Taking The Mantle

Chapter 5

My leg bounces uncontrollably as I sit and wait. The hospital is busy with nurses and doctors running around in every direction. I rake my fingers through my hair before standing and pacing in front of the nurses station. I need to calm down before Luca gets here. I need to be strong so he can be weak.

The doors fly open and Luca runs inside. He looks around frantically before he spots me.

"Where is she?" he asks as he tries to move past me, "what happened?"

"You can't go back there yet," I tell him, putting my hand on his chest to keep him back.

"Shut the fuck up Gio," he growls, "where the fuck is my wife?"

"She's with the doctor," I reply, "you need to calm down."

"Calm down?" he spits back before looking around in a panic, "where are my fucking kids?"

"Rocco is with them back at the house," I reply.

Luca shakes his head and moves to push past me again, "I need to see her."

My one arm stays firm across his chest and he pushes against me in a futile effort. He finally turns away and punches the wall, his hand embedding into the drywall. I quickly toss a wad of cash on the nurses station and offer the woman sitting there an apologetic smile.

"Come on," I say, nudging Luca's shoulder, "sit down until the doctor comes out."

He nods, defeated, and I lead him over to the rows of chairs. He sits next to me with his head in his hands. I watch as his body shakes in silent sobs and pat him on the back.

"What do I do now?" he breathes out, shaking his head.

"You love and support her just like you always have," I reply.

"It's not enough," he insists, turning to look at me, "obviously that's not enough. What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"We'll figure this out fratello," I assure him, putting my hand on his shoulder, "we'll get the best doctors, the best everything. She's going to be okay."
(Brother)

"I did all of this so she would be safe, so she'd stay alive," he mutters, "and here we are anyway."

I just sigh and pat his shoulder. This was honestly a long time coming but we all just refused to see it. I reach into my pocket and pull out the pamphlet that the EMT gave me. I stare at the headline in big, bold letters: Postpartum Depression.

I offer it to Luca silently and he hesitantly opens it. I watch him carefully as he reads it, ready to restrain him if he fucking loses it again. But he just sits there and rereads every line until I'm sure he has the thing memorized.

"DiSilva?" an older man calls out, a patient file in his hands.

Luca jumps from his seat and I follow right behind him. The doctor looks between the two of us with furrowed brows before clearing his throat.

"Your wife lost a lot of blood," he starts, "she's alive and stitched up but she's not going home anytime soon."

"Excuse me?" Luca seethes, taking a step towards the man. I stop him from advancing any further and nod for the doctor to continue.

"She will need to stay here for at least three days for the blood loss and I recommend that she be placed into a psychiatric facility once she is physically well again," he says.

I hesitantly glance at Luca, knowing damn well he is seconds away from snapping. His hands are curled into fists as his eyes narrow in on the doctor.

"Can we see her?" I ask and the doctor nods.

Luca pushes past him immediately and we check every door until we finally find Victoria's. His hand hovers above the doorknob and he looks at me.

"I'll wait out here," I tell him, adding, "be gentle with her."

He nods and steps into the hospital room, closing the door behind him. I lean against the doorframe with my arms folded over my chest.

I close my eyes and try to wrack my brain on how the fuck I'm going to tell Luca that Elle saw. She definitely doesn't understand what's going on but she saw the blood. She saw Victoria's lifeless body as she was carted into the ambulance.

I pull out my phone and quickly dial Rocco's number.

"Hello," he answers.

"Hey, how are they?" I ask.

"The baby and Enzo are asleep," he says.

"And Elle?" I ask.

"She's in the library by the fireplace," he replies, "she hasn't said a word since you left."

I sigh and nod, "alright. Thanks for the update."

I tuck my phone back in my pocket and crack my knuckles before knocking on the hospital door. I step inside and Luca is sitting beside Victoria, holding her hand.

"She's not awake yet," he whispers. I nod and approach him slowly.

"Luca," I start, "I know this isn't going to be fair of me to ask but right now you need to decide. Do you want to stay here with Victoria or do you want to go home to your children?"

"Gio-," he starts and I cut him off.

"I know," I say, "but Elle saw some of what happened. If you want to stay with Vic, that's fine, but someone needs to take care of your kids."

"Go," he says, nodding towards the door, "please, Giovanni."

I nod and finally let my gaze drift to Victoria. Her skin is a sickly pale and the amount of wires and tubes connected to her body makes me nauseous.

"Call me when she wakes up," I tell him before leaving.

I send Antonio a quick text to have guards sent to the hospital before I hail a taxi. I give him the address and the car pulls away from the hospital.

My leg begins to shake again as one question hangs over my head, how the fuck am I going to explain this to a four year old?