Boost by Vi Summers

 

Chapter 44

-Greer-

 

 

I parked and peered through the windshield at the Summerset Care Home. It looked nice, kept, with white roses climbing up the red bricks in-between each set of windows that lined the entire length of the long building.

My heart hammered a mile a minute and nerves rolled in my belly as I stood from my car and locked it. On a deep, grounding breath, I hitched my handbag high on my shoulder and made my way toward the entrance. Large potted plants flanked the automatic glass doors, and a cool wave of conditioned air hit me as I passed through.

My stilettos clicked on the shiny floor tiles as I picked my way across them with care, heading for the smiling woman on the welcome desk.

“Hi there, how can I help?” she (Felicia) greeted me.

I smiled warmly in return. “Hi, I’m here to visit Vega Delgado.”

Surprise hit Felicia’s face. “Oh? Well, isn’t this a nice surprise? She seldom gets visits from her daughter.”

It took a second before the meaning behind her words settled. I waved my hands to clear the assumption.

“Oh, no, I’m not her daughter. I’m a family friend from out of town.” I stumbled through the white lie and hoped she would fall for it.

“Of course,” Felicia said, handing me a clipboard to write my details on. She checked it over when I handed it back, then came out from behind the desk.

“Right this way, Greer, I’ll show you to Ms. Delgado’s room.”

I followed along as she led me down a series of corridors that angled away from the parking lot.

“This is our high dependency unit for residents that need around-the-clock care. Here we are, room seventeen. Wait here a moment and I’ll just check-in with her carer.”

“Sure,” I murmured, feeling as if I should be whispering in the quiet environment.

I looked up and down the corridor as my pulse raced wildly. I was insanely nervous and second-guessing coming here.

The door clicked open a minute later, and Felicia and another woman dressed in a white uniform emerged.

“I’m Dechen, Vega’s carer, and she is all yours,” the new woman said in a cheery tone. “She wasn’t expecting a visitor today, but she is very much looking forward to seeing someone other than my boring face.” She laughed with a rosy hue on her cheeks. “Go on in, honey. I’ve placed a couple of her favorite books out for when the conversation gets a little tricky. She enjoys being read to. I’ll pop in and out just to make sure you’re both okay, and there’s a call button on the wall if you need me in a hurry.”

“Thank you.” I exhaled and gave what I’m sure looked like a hesitant smile, then carefully opened the door and stepped into Vega’s room.

Across the room, the woman who was Rafael’s birth mother sat in a large leather armchair, slightly slumped to the side, and facing the door expectantly. Despite her invalid appearance and the slackened muscles on the left side of her face, her brown eyes were as sharp as ever. They studied me intently as I made my way further into the room.

Vega jerkily nodded at the vacant armchair across from her and watched as I sat down and set my handbag on the floor.

All the questions swimming behind her dark eyes remained unvoiced. I leaned forward, feeling instantly drawn to the beautiful Mexican woman with the long black and silver braid hanging over one shoulder. I reached out and clasped her limp hand, gently giving it a little squeeze. Her eyes widened as if I’d pinched her.

“Ms. Delgado?”

She nodded and seemed to urge me on.

“I’m Greer. I’m a friend of Rafael’s.”

A crinkle formed between her brows and her half-paralyzed mouth worked around a single word. “Raaaafferty.”

I nodded. “Yes, Rafferty. I know him as Raf.”

A smile formed with visible effort. Her free hand lifted with minimal control and knocked against her chest. “Mmmyy boy.”

“Yes.” My own smile formed as a loving sigh breathed from deep within Vega’s chest.

She glanced expectantly at the door. “He coooome?”

“No, sorry, he didn’t come with me today. Has he visited you this week?”

She shook her head and her eyes glazed over as her mind seemed to veer into a far away place.

“Greeah,” she slurred, and my heart ached a little when her entire body jolted unexpectedly to the side.

I was on my feet without thinking and supporting both her arms until I was certain she was stable.

