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L O N Z O M A T T I A
The pain in my shoulder is excruciating as I stumble backwards and grit my teeth. I've been shot before but when it's meant to be one of your best friends shooting you, that shit hurts a thousand times more than it should.
When I glance up Gabriel is still pointing his gun at me. My ears are ringing from the sound of the gunshot and Alexia jumps between us holding up her hands, trying to stop him from actually killing me.
He did once say he'd shoot me dead if I touched his sister.
I know for a fact he'd live up to that statement.
My hand wraps around my shoulder, blood pouring from the wound and I wince when I put pressure on it. It's not going to kill me but I need to get the bullet out and proper stitches before it becomes infected.
"Get out of the way, Alexia." Gabriel growls and I stabilise myself against the wall.
Through my blurry vision she shakes her head. "No."
Then she turns around to face me, her eyes exploring every inch of my body until they lay on the blood that is running down my arm. I meet her gaze and I see the instant worry and concern laying in them.
"Fuck," she mumbles under her breath. "God, are you okay?"
I grunt out a response. "Fine."
Alexia swallows and looks at the wound again, her throat bobbing quickly. I notice that her body is shaking, and her anxiety is radiating through her. She whips her head back over her shoulder and stares at her brother, that gun still between his hands. No doubt there are five more bullets inside and he will use them all if he wants to.
"Put the gun down," Alexia says through a quivering breath.
My heart throbs as I move my arm and I hiss silently at the joint rocks against the bullet that is wedged inside my flesh. "I said get out of the way!" He barks.
No," she stands her ground. "Don't do this. Please don't do this. I don't want more any more deaths, any more fucking blood. Just stop. Please. If you do this, I will never forgive you, Gabriel."
His nostrils flare in my direction. "That's rich coming from you."
"Please," she begs again. "Don't do this. I didn't come here for violence. I'm sorry that we didn't tell you but we knew this is exactly how you'd react. Gabriel, put down the gun."
I watch as Gabriel's hands begin to shake and I hate that it's aimed at her. I know Gabriel would never shoot her but the direction of the gun is making my stomach feel queasy. She's fucking blocking me for God's sake. How did I find this woman?
Gabriel's eyes flick between mine and his sisters frantically. He's obviously having a battle inside his head but he needs to convince himself of it. If he kills me, everything in his life will turn to shit.
After a few moments he drops the gun to his side and grunts out a curse word. He turns away for a second and runs his fingers through his dark hair. I get he's confused, that he feels betrayed and finding out like this is possibly the worst way.
"Fuck this," he spits before storming out of Alexia's bedroom.
When he's gone Alexia turns back to me quickly and grips my arm. "Fuck, Lonzo. You're bleeding badly." Her hands are now covered in my blood and I shake my head, hating the sight of it.
"I'm fine," I heave out. "I just need a doctor to get it out and give me some stitches."
She nods and hands me my phone so I can make a quick phone call. The doctor said they'd be here soon. I didn't hear the front door slam on the way out so I presume that Gabriel is still here, no doubt he has a million questions to ask us in the process.
Alexia grabs a sweatshirt of hers and begins to tie it around my arm. "Here," she says as she fiddles with making it as tight as possible. I bite down on my jaw to suppress a groan of pain and watch as she takes care of me.
I cup her cheek and lower my head, bringing my lips to hers. She doesn't pull away, she lets me kiss her.
"What are we going to do?" She whispers against me.
"Talk to him."
Those dark eyes glance up at me and fear stretches across her face. "Let me go outside first."
"No," I grip her hand with my good arm. "Don't."
"He won't hurt me, Lonzo." She whispers. "He won't."
I flick my eyes between hers and lower my head, she slips out of my grip and exits her bedroom with more clothes than when Gabriel stumbled in. There is a knock at the front door and I presume it's the doctor.
When I step out into her living room, Alexia has Gabriel's gun in her hand. No idea how she managed to get it from him. "Both of you sit down," she points to the table.
I look up at Gabriel but he can't meet my gaze as he grumbles something under his breath. Alexia answers the door and the doctor works his way inside, I pull up a chair and let him get to work.
Alexia stands at the head of the table, the gun now stashed away in a drawer. She has her arms crossed over her chest and her thumb against her lips. She looks my way and I give her a sympathetic look as the doctor pulls the bullet from my shoulder with a pair of pliers.
Gabriel leans forward on the table and cups his hands together, resting his mouth against his knuckles. The doctor starts stitching me up and I grimace at the feeling, getting shot really isn't anything to shout about.
"Is he okay?" Alexia asks the doctor.
He nods his head. "Flesh wound. He'll be fine."
I breathe through my nose heavily and Gabriel's eyes finally find mine. Once the doctor is done and tells me what to do to look after my shoulder, he leaves soon after. The three of us remain in silence.
I'm trying my hardest to ignore the throbbing in my arm because we have much bigger problems at hand here. Gabriel clears his throat and we both turn our attention towards him, he leans back in his chair and shakes his head as if he still can't get his mind round what happened.
"You fucked my sister," he grumbles.
I scowl at his choice of words. "You don't have to say it like that."
"How long?" His nose crinkles in my direction.
"Gabrie–"
"I said how long?!"
