Red's Redemption ✔

Chapter 31 - The Beginning Of The End

My consciousness was fading in and out. My ears were beginning to ring as I saw dark spots appear and then once again disappear every few minutes. I could hear Sophia talking to me but her words were becoming incredibly distant and I could not make out what she was saying.

Fatigue overtook my body as I struggled to keep myself awake. It seemed to be hitting me all at once. Mere moments ago I was perfectly fine and perfectly capable of holding a conversation with Sophia.

Maybe Sienna was right, maybe I had a concussion. I just didn't recall being hit in the head, surely I would have remembered that happening? 

In. Out. In.Out. Voices kept getting further away as I stared at the ceiling unable to move. It felt like eternity had passed when finally I was roughly shaken.

"Ari! Ari! You can't sleep!" I heard Sienna cry out.

I was still awake, but I could not find the strength in me needed to keep my eyes open. Who knew something like that could consume so much energy? We really take a lot of things for granted.

"It's alright, I will do a few tests now and see if it is a concussion." I heard a male voice say, I assume it was Dr. Steven, "Can you hear me, Miss Dawson?"

I nodded my head as best as I could.

"I will need you to open your eyes please." He said.

I struggled but finally managed to oblige with what he had asked.

He flashed a torch into my eyes and I grimaced as he gently placed his hand on my chin and began moving the torch around. He moved to my other eye and repeated the process. 

"Is it a concussion?" Sienna asked.

"She looks fine for now." Dr Steven said.

I felt relief when I heard that, but it didn't explain the symptoms I was feeling.

"Do you recall what you did a few minutes before this?"

I nodded, "I fought two guys in the Cerulean room and then we all walked here and I sat on the floor whilst Sophia spoke to me."

"Do you remember what she said?"

"No, I could barely make out what she was saying."

"Are you experiencing lightheadedness and do you have a headache?" He asked me.

I nodded, "I see spots that fade but then come back. I also feel tired but no, no headaches."

Dr Steven nodded his head, "Have you ever had a concussion before?"

I shrugged, "None that I remember."

He nodded, "I don't think all of this is anything to be very concerned about. You have chronic stress, and the symptoms you are experiencing lean towards that option."

"Chronic stress?" 

Dr Steven nodded, "Symptoms of chronic stress and concussions align with one another but seeing as you are not experiencing a headache or memory loss it appears to be stress causing all of this within your body. However, if later on you feel any splitting headaches come to my quarters and we can run a CT scan to make sure that there is no internal bleeding."

"Thank you." I said as I closed my eyes once more.

I heard the shuffling of feet before the door slammed shut and that was when I fell into deep sleep. When I woke up I saw the girls sitting against the wall looking bored and tired.

"You're awake, how are you feeling?" Sienna asked as she stood up and walked to me.

"I feel fine. No headaches. I feel refreshed."

"Oh good!" Sienna breathed out.

"How is the fatality looking like on our side?"

"Not too bad."

I nodded. 

A week had passed with the fighting going back and forth. Sometimes the Vitali's had the upper hand and sometimes the Stalias and Domano families had the advantage. As the days passed my nerves grew, Vinchenzo had people guarding the compound making sure no one got in and he also had meticulously planned a roster allowing his men to have a break every certain number of hours.

I hadn't seen Vinchenzo since the day he had seen me on the field with Vran. I often stared at the CCTV camera footage hoping to catch a small glimpse of him but I never ever did. 

Vinchenzo was the type of leader to lead from the front and by example. He was not a coward who used his loyal men to protect him. He treated them all like his family and fought with each and every single one. I, however, didn't know if he was taking breaks, and knowing him he probably wasn't and that worried me.

This war dragged on for two weeks nonstop. No one could step outside even if they tried because the stench was awful. Every second that went by, my worries grew.

This was supposed to be over days ago.

It was never meant to go on this long.

~

"Good morning sleepy head." I heard a voice say and I jumped out of bed with fright.

"How'd I get in here?" I asked as I looked at Vinchenzo who sitting on my small makeup chair in my room at the compound.

"I carried you here." He told me.

"Oh." I said.

"Is it done?" I asked him as I ran my fingers through my tangled red hair.

He smiled, "Indeed."

"We won?"

"We won." He confirmed with a smirk, "You say that like you didn't already know we were going to win."

"You're the cocky one in this relationship, I think we need someone to balance you out." I laughed as I walked to the bathroom to brush my teeth.

"No one can be confident enough." He replied.

"Sure! I said cocky, not confident!" I yelled back.

"Sorry mia cara, I consider myself to be confident, not cocky." He said as he leaned against the door of the bathroom.

I laughed and rolled my eyes at him as I brushed my teeth. When I was done, I brushed my hair to get rid of all the tangles. 

"I need to shower so if you don't mind leaving," I said indicating for Vinchenzo to leave the bathroom.

"I do mind." He pouted.

"Sucks to be you!" I said feeling my cheeks grow warm.

"I want to watch."

Now my cheeks were burning.

"Husband privileges only!" I said as I ushered him out.

"You look adorable when you blush." He winked and I rolled my eyes.

"You are so cliché!" I giggled as I jogged back to the bathroom and closed the door.

With our newfound victory in the war that had taken ages to plan, execute, and win I believed I deserved a good shower. It felt so weird to think that a whole family had been demolished and that's when I remembered - Vran and I had left Iñigo Stalias behind in the forest!

Hey Reddies!

The Vitali's won! Woohoo!

I hope you guys liked this chapter, if you did please make sure to vote and leave your thoughts in the comment section!

See you next update!

XOXO

Perla