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"Come on, Elsa." She rises and draws me up to my feet. "I'll help you." She leads me through the waiting room to a door at the far end I hadn’t noticed. "Go on." She pushes the door open, places the cloth bag next to the sink, and guides me inside. "I'll be waiting outside. Call if you need anything." The door shuts behind her.
I glance at my face in the mirror, notice the droplets of blood across my cheek, and burst out crying.
"Elsa, are you okay?" Theresa knocks on the door. "Do you need me to come in."
"No," I say through my sobs, "I'll be fine." I turn on the tap, scoop some water in my hands, and splash it on my face several times. I manage to choke down my sobs, turn off the tap, shrug out of my clothes, and slip into the dress she brought me. I stuff my clothes into the bag, and run my fingers through my hair trying to restore some semblance of order to the strands. With a last look at myself in the mirror, I head out.
"How are you feeling?" Theresa peers into my features.
"Not great." I glance around, wondering what to do with the bag, when she holds out her hand.
"I'll take care of that for you."
I hand her the bag, and allow her to lead me back to a seat in the waiting room.
"He’ll be fine," she reassures me as we sit down.
"What if the bullet does permanent damage to him?" I swallow, "I’ll never forgive myself if it did. And those men who were hurt. What if they die?" My entire body trembles. My hands and feet are so numb, I can barely feel them. "This is all my fault, Theresa. It’s my fault."
"No, it’s not. You couldn’t have known that someone was going to shoot at you guys."
"I knew he was in danger, and yet, I asked him to take me on the trip. I was the one who said I wanted to leave the house. He told me it was dangerous, but I still insisted." A sob blocks my throat, and I swallow it down. "I knew this was going to happen. I knew it, and I didn’t stop it. This is all my fault."
"What do you mean?"
I glance up to find Axel has come over to stand next to us.
"How could you know that this would happen?" he asks.
"I…" I bite the inside of my cheek. How can I explain something I am, only now, trying to get my head around?
"Axel," Theresa scowls at him, "stop trying to scare her."
Axel glances between us. When his gaze alights on Theresa, it thaws a little. "I’m only trying to understand how she knew that something was going to happen to Seb."
"It’s just a figure of speech, Axel. She’s feeling guilty that she coaxed Seb to take her out today. She had no idea something like this would happen."
"That’s not what I’m understanding from what she’s saying." Axel narrows his gaze on me.
"It’s only because she’s worried and confused." Theresa turns to me. "Isn’t that right Elsa? You had no idea that something like this could happen, right?"
I glance at her and then away. Oh, god, what am I going to tell them? This is not how everything was supposed to turn out. If I’d known that Seb would end up getting hurt like this… Would I have agreed to what Fabio asked? Was there any other way to protect my daughter? My head spins. I lean back against the wall, close my eyes, and lock my fingers together.
"Elsa, honey, are you okay?" Theresa asks.
Footsteps head in my direction. I snap my eyes open, searching for the figure of the doctor, but it’s Karma who sweeps in. "Elsa!" She walks over to me, places a bag on the side table, then reaches for my hands. "You poor, poor thing," She rubs my cold palms between her warmer ones. "I’m so sorry this happened, Elsa. Are you okay?"
I nod. Tears bite the backs of my eyes, and another sob wells up my throat.
"How’s Seb?"
I shake my head, unable to form the words.
"The doctors, and Aurora, too... They’re all in there with him. They haven’t told us the status yet," Theresa replies.
"And Antonio, and the rest of the team?" Karma asks.
"They’re alive, but that’s all we know right now," Axel interjects.
