This is a really short chapter and has been terribly hard to write. Hopefully I can pick up the pace for the next one and it will come easier.
Please review! Thank you to those of you who have reviewed.
Chapter 10
Lulu and Olivia were in the waiting room in the early morning hours when a nurse came out to tell them that Detective Falconeri had regained consciousness. She told them they could go back for 30 minutes but they would then have to leave and would not be able to go back in for a couple of hours.
Lulu had seriously considered telling Olivia good night and that she was going to go home. This was becoming too hard. She didn't think she could sit and wait to see if Dante was going to wake up or not. And if he did wake up, how soon before it happened again? She already worried herself sick over Lucky and the chances he took being a cop, she didn't want to actually become attached to someone else who took those same chances. She hadn't thought this thing with Dante through. He had charmed her and she had fallen under his spell. She hadn't even thought about what he did for a living or how becoming enamored with him could have ramifications on her heart. But she didn't leave. She stayed to make sure he woke up.
When they walked in to Dante's room, he had fallen asleep again or it appeared so. However as soon as he heard them, he raised his eyelids. Relief overwhelmed Lulu when she saw those gorgeous brown eyes that were a little woozy but alert nonetheless.
Olivia rushed to his side and asked, "Baby, how are you doing? Are you in any pain?"
Dante answered his mother in a whispered, dry raspy voice, "Yeah, ma. I'm okay…I'll be fine," as he was looking past Olivia at Lulu. Their eyes met and Lulu's filled with tears of relief. Dante whispered, "I guess you met Lulu" to his mother. "I sure did baby and I must say I really like her," Olivia said as she turned to look at Lulu and winked. Lulu smiled and walked to the other side of Dante's hospital bed but she didn't get close enough to touch him.
"You gave us all such a scare," Lulu said to Dante. When he looked into Lulu's eyes, even though he was not at his best, he could see fear in them. He reached his hand toward her silently asking her to come closer. She didn't. Lulu acted as if she had not seen his silent plea and remained just outside of Dante's reach both emotionally and physically. Olivia noticed it right away. She had felt Lulu drifting away from her emotionally while they were in the waiting room. It was as if she had shut a part of herself off when she had first seen Dante in the ICU.
Lulu made some small talk with Olivia and told Dante how glad she was that he had come through the surgery. Feeling an overwhelming sense of urgency to get away from Dante, the hospital, his mother all things related to Dante, she said, "I am going to leave you in the capable hands of your mother. I have to be at work early tomorrow, or rather today." With that, she patted the bed and turned to leave.
Before she could get out of the room, Dante whispered, "Lulu? Will I see you tomorrow?"
She hated to lie but saw no way out of it. Without turning around, she replied over her shoulder, "Sure", and she was gone.
Dante looked over at his mother who was looking at an imaginary spot on the bed looking extremely uncomfortable. "I won't see her tomorrow will I?"
Olivia responded, "Honey, I don't think so."
As Lulu rode down in the elevator and reached the bottom floor of the garage and exited, she began to run as fast as she could to her car. Once in the car she allowed herself to cry with relief that he was okay, Her whole body shook with the sobs of relief as well as a sense of loss because she didn't think this was something she would be able to live with from day to day, the worry that at any time someone could call her and say that Dante was hurt again or even worse, dead.
Again, please review.