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I walk into the room and shut the door behind me. Damien looks up and gives me a half-smile.
“It’s good to see you moving around,” he says as I take the seat across from him. “How are you doing? Did you get something to eat?”
“Yes, but I don’t want to talk about me right now.” I cross my arms and lean back in the chair. “We need to track down her parents. Have they been found yet?”
“Brennan is on his way back to his home to check with the people watching the borders. Tyson is in contact with all of his official and nonofficial contacts on both coasts. We’ve got eyes all over the country but there’s been no sign of them yet.”
“What about Sofia? Does she know anything?”
Gio shakes his head. “No. She just left to go run downtown and take a look for them. One of her informants said that they thought they saw a couple who matched the descriptions she sent out.
I sigh and slump down, my hands falling to my lap. “We have to get them. Brielle is still in danger if we don’t.”
“We’ll make sure that they’re taken care of.” Damien gets up and pours a glass of whisky before handing it to me. I down it in one go and he refills it. “Matteo is going to make it out of this just fine and we are going to find Brielle’s parents. There is no way that they are going to get away with this.”
“Good,” I say before finishing the second glass. “We can’t let them drop off the face of the earth again.”
“They already have but we’re working on overturning every stone until we find them,” Gio says as I stand up and head for the door. “Are you going back to Matteo?”
I nod. “I left Brielle long enough to shower. She might be holding it together today, but she wasn’t last night. I don’t want to leave her alone for too long.”
Liar.
You just want to get away from your brothers before they see the cracks in your armor. You still want them to see you as the protector even though you failed.
“Well, tell her that we hope she’s doing alright.” Damien smiles and pours himself a drink. “If she needs anything, tell her to come see one of us.”
As I walk out the door, my chest constricts. Of course, they can help her. They’ll be the ones who are able to help her when I fail again.
I take the stairs two at a time, needing to get back to Matteo as fast as possible. I don’t want to leave him alone for too long. He could wake up, and when he does, I want to be there to beg for his forgiveness.
When I enter Matteo’s room, I see Brielle still sitting by the bed. She lets go of Matteo’s hand and looks up at me with a small smile.
The entire room seems to be closing in around me when I see that smile. I want to lash out and scream. I want to break things.
Most of all, I just want somebody to admit that this is my fault. I want them to tell me that I wasn’t able to keep my brother safe and that’s why he might die.
“How are you feeling?” she asks, her voice soft as she gets up and walks over to me.
“Do you really care how I’m feeling?”
Her eyes widen and she takes a slight step back. “Salvatore, what are you talking about? Of course, I care about how you feel.”
I scoff. “No. You care about getting me back to normal as soon as possible so I can be responsible for the family again. That’s what everyone is waiting for. You all want me to protect you, and then when I can’t, you all pretend that it’s fine. It’s fucking insulting.”
“Excuse me? I can protect myself just fine, thank you. I have done it for eleven years now. Besides, you can’t protect everyone all the time. Itisfine. Nobody expects you to be the only person looking out for everyone else in the family. It’s okay to admit that you can’t do everything.”
Shaking my head, I step to the side and point at the door. “Just leave for now, Brielle. I need some time alone and all you want to do is fix me and tell me that everything is going to be okay.”
“I was trying to be a supportive partner. What can I do to help you, Salvatore? Just let me know.”
“You can help me by leaving. I want to be alone right now. I don’t need your sunshine and rainbows trying to brighten up the damn room. Go find your camera and take some pictures. Make cupcakes with Aria. Please just do anything other than sit here and try to help me.”
Her eyes show how hurt she is by my words, but her mouth sets in a thin line. “Alright. I’ll leave.”
She spins on her heel and walks out of the room, slamming the door behind her.
I’m a fucking idiot.
