Page 47 of Not Your Romeo
“Won’t be scribbling at that big shot college no more, will you, bitch?” he taunted.
“Ziggy’s going to fuckin’ kill you!” I screamed, my head shooting up in search of him.
He landed a vicious kick to my chin and the world went dark again.
The taste of iron awoke me. My hand was throbbing. It felt like I’d stuck it in a hornet’s nest. I cried and shakily pulled myself to my feet, pain shooting through my torso and head as I did so. The world spun as I clung to the counter, trying to figure out what had happened.
“Z– Ziggy?” I whimpered.
Everything settled, I had no idea how long it took, but at least the room had finally stopped spinning. The house was eerily silent.
My head felt it was splitting in two, and it was hard to focus on any one thought.
Instead, I clung to a name.
“Ziggy!” I screamed and darted awkwardly toward the door.
It was open wide, and just when I reached it, Ziggy stepped inside. I practically climbed him, my arms flailing, my nails sinking in and sliding with my efforts. I felt his flesh under them, but I still couldn’t calm down.
I collapsed, hysterical against him.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Let There Be War
Ziggy
My body was shaking like it had the first time we trained at the beach in the marines. My clothes were dry. My skin was normal, but I was shivering to the bone. Ro’s hand was clutched between mine, and my entire being was focused on her next breath.
“Sir, I’ve asked already. I’m going to need you to step outside so we can get her sorted.” The nurse’s voice droned in the background.
Her fingers gripped my shoulder, and I violently shrugged her off and fixed her with a look. It was bad enough being abruptly snatched back to reality, but being left with nothing better than her pinched face staring back at me was inexcusable.
“Get your fuckin’ hands off of me, and get to fixin’ my wife,” I advised.
“Yeah. We’re going to need you to step outside and answer a few questions yourself until we know what is going on here,” someone in a white coat announced behind her.
“Ziggy,” Ro weakly groaned.
The sound of her voice moved me so much, I went limp. Her hand flopped in mine when she stirred.
“Ro,” I snapped, my voice climbing. “I’m here, baby.”
“You need to step out,” The nurse shoved at me, a bit of urgency climbing into her tone. Ro’s hand fell away as I was bullied back.
“I want my husband,” Ro moaned, her words slightly slurring as medical staff surrounded her. “Get away! Get away, my husband will hear about this. He will fuck you up.”
The breath rushed from me, it kind of came out in a laugh. I wasn’t amused by it, but if she knew I was going to hurt whoever did this to her, then maybe she wasn’t as bad as she looked.
She’d collapsed and had the worst seizure I’d ever witnessed right there in my arms at our front door. Her neck was snapping back like she was intent on breaking it herself. I’d never seen anything like it, nor had I ever felt so helpless. All I could do was hold her and watch until the ambulance arrived.
She gave a long howl as someone in blue tried to start an intravenous line near her wrist, “My husband will kill you! Do you hear me?”
“Ro, honey, calm down for them,” I begged, covering my mouth.
She was belligerent and flailing. People were restraining her and as much as it killed me to see it, I knew she had to be still for them to help her.
A man in a long, white coat stepped into the room and scolded, “Let him over there already before she hurts herself, will you? She’s likely concussed. I need images. Call imaging again. Now.”
