"We've just injected some Midazolam," the female nurse on his left said. "He should be falling asleep soon."
Massimo Marcovaldo's heart pounded as he watched the boy beneath him scream and struggle to keep holding onto him, desperate not to fall asleep. It was horrifying. Two days ago, Luca was healthy, playing, and smiling. Now he was bleeding uncontrollably, his body covered in the abuse he had suffered in only the past few hours. How was this possible? How had he let this happen? How had he not gone further than to just ask what was wrong when he knew Giulia and Alberto were acting strange? He felt as if he had abandoned all of his children. Like he had turned a blind eye because he didn't like seeing Alberto upset.
Massimo looked into Luca's horrified, yet tearful eyes. He had never seen such fear in anyone before, let alone a little boy. What had happened to him? Who in their right mind could inflict this evil on him?
"Mr. Marcovaldo, we've assessed Luca's condition and our team is certain his injuries were inflicted on him by someone else. Do you have any idea who could have done this?"
Massimo looked back down at Luca, drenched in blood, fighting for his life. He let Luca hold onto him as tightly as the boy possibly could, not caring that Luca was sinking his fingernails into his skin.
"Luca," Massimo said, trying not to stutter. Trying to let Luca show he was afraid. "Who did this to you? Luca? Who hurt you?"
Luca didn't respond. Instead, his eyes rolled back into his head as he took a shuddering breath and let go of Massimo's arm. Massimo tried to control his shaking, trying to wrap his mind around this inexplicable situation.
"Luca!" he repeated, this time louder. "Who hurt you? Luca!"
Luca's eyelids drooped as his body slowly began to stop struggling as the drugs took effect. Before Massimo could fully realize Luca had gone under, the female nurse on his left pushed him away from Luca. Massimo's wall hit the back of the wall as he took in the scene unfolding before him,
Luca's blood dripped off the white table he was lying on, as two nurses began to straighten his body in preparation for what was to come next. They pulled at Luca's waistband to take off his shorts to better locate where the stab wounds on his legs were. The doctor, who Massimo had enjoyed a beer with from time to time, took his tools and bent over Luca's body. He took a large sponge and began cleaning the blood off of Luca's thighs, somewhat surprised as Luca's legs turned a scaly teal, although Massimo had told him to expect this. Massimo could hardly believe it, but he was grateful the doctor didn't make it more dramatic than it had to be. Instead, he took a needle given to him by the nurse and pierced it through Luca's skin to begin stitching.
Massimo wiped away a tear as the full extent of whatever had happened to Luca in the last two days hit him. Whoever had done this would pay. With life in jail. And Massimo would not stop fighting until this came true.
"Senor Marcovaldo," a male nurse said from his side, pulling Massimo's gaze from Luca. "This way please, we have a few things we must go over."
Massimo slightly shook his head as looked back over at an unconscious Luca who was now being hooked up to several machines as his legs were stitched. He looked like he was caught in a spiderweb.
"I can't- I don't want to leave him," Massimo said quietly as he took off his hat, holding it to his chest. "I want to be there for him."
The nurse cracked an understanding smile. "I'm sorry, Senor, but this is crucial. He won't awaken for several hours, but you will be permitted to be there once we're done. Follow me, please."
Massimo had trouble ripping his gaze away from Luca, but he reluctantly followed the nurse out of the room, being situated in a small office the little clinic Portorosso had. It wasn't much, but it had served well for the last few decades or so.
"Luca is in critical condition," the nurse said, looking at a clipboard. "He has two stab wounds to both thighs, and we have counted over fourteen bruises, the most noticeable one also being above two broken ribs. We also believe he has a slight concussion. His blood loss from his stab wounds has put him into hypovolemic shock, which is contributing to his low heart rate and the period he had when he wasn't breathing."
"What?" Massimo said in absolute shock, looking at the man wielding no expression. "How can this be. . . ?"
"That's what we're asking you," the nurse said, looking back down at his clipboard. "We're trying the best we can to help him. At this point, we're fairly certain he can survive, as most of the damage is external. But this isn't from a trip over a rock. Evidence shows he was highly abused. We need answers."
"I- I don't know," Massimo stammered, trying to make sense of all this. "I'm not his father, he's just been staying with me for the past two weeks."
The nurse raised a brow. "Did this occur in the household?"
"What?" Massimo said dangerously, as he understood what the nurse was saying. "Luca hasn't been home the past two days, I didn't know where he was."
"What was the cause of him staying under your care?" the man asked, scribbling something under on his clipboard. "You said you haven't seen him until recently?"
Massimo nodded. "He's my daughter's. . . and my son's. . . best friend. I didn't know why he wanted to stay but I let him. I couldn't leave him out on the streets. I was trying to figure out where he was but-"
"So you have no idea?" the nurse asked. "Do your children know?"
Massimo buried his face into his hands as he shook his head. "I don't know. Maybe. I must ask them."
The nurse nodded. "That would be critical. We'll be calling the police soon, but we need to make sure Luca is safe first."
"How long will he need to be here?" Massimo asked, looking back at the door he came through, wishing he was with Luca once again. He couldn't imagine how terrified the poor boy must be to have come out of such a horrible situation, only to wake up in a strange environment just to be drugged again.
"Luca will be patched up before midnight," the nurse estimated. "But we're going to keep him here overnight to check on him and make sure his ribs are healing and his stitches don't get an infection. We also need to make sure his concussion is fully healed."
Massimo nodded solemnly as he tried to understand. How was it possible he had let Luca leave for two days without looking for him? How could he do that?
"We also need to locate Luca's parents or guardian," the nurse continued. "Seeing as Luca isn't fully. . . human, do you know if his parents are. . . like him?"
Massimo shook his head. "I have no idea. My- my son may."
"Good," the nurse said. "We suggest you go home and get information from your son and daughter if they have any. Luca won't be ready for visitors anytime soon."
Massimo shook his head. "Please let me see him. He doesn't need to be awake, I just, I want to make sure he's ok before I go."
The nurse shook his head. "He's technically still in surgery. We can call you once you're eligible to come. It may be another few hours. For now, please go see your children. They need you."
Massimo wasn't ashamed to let several tears roll out from under his bushy eyebrows. He couldn't- he couldn't understand. There was no word for how scared he was. For Luca, for Alberto, for Giulia. How could he have let this happen?
"I'll take you to the door," the nurse said, standing up from his chair.
Massimo wiped his eyes as he followed the nurse out of the office, passing by the double doors with round windows where Luca was being worked on. He paused to look through, even if it was just for a moment.
Both of Luca's thighs looked to be stitched, one seeming to wrap around almost half his upper thigh. Two nurses were bending over him, wiping away any additional blood. One was wiping his sides, chest and raising his arms while the other was cleaning the stitched area. The wet spots were teal and scaly, something the nurses were trying not to let get in their way. The doctor was looking between the machines keeping Luca alive, seemingly satisfied as what they were saying.
It made Massimo feel sick to see how pale Luca was as he took weak breaths, unaware of how much pain he would be in when he woke up.
"Senor Marcovaldo, this way," the nurse said sternly. "Luca will be ok."
Massimo nodded and reluctantly left the windows, following the nurse to the small front door that led to the alley outside the small clinic.
"Please just wait with your children," the nurse said, opening the door for Massimo. "And don't go to sleep. Expect a call from us a bit after midnight. We're doing our best."
"Grazie," Massimo said quietly as he walked out.
Now to find out who was responsible for hurting Luca.