INEXPLICABLE PAIN

Judas-Caine's POV

I sat still in the waiting area, staring intensely at the floor, a sarcastic smirk crossed my lips.

I even ignored the blood dripping to the floor, and the annoying sting i felt in my right palm.

"Boss, we need to get a nurse to check your wounds again." My bodyguard, Antonio muttered.

"Oh..." i stared at my hand, as if oblivious to its presence.

"Sure." I nodded.

It took a short amount of time, but a tiny thing of a nurse came and worked on the injury again.

"This should hold for some time," she smiled at me, making sure to flash her seductive boobs at me.

I was never the simping type, but i had a thing for boobs, yet, over the last couple of months, it did not matter what size they came in, i was not interested.

She held my hand a little longer than necessary, and so, i pulled it away. I didn't like being touched.

"Do you want me to give you a shhh-shot of painkillers?" She eyed me, acting shy but obviously being boldly flirtatious.

"No. I enjoy the pain -- it reminds me I'm alive." I muttered the last part to myself.

I left her staring after me, not bothered that in the past, i would have definitely obliged and tapped that.

Antonio stood outside the room waiting, as soon as I walked out, he asked the question i knew he was dying to ask since the minute we arrived at the hospital.

Antonio was my late father's bodyguard, he had watched me grow up, he was more like an uncle to me and i respected him deeply.

I couldn't put him out of the job after -- hmm

"What is it?" I asked him, bracing myself for the question even i was not prepared to answer.

"You allowed her touch you and claw you -- nobody has been allowed to touch you in the slightest since -- the thing that we don't speak about." He muttered.

"I was just curious as to why. If you don't mind my asking."

I sighed. Freedom of speech was certainly not freedom of all kinds of speech, and when it came to boundaries, Antonio rarely tested them -- and so, i obliged.

"She was in pain. I wanted to feel her pain. I have not felt pain since i woke up, Antonio, and my mother - she insists that falling in love and finding a woman is the best thing for me - and we both know what my stand on that is." I replied, gritting my teeth to hold back the rage i felt at my own words.

Antonio bowed his head - he knew when i was not in the mood to further expatiate on a topic, and so, he did not press.

A nurse walked towards us in the hall, stopping just few feet away from me.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but the patient in room 18 is asking for you." She said and walked away when i did not respond.

"I won't be long." I said before leaving.

The room smelled of cinnamon oil and lavender incense. I cocked my eyebrow at her, trying not to choke.

"I'm sorry, my friend says it helps ward off negative energy." She replied, barely looking up at me.

I glanced at my watch, i had less than twenty minutes to be at a meeting.

"Have you pondered on my offer?" I asked, keeping a straight face.

Goldie locks seemed a little less confident than she had been when i first walked into the room, before the doctor excused me.

Now, she had consideration written all over her face. And then she looked up at me as if doubting that the next words she said would be anything but hers.

"My name is Lia Hallman." she said, officially. And then...

"My baby is sick..."

For some reason, a metaphoric rope tightened around my heart, and i refrained from reaching up to clutch my chest.

"The doctor said he has neonatal respiratory distress and right now, an emergency surfactant is being administered to him."

She let out a sigh of defeat and then looked up at me.

"I accept your offer, as long as you pay for his bills and everything, just like you said you would."

"You have my word." I assured her, and then, she perked up as though remembering a vital information she missed.

"No sex, no intimacy, no touching, no invading of personal space and all, right?"

I smirked, she spoke my language and i liked it.

"Unless forced proximity is required, that is the agreement." I replied and she nodded.

"I will have my accountant settle everything concerning your bills, and my driver will pick you up as soon as you are ready to leave. Your son will receive the best care there is and a sum of two million dollars will be transferred to your account and i will have my assistant take you dress shopping for the part."

I said everything in a rush, glancing at my watch again and fighting against the instant racing of my heart.

"Sure, i under---"

I was out of the room before she could finish her sentence. I strode past Antonio and headed straight for the SUV.

Inside, i pulled out my box of medicine from under the seat and tossed a couple of pills in my mouth before my anxiety calmed, and the pain along with it. I raised my left hand and caught it twitching a few more times before it gave up the fight.

I leaned back against the seat and closed my eyes, taking it one breath at a time. One breath at a time.

"Boss, are you alright?" Antonio asked the minute he got into the car.

"Yes," i exhaled with relief. I knew i had to face my family, go back to the company after how many months. It was all my responsibility now, and this time i could not escape no matter how much i wanted to.

I looked at the rear view mirror, and there was concern written all over Antonio's face. I grabbed my chest again, the part where it hurt badly.

The wound was faint now, but right there, just on top my left rib cage was the mark of a past i would never outrun, a pain that would never fully escape me, no matter the number of painkillers i took.

"Let's go." I instructed him.