"Hey" I smiled slightly at Kathleen when she had woken up.
"Hi, wher-where am I?" Kathleen asked groggily as she looked around.
"You're at home? You're in the room that we used for doctor's visit?" I said to her going to sit on the edge of the bed. "How are you feeling?"
"My body aches" Kathleen said to me sitting up slowly in the bed. "What happened?"
"You'll probably soon be feeling a relief, Dr.Lee had given you some pain medication earlier. You passed out, we brought you home and had Dr.Lee check on you. You're okay though, just a little bruised" I told her.
"All I remembered was me being at the store. I was about to set the alarm and exit when I just saw Keith appeared at the door" Kathleen said shocked touching her bruised cheek. "He just barged in and grabbed me, my bag fell and so did my phone... He covered...my mouth before dragging me around back towards the storage room. He started hitting me and shouting at me about running away from him... He shoved me across the room and I fell...then you showed up and Dominic and... Oh my God... Keith... Is he...?
"Kathleen you don't need to worry about any of that right now okay" I said placing my hands over hers. "You just need to know that Keith is never going to bother you, ever again. You don't need to be running from him or being afraid anymore".
"He's dead" Kathleen stated nodding.
"He's no longer capable of lifting a finger on anyone anymore" I assured her.
Where is Dominic?" Kathleen asked concerned.
"He's here, I think he's gonna be glad to know you're now awake.
He was really upset seeing you like that" I said to her. "I'm sorry too Kathleen, I should have gotten there sooner and I should've just shoot him the minute I stepped in. I hesitated... I don't even know why but I'm sorry you had to undergo what he put you through. Not just tonight but back then as well".
"Its not your fault Lexi. I was the stupid one who got involved with Keith in the first place and refused to leave even when I saw signs that he wasn't up to any good. You hesitated because you are human and I know you were hoping it could end differently" Kathleen said to me. "You may not have showed up sooner but I'm thankful for when you did, you stopped him from doing any further damages to me. So thank you".
"Its no problem Kathleen, I know I just met you a few month and weeks back but I see you as family. And I'll always do what I can to protect family" I said to her.
"It means a lot to hear you say that Lexi" Kathleen said tearing up. "You've gave me a job, taken me in. You've done so much for me even though you knew nothing about me, you are my family now Lexi".
"Family doesn't have to be by blood or know each other for a very long time. I was taken into a family when I needed one and that's exactly what I did for you" I said to her.
"Oh, Lexi thank you so much" Kathleen said leaning over with her arms wide opened.
"Its no problem Kathleen" I said as I went in as well hugging her.
After a few moments of hugging I finally pulled back breaking out hug, then standing up.
"So are you hungry or would you like me to get you anything?" I asked concerned.
"Maybe just some cereal?" Kathleen asked.
"If that's what you want" I said turning to leave before stopping. "Do you have a specific choice?"
"Not really, any cereal is fine" Kathleen smiled.
"How about a variety then" I said to her. "I'm gonna let Dominic know you're awake, he probably wants to speak with you. I'll soon be back with your cereal okay?"
"Yeah" Kathleen replied.
I left the room heading downstairs to get her a bowl of cereal and also let Dominic knows that she's awake now and not so broken. After what happened at the store tonight I was now a hundred percentage positive that Dominic had a soft spot for Kathleen.
*************************************************************
I was meeting Gio for lunch today at one of his restaurants. It seems as if I was a few minutes earlier than him. I was taken to a table which Gio always loved when we come here. It upstairs and was a bit private from the rest of the restaurant and then it had a back door which led to a balcony over looking the city. The view was amazing especially at nights,when all those lights were turned on.
I went out to the balcony area leaning my hands on the railings as I waited for Gio. I was so caught up in the scenery that I didn't even heard anyone came out there as well. It wasn't until the person was too close behind me and an arm was wrapped around my torso and another over my mouth that I figured out that I had for once allowed my guards to slipped. I would have tried screaming and putting up one hell of a fight if I didn't smell that specific Cologne I know and love so much now. I tried elbowing the person but I couldn't move my arms based on how I was being held.
"Your money or your life" I heard Gio said amused behind me.
