The nurse helped me dry off and get dressed. She helped me back into bed and smiled at me.
"Let me take some blood and get you some food," she smiled. I slowly nodded and she left the room. She came back with a cart of food and a needle. I wasn't listening to her as she talked because I was staring at the tube as it collected my blood.
I looked back up and she smiled. She placed the food on the table in front of me.
"Eat up, get some rest too. You've been cleared for a concussion," she said. I nodded and she stared at me.
"Do you need anything else?" She asked. I shook my head and she left.
I stared at the meal placed in front of me. Fucking hate hospital food.
I began to pick at it but didn't actually put any in my mouth. There was a knock at the door so I looked up.
"Hey," ares said softly. I stared back down at the plate of food. I didn't say anything.
"How are you feeling?" Theo asked.
"I'm fine," I whispered while poking at my food with the fork.
"I heard about your son. We're really sor-
"I don't want condolences. It's stupid to feel sorry for someone who's dead," I muttered while pushing away the food.
"Victoria, he was a good kid-
"Yeah don't you think I fucking know that? He was my brother for fucks sake," I hissed. They furrowed their eyebrows.
"Son you mean," Ares. I groaned in frustration and rubbed my hand over my face.
"No he's not my son. He's my brother," I muttered. They stood there a little confused.
"What? I'm so lost right now," Theo stared at me confused.
"My parents weren't in the picture when I was around fourteen. I ran with him," I muttered.
"And they haven't looked for you gu-
"They addicts. Now shut up," I mumbled. They went quiet, shutting their mouths. I pushed away the table and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Why do you have this," Theo asked. He held up Vincenzo's book and started flicking through the pages.
"Don't look through it you dickhead," I muttered. He stopped looking through it and placed it besides to my uneaten food. I slowly stood up and walked over to them.
"I want you's out," I mumbled while rubbing my head.
"Victoria how about we just talk for a little. You need to talk to someo-
"Why are you guys dressed in black," I groaned while glaring at them.
"It's respectful to wear black when someone's dies," Ares said.
"You didn't know him, you didn't know him at all. Now go," I hissed while shoving past him. I glared at both of them before I opened the door to my room.
When I did I saw Vincenzo's brothers on the other side with flowers in their hands. I sighed angrily before slamming the door in their face.
I was overwhelmed and couldn't think straight with everyone talking.
I went over to the bathroom and locked the door, sitting on the ground next to the door.
"Victoria, please open the door,"
"We just want to talk,"
"We're here for you,"
They're telling me lies. They don't care. The only person that ever cared is fucking dead.
I want Silas.
I hugged my knees and carefully leaned my head back onto the wall.
There was ringing in my ears and a familiar tightness in my chest.
I just wanted everyone to go away.
"Victoria, honey? It's me, Angel," a small voice said. I rubbed my eyes and began to scratch ny ankle, hoping it would distract me from all th talking.
"I did this for Vincenzo and now I'm doing this for you. I'm going to sit out here all night until you open the door because you are my daughter,"
"I will only ever see you as my daughter because I love and care for you a lot. You are my family," her voice was soft and calming.
"Go away," I whispered.
"Sweetheart, I can't leave until you open this door. I need to know you haven't hurt yourself," she said softly. I looked down at my ankle and saw that it was bright red and there was several cuts. There was blood dripping to my heel.
"I'm fine," I said. I got no reply and heard sighing.
"I had a daughter. Her name was-
"Whitney," I interrupted. There was no reply straight away but there was sniffles.
"Y-Yeah her name was Whitney. She d-died five years ago. And from mother to mother, I know how i-it feels to loose the person you dedicated your l-life to," she sniffled.
"I wasn't his real mother," I mumbled.
"It doesn't matter. Y-You were his mother figure," she hiccuped.
"It's okay to feel like your whole world has collapsed I-In front of you. I g-get it. But don't shut me o-out," she was struggling to get her breaths under control.
"He's dead because of me, I've failed him," I mumbled.
"You cannot b-blame yourself nor can you fail when y-you're still learning," she sniffled. I could see her shadow from under the door.
"Let me help you f-fix the hole in your heart. Please," she whispered.
"You can fix something that has been shattered," I was keeping my voice strong, trying not to be vulnerable in front of her.
"I know t-that," she sniffled.
"But just trust me," she whispered.
"I'll teach you how t-to find peace in a world without him. I'll t-teach you how to love like you did b-before he died. I j-just need you to trust me," she begged.
I took in what she had said and I slowly reach for the door handle from my position on the floor.
I unlocked the door and sighed.
The door opened and she came in. She instantly wrapped her arms around me and rubbed my back.
"You're g-going to feel numb for a while. And then y-you'll get angry. And I'll be here for all of it,"
—————————————
I had been discharged from the hospital after two days. Angel had stayed with me day and night, making sure I was okay.
I was currently on the couch. I had just woken up from a nap and was just staring around as I heard Angel humming a tune.
It was Je te laisserai des mots, our favourite song to play on the piano.
It didn't bother me that she was humming it. It made me feel oddly calm. It was good because I was currently withdrawing from all the drugs and alcohol I had in the past few days.
