Sleeping with the Frenemy (Vega Family Love Stories #3)

Chapter 21

21

Leo took a deep breath and let it out. He centered himself and then opened his eyes. He was ready. Surrounding him were eight stations all featuring tasks he’d have to complete in less than ten minutes. It was like an obstacle course he’d have to maneuver around and through in order to prove his skills. He remembered the first time he saw everything laid out and thinking that it didn’t look like much. He’d assumed it would be a piece of cake, but he’d quickly learned the entire endeavor was more about stamina than anything else. Now he’d conditioned himself to handle the rigors of the job. His main worry was making sure that his body didn’t rebel against him and cause him to make a careless mistake that would mean no doctor’s approval.

“Oh shit, Vega looks like he’s about to puke,” a voice said from his left.

Leo spun and found Ahmad and his other buddies from truck standing there.

“What are you doing here?” Leo asked.

Ahmad gave him the same smile that got him hit on by women at bars. “You think I put in all that work getting your ass in shape just to miss this now?”

Obi reached him first and thumped him on the back. At six-six and about 230 pounds, his thump packed a punch and nearly sent Leo sprawling. “You got this, bro,” he said in his deep voice with a hint of a Nigerian accent. The man should’ve and could’ve been a professional basketball player, but he’d forgone the draft in favor of the academy.

Leo never asked him why he’d do such a thing, because the truth was that Leo had given up the opportunity to sign with Gio’s manager for the same thing. Being a firefighter was just more rewarding to him than being a salsa star.

“If you do throw up, warn us first so I can take a video,” Stefani said. The dick. Enzo Stefani was a Chicago native like Leo, but his family could trace their Chicagoan legacy back generations. Their firefighting legacy too. Everyone in his large Italian American family worked for the CFD in some capacity or another. Since his uncle was the commissioner, they basically ran it. Stefani acted like it too, swaggering around like he walked on water. But Leo still liked the guy. He was a good firefighter and a loyal truck-mate.

“Lieutenant Collins couldn’t make it, two of his kids are sick.” Ahmad held up his phone to show Leo a text, but gave him the message verbally anyway. “But he says to kill it because he’s sick of having to train these would-be replacements who can’t hack it.”

“Chief pretty much said the same thing,” Obi added. “He also said to make sure you’re one hundred percent ready to be back.”

Leo was ready. He was more than ready.

“Alright, Vega,” the test administrator said, calling an end to their chat. “Let’s get you back to work.”

Leo slipped on the fifty-pound weight vest and the added twelve-pound weighted beanbags that would go on each shoulder. First up was stair-climbing. He had to walk fifty then sixty stairs per minute for three minutes all together. He couldn’t touch the rails and he couldn’t fall off or stop. This was the part that tripped a lot of people up. They didn’t realize how quickly they’d tire out. Leo was familiar with it though, so he just put on his helmet and his gloves before hopping on. He wasn’t going to deny he was breathing a little heavy by the time he was done, but he still had more than enough gas to keep his engine revved. Even if he didn’t, the cheers and chants from his crew would’ve pumped him up.

After the stairs came dragging the hose. He had to keep the marked spot behind him as he dragged it seventy-five feet at a run. Once he reached the designated spot he dropped to one knee and proceeded to pull the hose hand over hand until the marked spot on the back end of the hose passed the line in front of him. He hopped up and followed the line he was directed to toward the equipment shelf.

Sure, carrying two bulky saws totaling thirty pounds a distance of forty feet there and back didn’t seem like much, but his arm was tired after dragging the hose. He’d dropped one of the saws multiple times during practice which would mean an immediate fail in the test. Now his arm began to tingle in a way that scared him, but he was able to maintain his grip.

Next up was the ladder raise and extension. Lifting the heavy ladder into place wasn’t difficult for him as he was used to it, but he did slow down when it was time to lower the extended ladder back down as the rope had the tendency to slip when using gloves. Especially for Leo, who mostly struggled with the resistance part of lifting/lowering heavy items. Again, his arm was tingling in an unpleasant way. His fingers began to be uncooperative, but he pushed through.

The next part had him worried—the ceiling breach and pull. He had to use a long hooked pole to both thrust against the weighted “ceiling” three times and then hook it into the device to pull the ceiling down five times. This exercise had also given Leo trouble during practice on account of the reverberations, and he had to complete a series of repetitions in the correct way in order to not get an automatic fail.

