On the third ring, Luca picks up, quickly Brie takes her finger away from her mouth after she'd spent some time nibbling away at her nail. She was worried. It had been just over an hour and a half since her phone call with Raye when the girl said she was on her way home. Brie thought she'd be back by now, but she was sadly mistaken. Maybe she stayed a little while longer with Luca or had gone to see her brother. The only way she was going to know was when she found out from the older man.
"Hey doll," he answers gaily and Brienna smiles at the name. She knew Luca was just being himself and would often nickname her and Raye the same.
"Hi Luca, I was wondering if by any chance Raye was still there or if she'd left yet?"
"What, no, no. Raye left awhile ago doll. She stormed out about some two hours ago,"
"Stormed out, what do you mean?" She asks, pacing the floor, her brows drawing down and creasing. She could've sworn Raye had left, she even said so herself.
"There was an altercation here tonight, nothing big,"
"What?"
"I can't say much, but she'll be fine, just try her phone again. I bet she's either with your brother or some of the fellas,"
"Yeah, sure I'll try her again."
"Have a good night Brienna,"
Luca bids and she replies quietly.
As soon as she was off the call, Brie dials Raye again only for her number to go straight to voicemail. She didn't like it all, so she calls one the guys, Paolo and he answers.
"Hey, by any chance is Raye with you?"
"Not at all,"
"Well, do you know where she could be?"
"The last I heard she was with her uncle. She'd call me to make sure that you and your siblings were alright,"
"And you're sure that's the last time you spoke to her,"
"Yes ma'am," Paolo replies and Brienna grows tense. That wasn't normal at all unless Raye had suddenly decided that she wanted to take a breather somewhere quiet which was unlike her usual self. Even if she did she'd always let Brie know where she was headed.
The thought of the altercation Luca mentioned made her even more nervous and she found herself biting the insides of her mouth due to the level of anxiety she felt. "If you see her can you tell her I said I'm going to kill her for not letting me know where she is, "
"Sure," the guy laughs, promising to deliver the message once he comes into contact with Raye. When she comes off the phone, Brie tries her for one last time only to get the same result.
She cursed in the air, something she rarely did. She was worried about her, with all the things going on around them she needed to be. Brie couldn't stand hearing anything bad befallen her love, she'd lose it for sure.
Slouching down onto the couch, Brie checks her phone for the millionth time trying to make sure she didn't miss a call or a text. She'd grown paranoid, she had every right to be. She'd come home from work expecting Raye to be there only to find out that she wasn't. Then she was told she was on her way, only to not show up. She wanted her around, especially this late at night but only God knew what the big-headed girl was up to so late.
As she sat there, Brie fights against the urge to sleep. She'd kept on nodding away, only to snap out the daze and check her phone to see nothing. It wasn't fair she caught herself thinking, Raye knew how much she hated the unanswered calls and texts yet she'd done it either way.
Frothing at the mouth from her anger, Brie decides to lay her head down and nap while she waited. Raye was going to show up in her own time and when she did, she'd be right there to greet her. Quickly, her eyes lower shut and she falls into a slumber where she dreams of nothing and everything.
* * *
She could hear the loud banging of something against wood but doesn't take it for anything other than what was happening inside the realm of dreams. She doesn't wake up or react until the banging gets louder and reality hits; this was no dream.
With sleep heavy in her eyes, she jumps to her feet and goes over to the door. The person on the other end knocks loudly once more and when she opens it she finally distinguishes that it was Luca, he wasn't alone. There were his two sons Gabriele and Elia at his side and their faces were strip from all colour and emotion.
"It's late, what are you guys doing here?" She asks and could see the older man's glossy eyes which were strange. He swallows for some time, rubbing his nose and sighing before addressing her.
"We found Raye," he says and Brie sighs with relief.
"Let me guess she was hiding out in one of the apartments?"
"No, "
"No?" She repeats, very much aware now that their faces hadn't changed.
"She's at the hospital Brienna," Luca's words didn't make sense, so she takes a few seconds to let it sink, her brows drawing together in a scowl.
"W-what do you mean?" She chuckles nervously and the man swallows hard yet again, his Adam's apple bobbing quickly. "Raye was shot earlier. A couple from a bar few doors down found her unconscious some feet away from her car,"
"You're kidding me right?" She chuckles again but realizes that the man wasn't joking. Her eyes instantly gloss over and she panics, her chest suddenly heaving rapidly as she darts her eyes between Luca and his sons.
Shaking her head frantically, she tried to rid her mind of such news. She had to be dreaming still, right? Unfortunately not because Luca grabbed hold of her arms and the touch was very much real. "We're about to go to the hospital,"
"Is she okay?" She blurts out roughly, fighting back the hot tears.
"We don't know yet," he says, scratching his head.
"Take me to her now!" She yells, rushing out the apartment, leaving everything behind. Luca needed to instruct his eldest son to grab the girl's keys and a jacket for her before they could've left. He did his best to keep her under control but she was still in shock and it showed.
Out in the open, the girl gets into his car almost like a zombie. Everything seemed to be on autopilot for her and he understood. Raye was her heartbeat.
