44. Antonio
Chapter forty-four
Antonio
“N ino.”
The weight of my body sinks further into the soft surface below me, and I let a groan out, presuming it’s another stupid hallucination. I’ve been slipping in and out of consciousness for what feels like forever.
“Nino, please wake up.” The voice is soft and feminine. It’s familiar, but I know it’s not Theá’s.
God, I wish it was.
I crack my one eye open, and bright light takes over my vision. For a split second, I wonder if it’s that light people speak about seeing when you die. A gasp from in front of me lets me know that, unfortunately, is not the case, and I am indeed alive.
I blink both eyes open, and a vision of blonde hair and pink obstructs the previous bright light.
“He opened his eyes,” the voice gasps slightly louder, and hushed chatter breaks out around me as my eyes begin focusing on my surroundings.
Most things are still hazy, but I make out Valerie’s face briefly before she’s shoved gently to the side. Dr. Rossi steps into my vision, shining a torch into my eyes, causing me to flinch again.
“Can you hear me, Antonio?” he asks, practically shouting.
“I won’t for long if you keep yelling,” I say. I can hear how hoarse my voice sounds, it physically hurts to speak.
“Good,” the doctor sighs, “you may want to refrain from doing much of anything, including talking for a while. To put it bluntly, you got pretty fucked up.”
I want to laugh, but the slightest movement has me flinching. Good thing my brothers have me covered, since I hear the twins snickering in the background.
“Thanks, Doc,” Ambrose’s voice vibrates through the room.
I shift my head a bit to the right and take in all the people surrounding my bed. My bed. I’m in my bed for the first time in almost a year.
I’m in my room.
I’m in Tevici.
I’m home.
My eyes meet my mamá’s, and tears are running down her cheeks at such a rapid pace. All I want to do is run over to her and console her, but when I try to move, she only looks more worried.
“ Mamá, mi dispiace. ”
She raises her hand, signalling me to keep quiet. “I’m just glad you’re home and alive,” she says, voice cracking straight through the sentence. Uncle Luca pulls her into his side.
“I’m glad I’m home, too,” I say, audibly straining my voice to make it loud enough for them all to hear.
Valerie takes a seat next to me and runs her hand through my hair. No words, but her touch says a thousand words. We never fully reconciled after it all, and if things were worse, I would’ve died without making amends with one of my closest friends.
I lean into her hand and meet her eyes. As I’m about to open my mouth to speak, she shakes her head. “I know, I’m sorry, too. Fuck, I thought I was going to lose you. We all thought we were.”
“Can’t die before I get to see your wedding,” I say, and her eyes well up with tears.
Looking at her now, I know how I feel. It’s the same love I feel for my brothers. It's a loyal one, but it’s platonic that resembles family. Most importantly, it’s nothing compared to the type of love I feel for Theá.
I can feel Ambrose’s presence on my other side. “Give us a second with him guys,” he says.
Dr. Rossi, my mamá, Uncle Luca, and Val all leave. Only the twins linger behind.
“How bad is it?” I ask as soon as the door is closed.
“On a scale of one to ten, one being a walk in the park and ten being on the brink of war, probably an eleven,” Gus says.
I expect laughter to surround me, but it doesn’t. If anything, they look even more serious.
“Your injuries are quite severe. Two broken ribs, four more fractured. One punctured your lung, and if you were out there any longer, you would’ve died. Your nose was broken to the point they had to reconstruct it, a fracture in your cheek that—”
“I meant how bad is the situation, not my injuries,” I cut Adriano off.
He glares at me. I know what he’s trying to do. He’s trying to make me understand just how close I was to death’s doorstep. Quite frankly, I wasn’t on the doorstep. I was lounging on death’s couch, calling him by name, and I have no idea how I’m even here right now.
“You’ve been in an induced coma for nearly a week after we managed to get you out,” Ambrose starts. My eyes widen, realising how much time I’ve lost.
“It’s important that you understand how bad things are for you. You aren’t out of the woods yet; many things have to heal, and it will be an uphill battle for a while. The situation is no longer any of your concern, getting better is the only thing you will worry about. Do you understand me?”
“But—”
“Do you understand me, Antonio?”
“Yes,” I snap.
“Good, now let’s let him rest,” Ambrose says, gesturing for the twins to leave.
“Ambrose,” I call him back, and he stops at the foot of my bed.
“Tell me the truth, was she involved in this?”
Ambrose sighs, looking at the floor before eventually meeting my eyes. “We don’t know. Kylian is adamant he has no idea where she is; her, Pierre, and her sister seem to have fallen off the grid. We’re thinking they set up the texts and call as a distraction for their escape.”
A million thoughts rush through my mind all in the space of a second.
“Where’s Mattia?”
“Wrapping up the last few things in Monaco.”
I look down at my hand as I twirl the wedding band on my left hand.
“What are you thinking about?” he asks.
“I feel insane. I feel like everything I’ve ever known is wrong. Every atom my body has ever known feels wrong without her; it feels like I’m nothing without her. She completed me in a way I didn’t even know I was incomplete in the first place. I don’t want to believe that she could’ve done this.”
“I suggest you do. It’ll make the next few months a lot easier on you. Believing she hurt you instead of just being in a constant state of worry will let you start healing from all of this so you can put it behind you.”
“That’s just it. I don’t want to put this behind me, Ambrose,” I say exasperated.
He raises a brow at my sudden outburst.
“You told me it’s not about what happens, but how I handle it. And right now, I don’t want to handle it if it means it’ll be without her.”
“You asked me to tell you the truth, and I did. What you choose to believe is up to you,” he says as he pats the bed, turning to leave. “This is why I told you not to fall in love with her.”