ARELLA (A Mafia Story)

Twenty-Two

My chest is still burning like it's on fire. I want to tell them that I'm in pain, to give me some medicine to make it go away.

"Good. Very good," The doctor clicks off his pen flashlight, tucking it into his white jacket, "Do you know why you're here? Blink twice for no and once for yes."

Squeezing my eyes shut twice, I open them back up to see Freya and the doctor hovering over me. "You we're shot. The bullet punctured your lung, breaking a rib in the process. Bone fragments punctured your right lung.

"We took you in for emergency surgery where you coded on the table twice. This was a little over a week ago. You also coded on the way to the hospital. Your sons saved your life. They preformed cpr on the way to the hospital.

"I'm going to get a couple nurses in here and remove your breathing tube. There is a risk of your lungs not cooperating. We'll re-intubate if that happens." The doctor explains, making me confused.

There's a big gap in my memory. One would think I would remember being shot. I remember being on a stakeout with Andrea and Alessandro. We walked into the building and that's where everything goes blank.

Are my sons okay? More specifically, is Alessandro okay? I know he doesn't handle blood and physical touch with others well. If what the doctor says is true and he preformed cpr on me, I have to make sure he's okay.

"The boys are fine, handsome. Alessandro is at home. Davide has been back and forth from the hospital, checking on him. Andrea sent him home since he can't handle all the germs and bustle of the hospital.

"Andrea is off at the kennels. He left and still hasn't been back. I sent one of our men to check on him. Apparently, he's been torturing the man that shot you for information. His demons are out right now.

"I don't know if he's okay. From what I was told, he hasn't been sleeping or eating as much as he should. I'm going to check on him sooner rather than later."

Andrea always has a hard time pulling himself back from the brink. I've always been there to help him. This time is obviously different. There's nobody stopping him from going too far.

A huge weight lifts off my shoulders upon hearing that my children are okay. Well, moderately okay. At least that's something. Speaking of children, movement against my left upper arm catches my attention.

Freya helps the wiggling creature sit up between the hospital bed and my side. Deep blue eyes is the first thing I see. Arella looks down on me, looking tired and sad.

She leans over, pressing her tiny rosy cheek against mine. My poor baby. I want nothing more than to pull her close and hold her, never letting go.

Freya sniffles and rubs under her eyes with one hand, rubbing Arella's back with the other.

"She said your name, you know? When we first saw you after surgery, she didn't understand why you weren't waking up. I had to explain that you were sleeping to heal. She said Daddy, Damon. She laid right next to you and called you daddy."

Regret filters through my body. I missed my daughters first word. I was unconscious and missed her tiny voice calling out to me. Is that the voice I heard when I was trapped under the darkness?

That sweet, innocent voice that called me Daddy?

"She signed it too. When we were in the waiting room, she was looking for you. I was too much of an emotional wreck to realize what she wanted until she signed your name." Freya explains, her voice wobbly.