CHAPTER FOUR
a complete and utter mess
tw: mentions of sexual assault
DIEGO HARGREEVES WAS A COMPLETE AND UTTER MESS. Hours had gone by since Sophie had been rushed into emergency surgery, and both him and Eudora Patch — who soon left after telling the staff to call her with any new updates — hadn't heard a single word since then. Not knowing whether she was alive or not was torture. He paced up and down the hallways, sat in various chairs in the waiting area, his knee bouncing up and down, and he even fiddled with his knives to try and pass the time. But no matter what he did, nothing seemed to help ease his worries.
Finally, with only a few hours until sunrise, a nurse approached him. The same nurse from before. The one who told him that she would give him an update on Sophie's condition as soon as she was able to. Diego jumped up from his chair the moment he saw her, his heart racing as she walked over to him, an expression on her face that he couldn't quite read. He didn't know if that was a good thing or a bad thing.
"Is she okay?" were the first words Diego asked as the nurse came to a stop in front of him.
"She's alive," the nurse said reassuringly, and Diego felt as though a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. His tense muscles instantly relaxed and he lowered his head, eyes closing in relief at the good news. But when the nurse spoke again, his eyes snapped open and he looked up at her face, his smile wavering. "But," she began, until he cut her off.
"But, what?" Diego asked worriedly, his heart immediately sinking. So many thoughts came to mind that he suddenly felt dizzy.
"She lost a lot of blood," the nurse explained. "But the doctor managed to stop the bleeding and repaired the damage that had been done to her lung."
Diego managed a smile, relieved to hear. "That's a good thing," he said. But when the nurse's expression hadn't changed, his smile faltered. "Isn't it?"
The nurse nodded. "Yes, of course," she said. "While she is currently stabilized and has been put in the I.C.U. until further notice, her condition is still something of concern."
"W-What do you mean?" Diego asked with a slight stutter in his words. "You said she was stable. That she was okay."
"Due to the severity of her wound and the amount of blood that she has lost, we aren't certain when she will wake up, or if she will even wake up at all. And if she does wake up, there's a chance that she might not be able to breathe on her own," the nurse informed him with a comforting hand placed on his arm as she watched his expression crumble. "The only thing we can do now is have patience and allow her body to heal. She was put through a lot and needs time to recover."
"Do they wake often?" Diego asked quietly. "The patients in these situations like her."
"I've seen many patients wake up, yes," the nurse replied. "But, sir, every case is different. You cannot compare one to another. But that doesn't mean you should lose all hope. There is a good chance that she will fully recover from what has happened."
"Can I see her?" Diego asked.
The nurse frowned at the question, as she could tell just how worried he was by the look on his face. "I'm sorry, sir," she sincerely apologized, "but we don't allow visitors into the I.C.U. unless you're immediate family. But if you leave a phone number, I can call you if there are any changes to her condition worth knowing about."
Diego nodded silently and wrote down his phone number. As he handed the piece of paper over and watched the nurse leave, her last words to him falling deaf on his ears, he felt as though his legs could give out at any moment. So he quickly walked out of the nearest exit and got inside his car, where he sat there in silence for . . . well, he wasn't quite sure how long he sat there.
His eyes stung as he hung his head in utter silence, unable to believe what he had done. Because of him, there's a chance Sophie might not wake up. And if she did, she may not even be able to breathe on her own without the support of constant oxygen. The thought of her — a woman he didn't even know — living in such a way because he had been reckless enough to get her shot was enough to break his heart and consume him with guilt.
Eventually, Diego drove away, and he went home. But he never did get any sleep, not because the sun was rising by the time he finally laid down in bed, but because he couldn't sleep without thinking about her. Sophie Torres-Kepp. He didn't know a thing about her other than her name and the little information Eudroa managed to gather from her purse and the photographs she had in her wallet, and yet, she was his every waking thought since he first laid eyes on her in that dark alleyway.
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AFTER GETTING A SHOWER TO CLEANSE HIMSELF OF ALL THE BLOOD STAINED ON HIS HANDS and splattered across his skin, and barely managing to eat something for breakfast with how upset his stomach felt after the events of last night, Diego Hargreeves went outside and began cleaning all of Sophie's blood from the backseat of his car, knowing he couldn't keep putting it off.
It took a while for him to get it all cleaned up, especially since he had to stop multiple times due to the sick feeling in his stomach as he stared down at her blood. But by the time he finished up — thankfully without throwing up what little food was in his stomach — it was almost ten in the morning, and he still hadn't received a single phone call from the hospital or Eudora Patch regarding Sophie. Unable to sit around and wait, he got in his car and drove down to the station to get some answers.
There were several people that recognized Diego the moment he walked inside the station. They stared at him, silently wondering what kind of trouble he had gotten himself into that their fellow officer, Eudora Patch, would surely get him out of yet again. Meanwhile others simply didn't pay him any mind as he walked by them and straight up to Eudora's desk as the woman sat there looking through a manila folder with files of a case she was working on.
Diego plopped down in the seat next to her desk, causing her to look at him and push the file she was reading off to the side. "Hey," he greeted casually.
"What are you doing here, Diego?" she asked.
"Do you have any updates yet?"
"Updates?" Eudora asked, a brow raised in question as she stared at him.
"About the case last night," Diego elaborated. "The woman from the alley that I took to the hospital. Ring a bell?"
