Roll Out the Golden Carpet
“Just sign here, and then you’re free to go.”
Elle signed the paper on the dotted line. Where are my parents?
She looked at her nurse, holding a bag. “M-my ride’s not here yet.”
“Yes it is, honey. He’s waiting out front. Now, let’s get you dressed.”
Elle figured her mother hadn’t wanted to leave Dad alone long in the car, so she slowly got up and the nurse helped her change into a pair of her sweats and a t-shirt from home. Elle sat down in the waiting wheelchair. Ugh, I can finally go home. Needless to say, Elle was sick of hospital food, the constant monitoring, and the horribly-uncomfortable beds.
The nurse walked her down the hallway, into the elevator, and to the sliding doors. When the doors opened, Elle was greeted with a black Cadillac and dark-tinted windows. A brand-new Nero was there, leaning up against his car. Nero?
Nero opened the passenger’s door.
Elle wanted to say something to the nurse. She looked around. Crap, but then who would take me home? The nurse parked the wheelchair; however, Elle didn’t go to stand, still in awe of how in the world she was in the situation.
When the nurse didn’t go to move her because Nero was there, Elle had no choice other than to stand. She shakily stood up and felt Nero’s arms go around her waist. She looked up at him, wanting to protest, but that only made her body melt more into his. She saw the flash of need fill his eyes at the instant touch. Elle’s body remembered the night she and Nero shared, which felt like years ago. She wished she had never experienced the true pleasure because, if you never experienced it, then you never knew what you were missing.
Nero sat her down in the car, and she felt him linger on letting her go. He even buckled her seat belt, and all Elle could do was stare inches away from his refreshed face.
Nero had gotten his hair cut back to the shorter length she loved on him. He had even shaven his face, revealing his perfectly-tan skin and square jaw. His eyes were still slightly dark under them, but she figured one night of sleep wasn’t going to remedy them immediately. The scent of clean, fresh, hot male enveloped her, and it smelled just like she remembered. His clothes were also perfectly new and crisp.
When Nero finally shut her door and went around the car, she slammed her eyes shut. Dammit, dammit, dammit! She tried to think about anything except his face and scent as she held her legs tightly closed.
Nero slid in the car and put the car in drive, pulling out.
“Why were you the one to pick me up?” Elle finally asked.
Nero shrugged. “Because I went over to your parents’ house to get you some things and told them I would.”
Elle’s mouth dropped open. My parents’ house! “What the hell? You pay for my medical bills and they roll out the golden carpet!”
Nero smiled, flashing his teeth at her.
Elle crossed her arms. “Nero, you can’t just pay for my lunch, school, and hospital bills to fix what happened between us. I don’t care about how much money you have!”
Nero gripped the steering wheel. “I know you don’t give a shit about how much money I have. Besides, I didn’t pay for everything to make up for what I did, Elle. I did it to make your life easier, and what do you do? You fucking go pick up even more hours than you started school out with.”
Elle darted her face to look at him. “How did you know that?”
“Do you really think I would let you go to work alone after what happened to you?”
“You’ve been following me this entire time?” Elle whispered.
“Every fucking day,” Nero gritted out.
Oh, my God. Elle blinked, remaining in shock at Nero’s actions. If Elle hadn’t been such a zombie these past few months, she would have noticed and maybe…
Elle watched Nero drive past the road to go to her house. “You missed the turn.”
“No, I didn’t,” Nero said matter-of-factly.
“Well, then where are we going?” Elle didn’t understand. She wasn’t in good shape to go anywhere.
“Home.”
What is he thinking? “Nero, I’m not going anywhere with you. Especially not your house where you fucked countless girls only to fuck me right there, too. And there’s no telling the girls you’ve fucked these past few months.”
Nero flexed his jaw and gripped the steering wheel without saying a word.
Elle felt bad as soon as she said it, even if it was the truth. She could feel his anger beside her, his pain. She closed her eyes and rested her head on the door, wishing her off switch would come back. She also wished her heart hadn’t been stolen from her. Elle suffered from a big wound right in her chest, and no matter how sore her body was, none of it hurt as much as that.
When Nero didn’t go in the direction of his house, Elle asked him over and over where he was going, but he never said a word. Elle really began to worry when Nero parked out front of the Kansas City Casino Hotel, right next to her work. That was where Nero’s family had come from when they’d killed the man.
