To say that Val was shocked would be the understatement of the century, what the hell had just happened? Had she really been accosted by a gang? She raised her arms above her head and folder her hands to take a deep breath.
Val swiveled around to inspect where he had stood, thoughts of his eagle tattoo rolled around in her head. The whole occurrence had hit a little bit too close to home for her, she was now breathing too fast. She ran to the bathroom as her previous meal threatened to lurch from her stomach.
********
Weeks strolled passed and the memory of Rio was slipping through her fingers like sand. She went about her normal schedule—work, online school, and home, most days. The weather was progressively getting colder as October neared it's end, and Val was bundled up as she walked in the store.
"Halloween Day Special—all candy is 15% off , today only!" The intercom blared as she meandered over to the candy. Briefly contemplating being the worst type of person who buys healthy snacks to hand out, she laughed and instead grabbed the fan favorites. Her hand ran over the red licorice twists and she stopped cold. A distant memory prodded at her until she remembered it—his calling card. She promptly shoved the memory back, retreating to the checkout counter.
Val recognized the anxiety and immediately began her breathing exercises for anxiety management. Inhale for four counts, pause for four counts, exhale for four counts. She continued this until it was time to pay for her items. The anxiety can not be coming back, she helplessly thought. It had been a good few years without any major inklings of an anxiety attack, and she hoped that the gang visit hadn't triggered it.
********
RAP RAP RAP
Val turned her head from the horror movie that currently played to whoever was at the door. She thought that the sign 'take one' was self explanatory. A sigh later and she had opened her door, expecting to see an angry child with an empty candy bowl.
Instead, it's a man with a damn convincing gunshot wound to the shoulder, she found herself impressed. He was tall and wore a white shirt over his black skinny jeans and boots. The fake blood had seeped deeply throughout his top and his tan skin looked pale. With a laugh she let her gaze travel up his neck and the laugh died in her throat a the sight of an eagle tattoo.
"Ay, ma," Rio wore a smirk even with the slight blood and the bruising his face wore. Despite the fact that her brain had registered the gunshot wound as real, her heart beat steadily. Val had no idea what to do in the moment, was he expecting her to tend to his wounds? Was this the favor that he needed?
"You need medical attention," She said, her eyes finally tore from his to glance at the soaking stain formed on his shirt.
"Yeah, m'pretty sure you owe me a favor, and I need a safe house righ' now." She finally noticed the huge black duffel sitting next to his feet.
"I don't have enough experience for this, you need a doctor. And so, what, you want to stay at my place?" She would not be the reason behind a boss' death due to an infected stitch-up. And there was no way he was staying in her apartment, wouldn't they find him here? Nothing good could come from this. His brown eyes found her worried ones, holding her steady.
"Sounds like you sayin' you have some experience, I ain' goin' to no doctor. And like I said, you owe me a favor, and I'm collectin'." His voice slowly got raspier the more irritated he became. She should be the one irritated, Val thought. She was still deciding on whether or not to let him enter, when he softly pushed her into the apartment to make way for him.
"Where do you want me, mami?" He dropped his bag near the door and stared down at her while her heart skipped at mami. Was she a psychopath or what? Val told herself to focus and contemplated the best area for a bleeding man.
"Bathroom, end of the hall on your left," He nodded and slowly walked, letting out a staggering sigh, the only indication that he was feeling any sort of pain.
She followed him into the bathroom and Rio leaned back against the counter. Val pulled out her first aid kit, it had been a long time since she had stitched up anyone. She also grabbed a lighter, which he lifted an eyebrow to, as she lit the candle next to him.
"The smell of blood still makes me sick," She slightly grimaced and hoped he wouldn't catch the implication of that statement.
"Still?" She didn't answer him and luckily enough he didn't question more on the matter. Val needed to be more careful, she can't let things spill so carelessly. A pat to the counter, and he understood her request, hopping up with his non-injured right arm. She stood closely between his legs, feeling his eyes studying her.
"Are you attached to this shirt?" She questioned and softly pinched it between her fingers, planning to cut it off of him. He shook his head silently with his bottom lip between his teeth. She grabbed the scissors and cut from the bottom him to the collar and down the left sleeve. He helped her pull the shirt away and let her toss it in the trash. Val didn't allow herself to gawk at his muscular upper body, but from the look of his figure she idly wondered if he boxed.
Upon first sight of the wound she noticed that someone bandaged him up slightly, there was a thick pack of gauze taped tightly to his shoulder. It wasn't enough to keep the site from bleeding through the material, he needed stitches. She pulled the tape off slowly, holding pressure with a towel, as she took a closer look.
It was a through and through shot, it had to have torn through muscle, but now she understood why he wasn't too hurried about this. A piece of her was in awe at his pain tolerance, he hadn't shown any inkling to what he was feeling. He needed stitches, but would be relatively okay afterwards, though not sure how long a shot like this would take to heal from.
"You need stitches," She murmured, wiping more blood away. Val caught his nod and took that as consent. He seemed more quiet than usual, then again she didn't really know him, Val thought.
"Wait here," She heard a low hum from him, and she quickly went to grab something from the kitchen. Val returned and Rio laughed as he grabbed the vodka from her, taking a long pull.
"Hey, that's for me too," She said, amused, he wiped at his mouth and handed the bottle back over.
"Thanks," He said, watching her drink from the bottle while wearing a curious expression. Val set the bottle down and pulled out the items she needed. Starting with sterilizing the needle, Rio looked more and more intrigued.
"So, you gotta nursin' degree, or what?" Val mulled over what information to share to him, a.k.a.—the drug lord. She didn't wan't him poking around her business. Rio hadn't given her his long term plan for this favor she owed him, but she was sure he'd milk it for as long as possible.
