“But Mia.” His eyes were large and sad.

“No,” I replied quickly. “Don’t touch or talk to me. You need to work things out with your fiancé and future mother of your child. There’s no room for me in your life. I don’t date cheaters and I certainly don’t fall in love with men that run out on their responsibilities.”

His hand dropped to his side as he stared at me. “Mia, you know she’s crazy, right?”

“I’m right here, dickhead,” Tammy yelled, punching him in the arm.

His arms flexed and his hand twitched. “Don’t fucking touch me, you insane bitch. I know where the fuck you are, you’re like a crazy nightmare that won’t go the fuck away.”

“I don’t have time for this bullshit.” I shook my head, tears threatening to turn into sobs. “You two deserve each other,” I said, before turning my back to them.

“Mia,” Michael yelled as I walked away.

Hanging my head, I hid my eyes from the onlookers that had gathered in the hallway. I could hear their voices as I disappeared in the bathroom.

Finding an open stall, I closed my self in and shut the outside world out. I sat on the toilet and rocked. Silent tears racked my body. I realized the only person that had made me feel safe turned into my biggest fear, heartache and devastation.

Michael Gallo crashed into my world and turned it upside down.

I couldn’t sit here and cry over a man that I’d only known a couple of weeks, even though I wanted to. Patients waited for me. I couldn’t spend another moment wallowing in what could’ve been and will never be.

Fuck Michael Gallo and that crazy whore too.

Anger bubbled inside as I stood and walked out of the stall to dry my face.

My phone started beeping, text messages coming in rapidly from Michael. I turned the ringer off and stuffed it in my pocket before reaching for the door.

It was going to be a miserable shift at the ER.

MICHAEL

“Sit down, baby. Tell me what’s wrong,” my ma said, pulling out a chair for me.

She really was sweet and I felt shitty to throw this on her, but I needed her.

“I didn’t know who else to come to, Ma.” Sitting down, I rested my hands in my lap. I stared her straight in the eye as I leaned back and figured out how to break this to her.

“I’m always here for you. You look like shit, Michael.” She reached out and caressed my cheek with a small smile.

I smiled and leaned into her touch as she soothed me. “I don’t even know where to being with this clusterfuck,” I said scrubbing my hands across my face.

“Only because you’re so upset will I let that word slide in this house today.”

“Sorry, Ma.” I shrugged. “Alright, here it is.” I let out a breath before speaking. “About six weeks ago I started seeing this woman, Tammy.”

“Seeing as in dating or…” she looked at me with one eyebrow higher than the other.

I sighed, wishing I could avoid the entire conversation. “We weren’t dating. We hooked up a couple of times.”

“God, I hope you used protection.” She shook her head. “All these horrible diseases out there today.”

“Ma, can I tell you the story or are you going to interrupt me?”

She laughed, patting my hand. “You go ahead, son. Sorry. I’ll sit here and listen.” Resting her head in her hand, she stared at me.

Her facial expressions changed as I told her the story. Her eyes were as big as saucers and her mouth hung open by the time I finished. “Can I ask some questions now?” she asked.

Nodding, I motioned for her to ask.

“So you didn’t ask her to marry you?

“Nope.”

“And she’s not pregnant either?”

“Nope.”

“Are you sure she’s not pregnant?” she asked, tilting her head as she rubbed her chin.

“Fuck if I know, Ma. I wore a condom the couple times we did it. Not one busted and all came from my pocket.”

“You said she’s crazy, how crazy we talkin’ - Cathy Bates Misery crazy or what?”

“She could be Cathy Bates’ daughter.” I laughed.

“Jesus Christ, son. Didn’t we raise you boys right?” She rubbed the back of her neck. She shook her head, leaning back in her chair, and stared at me.

“You did, Ma. Sometimes we just kinda let our other head do the thinking.” I looked down at the table, flicking a crumb near my arm.

“We’re going to have to talk with your father about this. We may need to call George and get a restraining order against her. Maybe you can get a pregnancy test done and if necessary, an ultra sound to determine the date of conception.” Her cheeks puffed out before let the air escape slowly.

“I hoped she would just forget about me and move on. She ruined everything with Mia.”

I was miserable without Mia. I never felt lonely, ever, but I felt the emptiness when she walked away from me, from us, in the hospital a couple days ago. The longest two days of my fucking life.

“Is Mia the doctor from the hospital?”

“Yeah, you know about her?”

“Your siblings can’t keep a secret worth shit, son, except for Joe. He’s like a rock and it makes me nuts.” She laughed, her smile almost kissing her eyes.

“Well, Tammy confronted me when I was with Mia. Mia’s confused and doesn’t know what to believe. She hasn’t returned my phone calls or replied to a text in days, Ma. I have to fix this.”

Her smile fell. “Have to be crafty, son. Out think her. Fight fire with fire.” She paused and scrunched her lips. “Maybe you can get Tammy to go see a doctor and let you come.” She patted my hand. “You can verify the pregnancy or lack thereof and we’ll proceed from there. It would give you tangible proof sooner than waiting for the court system, but if she’s dangerous then you need to stay the hell away from her.”

“I got it, Ma. I can handle her. I’m not worried about her hurting me. She’s already done enough damage. I’ll do it. I’ll call her. I think she’ll go for it if she thinks there’s any chance of us getting back together.”

“It’s playing in dangerous territory, but I leave the decision up to you. Just be careful, Michael.”

I didn’t have a choice.

I had to risk it all to win back Mia.

I needed to show Tammy for who she really is – a liar.

“I don’t need this bullshit right now, Ma. My fight is in a week and I have too much going on to deal with this. I need it to end now.”

“You’ll do it, son. I’ll talk to your dad tonight and he can call George. He’ll get the paperwork ready to put the restraining order into action. You can call him and find out what to do next.”

As I stood from my chair, I bent over and kissed the top of her head. “Thanks, Ma. You always have great advice.” I inhaled the strawberry scent of her shampoo and was instantly brought back to my childhood.

Reaching up, she stroked my cheek as she said, “That’s what I’m here for.”

As I started walking to the door her voice stopped me.

“Michael,” she yelled.

“Yeah, Ma?” I paused, not wanting to miss her parting advice.

“Keep it in your pants, son. Got me?”

“Hear ya loud and clear, Ma.” Shaking my head, I opened the door and left to set the plan in motion.

Searching through my phone contacts, I couldn’t find her number.

Damn it.

Izzy had blocked her. I headed to the shop to find my sweet little sister and see if she’d be willing to help me smash Tammy once and for all.

Leading up to my match, my schedule at the shop had almost been non-existent. I tried to work out and practice as much as possible without having to worry about the day-to-day operations.

Piercings were by special appointment. I only had to go in twice in the last ten days. Joe wouldn’t be back for weeks. That left Anthony and Izzy to deal with running the business and tattooing.

Everything seemed to be in order as I walked through the front door of Inked. The waiting area looked tidy, just as I had left it and the familiar buzz filled the shop. Soft voices came from the tattooing area, Death Metal, Izzy’s choice I’m sure, played quietly so it blended in as background noise.