Gabriele’s POV
I was on my toes throughout the car drive and the moment we got to the hospital, I jumped out of the car almost losing my balance this time but someone held me.
I raised my eyes as I made to move to see who had helped me and I saw Basilio’s droopy eyes.
My rage intensified and I threw a hard punch at him.
“Why the hell were you not taking my fucking calls, Basilio?! Why didn’t you keep me updated?” I grabbed him by the collar and pushed him to the wall, giving him another hit.
Basilio said nothing. He didn’t fight back, he only whimpered and my next punch was left hanging in the air as our eyes connected.
There was a tear dropping from Basilio’s eyes -Something was terribly wrong.
My hands started trembling and the ringing in my ears intensified as I thought of all the worst scenarios I could imagine in that flash second.
He shook his head and another tear dropped from his eye.
That was when my heart shattered. Arianna…
My hands grew weak and I dropped them from his collar. My legs became like jelly and I feared the next news I heard was going to break me.
“Where the fuck is she?” I whispered in a voice so low if Basilio wasn’t so close, he wouldn’t have heard me.
“I am sorry Fratello… We tried to save her… We tried to pull her out on time but -the fire was just too great. Gianni has done it, Gabriele…”
I froze.
Basilio threw one look my way and like a little girl who had lost her parents, he burst into tears.
The ringing in my ears became so loud, my vision became distorted. I was starting to lose focus and the ground was starting to look too far away all of a sudden.
“Basilio!”
We both snapped our heads in the direction of the deep voice and my eyes collided with Agostino’s.
When his glinting eyes recognized me, he started coming towards me.
“Angelo, she just moved! The doctor said it’s a miracle!” He said with a smile breaking out on his face.
It felt like I was drowning and all of a sudden, somebody drew me out of the deadly waters.
“Where is she?” I yelled running towards him.
“Come!” He said and turned back.
The three of us started moving ahead. I didn’t know where she was but I was leading the group.
As we got to the bend, I took the left and felt my arm being pulled back by my godfather.
I didn’t even argue with him. I went after them till we got to the private emergency units.
As we burst into the room, I felt like my heart was suddenly punctured. Thinking about her getting hurt was painful but seeing her in the pain was a nightmare.
She was placed between large piles of blankets and she looked so small and fragile in them. There was a bandage wrapped around her right hand plus another one around the upper part of the same arm.
“Arianna…” I whispered running towards her.
But I didn’t reach it as someone with a white coat stood in my way.
“What the fuck!” I hissed as I made to push them off but Agostino held me back.
“He is the doctor Angelo, let him do his work,” He explained.
I yanked my hand out of Agostino’s reach and pushed the bastard out of my way.
“I don’t fucking care who he is. I am going to her! She is mine!” I roared.
I got closer and went down on my knees as I reached the edge of the bed.
From a distance, she looked just small but as I got closer, I realized there was something wrong with her skin.
I held her left hand careful not to hold her too tight and turned to the doctor.
“Why is her skin red? Why isn’t she awake? What happened? Why is her skin so warm to the touch? Basilio what the fuck happened?!” I rained on them.
They stared at one another not knowing which of my questions to reply to.
“Why the fuck isn’t anyone replying?! I left her in your fucking care and I get a call in the middle of the night that my fucking house got attacked! What the fuck happened?!” I hissed trying my best not to scream at them.
I was well aware of the fact that she was weak and needed rest but she wasn’t moving.
Did Agostino only say that to make me feel better?
I turned my eyes to her again and tried to read her features on my own.
I brought her hand to my lips and kissed it. As my lips made contact with her skin, my heart exploded.
“I can’t lose you, Arianna… Please, wake up…” I mumbled as the first of my tears dropped from my eyes.
“Please…” I begged silently.
A large lump developed in my chest and I felt even worst than someone who had been run over by a truck.
My heart was being torn out of my chest yet I fought for it to stay. It had to stay. Arianna had to be fine…
I turned to Agostino and my shoulders started shaking violently. “What happened to my Arianna?” I squeaked.
My godfather was a strong man but the only thing that weakened him -was seeing me in pain.
“I need all of you to leave the room, now…” He said and a silent curse filled the room.
Tears were still rolling down my cheeks and I seriously didn’t give a fuck. All I wanted was for my Arianna to wake up.
I wanted her to tell me I was too stubborn. I wanted her to tell me, she was done with me -Anything but the silence she was giving me right now.
I saw Basilio move closer to the doctor. He didn’t say anything to the man but his eyes were loud enough.
“I can only let you in here for thirty more minutes. She is in a very critical condition right now, please,” The doctor said before he and Basilio moved out of the room leaving me with Agostino and the lifeless Arianna.
I returned my eyes to Arianna and clutched her hand tighter. I didn’t care if I was holding her too tight.
I needed the little warmth coming out of her as reassurance that she was still with me somehow.
Agostino moved closer and pulled a chair I didn’t even notice to me.
“Sit down,” He growled and without argument, I got up from my position on my knees and sat on the chair.
I made sure the skin contact before Arianna and I didn’t break.
He also pulled a chair and sat.
“Gianni sent his men at about midnight last night. They had a mole, who infiltrated and got to the kitchen…”
His voice was low but intent.
“Everyone was busy and they chose then to turn on all of the gas pipes. At exactly two in the morning, the entire house went into a rumbling explosion…”
My tears had stopped and I only looked at her. She couldn’t die.
“That was when we started calling you. We couldn’t find Arianna. She was stuck in her room and reaching her was close to impossible…”
My tears stopped at this point and all I did was listen to him.
“But soon after we spoke, Basilio told me he found her but she wasn’t moving. She didn’t have a heartbeat.”
Arianna couldn’t die. She was my second chance… God wasn’t so cruel, was he?
“The doctors said she must have gone into shock and could only return if she had the will to return… And Angelo she did,” he finished.
He held my shoulder and smiled down at me. “The doctors said she is coming back… Be strong. Your Arianna will return to you…” He said and I nodded curtly.
“Call the doctor, I want to be heard when he examines her,” I whispered and Agostino smiled.
He got up from the chair and stepped out of the room. A few minutes later the doctor returned and started checking her vitals.
A nurse soon joined him and they injected her with so much medication, my only hope was that they worked.
When they finished, the doctor smiled warmly at me and said, “I am sure your love will keep her alive.”
When he left, I felt my eyes watering again. This was too much for me to bear.
What would become of me? I had all the money in the world. I had all the underground connections in the world but none of them could help me bring her back.
In that instant I became helpless. I never believed in some heavenly being but I had run out of options.
“God, please… If you can fucking hear me-” I sniffed looking at the ceiling. “Please bring her back and -I promise to fucking leave the mafia and just live a normal life like she wants… I fucking promise…”
“Gabriele, don’t curse when you are saying a prayer…” A soft distance female voice said.