"Nope," Maybe keeping it short would show him that she wasn't interested in sharing pieces of her life that wasn't necessary.
"Alrigh', fair enough," He let out a humorless laugh, what, did he expect kindness from her? He brought himself and his work into her home, and the possibility of what could happen if whoever shot him followed him here scared her.
She had cleaned up his wound and picked up the sterilized needle, Rio took a deep breath as she pinched together the skin. As she sewed his shoulder, he observed her with a lip tight in his mouth. Again, she was astounded at his seemingly very high pain threshold, he was completely still and silent.
"How are you doing that?" Val didn't realized she had voiced the one question she couldn't stop dwelling on. Rio pulled his dark eyebrows together and slightly cocked his head to the right.
"Doin' what?" She pierced his skin with the needle again and witnessed his abdomen softly twinge. She grimly smiled at the involuntary reaction from him.
"I was beginning to think you were incapable of feeling pain," Val pulled the strings tight and tied a knot.
"There's a point where I kinda become numb to it, might be jus' the adrenaline. I feel it, but I also know it's not the worst place I been shot. Coulda been a vital organ, lucky it was just my shoulder," This was the longest sentence he's said in her presence so far, she had replayed every single thing he said to her that first day over and over.
"I understand," And she did, compartmentalization was a powerful tool, but the adrenaline must not have worn off of him yet from whatever situation this derived from.
"How's that?" Again, she stayed quiet. He wasn't really in the position to ask questions, she decided and placed the final bandage over his shoulder with tape.
"Your shoulder looks good, and I think that it's my turn to interrogate." She nodded her head towards his shoulder and went to wet a rag to clean his face. Rio bent his head back to take a good look at it and frowned.
"'K, whatcha got?" He softly poked at his shoulder, feeling out the extent of the injury. Val had a million questions and was sure he wouldn't answer all of them. She gently grasped his jaw and wiped away the blood smeared on his check as she considered her questions. His lips parted as he observed her, she felt his eyes wander until she caught them for a moment.
"How long are you here for?" This was probably the least threatening question and knew it had the greatest probability of getting a response.
"Long as it takes," With a sigh she pressed lightly on the bruise on his temple, and he hissed. Good, she thought. She was learning that Rio liked giving vague answers, and couldn't blame him for it as she was doing the same. Val became irritated anyways, she actually had a reason to be vague, he did not. He endangered her by bringing this mess into her home. She finished cleaning his bloody face and took a few steps back, needing space.
"No, you don't get to give me obscure answers. This is my home, and I'm only wondering how long the ringleader is going to hide out here." Val's snippy tone and reaction shocked him, he raised one brow and pursed his lips to this side.
"So, when you heard favor, you thought you was gonna get to pick when and where, huh?" His eyes grew colder as he glared down at her, straightening to his full height, he had at least 5 inches over her. She wished she was at least as tall as him. The fact that he held his height over her as a method for intimidation struck a match against her insides. She walked closer, until she was a foot away from him.
"Well, excuse me for wanting clarity on my life. I didn't ask for this favor, so I think we're done here," Val's voice grew louder as she glowered back at him. She just stitched him up and he should owe her, not the other way around.
Before she could blink, Rio's right hand was pushing her stomach until her back touched the wall. Her chest involuntarily taking in a shaking breath, his action completely taking her by surprise. His forearm pressed tight against her neck, but not too tight to constrict air. Val could feel his chest rising and falling against hers.
"You ain' no boss. An' you better figure out who you think you talkin' to like that, 'cuz it ain' me," He fired back, his voice was unfazed yet his eyes held a fire. She could easily reach up and grip his injured shoulder, but he held her hostage with one look, and Val couldn't turn away. Her heart thudded against her chest, partly out of slight fear, and partly out of the lack of space between them.
A nerve on the side of his neck jerked, her eyes trailed down to his eagle tattoo again. Her anger subsided as her concentration waned, the expanse of his chest finally making its presence known. She ignored the temptation to stare at his bare chest, and instead looked back up at him, angry again. The humor returned in his eyes as he had just witnessed her checking him out, which only infuriated Val more.
"I'm not affiliated with your gang, vaffanculo," Val didn't realize how angry she was until the phrase popped out, she rarely spoke in Italian anymore. There was no need to in Detroit, she didn't know any family here. She shoved his chest forcibly, only to find him unmoving against her still. His smirk made a reappearance at the fact that he had her glued to the wall.
"Yeah, fuck you too, bonita," He gradually pulled back, but not before letting his eyes wander down her body. His gaze paused on her chest as she breathed heavily from the altercation between them. His eyes raise back to hers and they are caught, stuck in this moment, as she catches her breath. Val needed to get out of this room, she needed air that wasn't his.
"You're sleeping on the couch," She snapped, rolling her eyes, pushing past him out of the bathroom. Stomping away, she headed towards the closet to pull out a blanket and a pillow, Rio followed. Val tossed them in his general direction before going back to the living room to finish her movie. She sat down on the loveseat adjacent to Rio's new bed.
A few minutes later he sauntered in and took his place on the couch in just his boxer briefs—black, of course. Tearing her eyes from him, she settled her attention back on the TV.
"What we watchin'?" His low voice messed with her head, he had absolutely ruined her perfect Halloween night. She wordlessly pressed play as her anxiety rose within her. The thoughts flowed endlessly in Val's head. How long would he be here? Would he force her to do more favors in the interest of his gang? Are there people looking for him to finish the job? And the scariest thought that she didn't ponder over too long—what would happen to her when they found him here?
Inhale, pause, exhale. Inhale, pause, exhale. Inhale, pause, exhale.
––tried to make this one longer! enjoy some tension between them, is it #vio or #ral? give me a good ship name and i'll @ you in the next chapter ;-)