𝐉𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬

《 57 》

"Are you okay?" I asked my mother after seeing the bandage of her arm.

"I'm okay. Don't worry about me, love." She smiled reassuringly. It didn't help with the guilt I felt and my racing thoughts.

After a moment, she took in the stitches on my lip and the ones on my eyebrow. "Do they hurt much?"

"A little, but it doesn't matter..." I sighed. No pain compared to the one I felt when it came to the fact Gabriella and Xiomara were still in there, unconscious, with open wounds.

"Hey, she's going to be alright..." I smiled at my mother's attempt of comforting me. She had moved further up the bed until she was sitting right beside me. Her arm draped over my bare shoulders and pulled me to her chest.

"I feel like it was my fault, mom..." I muttered after sliding further down the bed so I could lay my head on her lap.

"It is not, Angelo... no one knew there was going to be an explosion of that magnitude..." She replied, gently running her fingers through my hair.

I sighed and allowed myself to feel my mother's warmth. All it took was one glance up and I felt better. The soft gazing of her blue eyes brought a sense of comfort her words couldn't offer.

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Was I always an only child...?" I hesitantly asked since Leonardo's words wandered my head again and took away all the peace I felt for a moment.

"Yeah, you were my little miracle. That's why I named you Angelo, because you reminded me of an Angel..." She smiled down at me, with her short blonde curls falling over her forehead. "I was supposed to be infertile, yet I got you..."

"And my father...?"

Guilt washed over her as she swallowed and glanced aside. "Your father..."

"Your father wasn't too loyal to me... I'd usually hear from the maids that he had another one around, but I never found out who it was..." She sighed. "As far as I know, we only had one son, and that's you."

I decided to stop asking questions and gave my sore throat a break. It hurt to swallow and my muscles ached.

. . .

Somehow, I ended up falling asleep by my mother's side. I was exhausted, and all the stress made it worse. It became frustrating once I realized none of the surgeries were done.

Until...

"Oh my God, Xiomara!" Xavier's voice was heard outside the door to my hospital room.

With the help of my mother, I stood up and walked out. One nurse had come to remove the IV from my hand, and I was free to walk and go wherever I pleased.

As soon as I stepped out into the hallway my eyes landed on Xiomara, who was being transported to her room. Xavier and Blake stopped one of the doctors, though.

"How was it?" Xavier asked with a hint of hope in his tone.

"The surgery was a success. She will need lots of rest. Also, whenever she wakes up, I'd suggest you take it easy since she might be a bit disoriented." He replied, patting their shoulders.

"Okay." Blake sighed.

Before the doctor could go, I called out. "Wait, and Gabriella?"

"There were some complications with her knee and she might be needing temporary crutches. As for the burns, we treated them and they will heal with some time."

"Is she okay, then?" Isabella asked as she approached us.

"Yeah. She'll be taken to her room in a bit."