Leo flew through the search portion of the exam which basically entailed crawling seventy feet through a dark space that turned and lowered unexpectedly like the play tubes at Chuck E. Cheese. While he crawled he tried to flex his hand, but it wasn’t like a cramp he could work out. It was fucking nerve damage. There was nothing he could do but ignore it.

He stood and went immediately to the 165-pound mannequin lying on the ground. He had to grab onto the handles and lift it into a sitting position before dragging it fifty feet in one direction, around a barrel and all the way back across the finish line. This was about the time things started to go really wrong. Suddenly. The mannequin felt like it weighed a ton. His shoulder and arm had gotten sick of being coy. They began screaming their anger at him, but Leo clenched his teeth and kept pulling even if he’d slowed down considerably. The relief he felt when he was able to release the mannequin was short-lived.

Finally Leo arrived to the final station—he knew this was going to suck, but he was determined to see it through. Forcible entry consisted of lifting a ten-pound sledgehammer and slamming it into small square box a bunch of times in order to simulate breaking down a door. As soon as he lifted the sledgehammer he knew this wasn’t going to end well. You’re too weak. Your arm is done. Leo told his inner voice to shut the fuck up. He wasn’t too weak. His arm could hold on for a few more seconds. He could do it. He was almost done and then he’d have reached his goal. He’d be a firefighter again.

He pulled the sledgehammer back and swung it forward. The minute the hammer hit the box: instant pain. The type of pain there were no words for. It was more violent than tearing, more intense than lightning, and made getting shot feel like a kiss from an angel. Leo immediately dropped the tool, not even caring that it landed on his toes. He dropped to his knees, yelling in agony and clutching his shoulder. Something was wrong. It should not be this painful. It hadn’t even felt like this when he’d first began working out again.

His crew scooped him off the floor and rushed him to the ER where he was given pain meds and eventually a CT scan, but he was barely aware of any of that. Everything around him felt like it was covered in a blurry filter. It was far away from him. It was just him and his pain. There was one thing his brain focused on. He’d failed the exam. He wasn’t going to be a firefighter again. He was a failure.

The door to his room opened and the doctor, an older Asian woman, slipped in with her laptop-wielding flunky behind her. “How are you feeling?” she asked him with a caring smile. “Is the pain medicine working?”

Leo grunted. The pain was still there but the medicine helped him not care about it, which he learned long ago is the most he could ask for. “It’s fine,” he added when it became clear she was waiting for an actual answer.

“Well, your CT scan came back. I’m afraid that I was right. Your rotator cuff is torn. You’ll obviously have to get an MRI to see the full extent of the damage, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this ultimately requires another surgery.”

Fuck. He’d known that something was wrong, but he hadn’t thought it would be so serious. He was such an idiot. He could practically hear his abuela’s voice in his head saying, Eso es lo que te pasa por pendejo . And she’d be right. This is exactly what he deserved for being a dumbass. A colossal dumbass. Not only had he just undone everything he’d been working for in the last year, but he set himself back farther than where he’d started. He was fucking tired. He didn’t think he had it in him to go through all of this again. That left him where? Off the force completely and without the ability to even comfort himself with music. So, miserable in other words. He had few options and even less hope.

“I want you to see your specialist ASAP, but until then you must baby that arm. I mean it. No lifting, no exercise, nothing. Just ice and rest. I’m giving you an immobilizer that I want you to wear all the time, even during sleep, until you get in to see your specialist.”

Shit. He’d fucked up badly if she was being adamant about him doing nothing. “Yeah. I’ll call my doctor tomorrow morning and I won’t do anything with my arm until he tells me I can.” Not that he could if he wanted to. He couldn’t even flex his fingers without pain and his last two fingers were pretty much numb.

“The nurse will be in with the sling and discharge papers, including some information about icing your shoulder. I’ve sent your pain med prescription to your preferred pharmacy. You should pick those up before you go home, because you’ll need another dose in the next two hours.”

“Okay,” he replied tonelessly.

She patted his leg. “I know this isn’t what you want but take care of yourself. You don’t want to do any more damage.” The than you already have was clear even if it was unsaid.

Leo’s head dropped. He was such a fucking idiot. Everyone had told him to take it easy, to stop rushing it, to just give his body time. Yet, he’d decided that he knew better and he’d gunned it. Now look at him, worse off than before.