My eyes take a quick glance at Alexia who is shuddering with anxiety. It's strange to see her like this because most things don't unnerve her, but upsetting her brother–I realise that's a big issue for their sibling relationship.
He's all she really has.
"A few months," I admit as I turn my attention back to him.
Gabriel scoffs and pushes himself up from the chair, the legs scratching loudly against the floor. He begins to pace around the kitchen, his expression pained and eyebrows pinched.
Then he pauses and glances between us. "This is a joke... this is a joke, right?"
Alexia steps forward once and bites down on her finger, those eyes staring at her brother waiting for him to forgive her for getting into bed with me. But what he doesn't realise is that this is so much more than that. So much more.
Gabriel notices her move closer. "I told you to stay away from him. That he's bad news!"
"Fantastico." I grumble bitterly.
(Fantastico: fantastic)
"Shut the fuck up." He snarls in my direction.
His eyes become heavier by the second, so much betrayal and hurt behind them. For a moment I feel bad, guilty. But I still want Alexia all the same and that changes nothing in this.
"I can't believe this. You've gone behind my back. Did you think you'd get away with this forever and I'd never notice?"
"I care about he–"
His eyes go up in flames as he takes a few confident steps towards me. "You dare say you care about her because I'll find a gun and put a bullet in your fucking brain!"
Alexia flinches from his tone and she shivers. Yeah, I don't like that idea either.
"You don't care about people, Lonzo. You fuck and discard women like weekly trash. I know what you'll do to her, you'll end up hurting her, you'll break her heart and then what? What were you fucking thinking when you decided to pursue her?" His voice echoes off the walls and his throat scratches.
I grit my teeth. "I'd never hurt her."
Gabriel laughs loudly again, almost like a bark that sounds so cold and distant that I have no idea who this man standing in front of me is. I've seen him become deadly but not like this, not when we have so much history with one another.
"We're adults, Gabriel,' Alexia says after a few moments. "We can do what we want."
"You're barely a fucking adult, Alexia. You can't even leave the house without protection, you can't fucking do anything in this world. So do me a favour and shut the fuck up right now. Your opinion is invalid."
I stand from the table and grow taller than his height. "I said, don't speak to her like that."
Alexia shudders at the sudden intensity but it's going to get real ugly, real fast if he keeps talking down to her like she's a child. When in fact she is a grown woman, she doesn't owe anyone anything but herself and her needs.
"Alexia is her own person," I spit towards him. "She has feelings, fottuto stronzo, except you're too fucking immature to realise that. You want to baby her but she's an adult who has the right to do whatever she fucking wants."
(Fottuto stronzo: fucking asshole)
He chuckles again but it's deeply sarcastic. "You're really talking to me about feelings? The king of no fucking emotion whatsoever."
I train my eyes on him as he paces again. "I brought her here to protect her, you think it's safe doing this? She will be a target if anyone found out. She would be diamonds in some of these cunts' eyes. You weren't thinking of her feelings or her safety, you were thinking about getting your dick wet."
Alexia buries her head into her hands at the sound of her brother's voice.
"She is already a target being your sister," I say in response. "We already agreed to protecting her and you know I've stepped up to do that more than you expected me to. Because I fucking care about her, Gabriel. And you might not believe me and part of me doesn't even give a single shit if you don't, but being with me... I will keep her safe. Even if it kills me."
Gabriel stares back at me in horror. I know he wasn't expecting me to say anything along those lines but it's true. That woman has a hold on me like no other and I would do anything for her.
He raises his head to the ceiling. "I have to go," he grumbles. "I can't be near either of you right now."
Then he's walking towards the door and slamming it on his way out.
"Fuck," Alexia mumbles before she walks towards me. I reach out for her as she takes a look at my patched up shoulder. "Are you okay?"
I wrap my hand around the nape of her neck and tug her towards me, our lips meeting in a deep and fiery kiss. She whimpers into my mouth as I coax her lips open and bleed every inch of my words into this kiss.
We pull away slowly but she rests her forehead against mine. "How's your arm?"
"I'll survive."
"How are we going to fix this?" Her eyes flutter close and I hate the agony on her face.
I purse my lips and run my thumb across her cheekbone, forcing those gorgeous eyes to look at me again. "We might not," I admit.
Her breathing hitches and I pull her down onto my lap, internally wincing when my arm jolts and tugs at the stitching. "He's going to hate us forever." She mumbles into my chest. "And I don't know if I can deal with that."
My hand runs down the centre of her spine gently. "We'll try and find a way to get this resolved."
"How?"
I sigh. "Right now? I don't know. But we need to give him time to let this sink in."
"He fucking shot you, Lonzo!" She exhales.
"I know. I was expecting worse."
Her eyes widen. "You can't be serious."
I hum in response. "Pretty sure I'd be ten feet under if you weren't here right now."
Alexia grips onto my body and I enjoy her warmth for now. I feel her anxieties float into my chest but I attempt to push them away by comforting her with my embrace and a few kisses to her temple.
We both knew it would end badly. We just weren't ready for it to become a reality.
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Author's Note
Uhhhh oh. Anyone else think Gabriel is overreacting a little?🫣
He did say he'd shoot Lonzo and he did hahah, that cliffhanger was mean!
What did you guys think of this chapter? Do you reckon they can work it out?👉🏼👉🏼👉🏼
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