More Than This | THE WATTPAD DRAFT

Chapter 53

"Is he okay?" I managed to choke

Her eyes dropped, "They don't know yet. The paramedics on the scene were helping him but they don't know yet how bad his injuries are,"

A deep pain from within spread throughout my body, suffocating me in its wake. I couldn't comprehend what I was hearing right now. There was no way this could be true. The world wasn't that cruel.

I didn't even realise that the tears were streaming down my face until Reyna pulled me in for a hug and I cried into her shoulder. I was drowning in my own guilt and regret. Here I was trying to figure out if I should be with Giovanni or not and now there was a possibility that it wouldn't be up to me. Everything with Casey and the baby seemed so insignificant now that I was faced with the fear of losing him.

I couldn't lose him.

Reyna let go of me and started grabbing everything we needed. I couldn't move. I stood frozen, trying to process everything. There was no way this was happening. No. I wouldn't accept that. This was all just a big misunderstanding. There was no way Giovanni was in an accident.

No, no, no

The more I tried to convince myself this wasn't happening, the more the reality of the situation started to settle. My heart shattered into a million pieces. A gut-wrenching pain pulled inside of me and I became short of breath.

There was no way this was happening

**

By the time we arrived at the hospital, I had gone through the denial stage and went straight to needing answers. I pushed through the doors of the hospital and was welcomed by the all-consuming sanitiser smell that every hospital had. I made my way to reception with Reyna following closely behind me.

"Hola, I'm looking for an emergency patient that was just brought in. His name is Giovanni Velazquez," I didn't even recognise my own voice as I asked the receptionist to point me in the right direction

She nodded and turned to her computer but before she could answer, I heard Penelope's voice from behind me

"Isabella!" She exclaimed

I turned to meet her worried eyes. She was holding Mateo in her arms and walked over to us, quickly introducing herself to Reyna.

"Penelope, thank goodness," I pulled her in for a quick hug, careful not to disturb a sleeping Mateo, "Where is he?"

"They've just taken him into surgery," I could hear the emotion in her voice, "They were saying something about the blunt trauma and internal bleeding - I'm sorry, it was all so much,"

"Where's Alvaro?"

"I'll take you to him,"

She led us down the hallway in the direction of the ICU waiting room. Everything was a blur around me under these blinding fluorescent lights. I didn't expect to be back at a hospital so soon and I definitely never thought it would be because of Giovanni. Just the mere thought that he wouldn't make it out of this was sending me off the edge. It was a thought that I couldn't entertain. Not even for a second. I had to hold back the blood-curling cry that was building up inside of me just at the thought of losing him. We reached the waiting room and Alvaro sat in the corner with his head in his hands.

I walked up to him, "Alvaro?"

He looked up, his dark brown eyes stained with tears, "Isabella,"

He stood up and pulled me in for a hug, the emotions suddenly overcoming me.

"What happened?" I managed to get out

He pulled away and sat back down, leading me to sit down next to him. He wiped his tears and took a deep breath in

"I got a call from the paramedics on sight. They told me a drunk driver skipped a red light and the car hit Giovanni's side," his voice cracked, "He was already unconscious when they arrived on the scene,"

A huge lump started to form in my throat and I clenched my jaw trying to contain my emotion

"They said the blunt trauma could be causing internal bleeding. They mentioned something about abdominal swelling and trauma to the spleen. I didn't understand everything they were saying,"

I reached out and squeezed his hand, "Is he going to be okay?"

His tear-filled eyes met mine, "They don't know yet, Izzy. They don't know how bad his injuries are,"

I swallowed in an attempt to get rid of the pain building up in my throat from holding back my tears. I clenched my jaw and closed my eyes, allowing the pain to consume me. That was all I felt right now. Shooting through my veins was a deep pain I had never experienced before. The hollowness I felt before was nothing compared to the fear of him not making it out of this alive. I couldn't allow myself to think that way. I just couldn't. The air around me became thin and I started to feel dizzy.

"Izzy, hey, look at me," Reyna said, sitting down next to me as she pulled on my hand

"I can't lose him," I choked, the tears streaming down my face, "This can't be happening,"

"Hey, everything is going to be okay," she cupped my face, "The doctors are going to do everything they can,"

What if that wasn't enough?