Sometime later, Leo was walking toward the lobby patting his pockets with his good arm. Where was his phone? He needed it to order an Uber. He checked the other pocket, but all he felt was his wallet. Shit. He’d forgotten his phone somewhere. Now how was he going to get home? He was going to have to ask the nurses at the desk to call the only number he knew by heart, El Coquí.

“Hey, Vega,” a voice called out.

Leo looked up and found Obi sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. “What are you doing here?” Leo asked.

“Since I brought you here, I figured you’d need a ride home at the very least.” He stood. “I sent Ahmad and the rest to go get your car and drive it home for you. I knew you weren’t going to be able to drive yourself.”

Leo hadn’t even realized that he didn’t have his keys. God he was such a fucking mess. He shuffled from foot to foot. “Thanks.”

“Come on,” Obi said leading the way to the door. “Do you have to pick anything up before we get to your place?”

“I need to pick up my meds and I can’t find my phone,” Leo said as they stepped into the parking lot. “It must’ve fallen out while I was testing.”

“Your phone is at home,” Obi informed him. “You forgot it there.”

Leo frowned. “How do you know that?”

Obi hit the button to unlock the door of his black SUV that was still a few rows away. “Ahmad said that when they got to your place with your car, your family was freaking out because they couldn’t find you. They had your phone. I’ve been texting with them from your number.”

“Fuck.” Leo grimaced. He was hoping to sneak up to the apartment and put off telling his family as long as possible. He wanted some time to lick his wounds, but of course that would’ve been too good to be true.

Obi helped Leo buckle his seat belt and then they were off. For once in his life, Leo wasn’t in the mood to talk, so he just stared out of the window even after they picked up his meds at the drive-thru. Luckily, Obi wasn’t much of a talker so he didn’t require small talk. He reminded Leo a lot of Saint—the strong silent type. As a matter of fact... “Obi, have I ever told you that you remind me of my brother Saint?”

“Yes,” Obi replied. “Many times.”

Leo ignored that, an idea was brewing in his brain and it was distracting him from how fucked his life was, so he was going to go with it. “I think you two would be good friends. You need to meet him.”

“You’ve said that too,” Obi pointed out.

“Then why haven’t you met him yet?”

“Because I’m not a little kid who needs to be set up on a playdate.”

Leo ignored that too. “One of these days I’m going to have a party and I’m going to make you come so you two can meet.”

“Don’t try to set me up with your brother like it’s a group date. That’s weird.”

“No, it’s not. You need more friends and he needs a friend. Shit. You’d probably like my sister’s fiancé, Liam too. You gotta come kick it with my family, man.” Leo knew that Obi missed his family. He was currently the only member in the state, since his younger siblings had settled all over the world after college and his parents had gone back to Nigeria to care for his paternal grandparents.

“Do you invite everyone else to come kick it with your family?”

“Hell no, Collins is old and married, Ahmad is too much of a slut to let loose around any of my cousins, and Stefani would end up getting punched in the face.”

Obi nodded like that made perfect sense. They turned onto Division Street and Leo knew he didn’t have much longer to put his plan in motion. “But you, you’d fit right in. You’re cool as shit. Plus, my mom and aunts would fawn all over you and my sister would feed you bomb-ass food until you explode like a seagull eating rice.”

“I don’t think that sounds how you think it does,” Obi informed him.

“You should just come in with me,” Leo said.

Obi snorted. “Nice try. I’m not going to be your distraction from giving your family the explanation they deserve.”

Leo’s brow furrowed. “How do you know I owe them an explanation?”

“Because when Ahmad explained what happened during the exam, they all had no idea that you were even taking it.” His tone was even enough, but Leo could hear the censure.

He’d better get used to it now, because his family was about to tear him a new one anyway.

They pulled up to the alley of El Coquí and Leo was not at all surprised to see his parents and older brothers standing by the door. He looked at Obi. “You’re really going to leave me to face them alone right now?”

Obi nodded. “Yep.”

“That’s not cool.”

Before Obi could say anything, Leo’s door was being yanked open and his mom was dipping in. “Ay, mi ni?o bello!” She grabbed his face in her hands. “Let me look at you. I need to see that you are okay,” she wailed in Spanish.

Leo winced at the volume. “I’m okay, Mami.” It was a complete lie, but he needed her to calm down.

