24. Chapter 24
Chapter 24
C HAPTER TWENTY – FOUR
RORY
A piercing sound echoed in my ears, the scent of iron filling the air. I couldn't breathe. My mind spun.
"Raphael?!" the muffled voice was distant, but the grip on my shoulders tightened.
Raphael.
Where was he?
Someone was holding me. Someone was telling me to breathe. Someone was calling Raphael's name.
I gasped.
Raphael. He was...
My heart raced and I pushed past whoever was holding me, running toward him.
"Call an ambulance," Xander yelled.
"Is he okay?"
"Is he breathing?"
His eyes were closed, and his face was pale. My body trembled as I kneeled by his side. Tears welled in my eyes and I grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly.
"R-Raphael," I whispered, the tears slipping down my cheeks. My heart raced and my head spun. People had noticed the commotion from the club. Some of the patrons lounging outside had made their way toward the scene of the accident. I didn't look up at any of them. I couldn't.
I couldn't look at anyone but Raphael.
The sirens blared in the distance, getting closer and closer. My eyes drooped, my vision blurred, and my body swayed.
"Rory!" a voice screamed as my vision faded to black.
When I woke up, I was in a hospital room. The smell of antiseptic and bleach permeated the air. I was wearing a hospital gown and a thin white sheet covered my body. The bed I was in was large and comfortable.
As my eyes adjusted to the dim light, I sat up, wincing slightly.
"Rory," Callie said, appearing next to me. "Are you okay?"
I looked around. "Where is he?" I asked. "Where's Raphael?"
"He's in the ICU," a voice said. Tori. She was sitting in a corner of the room, her legs crossed and a cup of coffee in her hand. She rose. "They had to operate."
I blinked. "O-Operate? But he wasn't that hurt, right?"
"We'll know soon enough," she said, coming toward me. "How are you feeling? The doctor said you were probably overwhelmed and that's why you fainted."
"I-Is the baby..."
"The baby's fine," Callie assured me.
I placed my palm over my stomach, sighing in relief. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought of Raphael. I could feel the panic rising within me, but I tried to control my breathing. I could do nothing about the tears.
"I want to see him. I need to see him," I said, getting out of bed.
"Rory, the doctors are with him and..."
"I don't care," I said. I was barefoot and the floor was cold beneath my feet. Callie and Tori exchanged looks before Tori moved toward me. She held out a pair of slippers and helped me slip into them. I wrapped my arms around my body and hurried out of the room, ignoring the pain shooting through my chest.
I was on the first floor and the ICU was on the third. When we arrived, we saw his parents talking to each other. Isabella looked up and her eyes watered as she walked up to me. "Oh, thank Goodness, you're awake."
She embraced me. "How are you? Do you feel okay? The doctor said the baby's fine but do you feel okay?"
I nodded. "I'm fine," I said.
I glanced at a small bench pushed up against the wall and my body tensed. Rylan sat on it, his hands clasped as he rested his forehead on his fingers.
"Why is he here?" I asked, glaring at him.
Isabella glanced at Rylan and the softness in her eyes vanished. Isaac was staring him down. Something was wrong. I could feel it.
"What happened?" I asked.
Rylan didn't move. He looked like he had been crying and there was something in his eyes, something I had never seen.
Guilt.
"Rylan was the one who hit Raphael," Tori said from behind me, her voice laced with disgust.
My chest tightened, and the air left my lungs. Rylan's shoulders stiffened, and he finally lifted his head, his eyes meeting mine.
"What?" I breathed, stepping toward him. "You were driving?"
His lips parted. "Rory. I- I'm sorry," he stood quickly. "I don't know what I was thinking. I-"
Isabella turned around, raising her palm and a loud slap echoed. Rylan stumbled backward, his cheek bright red.
"You did this," she said. "You hit your brother, and now, he might not be alive."
Her words were like a dagger through the heart.
Raphael might not be alive.
He might not.
"No, no, no, no," I chanted, stumbling backward. "No, that can't happen. That can't-"
Callie rushed to my side, helping me stand.
"What did we ever do to you?" Isabella asked Rylan, sobbing. "He's your little brother! He used to look up to you! Why would you do this to him?"
"I'm sorry," Rylan choked out.
"You're a monster," she cried.
Isaac took Isabella into his arms, holding her tightly as she cried. He glared at his son. "You will turn yourself in. If anything happens to Raphael, not even I will save you from prison."
Tori and Callie were at my side, their hands on me as they spoke, their words drowned out by the pounding in my ears.
I looked up and Rylan's gaze met mine. He didn't say anything and I didn't say anything either. I didn't know what to say.
My eyes stung and I felt sick to my stomach. I took a seat on the bench and leaned back, closing my eyes and willing the tears to stay at bay.
A few minutes later, the members of No Limit arrived with two officers. They had gone to the station to report the accident and the culprit. Then they picked up Millie.
