Romero hugged him, his own tears coming in mass now. This was hands down the worst f**king week of his life.

***

There was nothing left to clean. The pantry, the fridge, even the linen closet, had all been cleaned out this week. The grout on both the kitchen and bathroom tile were thoroughly scrubbed and now looked good as new. Every crevice in the apartment had been vacuumed and cleaned. Isabel lay there on the sofa smelling the pine cleaner scent that filtrated throughout her apartment. Her muscles ached. Her knuckles were raw. She’d done everything she could to keep herself busy all week and still she felt the warm tear run down the side of her face as she lay there desperately trying not think of the one thing she’d avoided thinking about all week. Romero.

She missed him terribly. Sunday night after getting home from the mall, she’d decided she just didn’t have it in her to deal with Romero’s relationship with Cici. If he had to continue seeing her for his son’s sake, it would kill her each time he came home with her scent all over him. The thought of him spending any time with her even if it was only for his son’s sake would be too painful. Now she couldn’t decide what would be worse, that or this. Lying here wishing with all her might that she could feel his arms around her, just one more time. It was all she’d thought of every night since that horrible night.

She’d been so sleep-deprived since then, and now she felt her body giving in to the exhaustion. Normally, she’d get up and brush her teeth, get into her sleepwear, make sure her clothes were ready for the next morning. Now she let herself give in to the exhaustion. Let her body call the shots until it slowly shut down and slipped into an abyss of nothingness.

Far away in the distance, there was a ringing. A ringing she’d been hearing the entire time she’d floated in a chasm of weightless reflection. Images of happier times with Romero floated through her semi-consciousness. Making love through the night, laughing as they enjoyed their dinner, kiss after glorious kiss then the ringing stopped. Along with it so did the images.

Panicked, Isabel shuddered. Then the ringing started again. This time she opened her eyes and realized she’d been dreaming, but the ringing continued. The lamp in the front room was still on but it was dark out and Isabel sat dazed wondering what time it was. It finally dawned on her that it was her cell phone ringing in the kitchen.

She stood up feeling groggy. One glance at the clock on the microwave gave her the chills. It was four in the morning. Who would be calling at this hour? She hurried to her cell and saw it was Valerie. Clearing her throat, she answered it, her anxiety growing by the minute. This couldn’t be good.

“Hello?”

“Isabel, I’m sorry to wake you, but I thought you should know.”

Isabel clutched her chest. “What?”

“Romero’s uncle Max was shot last night.” Isabel’s heart nearly stopped and she held her breath as Valerie continued. “Alex overheard someone at the restaurant talking about a shooting at the Silver Dollar but he couldn’t get a hold of Romero. Romero finally returned his call late last night. I’ve been trying to get a hold of you ever since.”

Isabel wanted to tell her she’d fallen asleep on the sofa. That she hadn’t heard the phone ring until just now, but she couldn’t speak. Finally, she got her mouth to function. “Oh my God. Is he dead?”

“No, he was still alive the last time I spoke with Alex. He’s been at the hospital with Romero ever since Romero called him last night.” Valerie took a deep breath, her voice sounding very strained. “Honey, I know you’re mad at Romero. But I really think he could use your support right now. Alex said he’s in bad shape. Maybe… maybe you could at least call him.”

“What hospital?”

Isabel nearly ran right out after she hung up with Valerie but she felt so dirty from all the cleaning she’d done the night before that she decided to shower first. With her heart at her throat the entire time she got ready to go she didn’t know what to think. What would she say to him? What if Max died? Valerie said he was in critical condition. What could Isabel possibly say to Romero to make his pain any less?

Slipping into a pair of denim shorts and a cotton tee, she fumbled the neatly aligned flip-flops in her closet finding the army green ones that matched her top. She had no time to worry about make-up or her hair so she pulled her still wet hair into a ponytail and slathered a little face lotion on and a dab of lip-gloss.

A myriad of thoughts swam through her head as she drove to the hospital. It was only Thursday, but already this week felt like the longest of her life. Each day that passed got worse. Now this.

She hadn’t heard from Michael since Sunday and she still had no idea whether he was going forward with the charges against Romero, but then she had said she’d call him. She’d give it until the weekend and see if she heard anything between now and then.

As she pulled into the hospital, she was overcome with emotion. For all she knew Max could already be dead. Her heart ached for Romero—for Manny. She walked through the parking lot, her heart thudding even harder when she saw Romero’s car.

Alex walked out of the sliding door to the emergency room looking very grim just as she walked up to him. Isabel brought her hand to her mouth. “How is he?”

“So far, he’s better than he was last night. He got out of surgery about an hour ago.” He shrugged. “He was critical when he got here, now he’s critical but stable. So it’s touch and go.”