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Nothing. No movement, no sound, nothing.
“Ti voglio bene, Teagan,” I tell her. The words flow easily. They’re words I should have said before.
* * *
“Is she still not awake?”Dario asks the next morning.
I shake my head. Right now, Jade’s sitting with her. Neither of us want her to wake up alone. I’m not sure what her reaction will be when she does wake. I just hope that she does indeed come out of her deep sleep.
“What are you going to do?” he asks. There’s still anger in his voice. Anger that I fully deserve to have.
“The doc is getting in contact with people who can help her. She needs to work through her trauma and get to a place where she’s no longer struggling under the darkness.” The words in the letter have been replaying over and over in my mind. I’ll never forget them. Not ever.
“What if that means she doesn’t want to be with you?”
I clench my jaw. I have thought about that. I can’t lose her. That’s just not a possibility. But if it comes down to her dying or her not being with me, I’d take the latter. I won’t let anything happen to her. If it means being apart, then so be it. I’ll just work hard to prove that I’m not going to hurt her again.
“I’m sorry,” he says as he hands me a cup of coffee. “I told you to set this up. I gave you the idea to force her to marry you.” He shakes his head. “When did we become like our father?”
Christ. That’s something I never wanted to be, but he’s right, that’s exactly what our father would have done.
“You didn’t force me to treat her like shit, Dario. It’s my fault, my actions.” I should have known better. Both Ade and Jade have felt the depths of the trauma they endured, and not once did I think about what could have happened to Teagan. Had I taken the chance to speak to her, to find out about the scars, maybe things would have been different.
“That’s the realest thing I’ve ever heard you say,” Jade says from behind me.
I spin around to look at her. “Thought you were with Teagan?”
She glares at me. She’s still angry, and I don’t blame her. She’s pissed at all three of us. “You’re taking account of your actions and not trying to brush them aside. Your brother could take a few lessons from you. I came out here to speak with you. I know that you want the doctor to check her out before you call Portia, but I think it would be best if she were here.” She crosses her arms over her chest. She’s about to argue with me if I don’t agree. “When Teagan wakes up, she’s going to be hurting, and as much as I know you want to help, seeing you or me could set her off. Portia is someone she trusts. Seeing her would be better.”
I grit my teeth. “Call her,” I say as I walk past her and into the bedroom. I want to stay with her. Yes, having Portia here will help, but it doesn’t mean I won’t be with her too.
My priority is to ensure she’s safe, and I’ll do whatever it takes to get her the help she needs. I don’t care how much it costs or how long it takes. Teagan deserves to be put first for once. She deserves to feel loved and wanted.
I take the seat Jade vacated and reach for her hand. Thankfully, her skin no longer has that grayish hue to it, and her lips have returned to their normal color. She’s warm, and that’s a fucking huge relief. I press my fingers against her neck and listen to the strong thumping of her heartbeat.
I press my lips against her hand.“Ti prego perdonami, amore mio. Ti amo. Torna da me,” I whisper, hoping she can hear me. (Please forgive me, my love. I love you. Come back to me.)
Yet again. Silence. She doesn’t stir. She doesn’t move. She’s so still.
Why the fuck isn’t she waking up?
TWENTY-ONE
TEAGAN
Itry to slip further into the comforting warmth, but as I do, fiery pain tears through my arm. A hoarse, ragged cry escapes my lips.
“Mia amata?” I hear the softness of Elio’s voice sound from beside me. I turn to see his eyes brimming with such intensity, like a raging storm. My hand throbs, and I catch sight of the white bandage, dredging up memories of what happened.
I’m alive. Why? How?
“I...” I try to turn my head away. Shame and guilt hit me hard. I couldn’t fight it any longer. I didn’t have the strength.
Elio reaches for my face and gently pulls me back to look at him, his thumb strumming over my cheek with so much softness and tenderness that my heart clenches. What’s going on?
“I’m so sorry,” he whispers, his eyes bright with unshed tears. “It was my fault. I almost lost you...” He shakes his head. “I need you...” he breathes, swallowing hard as he shakes his head.
I don’t know what to say. He hurt me deeply, but it wasn’t just him. My past has a lot to do with the way I feel. I’m trapped in a vicious cycle, and I don’t know how to get out of it. I’m unsure how I’m supposed to continue. How do I go on when there’s so much pain and heartache inside of me?
