Page 136 of In My Heart
“You did.” There was no denying that. “But we can fix things. I never stopped loving you, even when I was angry with you. I want you, Dante. We have to work things out between us, and it will take time, but my feelings for you have only ever gotten stronger. You own a piece of my heart, just like Dio, Cal, and Arran do too.”
“I love you. I’ll never drink again. I swear that here and now. I won’t fuck up like that ever again.” He strained his voice and his strength to get those words out and it showed as he wobbled where he stood.
“We can talk about it all later. For right now we love each other. Everything else is repairable,” I told him. “But only if you lie back down and stop bleeding everywhere.”
“You need to go home. Rest,” he grumbled as he started to move backward, aiming for the edge of the bed.
“I will, once I know that you’re okay.” I held his hand tightly in both of mine, the uncast hand doing all the real work as I tried to help him lower to the bed. Dio rushed around me and wrapped his arm around Dante, helping way more than I could ever have.
Once Dante was laid back down two nurses attended to the mess he had made of his wounds as Dio and I stood back, staying close enough to keep him calm, but out of the way enough so we weren’t under the feet of the nurses.
By the time they were done, and Dante’s abdomen was redressed with clean bandages, he was almost asleep and in a fight with his heavy eyelids.
“Get me out of here, Dario,” Dante slurred as he moved his head sluggishly to glare at Dio.
“Not yet, pal. You’re too badly injured. They need to keep you under observation until they’re sure you’re not going to start bleeding internally again,” Dio replied carefully.
“Fuck that. I’m going home,” Dante growled, or tried to, but it came out more slurred. I wondered what pain drugs the nurse had given him.
“Being an awkward fucker as usual, I see,” Arran announced as he and Cal walked into Dante’s room.
“Piss off,” Dante threw back but there was a hint of a smile on his face as he lifted his head to see Arran.
“How is he?” Cal asked, looking to Dio for the answer.
“Not fucking deaf!” Dante bit out.
“He ripped some stitches when he woke up punching again, but they fixed him up, for now,” Dio explained. “Did you get discharged?”
“Yep. Good to go home,” Cal replied.
“Good. Let’s go!” Dante started pushing back the sheets covering him and moved to get up, even though he was barely conscious. I dove towards him and pressed my good hand to his wide shoulder, pushing him back down to the bed.
“You can’t go home yet. Stop trying to get up!” I demanded.
“Maybe if ye lay wi’ him, lass. He willna move if he fears hurtin’ ye,” Arran suggested.
“I’m more worried about hurting him,” I worried.
“Hurt me?” Dante scoffed, and before I could do anything to stop him, he had grabbed me around the waist and picked me up, setting me on the bed beside him.
“Your stitches!” I gasped.
“I’m fine. Stop!” he growled. He wrapped his arm around me and moved me until I was laid alongside him, my head resting on his chest. “You’re too light. Get her food!”
He was glaring daggers at Dio and Arran when I glanced up to his face.
“I don’t need food. You all need to stop worrying about me so much,” I huffed. “And you definitely need to stop manhandling me to where you want me all the time, especially when you’re all injured.”
“You love being manhandled,” Cal teased, and I couldn’t help but smile when he did. He wasn’t wrong.
“Only by the four of you,” I admitted, feeling a happiness growing inside me that felt almost foreign. But how could I not feel some happiness when the danger seemed to finally be over? I was exactly where I wanted to be – with the four men I loved.
“So you and Dante have figured yer shit out then?” Arran asked.
“Not exactly. I think it will take a while to fix everything that’s happened between us and rebuild the trust we had, but I love him, and he loves me. The rest will come in time,” I surmised. “You’re all good with that, right? I mean, Dante was always a part of what we have, wasn’t he? You knew that, right?” My nerves ramped up as I looked between Cal, Arran, and Dio.
“We knew, babe. And I’m happy as long as you are,” Cal agreed easily.