Rylan didn't refuse arrest. His body shook with guilt as he was taken away. I didn't know what exactly had gone through his mind. Was he so filled with rage and hatred that he didn't know what he was doing until it was too late?
I didn't care.
If anything happened to Raphael, I would never forgive him.
As he was taken away, my gaze lingered on his face. For a moment, the world froze and all I could see was his eyes, the same eyes I had grown up looking into, the same eyes that had once looked at me like I was his world.
I hated him so much.
"This is crazy," Rex was saying.
Xander and Axel had their arms around Millie. She was sobbing quietly. "What's going to happen to him?" she asked.
Xander's hand went up to her head. "It's okay, Mils. It's going to be okay."
The doctor walked out and everyone went quiet.
"Mr. Barlowe has a broken arm, a concussion, and a few minor cuts and bruises. Luckily, his internal organs are fine," the doctor said.
My heart leaped. He was alive.
"We're keeping him under observation," the doctor continued. "He'll be out of commission for a few weeks while he recovers, but he should be back on his feet soon."
I gasped.
The tears slipped down my cheeks, my shoulders shaking with the sobs I'd been trying so hard to hold in.
"He's fine, Rory," Tori said.
"Can I see him?" I asked, standing.
The doctor's gaze went to Isabella, who nodded. "Alright," he said.
She squeezed my shoulder. "Go first. We'll wait here for you."
I walked into the room. There was a curtain blocking him from view. I moved toward it, pulling it back. The air left my lungs. He was sleeping, and his arm was in a cast, his skin bruised. I pushed the hair out of his eyes, staring down at him. There was a small cut on his cheek and his forehead and I smiled.
"You're going to be so upset when you wake up and see that you bruised your face," I whispered, wiping my eyes.
Raphael’s chest rose and fell with every breath. I kissed his cheek and his lips, the tears blurring my vision. "You said you wouldn't leave me. You said we'd do this together. How am I supposed to do this without you?" I asked. "We're having a baby soon. What if it turns out to be a girl? Don't you want to be a girl dad anymore?"
I glanced at where his arm hung from a sling. I sighed, sniffling. "I love you," I said. "That's what I really wanted to tell you this morning. I lied that I was just thirsty but that wasn't it. I wanted to say that I love you, that I don't know how or when it happened, but it did and that it's okay because I want to love you and I want you to love me, too."
I paused.
"Don't let me say these things to you while you're sleeping, okay?" I kissed his lips once more. "Please, Raphael. Please wake up. Don't leave me. Don't-"
My throat burned. My shoulders shook. The tears blurred my vision and I couldn't see. I couldn't breathe. All I could do was cry and hope. Hope that he would open his eyes, that he would wake up.
The door opened behind me and someone walked in. A moment later, Isabella was wrapping her arms around me. I didn't look up at her. I couldn't.
"Shhh, it's okay," she whispered. "Everything is going to be okay."
"Aren't you upset?" I asked, looking up at her. "Rylan. He...he did this."
Her eyes flickered to him, and she moved toward him, taking his uninjured hand. "I'm so angry and hurt. I feel like such a failure. I'm a mother who couldn't even see that her eldest was so blinded by jealousy and anger that he would hurt his brother. When Raphael left the house, a part of me knew it was because he didn't want to be in the same space as Rylan but I figured they would grow out of it. Family is family, after all."
"This isn't your fault," I said, wiping my eyes.
"It is. If I had been a better mother, none of this would have happened," she said. Her expression was calm, but her voice was shaky, her eyes glistening with tears. "Rylan will get the punishment he deserves because that's what we should have done a long time ago. We should have stopped him. But we were lenient and look what it cost us."
She kissed his forehead and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she turned to me with a smile.
"There is no greater love than a mother's love for her child. I know that you will be an amazing mother to my grandchild. Sometimes, your little one will do things that you will want to understand, even when you know they're wrong. My only hope is that you'll do a better job at handing it than I did."
"I don't think you've failed, Mrs. Barlowe," I said. "You raised a fine son like Raphael, after all."
Her smile widened and she turned to stared at him. "I did, didn't I?"
A low groan sounded and I gasped. "Raphael?"
His eyes fluttered. He muttered something but his voice was low and hoarse.
"Raphael?" Isabella whispered, clutching her chest. Then she leaned over and placed her palm on his head. "Oh, thank Goodness."
He opened his eyes. "Mom?" he mumbled.
Her eyes welled and she smiled. "Yes baby, it's me," she turned to me. "I'll go get the doctor."
As she walked away, I stepped toward Raphael. His eyes were still heavy and his words slurred, but he was awake.
He was okay.
My heart was racing. I took his hand and kissed it. "You're awake," I whispered.
He stared at me, his eyelids drooping. "Rory."
"I'm here," I said.
His lips curved into the most beautiful smile, the one I loved, and his fingers curled around mine as he said, "I love you more."