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I’ve seen my brothers shot before. It happens.
Tonight, though, I almost lost Matteo. I still don’t know if he is going to pull through. I’m supposed to be the protector of the family and I couldn’t keep him safe.
I couldn’t keep Brielle safe either. Matteo did that, and now he could be paying the ultimate price.
Brielle.
I haven’t seen her since we got to the estate. Aria had been waiting for us at the door and she whisked Brielle away before I had the chance to talk to her about anything that happened out there.
All I know is that her mother shot Matteo. She had said as much while we were racing to the estate.
I need to make sure that she and the baby are okay.
My feet feel like there are lead weights tied to them as I walk away from the small building Dr. Carrigan uses as his miniature hospital. When I head into the main house, I can hear Tyson talking in another room.
It’s still late at night, so the kids are in bed, thankfully. They don’t need to see everybody running around and covered in their uncle’s blood.
Aria appears in the hallway, her eyes rimmed with red. “She’s in your bathroom but I can’t get her off the floor. She won’t clean up at all. She just keeps staring at the blood on her hands and saying that it’s all her fault.”
My heart is breaking as I nod and swallow the lump in my throat. “Okay. I’ll see if I can get her to clean up at least. How are you doing right now?”
“As long as Matteo makes it out of this, I’ll be okay. I don’t think it’s me you need to worry about, though. I was raised in this life. I’ve seen all of you get shot. I’m scared, but I can cope. She’s blaming herself for all of this.”
“I don’t know what you expect me to do about that. It wasn’t her fault.”
Aria shakes her head. “You really are dense sometimes, Salvatore. Just tell her that it wasn’t her fault and you love her. Hold her while she cries. Or screams. Or just sits there quietly.”
I take a deep breath and nod, brushing by her to head into my bedroom. As I make my way across the room and into the bathroom, I hear Brielle whispering to herself even though I can’t quite make out what she is saying.
She looks up as I enter the room and close the door. At first, I don’t say anything as I sit on the white tile beside her. My stomach lurches as I look at the blood staining her clothes and skin.
“Why don’t we get you cleaned up?” I ask, my voice soft.
Her eyes widen and she looks down at the blood on her hands. “This feels different than killing somebody. I didn’t shoot him, but it is still my fault. All my fault.”
“It’s not your fault.” I turn to face her. “Brielle, Dr. Carrigan said that if you hadn’t put pressure on the gunshot wound when you did, then there would have been more blood lost. He would have died.”
Brielle glances down at the blood on her hands before lurching to the toilet. She starts gagging, emptying the contents of her stomach. I move to her side and hold her hair away from her face with one hand while rubbing her back with the other.
Once she is done throwing up, she looks at me with tears in her eyes.
“I need help,” she whispers. “I don’t think I can wash this away on my own. I don’t deserve to wash it away. I should have a reminder of the pain I’ve caused your family.”
“You didn’t cause any pain,” I say as I stand and pull her to her feet.
Brielle stands there, looking like she’s entirely lost in the world. My chest constricts as I think of what is happening to Matteo right now. Dr. Carrigan will have him open on a table while he digs around for the bullet. He’ll look for any damage done to the organs and if there is any, he’ll try to fix it.
And then all that’s left to do is wait.
The waiting is the worst part. I’m supposed to be the person that takes care of my family. Now, Brielle is acting like a shell of herself and my brother could die.
I start the shower before helping her strip out of her clothes. She stands there, silent tears rolling down her face as I toss the bloodied clothes into the garbage can. I get into the shower, stepping beneath the hot spray, and pulling her with me.
The water turns pink as it runs down her body. She takes a shuddering breath as I grab the soap and pour some into my hands. Brielle watches as I lather it up before taking her hands in mine. I start to scrub away the blood. The more blood that leaves her hands and coats mine, the worse I feel.
Finally, I can’t hold back the emotions any longer. Tears start rolling down my cheeks.
Brielle wraps her arms around me and rests her head on my chest. The hot water cascades over us as I fall apart.