She watched Nero walk to her door and open it. Elle didn’t want to go in, but Nero leaned over, swooped her out of the car and slowly put her to her feet.
“N-Nero, why are we here?” Elle tried to get out.
Nero grabbed her around her waist to hold her up. “It’s okay, Elle. You know I’m not going to hurt you.”
Elle took a deep breath and put her weight into Nero, letting him walk her inside. When he opened the door, her head felt like it was going to explode from all the noise of the machines and the change swishing around. She had to close her eyes and let Nero guide her. Nero walked her to an escalator and held her to him to steady her. She couldn’t take the pain anymore; therefore, she put her head into Nero’s chest, wanting it to go away.
Nero leaned down to whisper in her ear, “I’m sorry, baby. I should have brought you in the back.”
At the top, Nero quickly swept her off the escalator. Up here, it wasn’t so loud, and she was able to open her eyes. She saw a security guard wave Nero past the crowd, and then they headed toward some elevators. Nero led her onto an elevator and went to press a button when a crowd of people joined on. He pulled her toward him again.
Elle put her face back in Nero’s chest, not wanting to see the looks people were giving her. She thought the elevator ride was the longest one of her life as it kept stopping and starting, making her sick.
She felt one of Nero’s hands leave her for a moment before it returned and started soothing her.
This time, when the elevator went up, it didn’t stop for quite a bit. When she heard the elevator door open, Nero moved for her to walk again. That’s when Elle noticed the button lit, indicating they were on the top floor.
Nero took a right and led her down a long hallway until he reached the last door on the left. He pulled out a key and slid it through the slot like a credit card before opening the door.
Elle walked through the door Nero held open for her and her mouth dropped open. It was a loft. The downstairs had a big, flat-screen TV, a leather sofa, and a huge kitchen and dining room all connected. Everything was black and white, and everything was brand new and modern. Elle still couldn’t pick her mouth off the floor when she saw the view. It was a corner suite with floor-to-ceiling views.
Nero took her hand and led her up the steps where she saw a huge black and white bed low to the floor. The windows had carried up behind the bed, making the city the backdrop.
“Where are we?” She was in complete awe, never having seen anything like this even in a magazine.
Nero couldn’t take his eyes off Elle’s amazed face. “Home.”
Elle, shocked, turned to look at him. “You live here now? How?”
“My father owns the hotel, and he’s been saving this room for me since I could remember. I got to design it a few months ago, and it was just finished last week. Do you like it?”
“Yes, it’s beautiful.” Elle looked down at the black, hardwood floors. “Was he waiting to give it to you when you joined the family business?”
Nero sighed and walked toward her. Taking her hand again, he brought her to a door and opened it.
Elle saw a huge, walk-in closet just as big as Maria’s—wait.
“Are those my clothes?”
Nero took Elle’s chin in his hand. “Yes. I’ve been telling you this is your home now.”
What in the hell? “Did my parents approve of this? How in the world did they agree to this?”
“I told them you needed to be monitored, and I could provide that. I have a doctor on call who will check on you. Baby, you hit your head pretty hard this time. You clearly just had a headache, and if they get worse, that’s not good.”
Elle moved away from Nero, all of this too much, too fast for her to handle. She felt a little betrayed by her parents and by Nero for not even asking her if that was what she wanted. He’s acting like I don’t have a choice.
“I need to take a shower.” Then I’m calling someone and I’m leaving. Elle would leave now if she didn’t feel so gross. She still felt the hospital all over her.
Nero nodded his head. “The bathroom is over there.” He pointed to the only other door up here.
Elle looked through the closet rack, trying to find something comfortable for her to wear; nothing. She noticed some of her clothes were not here, mostly just the ratty ones. Elle decided to look through the drawers of a big chest in the closet and saw a bunch of lingerie with tags still on them. What the fuck?
She looked at the sizes and saw they were all correct for her. You have got to be shitting me.
Elle went through the rest of the drawers, hoping she would find something comfortable to wear, but the only thing comfortable-looking were Nero’s t-shirts. Fuck!
Elle went back to the rack and snatched down a pair of jeans and a sweater. Before she left the closet, she saw a white dress hanging up. When she realized what dress it was, she wanted to stomp on it.
Elle came out of the closet with just her sweater and jeans. When she saw Nero sitting on the bed smiling, she stomped off into the bathroom where she slammed the door shut.
Fuck you!