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.

turned her face away, not daring

father’s support for your education was

me for the

see, anyone entangled with me lately seems to suffer.” Roscoe listened without a flicker

voiced his thoughts, "Nicole, I was disheartened when you didn't recognize me before.” Nicole recalled their encounter at the hospital's safe corridor, but her mind was a haze back then, thanks to Jarrod, leaving no

she’d seen Roscoe, he was a young teen of fifteen, one of many in a crowd where her father had taken her to aid the underprivileged, and

She didn't remember him.

years had

Roscoe was an intern

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

was only at this moment that Nicole grasped the

an untainted Jarrod, not the monster who refused to let her parents go

a reverie, Nicole felt Roscoe's touch steering

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

clear and compelling, making Nicole

next words,

to drag anyone else into

before Roscoe could voice his thoughts, Nicole interjected, "Roscoe, to me, you're like a little

for him, my bond

and that would please

leave it at that..." With that, Nicole suggested they keep

turn her face away, Roscoe

silent, gazing

just before his thin

and a whisper, Roscoe vowed, "Nicole, once I surpass

her eyes,

his words

a message from Bryce, requesting

her location to

downstairs after

from the door, she spotted

in the passenger seat, beckoning her

the door and climbed

Eloise was seated in the back, her presence almost tangible with

at the

to Bryce, questioning sharply, "Bryce, is she your tutor?" Bryce merely

was thick

Raegan, and