Selfishly, I’d come here hoping to learn more about Raf as a person as well as what happened all those years ago, but it was clear it would have been both highly inappropriate and completely pointless. Instead, I angled my chair closer to Vega’s, and lifted a book.

“Would you like me to read to you?”

She nodded, but raised a hand to feebly point at the other paperbacks still on the small table in front of us.

“You’d like a different one?”

“Yyyyyes.”

Lifting both, I held them close to her. “Rrraaaaaffery,” she forced, and tapped the worn one.

I set the other down and smiled. Some kind of unspoken understanding formed between us, and I had the overwhelming urge to wrap Vega in a protective, loving hug. Instead, I settled into the armchair and opened to the bookmarked page.

I glanced up when I hit the third paragraph to see how I was doing, and saw her eyes closed and a small, half-smile on her lips.

I continued to read and soon found my rhythm, turning page after page while falling deeper in love with the characters and storyline.

Timeless minutes later, a quick tap on the door broke us from the fantasy world, and Vega’s carer arrived at her side.

“How’s everything going, ladies?”

“Great,” I said, surprised at how much I was enjoying spending time here.

“Doing alright, honey?” she asked Vega.

“Guuud.” She motioned at me. “She guuuud.”

Dechen set her hands on her hips and looked pleased with herself. “Well now, that’s what I like to hear. Can I get you both a drink? Tea, coffee?”

I hesitated, unsure whether to accept the offer. Vega’s hand came down on my arm with surprising force.

Dechen chuckled heartily. “Oh, she likes you.”

“You want me to stay?” I softly asked Vega.

She nodded and stared at me as if having an entire conversation behind her dark-brown eyes.

“I’ll stay,” I whispered to her, and then looked up at Dechen. “Coffee, please. Flat white, no sugar.”

With an assertive clap of her hands, she fussed with Vega’s cushions and then turned to me with a twinkle in her eye.

“I’ll be back soon with your coffee.”

Dechen touched my shoulder on her way past and lingered as if wanting to say more. Before she had left the room, Vega slapped her leg.

“Shall we continue?” I asked, picking up the book and grinning.

“Luuuuuv t-t-thaat.”

I took a deep breath, and with one final glance at my beautiful new friend, I pulled us back into the enchanting world of knights and forbidden love.

Dechen came and helped Raf’s mom drink and eat while I read on, completely entranced by the book despite starting it more than halfway through. In-between chapters, I took sips of coffee, re-moistening my mouth enough to carry us through to the next quick pause.

I was so caught up in the book that when the door quietly opened and closed again, I continued reading without stopping, assuming it was Dechen back to check on our progress.

The moment the hushed rasp of a familiar voice wove through the room, my heart dropped and the story dried on my tongue.

“Mamá’s asleep.”

I failed to contain my gasp and whipped around in my chair to find Raf leaning against the wall with his hands shoved deep into the front pockets of his black jeans. Flashing dark eyes pierced into mine while his lips pursed, seemingly biting back words.

“How long have you been-”

“Just arrived, mamacita. How long have you been here?” he asked while watching his sleeping mom.

“I don’t know. I arrived mid-morning.”

Raf’s eyes flared wide and cut to me. “You’ve been here all day?” His voice almost held accusation.

“I’m sorry if I’ve overstepped-”

He cut off my whisper with an impatient tsk. “Never apologize for taking care of my mamá.”

The way he called her Mamá made warmth bloom under my ribs. The fierce love he had for his mom was evident, and I watched in awe as he silently laid a soft kiss on her cheek without disturbing her slumber.

“She’s beautiful,” I murmured.

“She is.”

I flicked back a couple of chapters and inserted the bookmark for next time, then set the book aside. Raf’s scowl deepened as he tracked my movements.

“She chose that book for you to read?”

Plucking up my bag, I stood and slung it over my shoulder. “Yes. I went to read her another, but she wanted that one.”

Creases of confusion etched between his brows. “That’s the one I read to her. No one else, just me.”