I had cold sweats and fevers for the last two days I was in the hospital. But I had felt better when I woke up this morning so they let me leave.
I stared at the tv in front of me, Tom and Jerry was playing. I used to enjoy watching it with him. No matter how old we got, we loved watching it together.
I sighed and slowly sat up, rubbing my eyes.
"Oh you're awake," she smiled. She came over to me and placed a bowl of food in front of me.
"Umm its something I thought you would like to eat. I usually make it for vincenzo, I think he eats it in a daily," she chuckled and sat down next to me.
The bowl was filled with Mac and cheese.
"Thank you Angel, but you don't need to keep doing this. Especially not for me," I mumbled
"Nonsense. I love cooking so it's a bonus for me. Now eat up, before it gets cold," she smiled. I nodded and started eating.
And fuck her food is great.
I sat quietly and ate as she had a smile on her face.
"You know, I heard that you and Vincenzo went on a date," she chuckled. I could feel my face heating up.
"Uh- I mean- yeah..." I mumbled. She giggled and turned to me.
"Was he an ass or was he sweet?" She asked.
"A bit of both because he wouldn't let me pay for dinner or dessert," I grumbled while pouting at the though.
"That's how the men in our family are. Any time I go out with them, they won't let me pay for anything, same with Alora," she smiled.
"How is she?" I mumbled. She sighed a little.
"She isn't great. She misses him," she mumbled while rubbing her neck. I nodded a little bit and set my half empty plate on the table.
"Thank you for the dinner, but you don't have to keep staying the night. I want you to be comfortable when you sleep," I said softly.
"Honey, I'm fine. But I can tell that you want to be on your own tonight so I'm going home. I'll come back in the morning to check on you, okay?" She said. I nodded and she leaned in, hugging me.
"Take care sweetheart," she whispered. She carefully kissed the side of my head and got up, leaving. She closed the door behind her and I sighed.
I rubbed my eyes and went over to my room, going into the bathroom. I stared in the mirror and began to unwrap the bandages.
I was supposed to change them this morning but when we tried, the bandage was stuck to my skin. It hurt to try and remove it.
I removed the two layers going around my head and then went to get rid of the layer directly on my skin. My eyes were watering as I tried pulling it off.
It hurt and I couldn't put any water on it to help it unstick.
I looked down at the sink in defeat then back up at the mirror.
A tall figure stood at the doorway. I quickly turned around.
Vincenzo was standing at the door way, his hair tossled around, glassed on and sweatpants hanging dangerously low on his hips. He had a singlet on and a zip up jacket over.
"What are you doing here?" I asked. He stared at me before walking over. He towered over me, making me a little intimidated.
"You need to go back to the hospital. You're stitches will tear-
"I'm not going back there," I muttered. He touched my forehead and slowly lifted the bandage.
"Sit," he mumbled while pointing to the closed toilet seat. I hesitantly sat on it and he grabbed the stool from behind the door. He sat on it in front of me and sighed.
"I didn't want to see you," I mumbled while looking at the ground.
"Well I'm here," he replied. He slowly pulled my hair away from my face and put it behind my shoulders.
He adjusted the seat and moved forward a little, closing the space between us. He slowly started pulling at the bandage. I winced a little as he pulled on it. He instantly stopped.
"I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you alright?" He asked softly. I nodded a little bit and he slowly reached out his hands again and carefully started removing it.
My eyes began to well with tears as the material started to pull at the stitches. They stared to stream down my face so I turned my head away, trying to not let him see my tears.
He stopped what he was doing and cupped my face in his hands.
"Fuck, I didn't mean it," he whispered. He slowly wiped my tears up with his thumb and caressed my cheek.
"I can't get this off for you. We need to go back to the hospital," he said softly. I shook my head in denial.
"I don't want to go back there," I mumbled while wiping my eyes. He nodded understandingly.
"Then how about I get a friend to come here and do it. He's a good doctor, he'll make sure you're all better, yeah?" He asked. I nodded slightly and he pulled out his phone. He started texting someone and then put his phone away.
"He's on his way, he's going to help you. You have nothing to worry about," he whispered. He asked me questions but I didn't respond to them. When he realised I wasn't in the mood, he stopped talking and stood up from the stood.
"I'll be right back. Stay where you are," he said. He left and closed the door behind him. I stared down at myself and sighed. I rubbed my eyes because I was starting to get sleepy. The door reopened and a man came in with Vincenzo.
They were speaking in a language I'd never heard before. He sat down on the stool in front of me and started speaking.
I didn't understand what he was saying. I looked over at Vincenzo and he sighed. He started speaking to the man. The man nodded at him and he reached for the gauze.
"He said that he's going to do it slowly. If he can't get it off then he's going to have to use antiseptic and saline which is going to hurt a lot," he explained while walking over to me. I nodded a little bit and then at the man.
"Tell him I'm ready,"
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Heyyyy guys.
I'm so sleepy right now it's not even funny. It's only 10:45pm over here but my assignments have been kicking my ass.
I love you guys
If there is something specific between Vincenzo and Victoria that you would want to see, I'm open to suggestions.
I love you guys very much and I'll have new chapters out as soon as possible.
Not edited.
Word count: 2304