola next to her, who seems to be a mess just like me.
The idea of not knowing is a killer for the heart. I don’t think I can handle him not being fine. I’m not that strong.
Mickey was rushed into the emergency room as soon as we got to the hospital. I got to go with him, not that they had any other choice. I was a determined woman in love, I wasn’t allowing them to let me wait and worry myself to death as I thought about all of the possibilities.
I stayed in a corner as I watched them clean him up. It was the only thing I could do. I wasn’t going to risk having myself kicked out of there. Though I was broken on the inside, I stayed put. I could hear his soothing words telling me not to worry, that it will all be fine, that he will be fine and I let his words control my emotions.
He had cuts on his lips, his nose is broken. He looks like he just went a round against Mike Tyson, his handsome face swollen and bruised. Luckily, he didn’t have any internal bleeding or damage. Due to the constant blows to the head, the doctor wanted to run some tests. I remember asking him why he hasn’t woken up yet, he said it was hard to tell because the brain was an unpredictable organ. He did, however, assure me that he will wake up soon and to not worry, to just be there for him for when he wakes up. As if I would ever leave him alone.
I am now in his room staring at his beautiful swollen face. The tears don’t come anymore, I have cried until there was nothing left. I’m holding his hand with the tightest grip I can manage as I just stare at him, willing him to wake up, to come back to me.
I knew this would happen. I knew my brother would react this way. Yet, I hoped that he would see the love we have for each other and accept it. But, he didn’t, he just saw his own anger. The doctor had asked me if I wanted to press charges. For a moment there, I truly considered it. I wanted him to pay. But, he’s my brother and no matter how much I hate him right now, I can’t do that to him. To my parents. I just want him far away from us, until he can learn to accept it. Maybe then, I’ll be able to forgive him.
I can’t help but feel a sense of Deja Vú, this is how he must have felt last night. Never in a million years did I think we’d be back here so soon. I start to feel lightheaded so I lower my head in our joined hands, right next to him. No longer able to fight it, I fall asleep.
I wake to the sound of the door opening. When I raise my head, I see that it’s my dad. “I don’t want to hear it, Dad,” I tell him in a lifeless tone.
“Hear what? I’m not here to reprimand you, Laylah,” he says as he comes closer to me. I can see the worry in his face.
“Then what are you here for?” I can’t help but hiss at him. “All you’ve ever done is express how much you hate Mickey, claim that he’ll never be more than a dead beat loser. Not once in my life have I ever heard you say one nice thing about him. And, I can’t help but think that’s why your son decided to go all hulk at him. Look at him, Dad. LOOK AT HIM! He won’t fucking wake up!” I am screaming now.
“He won’t wake up and it’s all your son’s fault. I feel like I’m dying. He broke my lifeline, Dad. If he doesn’t wake up…I don’t know what the hell I’m going to do. He saved me.” I break into tears for the gazillionth time as my dad holds me in a tight embrace. All the while, I repeatedly say ‘he saved me’ in between sobs, needing him to understand how much I need Mickey in my life. Afraid he will take me away from him.
Once I’m done crying, he lets go of his hold on me and kisses me on the top of my head. “I get it, Laylah. I’m not happy that you lied and kept this whole thing a secret, but trust me, baby girl, when I say that I am happy that you’re happy. I know what I’ve said about Miguel. It might come as a surprise to you, but not everything I say is true.”
I give a weak laugh mixed with a sob. “I guess my problem with Miguel was that he reminded me too much of myself,” he continues.
“What do you mean?” I ask, rasping my throat.
He chuckles as if he can’t believe what he’s about to say. “He’s persistent, he doesn’t give up. But, unlike me, he actually fights to reach his dreams. He gets back up quickly once he’s thrown down. It’s for that reason I also know he will wake up, Laylah. We just have to be patient.” I nod.
“Why aren’t you mad? I mean Kevin obviously was, but why aren’t you?” I say as I sit back in my chair and hold Mickey’s hand once again.
“He loves you,” he plainly says. “I could see it in his eyes. I could also see it in your eyes, but I turned a blind eye to the situation. Acknowledging it would have meant that I had finally lost my baby girl to some other man. Then, when you got sick…I couldn’t avoid it anymore. I knew that if given the choice you would choose him. I know love like the one you two have because it’s what I have with your mother.
“So, I made the decision to man up and accept the fact that you’re not my baby girl anymore. You’re a grown woman, a grown woman in love. The fact that he took care of you and he wouldn’t let anyone else do it, did help a lot too.”
“He’s a great man,” I say looking at my husband.
“He is. I’m also not happy with what your brother did. I’ve tried reaching out to him but haven’t had any luck. Once your mother and I found out about your marriage this morning—” he says but I stop him.
“You what?” I screech out.
He smiles. “When we came to the nurse’s station to ask for you, they had no record of a Laylah Torres, but they did have a Mrs. Laylah Vega. I was furious, to say the least. But, your mom calmed me down, said there was a good reason for you both to do so. Also kept me from walking through the door and seeing you until I calmed down. I did after a while. I finally came to accept it, and we both decided to play along. We knew you both would tell us when you were ready,” he shrugs.