He felt his seat belt loosen and shot a look at Obi.

Obi jerked his chin in the direction of the open door. He wanted them out. Now.

The unfeeling asshole.

Leo turned to get out and his mom backed up to give him space.

“Ven, Saint,” she called over her shoulder. “Help him out.”

Saint appeared before Leo could tell them that he didn’t need it. He put his hand under Leo’s good elbow and helped guide him out. Saint held him while they took a few steps toward the doors, but his father’s voice stopped them both.

“The rest of you don’t have to stay now that we know he’s safe.”

Oh shit. If he was trying to get Leo alone, then he was in real trouble. He stared at his boots. Behind him, he could hear Eddie thanking Obi for bringing Leo home and keeping them updated. Once Obi pulled off they all stood there. Leo was waiting for his brothers to bail like they did whenever one of the other siblings was in deep shit, but they didn’t.

Suddenly the back door opened and Abuelo Papo stood there. “What are you all doing just standing here? Ven, metense.” He stepped aside while holding the door so they could pass.

Leo took the opportunity to escape and darted up the stairs as fast as he could, which wasn’t very quickly given the pain meds. The second he stepped through the apartment door, his eyes went directly to Sofi.

She was sitting on the couch between Kamilah and Do?a Fina while Liam was on the recliner with a sleeping Tostón in his lap. In front of them on the coffee table sat two empty bottles of cheap girlie sweet wine and a scattering of glasses. Oh man, Sofi only drank that kind of wine when she was upset. She looked at him with red-rimmed eyes and an expression of concern on her face. She stood and quickly rushed over to him. She looked ready to wrap him in a hug, but she stopped short when her eyes locked on his immobilizing sling. “Are you okay?”

Leo lied again. “I’m fine.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Do they put that contraption on everyone who’s fine?”

“Only the special ones like me,” he replied, trying for lighthearted.

“Now’s not the time for jokes,” his father barked. “Sit down.”

Leo plopped onto the couch, sucking in a pained breath when it jerked his shoulder. But when his dad used that tone, there was no arguing to be done. There was only apologizing. “Look, I’m sorry I forgot my phone and you guys were worried,” he began, but Papi cut him off.

“You think that’s what we’re upset about?” he asked incredulously as the rest of the family filed in behind him. “What were you thinking, Leo?” his dad said—a familiar refrain. Unsurprisingly he answered his question himself with another familiar quote. “Bueno, obviously you weren’t or you wouldn’t have kept it a secret this whole time.”

“I knew you’d tell me not to try,” Leo said. “You’d be worried about me.”

“Of course we would be worried,” Mami said. “The doctors told us that you couldn’t go back. You’d put yourself in danger.”

“I always put myself in danger, Mami. That’s the job!”

“The job is about trying to be smart and keep yourself out of danger,” Eddie said. “Being on duty when your body is compromised puts you, your fellow firefighters, and the people you serve in more danger.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Leo grit out. “I would never do that, which is why I trained so hard to pass the PAT, to have solid proof that I was ready for duty.”

“Look,” Cristian said. “I get how hard it is to let the job go. There are days I second-guess my decision to leave the police force, but I wasn’t fit for duty anymore. For you it’s physical, for me it was mental. I woke up to the harsh realities I’d been ignoring and it affected my ability to do my job. Do I still believe in justice? Yes, but I couldn’t be a part of that system anymore.” He dragged his hands through his hair, obviously not comfortable talking about it. “I know you want to be out there serving the community and saving lives, but, Leo, you can’t.”

Leo had known this was what they were going to say and he’d had enough. “I’m so sick of this!” he yelled. “I’m sick of you all sitting here and explaining everything to me like I’m too dumb to have thought about this on my own. I know I’m the stupid kid, but I do think about things before I do them.”

“What?” Mami asked. “What do you mean ‘the stupid kid’?”

“That’s what you think. What you’ve always thought.” Leo took on his mother’s voice. “Oh pobre, Leo with his ADHD. He can’t learn like that, so just leave him be.” Leo attempted his dad’s voice next. “Leo, your brain doesn’t work like everyone else’s, so you need to do things differently.” He threw up his good hand. “Stop treating me like I’m broken! I’m just as capable as anyone else!”

“Really?” his dad yelled back. “Because from what I’m looking at, it doesn’t seem that way. Look what you did to yourself and don’t try to say you’re fine, because it’s clear that’s a lie.”