The ride to the hospital was done in the quiet. Every once in awhile he'd steal a glance at the girl only to find that she seemed flung out of space. Her eyes weren't moving at all and the sparks he'd usually see behind them was dull.
When they pulled into the hospitals parking lot, Brienna bolts to the entrance as soon as she gets in she runs up to the receptionist and she starts addressing her.
"Is there a patient by the name of Rachel Mancini here?" Her voice a trembling mess.
"Give me a moment," the older woman said, eyeing the shaking girl stood in front of her. She was accompanied by three men, whom she figured were related judging from their stark resemblance. She gets on a phone and finds out exactly who the girl is looking for.
"She's in the emergency room right, now on the third floor,"
"But is she okay?"
"I won't be able to say, miss, probably if you wait for a moment I'd be able to find that out,"
"No, I can't wait!" She slams her hand down onto the desk, startling the woman and Luca pulls her away.
"No," she pried herself roughly from his hold. It was the first time he'd ever witness the girl in such a frenzy and it was frightening.
"We have to wait like the woman said,"
"I can't," her eyes watered significantly and her tiny frame shook. He held her in his arms but it did nothing. Brienna slips away and jogs over to the elevator. She steps on once the doors open up, dragging the three men along with her. She'd tapped the button for the third floor and had stood in the quiet—neither Luca nor his sons said anything. As soon as they stepped out, the floor is lightly flooded by hospital employees and Brie runs over to the first person she sees who happened to be a nurse.
"I'm here to find out about a patient by the name of Rachel Mancini," she implores breathlessly and the woman before her studies her carefully.
"I'm not exactly sure who that is but I can find out,"
"Please," she begs and the woman nods, heading back where she'd come from. Brienna follows briskly but the woman stops her before she could enter the room with her.
Luca is already at her side, holding her still because he knew what would possibly come next. They were waiting for about five minutes in the hall when the nurse comes back.
"She's still in the operation room, "
"Yes, but what's her condition, is she going to be okay?"
"Dr Charles, the current surgeon stated that her condition is critical,"
Brienna steps back, covering her mouth and staring at the floor.
"I'm sorry," the nurse offers and a sob slipped past the grip at her mouth.
"I've been informed that she isn't breathing on her own but they're trying all they can to save her life."
"No," She whispers, holding her heart and Luca wraps a hand around her. She pushes him off and glares at the nurse.
"What the fuck happened?"
"She'd been shot and one of the bullets ruptured a major organ,"
She broke down further. Her sobs ricocheting off the walls due to how hard she'd cried. Luca did his best to shush her but his own strength wavered. His fucking niece was hurt and not a single soul knew a thing.
The nurse tries to walk away but Brienna holds her still.
"I have to see her," she pleads. "I really need to know that she's okay,"
"I'm sorry miss, but there's nothing we could do. You have to wait," the woman says quietly but it wasn't enough.
Brienna weeps and Luca holds her tight, squeezing her to his body because he knew she was going to act impulsively. She tries pushing away from him but he doesn't falter, holding her still as best as possible while she kicked and thrashed against him.
His sons gaze at her with pitiful eyes, even they were hurt by the information but couldn't do anything.
"Please just let me go, I need to see her," she begs and he bites his lip to keep his tears from spilling. "We have to wait here doll," he says, his voice trembles but it does nothing to help the situation with Brie.
"Please," she pauses for air. "I need to see Rachel,"
The nurse couldn't even move because she was so concerned for the girl. All the veins were protruding on her forehead and temples, her face was red and her eyes were bloodshot— her breathing was coming in rushed.
She saw just how hard the older man had to try to subdue her and even a few of the other staffs on the floor looked on in sadness when they slipped by.
Brie had started to fight the older man, using her fists to bash against his chest as hard as she could so he'd let her go but to no avail.
"Please, just let me go, I want Rachel," she cried out and that's when the nurse finds it appropriate to intervene. She runs off to get a doctor who came so quickly with another nurse by his side.
By this time Brienna had successfully smacked Luca across the face twice and made a run for it. Elia grabs her by one arm while his older brother, Gabriele grabs the other. She kicks and flares her feet in the air as they subdued her.
The doctor had whispered instructions to his staff and in no time one comes wheeling in a stretcher. The man in the white coat takes out a syringe and sticks it into a bottle, drawing the right dosage to administer to the hysterical girl.
He carefully trudges over to her kicking and screaming. He nods at Luca who also assisted in keeping her still. When he'd sunk the needle into her arm, she screams loudly and cries only because they were keeping her from going to her love. She kept calling Raye's name over and over, trying to fight off the hands that kept her still but soon the movements of her limbs slow significantly. Her words begin to slur and her body is growing limp, but she doesn't stop crying.
"Please," she held Luca with weak arms, slipping further to the ground. Her breathing rapid, her face crimson red and puffy. "I want Rachel," she slurs out what one last time and her eyes lower shut as her body finally succumbs to the defeat. Those around are observing in silence how such a tiny girl caused so much chaos.