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“No. I am fine.” I pulled out the leggings and long baggy top and felt relieved that I would at least feel comfortable in a moment. That was good enough. I didn’t need to go home. I would only worry and want to be here again as soon as possible.
She huffed dramatically. “Just have a shower, Olivia. Use the ensuite there. I will sit here with him until you are back. Five minutes. Come on.”
A shower did sound good, and I would only be in an adjoining room. I studied his handsome face for any signs that he might wake up, but he looked just as peaceful and deeply sedated as he had for hours.
“Ok. But will you knock on the door if he wakes?”
She nodded her head before shooing me away with her hands. I gave her a small smile, before I leaned over and kissed Gio’s forehead. Briskly, I grabbed my clean clothes and locked myself in the bathroom, turning on the hot water.
∞∞∞
Giovanni
A high pitched, constant beeping. Tightness on my chest. A low murmur of a feminine voice. Those were the first things I sensed as I regained consciousness. My eyelids felt so heavy when I forced them to flutter open, but I immediately shut them again when they were met by bright, fluorescent lights on the ceiling. Where was I? What’s going on?
“Fidati di te per farti sparare solo per prenderti una pausa dalla vita. Per quanto ti meriti il resto, è meglio che ti svegli presto fratello. Tutti stanno cadendo a pezzi senza di te. Soprattutto mamma e Liv. (Trust you to get shot just so you can take a break from life. As much as you deserve the rest, you had better wake up soon Brother. Everyone is falling apart without you. Especially mamma and Liv.)”
Liv? As my sister’s words caught up with my brain, my eyes flew open in panic. Olivia. The homeless man. I was shot. Was she okay?
I immediately attempted to sit up and cried out in agony as a sharp, stabbing pain rippled through my chest under the tight restriction of bandages.
“Gio! Oh my god! You’re awake. Wait! Don’t move. Let me call the nurse.”
I was vaguely aware of Elenora faffing around my bed, pulling something off the wall as I attempted to sit up again, more slowly this time. I glanced down at my naked chest that was wrapped tightly in bandages and all the wires coming out of my arms. I pulled them out, wincing a little at the strange sensation.
“Giovanni! Stop! You have to stay in bed!”
“Where is she? What happened to her?” I husked out, my throat sore and dry. Suddenly, a swarm of bodies entered the room and began ordering me to lie back down and relax in Italian. I couldn’t relax. Was she hurt? Did they shoot her still? Did they take her?
I was starting to lose my mind as I pushed the hands of nurses and doctors off me who were now becoming a little more persistent with their commands. I didn’t give a shit if I was going to need restitching or if I was weak like they were telling me. I had to find her. I had to know she was safe.
“Liv! Liv!”
My head whipped around to my sorella as she banged violently on a door in the room. I froze.
Suddenly, the door opened and my heart skipped a beat when I saw Olivia standing there, hair damp, eyes puffy but completely unharmed. I could have cried. For the first time in my adult life, I felt like crying from the relief.
Our eyes locked and I got lost in the storm of green and gold that churned with emotion. She raced towards me, pushing past one of the doctors and flung her arms around my neck. I closed my eyes as I felt the warmth of her small frame against mine and her sweet scent of coconut and vanilla invading my senses. I held her tight with one arm that wasn’t tied against my waist in a sling and buried my face in her damp hair.
I could feel her little body shaking as she cried quietly into my shoulder.
The doctors and nurses all took a step back, realising I wasn't going to try and leave anymore, and some of them departed. I don’t know how long we stayed like that but when Olivia pulled back and rested her forehead on mine, both her small hands on either side of my face, I couldn’t help but smile.
“I am so unbelievably mad at you Gio! You could have died!” She whimpered as my smile widened.
“It would take more than one bullet to bring me down, bambola.”
She narrowed her eyes and shook her head in disbelief. Her beautiful face creased with pain and her eyes brimmed with new unshed tears. I reached up and cupped her face in my hand. “What is it?”
“I’m so sorry. It was my fault. I should have stayed. You were right. I was a coward.”
I chuckled, a deep rumble from my chest that caused me pain, but it was worth it to see her face soften. “I can’t believe my ears. Olivia Bennett, did you just admit you were wrong?”
Her eyes narrowed in that cute way they did when she was annoyed with me. I never thought I would be so happy to see that look again. I pulled her tighter into my body as I perched on the side of my bed. I was very aware that I was naked under the bed sheet and I was starting to get a little excited…
Moving my head to look at the man in the white coat who I expected was the lead doctor, I said, “Grazie per avermi salvato la vita dottore. Ma come vedi sto bene. Per favore, dacci un po' di privacy. (Thanks for saving my life doc. But as you can see, I am fine. Please give us some privacy.)”
He looked unsure but I kept my hard gaze on him. He knew who I was. “Devi fare un controllo completo, ma ti darò cinque minuti. (You need to be checked but I will give you five minutes.)” As he ushered everyone out of the room and Elle gave me a quick kiss on the cheek before she followed them out, I turned my face back to Olivia. She was still standing between my legs and had her arms around my neck as I held her against my body.