Leo froze. This is exactly what he didn’t want to happen. He’d fucked up again and now here his family was looking at him with varying degrees of pity, anger, worry, and disappointment. He hated it. “Well, you can all relax now, because I failed the exam, so I’ll never be a firefighter again.”

Papi huffed like he was being ridiculous. “And what about your job with Liam?” his dad asked, piling on like always. “You can’t do it like that. And what about your sister’s wedding? Can you even play the guitar? I doubt it.”

Leo dropped his gaze to the floor. He hadn’t even thought about any of that. There was no way he’d be able to play the guitar in the next few weeks nor would he be mixing drinks anytime soon. “I can still sing at the wedding,” he said, his voice low and ashamed.

“I just don’t get it,” Papi continued, ignoring him completely. “When are you going to stop doing such idiotic things?”

Leo winced.

“That’s enough, Santos,” Abuelo Papo decreed.

Leo’s eyes snapped up and bounced between him and his dad, who looked shocked that someone had interrupted his tirade. Not many people had the gall to do such a thing, but Abuelo Papo didn’t give a shit. He’d do what he wanted, when he wanted.

Abuelo shifted his shoulders as if preparing for battle. “This is not the time,” he told Papi.

Papi was still visibly pissed, his nostrils were flared, his muscles were tense, and his cheeks were flushed under his tan. But he gave one single jerk of his chin.

“Eddie, why don’t you take your parents home now,” Abuelo continued.

“Me quedo,” Mami said in a tone that brooked no argument. “My son is hurt and I’m staying here in case he needs me.”

Mami had always been extra protective of him and he was sure it was because he’d been born premature which had required him to stay in the NICU for a time. However, he didn’t want her to stay. He just wanted everyone to leave him alone. Everyone but Sofi that was. He looked to her for support. He wanted her to say that she’d take care of him, but she didn’t say anything. She just sat there.

What was that about? It wasn’t like her to sit quietly when things were going down.

“Come on, Pop,” Eddie told Papi. “Let’s get you home so you can get some rest.”

Still red and tense, Papi turned on his heel and left without saying anything to anyone. Cristian followed them with Saint in tow since he’d offered to drop Saint off at home. Liam stood up with Tostón in his arms and said he’d take the dog for the night, so no one had to worry about him and could focus on Leo. He didn’t look at Leo at all.

Leo’s gut roiled with guilt. He’d really screwed Liam over more than anyone else except for maybe Kamilah. He looked at his sister and found her staring at Sofi with a weird look on her face.

Sofi still hadn’t said anything. She just sat there staring at the TV playing, what appeared to be, a documentary about the wives of the pharaohs in Ancient Egypt. It was clear she was pissed at him, but he didn’t understand why. It wasn’t like she didn’t know about him taking the exam—unlike his family. He’d been honest with her about it. Was she mad that she couldn’t get a hold of him all day? “I really am sorry I forgot my phone,” he told her. “I’ll be more responsible in the future.”

She frowned in confusion. “Leo, I’m not your mother. I’m not going to punish you for forgetting your own stuff.”

“Then why are you mad at me?” Leo asked.

“Who said I’m mad?”

Leo shook his head in bafflement. Did she really think he was that dumb or that he didn’t know her? “I can tell that you’re mad. You’re basically treating me how you treat white women who ask you if your hair is real and try to call you ‘sis.’” If she wasn’t mad, then she must be disappointed too. He’d told her that he’d done the practice test and passed, so she was probably expecting him to pass this time as well. Well, fuck. No one was more upset about that than him. Besides, what right did she have to be disappointed? She’d barely said anything when he’d told her about his plan and she never encouraged him when he told her about his training. She was too busy with Kamilah’s wedding. “This is some bullshit,” he snapped. “I know something is wrong,” he told her. “I wish you’d just tell me what it is instead of acting like it’s nothing.”

“Like your abuelo said, now is not the time,” she replied.

Leo’s frustration boiled over. He hopped up and moved to block the TV. “If you have something to say, then just say it. Don’t be such a chickenshit.”

The way she snapped her head in his direction, her eyes flashing, told him that he’d just poked the bear a bit too hard. Oh well, he’d never tiptoed around her moods and he wasn’t going to start now. Not even when his abuelo’s chastising “Leonardo” told him that he should’ve kept his mouth shut.