Raf’s soft-toned statement stopped me in my tracks, and I whispered a curse under my breath. I couldn’t tell if he was annoyed or shocked.

I shrugged. “It was what she wanted.”

He scowled and shook his head without replying and then pressed the call button on the wall. Dechen promptly arrived and helped him get Vega into bed without disturbing her too much.

After murmuring what sounded like a promise in Spanish, Raf kissed his mom on the cheek again, thanked Dechen for her help, then gave me a cold glare as he strode past.

Out in the corridor, I hurried on my stilettos to catch up to him, and yanked his arm.

“That’s it? You drop in where I least expect to see you, then walk out five minutes later as if I mean nothing to you?”

He spun on his heel and I pulled up short. Anger darkened his already tight expression and clenched jaw. “What are you doing here, Greer?”

I straightened my spine and met him head on. “I initially came here to see if she knew where to find you, since you’ve been intentionally ghosting me.”

“This is no place for you.”

“And this is no place for this.” I motioned back and forth between us. My mood had gone from apprehensive, to comforted, to outright murderous since leaving his mom’s room.

“At least that’s something we both agree on.”

With a firm hand planted on my back, he walked me through the exit while exuding casualness and control. I broke away from him as soon as we reached the parking lot. When I stopped beside my car, it took him a moment to realize we’d reached my ride. As he backed up several paces, he ran an approving gaze over my immaculate white Maserati Quattroporte GTS.

“This is yours?”

“It is.”

Raf’s eyes ping-ponged between me and my car. Rolling my eyes, I folded my arms across my chest and waited for his stupidity to subside.

“Really?”

My hip popped a little further. “Yes, really. A woman can’t own a sexy car, but a man can?”

Maintaining my glare as he smirked down his nose at me, I held my ground in wait. It took all my willpower to stop a sassy retort from escaping, especially when he arched a single brow and allowed his smirk to widen.

“You’ve got good taste in cars, mamacita.”

I let out an unladylike snort, but otherwise remained silent. I had a bone to pick with him and he wasn’t going to make light of it with smirks and cute compliments.

“You’re deflecting.”

Although the lopsided grin stayed frozen in place, the lines around his eyes hardened. An edge of warning shadowed his dark irises.

“I’m complimenting.”

“As a way to divert my attention off the real issue.”

Raf threw out his arms and backed up a pace. “I didn’t come here for a fucking lecture.”

“Don’t walk away,” I snapped.

“We’re finished here.”

An angry little laugh found its way through my clenched teeth. “Oh no, we’re only just getting started.”

“I ain’t got nothing to discuss with you, Boss Lady. Not today and not about what you want to talk about. It’s over.”

Over? Over? What was over? Us, or the conversation?

“It’s not over,” I hissed to his departing back, making him pause.

A stone crunched under his boot as he half-turned, and what regret there may have been in his eyes was cut off when he plucked the dark sunglasses from his crew neck and shoved them on.

“Do you want me, or the conversation?” His voice sliced through me like jagged shards of glass, and I swallowed to try and ease the uncertain squeeze in my chest.

“You, of course. But we need to have that conversation whether you want to or not.”

Raf hesitated as if painfully contemplating, and when his reply finally came, it was soft and left an empty ache in my heart.

“I ain’t got nothing to say, baby girl.”

The dismissal left me breathless and floating through a state of disbelief. Defiance then rose to pierce the ever-lengthening void between us.

I lifted my handbag higher and snapped into action, striding after him like the seasoned-pro I was walking a mile in stilettos every damn day.

“Well, I’ve got a little something to say to you, and I’m not doing it in a damn parking lot. So, either you ride with me, I ride with you, or we both drive somewhere to meet up. Because you are going to hear what I have to say, and so help me God, Rafael, you are going to shut up and listen!” I ended with a yell and my fingers pinched at eye level when he started to interrupt.

An incredulous laugh fell from his open mouth, and he raised both eyebrows above the tinted lenses of his sunglasses. He visibly fought another smirk. “Is that so?”