Eudora gave him a look. "I know what case you're referring to. What I meant was I don't know why you're asking me about updates. I thought you would have stayed at the hospital last night to get an update yourself."
"I did," Diego said. "They put her in the I.C.U. once she was stable. But the nurse wouldn't let me see her because I wasn't immediate family. They said they'd call if there were any changes worth knowing. But, nothing." He sighed heavily and slumped back against the chair. "You?"
Eudora's eyes lowered to her desk for a moment, something which hadn't gone unnoticed by Diego. He immediately knew that she was keeping something from him, and given their conversation, it was obviously in regards to the woman he had saved in the alley last night.
He leaned forward, a look of realization crossing his features. "You know something."
She looked up, meeting his gaze. "I got a call from the hospital about an hour ago."
Diego stiffened. "Is she dead?"
"They didn't call to talk with me about Miss Torres-Kepp," Eudora clarified while shaking her head. "She's fine from what they told me. Still stable in the I.C.U. and thankfully improving since her surgey. But one of the men from the alley last night . . . he . . . survived."
Diego stiffened and his jaw clenched at her words. He couldn't believe that one of the men had survived. He had been so sure he killed them all before he left. And yet Sophie will either never wake up due to the severity of her injuries or will require oxygen, most likely for the rest of her life. How the fuck was that even fair?
"He was rushed into surgery after the paramedics at the scene realized he was still breathing and he woke up this morning," Eudora continued. "He's going to be fine, not that he deserves to live after what he had done." She scoffed, shaking her head. "But since there was a witness to what happened last night — that witness being you — he will be dealt with accordingly for his crimes against Miss Torres-Kepp. So you don't have to worry about that."
"One of them survived?" Diego asked, his tone that of anger as he clenched his fists so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
"I know," Eudora frowned. "It's always the pieces of shit who get the good end of the stick. Meanwhile the victims continue to suffer." She leaned forward against her desk, looking him in the eye. "But don't worry, Diego, he isn't going to get away with what he's done to Miss Torres-Kepp. I'll make sure of it."
Diego nodded, knowing that she wasn't just telling him what he wanted to hear. Eudora was a good cop, and he knew that she wouldn't rest until the man was behind bars for what he did — and could have done — to Sophie last night. "I know," he said quietly.
"There's something else, too," Eudora said after a moment.
He looked at her. "About Sophie?"
Eudora nodded in confirmation. "I was able to find an address for where she lives. But when I went over to her house, nobody answered the door. From as far as I can tell, she doesn't have any living family, nor is she married or living with anyone. It's likely that she lives alone, aside from the cat that I saw laying in her window. Good neighbourhood. Neighbour across the street was sweet, but quite a talker. She was worried when she didn't see Miss Torres-Kepp leave for work this morning." She paused for a moment and reached for her notepad, flipping through the pages until she found the piece of paper with the name and phone number she had written down earlier.
Once she found it, Eudora proceeded to tell Diego what else she had managed to find out about the victim. "I went to the school where she works after leaving her house. Thought maybe one of her colleagues might be able to help me contact any relatives or maybe even a boyfriend by chance."
"And?" Diego asked, urging her to continue.
"A woman by the name of Chelsea Bradshaw, who is apparently close friends with the victim—"
"Sophie," Diego corrected, his stomach twisting uncomfortably whenever she said that word.
Eudora nodded, quickly correcting herself before continuing. "Miss Bradshaw informed me that Sophie isn't dating anyone, and that she doesn't have any living family. But she's going to feed Sophie's cat for her since she has a spare key to the house."
"She doesn't have anybody?" Diego frowned.
"Nobody except for Miss Bradshaw and her partner, apparently," Eudora shrugged. "It's terrible, what she went through and what she'll have to live with now. But at least she has some friends there to help her through this. That's better than having no one at all."
Diego nodded. Then, a thought crossed his mind. "Will they let me visit her?" He asked. "I mean, you said it yourself, she doesn't have any immediate family."
"Maybe," Eudora said, brow creased. She was surprised. Usually whenever Diego involved himself in situations like this, he wouldn't be this concerned over the victims. Sure, he'd be glad they're okay, but he'd never linger or want to visit them. But here he was, desperate to sit at a stranger's bedside in the hospital as she recovered. Eudora knew that he felt guilty for what happened, but it was like she was seeing a whole other side to her friend, and it was shocking, to say the least. "I suppose you'd have to explain everything to the hospital staff. I'm sure they'd consider letting you visit with her, even if it's just for a short while, so long as you explain her familial situation to them. Just do me a favour and don't cause anymore trouble or get in their way."
"I won't," Diego said sincerely. "All I want to do is make sure she's okay and apologize for getting her shot, Eudora." He stood up suddenly, and she craned her neck upwards to continue looking him in the eye. "Will you let me know if you get any updates?"
Eudora's eyes softened. "Of course," she replied. "As long as you stay out of trouble, I'll keep you updated on the case. However, if they do let you visit with Sophie and she happens to wake up when you're there, you or someone on the staff needs to call me immediately. I'll need to get a statement from her as soon as she is able."
Diego nodded. "You got it."
a/n: the way diego cares so much about some girl he literally know nothing about 😭 i adore them already and no real words have even been exchanged between them. anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter. the next one will feature diego at the hospital attempting to visit with sophie!