"You'd have to take my life" I replied but because his hand was over my mouth, it sounded gibberish and more like ' mumudav mumak mywi"
"I'm sorry I don't understand gibberish" Gio chuckled still holding me the same way.
I just did the only think I could do now at this point and that was stomping down hard on his foot. I know this was probably harsh but he startled me since he was playing mugger, I was willing to play innocent victim trying to get away.
"Oww! Merda! Lexi?" Gio yelled letting me go instantly. "What'd you do that for?"
"I thought you were a mugger" I said innocent before trying to punch him in the arm."Besides what the hell were you thinking startling me like that...oww!" I said flashing my fingers. "Are you made out of rock?".
"Sorry Cara I didn't mean to I was just messing with you" Gio replied taking my hand and placing multiple kisses on my fingers as if kissing it better. "And sorry about your hand but you shouldn't punch like that, you break your hand".
"I shouldn't have had to punch any at all, it was your fault" I said to him.
"You gotta learn to punch properly in any case. You need some self defence lessons as well" Gio said to me as he led me back to the table and pulled out my chair.
"What? You don't think I could defend myself?" I asked sitting down. For some reason I was kinda amused at this.
"Well in some sense you can sorta considering what I saw between you and Stacey on that video. But him terms of really having to defend yourself like in an instance where you were being targeted and held from behind like I did earlier, you'd definitely need to learn how to get away and even more learn to punch properly" Gio replied going around and pulling out his own chair.
"I can defend my self just fine" I said defensively.
"Really? Okay, so other than slamming girls head in bathroom counters what else have you ever done that'd considered defending yourself?" Gio asked amused.
Oh I wish I could tell you dear Gio, but you wouldn't believed me anyway. I've fight with guys who were enemies and out to get me and I've ended up killing them. When i'm not wrestling with them i'm either stabbing them or shooting them. And oh how could I forget, running them over with my car. Is that considered defending myself enough?
"Let me see" I said pretending to think. "Does kneeing a perverted guy in the groin, hitting an annoying kid with a chair and putting thinner in your brother's girlfriend shampoo and causing her hair to fall out be considered as self defence?"
"You did what?" Gio asked laughing.
"Yeah good times" I chuckled."I was defending myself".
"What did your brother girlfriend do to you in the first place?" Gio asked really interested.
"Well I think I may have walked in on them getting down to business one evening after school in the living room. Well my brother practically left me at school to walk home so he'd have time to do the dirty with her but his friend gave me a ride home" I chuckled remembering the day. "They were not happy, and so the girl decided to be a bitch as usual and tried bullying me, so I fill the shampoo with thinner and leave it for her to use. Let's just say she shed her hair... All off"
Gio was almost dying with laughter when I finished my story. I remembered how hard Natalie or Natalia I think that was her name cried. She had stayed home from school for weeks then came back wearing a wig and she was literally scared of me for the remainder of her year at school. She said I was evil, it was really funny then.
"What did your brother do?" Gio asked. "You doing something like that to his girlfriend he must've been mad at you".
"Trust me, he was beyond mad. But she wasn't even really his girlfriend, she was more like his sex buddy but still he was mad And when he tried telling mom and dad what I did I got away because they had no evidence that I did anything. He stopped driving me to school and mom and dad had to do with or had a driver for me since I wasn't old enough to drive myself" I replied.
"It sounds like you were a lot of trouble when you were younger Lexi" Gio chuckled.
"Not really I just had to do things like those when I needed to defend myself" I said to him.
"I see now" Gio chuckled. "I still think you need professional lessons on self defense though".
Trust me Gio you have no idea how much if that I've had.
"You aren't gonna let this go are you?" I asked him.
"No, I owned this gym in town. You should totally come there and I could teach you as well as get you a personal trainer" Gio said to me.
"But why? Who am I gonna be fighting that I'd need to learn this?" I asked.
"You have no idea how handy it could turned out to be" Gio said to me. "How about I take you on Sunday?"
I decided I would humor him. I'll go with him to this gym maybe I'd even get to see what he's really made of.
"Alright, I'll go" I said to him.
"Great" Gio smiled just as the waiter came to take our orders.
Okay Mr. Giovanni, I'll let you teach me how to defend myself.