My pinched fingers turned into a savage jab at his chest. “Yes, it is. And tough shit if you don’t like it, because that’s what’s happening.”

Raf moved with predator-like precision before I could react. Within a blink, his fingers wove around the back of my neck and jerked me forward. His mouth claimed mine with hunger and possession. Urgent and demanding, rendering me instantly breathless.

Ignoring the lingering tenderness across the bridge of my nose, I roughly balled his shirt in my fists, torn between shoving him away and forcing him closer. A long moan wove from deep in my throat as he kissed me with everything he had. The bite of his fingers skimmed my waist, and there was no escaping the onslaught that ignited my craving for him.

“I don’t like pushy women, Greer,” he growled against my mouth, before kissing me forcefully again.

“And I don’t like arrogant, self-conceited men,” I snapped, at the first chance I got.

Our kiss broke at a speed that made my head spin. Raf gripped my jaw with one hand while angling his body against mine, coming nose-to-nose as I fought to catch my breath.

“You have no idea how much I want to fuck you right now.” Anger and frustration laced each syllable, and spoke direction to my own desire to be claimed.

I reached up and pressed a thumb against his Adam's apple, feeling the swallow that worked down his throat.

“You can fuck me all you want, but only after you play by my rules.”

“I don’t do rules-”

I pressed a little harder until Raf’s grip on my jaw flexed in warning. “Today you do, whether you want to or not.”

“Well, I don’t.”

I smiled up at him and laughed quietly. “I know.”

It made bringing him to his knees all the more satisfying. Despite the smile gracing my mouth, I commanded his attention and allowed some of the broken part of me to show herself.

“What I need to tell you doesn’t involve you.”

His expression softened, only to change as his thoughts ticked over. “I hurt you, baby. You shouldn’t want anything to do with me. You shouldn’t be wanting to share parts of yourself with me. I’m bad blood, Greer. I’m tainted, and me hurting you proved that I’m no better than my poor excuse for a father was.”

Disdain contorted Raf’s face, and he practically spat each word. Anxious vibrations transferred from his fingertips onto the delicate skin on my neck.

Lifting his sunglasses and taking his face in my hands, I wanted to shake him. To make him understand.

“You’re nothing like he was. Nothing. What you did was unintentional. You didn’t try to hurt me. I believe that with all my heart.”

The muscles of his jaw worked under my palms as he ground his teeth together. “That’s not the fucking point!”

“It’s the entire point!”

“What would you know? What the fuck makes you think you could possibly understand an ounce of what I’m going through?”

Tears unexpectedly stung the back of my nose, and I blinked rapidly to stop them reaching my eyes. Raf had made my heart so full after my last serious relationship had left it so empty. The experience scarred me for the longest time, and while I had Christian’s patience to thank for pulling me out of a realm where all men were guilty until proven innocent, I now had Rafael to thank for allowing myself to love again.

I took a deep breath. My heart hammered so damn hard it was all I could hear. The words of my ordeal congregated on my tongue but clung to the surface, refusing to be voiced. The shame and stigma that came with domestic abuse crawled over my skin, leaving behind sweat that had me pulling my hands back from Raf’s face.

“Greer? What is it?”

Looking up into his stricken expression undid me. His brows knitted together as if begging for my innermost thoughts.

No matter how hard it was, no matter how much it hurt, I yearned for him to understand that I didn’t think he was the monster he painted himself to be.

I swallowed and gripped Raf’s wrists for support, and let the confession slip off my tongue.

“I know what it’s like to be on the receiving end of the worst kind of love.”

“You know what it’s like to…” He trailed off, and his initial confusion shifted to surprise, then darkened alarmingly. Heat radiated from his body to mine when he stepped closer. “You…?”

I let out a shaky breath. “Not here.”

Understanding registered and his shoulders slumped. He nodded once and tenderly rubbed his hands up and down my torso, before pulling me into his arms.

“Alright. I’ll listen. I’ll follow you home,” he whispered into my hair.