“Can I let you in on a little secret?” he asks and I nod, amazed by the man in front of me. I have never seen my dad this open. “You’re mom and I had also gotten married in secret, that’s how we knew you would eventually tell us. I know how that impulse to instantly marry the love of your life feels,” he confesses.
“He prepared it all. He made my dream wedding come true. I have no idea how I could’ve gotten so lucky to have him,” I admit reaching up to lovingly caress Mickey’s face.
“It’s because you’re a good person, Laylah. It’s hard not to love you,” he says, kissing my cheek.
“How is he?” Lola says coming in. I look up to her and see she has also been suffering. I seriously don’t know how I could’ve been so selfish, thinking I was the only one in pain.
“I’ll leave you two alone,” my dad says and exits the room.
I quickly bolt out of my chair and sprint towards her, holding her tight in my arms. “I’m so sorry,” I whisper to her.
She backs out of the embrace and looks me straight in the eyes. “Never. Never feel sorry for loving my son,” she tells me and I hug her again, both of us sobbing in each other arms. “How he’s doing?” she asks, wiping her tears.
“The same,” I say moving back to my claimed position next to Mickey
“He’ll come back to us, you’ll see. I’ve been praying a lot to Charlie for it,” she says referring to the Blessed Carlos Manuel, the first Puerto Rican to ever be beatified. “He will come through.”
“I know he will,” I say nodding to her and looking back to Mickey. Part of me is afraid that if I stop looking at him for even a second I’ll miss the moment when he wakes up. Talking to my dad helped me see that I need to be strong for him. For us.
Lola had decided to head home and rest for the night. She said it was only fair that I stay with him, being his wife and all. I could tell she wasn’t happy that we got married behind their back, but we had already accepted that this would probably happen.
It’s nearly three in the morning and he still hasn’t woken up yet. I trust with all my heart that he will. But I can’t help but doubt that it will happen soon. I finally give up and decide to close my eyes and rest for a second.
“Tell me the truth, did he get me pretty bad?” I hear his soft voice as he caresses the cheek resting on his hand.
At first, I think I am dreaming. But, when I look up I can see that he’s awake. He’s trying to smile down at me but he looks as if it hurts him to do so. “You’re awake,” I say, still in shock.
“You didn’t think you’d get rid of me that easy, did you?” he teases. How can still be positive and happy-go-lucky with everything that has happened is beyond me.
“I thought I had lost you,” I say, the tears coming back.
“Awww…shit, baby. Don’t cry. I told you, I’m not going anywhere. You and I, we’re forever,” he says trying to dry my tears with one hand. “Come here.” He moves to the side. I can see that it hurts him to do so, but he’s also determined. So, I oblige and
join him in the bed.
“I love you, Mickey. Don’t you dare ever to do that to me again,” I repeat the same words he told me last night and give him a quick peck on the mouth.
“Now…where have I heard that before?” He chuckles then winces. “I love you too, my heaven.” He kisses my temple.
“You look as hot as ever, by the way.” I rest my head on his shoulder and he holds me tighter to him.
After having a few seconds to ourselves, I call a nurse and tell her that he’s awake. She’s not happy that I waited so long to tell her, but I guess she understood my reasoning. I decided to call the house later in the day. He’s doing better, so there is no use of waking them at this hour when they can’t even come to see him.
“How’s your brother? Did I get a good one on him?” Mickey asks once the nurse and the doctor leave and I’m back in his bed with him.
“Don’t know. Don’t care,” I tell him.
“Laylah…”
“No, Mickey, no. He almost took you away from me. I just don’t think I could ever forgive him. He was so unreasonable. He was such…such a coward,” I tell him almost pleadingly.
“He’ll come along,” he says and kisses me on the temple. “Come on, let’s get some sleep, my heaven. You look tired,” he says once he sees me give a big yawn. Resting my head on his shoulders and him resting his on top of mine, all wrapped out in each other’s arms, we sleep.
The perfect fit.
After getting a few hours of sleep, I call the house and tell them the good news. They all agreed to drop by after breakfast. No one has heard from Kevin and if they have, they haven’t mentioned anything to me. The doctor came in after I finished my phone call and told us he would like to for Mickey to stay for two more days, just to make sure nothing changes. Quickly after he leaves, I call the house back to tell Lola everything the doc says. She thanked me for keeping her updated on everything.
Everyone arrives a few hours later to visit Mickey. My mom walks in with the overnight bag I asked for her to pack. He doesn’t like the idea of me staying in the hospital and insists that I need my rest, but I’m not hearing any of that shit. I tell him that I’m staying with him. He can tell I had already made up my mind, so he drops it. The family stays until lunch where we all eat in his room from the hospital cafeteria. Soon after, they all agree to leave so both Mickey and I can rest.
