To Love in Full

Chapter 19: Metanoia

I wonder if he learned how to change bandages from his own gunshot wounds.

"Were you shot here?" I asked as I brought my fingertips up to a scar on his chest.

"Yes," he replied as he pressed his lips into a line.

"And here?" I asked again as I trailed my fingers down to another scar that was on the upper left side of his abdomen.

"Yes, Arabella," he whispered with a slightly shaky breath.

I wonder how many times he has been shot, I thought to myself as I continued to stare at his body, searching to see if he had anymore scars.

"If you keep staring, I might have to do something about it," he said jokingly with a smirk as he finished wrapping the new bandage.

"Thank you for changing it," I replied softly as I felt my cheeks get hot when he helped me down the counter.

"You're leaving?" he asked abruptly as I put my hand on the doorknob and turned around to see a slight frown on his face.

I smiled lightly and nodded in response.

"I forgot to show you something," he said immediately as he walked over to his bed and opened the drawer of his nightstand. I sat down beside him and watched as he pulled out a container that's used for organizing pills.

"The doctor said to take one daily for three weeks. There's a square for each day of the week. 'M' is for Monday and don't get confused between 'T' for Tuesday and 'Th' for Thursday," he said as he pointed at the letters.

"And there are three pills in each square because there's not another row of empty squares, so only take one pill a day, not three," he continued to ramble on as I bit my lip to try not to laugh.

"Is there anything else I should know about this complicated device?" I asked with a wide grin on my face.

"Perhaps, not get confused between the 'M' for Monday and 'W' for Wednesday when I flip it upside down," I added with a giggle as I grabbed the container from his hand.

"Thank you for sorting them out for me," I said as I watched him smile sheepishly.

"Do you remember what happened?" he asked as he stood up from the bed and walked over to a small leather couch in the front of the room.

"I can only recall bits and pieces," I replied as I watched him pour a glass of liquor and sat down on the couch.

"I just remember Calvin in the alleyway, getting shot in the arm, and a few moments in the hospital," I continued as I saw the whites of his knuckles when his grip tightened around his glass.

"What happened after that?" I asked hesitantly as I leaned my back against the headboard of the bed to face him.

"The nurses ran tests on the bullets and found that they were laced with aconitine, it's a toxin that comes from a flower called monkshood," he answered as he placed the rim of his glass against his lips.

"Is Calvin in the cellar?" I asked nervously, and a sigh of relief escaped my lips as I saw Nicolo shake his head. I started to feel a bit better knowing that the murderous man was nowhere near us.

"I killed him," Nicolo said and my heart dropped.

"Why?" I asked faintly in disbelief.

"Because, you almost died Arabella," he responded as he slightly raised his voice at me.

"I'm sorry," I whispered inaudibly, not to Nicolo, nor myself, but to Calvin. There could have been other consequences for your actions, maybe something that didn't result in death, I pondered to myself as I thought about a man that was no longer alive.