Misunderstandings and Heartbreak
Chapter 14
A/N: Thank you so much for the reviews and for continuing to encourage me to finish this roller coaster ride. I moved my baby into her dorm. It's been a hard adjustment for us, but we are getting there. I've also had a one shot that wouldn't leave me alone. It's already over 6,000 words. Everytime I pulled this chapter up This Ain't Build a B*T*h (the one shots title wouldn't leave me alone.)
Please listen to the Song "Born to Love You" by the Empire Cast
Ranger's POV
I was sitting in my office, watching the monitor feed of the fourth-floor hallway. I was like an addict, hoping for a little glimpse of the person who held my heart in her hands.
When Bobby walked by earlier in the garage, carrying her bridal style, it was all I could do not to grab her out of his arms. I knew that doing so would only cause more problems between us. I'd fucked everything up, and I needed to give her space, but it went against every instinct in my body. My SOP is to face conflicts gun blazing. This situation with Stephanie was going to take finesse and time. I couldn't just shove my way back into her good graces.
Bobby walked out of Steph's room and headed towards the elevator. I followed his progress and figured he was going to Ella's to get something for Steph to eat. An idea came to me. I grabbed a piece of paper and wrote:
I'm sorry I hurt you, Babe.
Love,
R
As soon as I saw Bobby make it back to the elevator I sprinted towards the stairs and headed downstairs to four, meeting Bobby as he stepped off the elevator.
He raised his eyebrow at me.
I lifted the lid off the tray he carried and placed the note where Steph would find it. I shrugged my shoulders. "I've got to start somewhere."
"I'll be honest with you. She doesn't seem as upset with you today as she did last night."
"I'll take what I can get at this point."
I turned and headed back up to my office to deal with the mountain of paperwork that had accumulated while I'd been in Mexico. I opened an envelope from my accountant and read the budget report. Tank walked in about the time I flipped to the last page.
"I had Stanley pull the funds from your personal account to fix the damage on seven. He about had a heart attack when he saw the total to repair all the damage. He wanted to know what happened. I reminded him to mind his own business and that the who, what, where, and whys aren't for him to worry about."
I glanced at the expenditure report from my account and realized there was a little less than $20,000 spent to repair the apartment back to what it had been.
"Also, Tia Ella, threatened to neuter you if you ever did anything like that again," he stated with a chuckle.
"Are you done?"
"Maybe. Do you need you need your ass kicked for being a dumbass again today?"
"You, my friend, can kiss my ass. I'm working on fixing things."
"Thank fuck! If I have to get in the middle of shit between you and Steph again, it will be way too soon. In fact, I think I'll need a vacation after this is all said and done."
"That sounds like a great idea. You can take yourself and your smartass comments to Siberia for a month. Pretty sure that old sheep herder is still waiting for you to get back and marry his daughter." I couldn't help but chuckle.
"You seriously have a warped sense of humor. That whole situation in Siberia was Lester's fault. You decided to offer that crazy old man a deal to hide us until evac arrived, and somehow you fuckers convinced him I'd come back and marry his daughter."
"His daughter liked you. She said you looked like a cuddly teddy bear. Hiding there was our best option. Plus, I sent him ten thousand dollars with your regrets about the marriage."
His friend ran his hand over his face. "Just do us all a favor this time and don't fuck things up."
"That's the goal. I've just got to get her to trust me again."
With that, he nodded and left my office.
Twenty thousand dollars. I'd have to make sure Steph never found out how much it cost to repair the damage done that night.
Half an hour later, Bobby knocked on my door before walking in and handing me a folded piece of paper.
My heart dropped, thinking she had sent back my note without looking at it, but I couldn't help the grin that spread across my face as I opened the note and saw her apology. I knew right then that it may take some time but that we were going to be okay.
"How is she?" I asked Bobby.
"She's upset about brain rest. She thought the doctor was crazy when he mentioned PT for a concussion. He thinks she'll probably need it, but getting her to do it might be a problem. In a perfect world, the two of you would be at a better place, because then I could get you to come down and either encourage her or do it with her."
I sighed. "I'm working on it, but you're right. I can't push my way back in. She's got to come to me on her own terms. Maybe we can get Lester or Hector to help her if she won't let me."
"Speaking of Hector… We need to get him to replace her phone. She was looking for it earlier."
I pulled out my phone and sent Hector a text, asking him to send a replacement phone to Steph on four. He responded a moment later saying it'd be ready in ten minutes.
"He said ten minutes and he'll have it set up for her."
Bobby nodded. "I'll pick it up before I go downstairs to take a quick nap before I have to wake Steph up again."
"Why don't we ask Ella to sit with her for the afternoon so you can sleep? I'm sure she wouldn't mind, and Steph loves her. I'll go get the phone from Hector and have Ella give it to her."
He eyed me a little suspiciously like he thought I was up to something.
"Look man, you've been up all night. Napping here and there. You're bound to be tired."
"Okay."
We stood up and walked out of my office, Bobby going back up to Ella's while I went to get the phone from Hector.
A few minutes later, I met Ella outside of the apartment on four.
"Here is the phone and charger for Steph. Make sure she knows to call if she needs anything."
I turned to walk away.
"Hijo? She's sleeping soundly. Do you want to check on her?"
The temptation was great, and after a few seconds of hesitation, I turned back towards the woman who'd helped raise me.
"More than anything, but tia, she is so mad at me that if she happened to wake up and catch me there, it could ruin us both."
"Carlos, your heart needs this. Go see her."
I sighed and took a step towards the apartment where the woman who held my life in her hands slept.
Walking into the dark room where Steph slept, I could instantly feel the tension drain from my body. I took a couple deep breaths and sat down in the chair in the corner of the room. Watching her sleep had always helped center me.
I was unsure just how long I sat there, mesmerized by the rise and fall of her chest. When she began to stir, I knew I needed to leave.
About twenty minutes after I left Steph's room, my phone pinged and I saw a text from Stephanie.
Thanks for the phone.
I smiled as I replied.
No price, Babe. Get some rest.
I made my way up to seven. A shower and some sleep sounded like the perfect plan.
A short time later, I was getting ready to lie down when my phone buzzed again.
Resting is boring.
Hmmm… If texting helps open the door, I'd take it.
Agreed! But it's still what you should be doing.
She sent the emoji with it's tongue sticking out.
Babe!
We texted back and forth for thirty more minutes before she told me good night.
We still had a long way to go, but these little steps seem to be pointing us in the right direction.
TBC…
A/N: More coming soon.