Love Unbreakable

Roscoe Roscoe grasped Nicole's ankle gently, yet his touch was steady and did not interfere with his task.

Clad in disposable plastic gloves, Roscoe applied an ointment that brought a cooling relief and numbed the pain.

The sensation was so comforting that Nicole found her toes involuntarily curling, her pulse thudding audibly in her ears.

Roscoe's expression remained detached throughout the procedure.

Once he finished with the ointment, he discarded his gloves in the trash bin, along with the porridge Jarrod had brought, without a second glance.

He exited briefly, returning with a thermos in hand, and proceeded to elevate the bed.

"Nicole, would you prefer to feed yourself, or shall I assist?" he inquired, his politeness unwavering.

Nicole, still somewhat dazed from the treatment, only registered his question when he repeated it.

She reached out slowly.

"I can manage on my own.” As her fingers brushed against his, Roscoe insisted, “Stay still.

I'll handle this.” Roscoe set up a small table, expertly transferred the porridge into a bowl, and fetched a spoon.

Nicole couldn't help but notice the pristine beauty of his hands, his nails short and clean, his veins subtly pronounced against his clenched fists, signaling strength.

Her cheeks flushed with heat.

This wasn't the first time he had tended to her wounds.

As Roscoe handed her the spoon, Nicole's hunger surged, especially for the shrimp-corn porridge, her favored dish.

She began to eat with an earnest appetite.

After the meal, Roscoe cleaned up the table and returned the bed to its original position.

“You should rest now, Nicole.

I'll be here to look after you,” he offered.

But Nicole's head shook in denial.

"No, Roscoe." Roscoe's gaze was intense as he watched her silently.

away, not daring to

"My father’s support for your

for the

to suffer.”

me before.” Nicole recalled their encounter at the hospital's

Roscoe, he was a young teen of fifteen, one of many in a crowd where her

She didn't remember him.

had

Roscoe was an

down at her, Roscoe probed, "Nicole, do you love that man?”

was only at this moment that Nicole grasped the

affections had clung to an untainted Jarrod, not the monster who refused to

felt Roscoe's

I dressed your wounds, hoping you'd understand my intentions,”

Nicole find it

words, Nicole averted

didn't want to drag anyone else into

voice his thoughts, Nicole interjected, "Roscoe, to

no love for him, my

out well, and that

With that, Nicole suggested they keep

tried to turn her face away, Roscoe grabbed

gazing at

just before his thin

once I surpass that man, you

hell? In her eyes, Roscoe was

now, his words somewhat unsettled

from Bryce, requesting her address to pick

her location to

downstairs

paces from the door, she spotted a black

lounged in the passenger seat, beckoning her over

the door and

in the back,

narrowed at the sight

is she your tutor?" Bryce

air was thick with

Raegan, and