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Nick was on the bed asleep. We walked over, as he stirred awake. He looked up at us and smiled. Tears fell from my cheeks. “Are you in pain?”
He shook his head, “I feel nothing.”
I reached over and grabbed his hand. “I am so sorry.”
He shook his head. “Don’t be. This is not your fault. I would be by your side no matter what,” he squeezed my hand, “sis.” Gave me a big smile.
I looked at him and laughed. “I guess so.”
He looked at Marco, “did you know?”
Marco shook his head. “I always wondered, but I never knew for sure. I just thought as my niece, she could have my eyes. But you need to rest, we can deal with all that later.”
“How’s Luka?”
“The doctor said he is in bad shape but will be okay. He might have to have surgery on his kidney.” Marco replied.
“Have you seen him yet?”
I shook my head. “Soon, he needed to rest.”
Nick nodded, his eyes growing heavy. “I’ll let you rest. I’ll come check on you later.”
We made our way back to the waiting room. Arturo stood up. “I am going to take mom home and then head to the house, get Marco and Franco set up. Gia is going to bring you some clothes and things.”
I nodded and leaned into his chest. He pulled me in tight. “It will be okay.”
Voralie walked over and pulled me into a hug. “Do you want me to stay?”
“No, I will be fine.”
“If you need anything, call me.” She patted my cheek.
“I am leaving two men here. Guarding both of their rooms, these are men you can trust.” Arturo looked down at me. “You call me if he wakes up. I will be back in a few hours.”
“I will.” After they left, I made my way to Luka’s room. Tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at him lying in bed, bruised and broken. The steady beep of the monitor was the only noise filling the air. I walked over and grabbed his hand. “I’m sorry,” my voice hitched in my chest, “I am so sorry I got you into this mess.” I fell to my knees, holding onto his hand as I sobbed into the side of the bed.
I pulled a chair next to the bed and sat there holding his hand. Gia had stopped by and dropped off clothes. I filled her in on everything that had happened and promised to call her with updates. Arturo stopped by and stayed for a couple of hours with me. Luka stayed asleep the whole time, barely moving at all.
A nurse brought me some food, I pecked at it a little bit, but couldn't eat. I just wasn't hungry. At some point, I must have fallen asleep in the chair. I woke up with a blanket around me, the sun on my face. I yawned and looked at a nurse next to Luka putting something into his IV.
“What is that?”
She looked at me and smiled. “Morphine, he will be on it for a while. The cafeteria has a pretty good breakfast if you want to go down and get something.” She glanced at the barely eaten sandwich on the table. “You have to be hungry.”
I shook my head. “No, I want to be here when he wakes up.”
She put a hand on my shoulder. “I understand. I will get you something.” She grabbed the tray and walked out of the room.
I stood up and stretched high, I picked up the water bottle on the table and took a drink. I walked over to the window and leaned against it, looking out over Bellissindale. It was so different from Alboreville, harder, grittier somehow. But the forest at the edge barely visible looked beautiful. I sat down and read the book Gia had brought for me. Watched some videos on my phone. Checked in with Arturo, they hadn't heard anything about Gabriele yet one way or the other.
The nurse came in and grabbed my barely eaten breakfast, leaving some vending machine snacks and drinks. I walked back to the window, lost in thought. What if he needed surgery, and I lost him? What if Gabriele was still alive, and came after us both? I turned as I heard Luka moving in the bed. I walked over, looking down at him.
He took a deep breath in, his eyes opening slowly. He looked up at me and smiled. “Alora.” His eyes grew wide, and he tried to sit up, a growl rolling from his lips, he gripped his waist and laid back down. He looked left to right, then at me. “Where am I? The hospital?”
“Yeah.”
“What happened? How long have I been here? How is everyone?”
