Dom's Absolution

Ch. 61 - Six Feet Under

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"What you learn, is what you die with."

- African Proverb
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Chapter 61 - Six Feet Under

▪️J A D E▪️

The silent beeping of a machine was the first thing I heard as I eased out of the fogginess of sleep.

As I slowly opened my eyes, a severely dishevelled and distraught-looking Dominic was the first thing I saw, and my heart clenched at the sight of him.

I wanted nothing more than to immediately jump on him, but then I remembered that I was still having difficulty moving about freely as I sluggishly sat up in the hospital bed.

Being back in this building so soon was entirely my fault. I had tried to do too much during my physical therapy session the previous day and had suffered a bad fall.

The feel of Dominic's pale hand holding mine brought tears to my eyes.

The image brought back memories of when I had first regained consciousness some three and a half months ago.

When I had first opened my eyes, I had found it hard to speak.

The doctors had informed me that I had been in a coma for over two weeks. I had then proceeded to slip in and out of consciousness, and it would be another few weeks before I gradually started to become aware of my surroundings.

Since then, I had been spending the last month or so recovering at a condo that Dominic had set up for me. Not wanting strangers at the Calvetti residence, he thought that this would be a better option. Plus, he knew that I would not want to taint the manor with any memories of my recovery and I was beyond grateful for his insight.

Of course, he had employed the best medical home care, and it was there I had spent time learning to use my limbs all over again.

Regrettably, I had become frustrated with how slow my progress had been.

In my haste to regain full mobility, I had tried walking without the support canes. Because why not? Anyway, after successfully taking a few steps on my own, my feet unfortunately gave out, and I had tumbled to the ground, hitting my head on the tiled floor before anyone could catch me.

Having been rushed back to the hospital, I hated the thought that I might have set myself back with my impatience.

Dominic had not left my side since I had been found back in Miami.

Proper communication had taken a while to be re-established. So, we had not been able to talk much about what had happened during my captivity with José, especially as my memories were blurry in some places. Over the past few days, however, since I had been feeling much better, I was ready to finally talk about everything.

Inhaling deeply, I shook my thoughts away to focus on Dominic as he stared longingly at me, his blue eyes full of concern. Although there was a hint of darkness lurking about, no doubt upset about my recklessness.

My tone was teasing as I said, "You look like shit. I think you need this hospital bed more than me."

The Calvetti mafia boss had been staring at the empty wall opposite my bed while gently holding my hand. I had been told that it was something he had done almost daily when he had first brought me back to the Aelbank City Private Hospital all those months ago.

Dominic had left Vincent to run things as he remained with me at the condo while I recovered.

Upon feeling me move, he snapped his head down to look at me. I could tell that it was taking every ounce of willpower he possessed not to scoop me up into his arms and hug me tightly to him.