Novel Square
55
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It all happened so fast, one second I was staring down the barrel of a gun and the next I was being pushed to the ground. I heard several shots go off before I had a chance to pull myself up. When I flipped over my blood ran cold. Carlo was lying motionless beside me, blood seeping from a wound on his right side just under his arm.
“CARLO!” I cried and scrambled to him, my knees slipping in the large puddle of blood that was already pooling underneath him. I tried to put pressure on the wound but the blood just kept pumping out between my fingers. “Do something!” I screamed, not knowing who exactly I was talking to.
“Move,” I heard from above me before I was lifted up and placed a few feet from where I had been kneeling beside Carlo. Enzo’s large frame blocked my view as he began to work on Carlo. In my hysterics I hadn’t even noticed him and Leo come through the back entrance.
My breathing was erratic. I couldn’t focus on anything but Carlo’s still form.
No, no, no. This can’t be happening, not after everything we’ve been through. God wouldn’t be this cruel. Please, I prayed, please let him be okay.”We need to move fast, he’s lost too much blood. Get him up, Matty is waiting with the car at the entrance to the alley,” Enzo’s voice was harsh and cold as he issued orders to the other men. Without hesitation all four men lifted Carlo and rushed out the back door. My body was numb as I stepped over the goon that had shot Carlo and followed woodenly behind them. I watched them load Carlo into the back of the SUV, Enzo climbing up with him. I took my place in the front seat and turned, staring at Carlo’s gray face as we rushed to the hospital.
…
Once we pulled up to the emergency room entrance, Antonio leapt from the car and ran inside coming back a moment later with several nurses wheeling a stretcher behind him. The hospital staff moved fast, transferring Carlo to the stretcher and rushing him into the building. I trailed behind them as fast as I could, not willing to let my gaze drift from his face. I was abruptly stopped by a nurse before I could follow them past the double doors.
“You have to stay here, we’re taking him back into surgery.”
I opened my mouth to protest but Angelo cut me off, pulling me to his side he spoke to the nurse, “This is his wife. Please let us know as soon as you have any information about his condition.”
“Of course. Now can one of you please tell me what happened?”
I turned to Angelo, panic in my eyes. I had no idea how to explain this.
“If you’d come with me I’ll explain,” Antonio said smoothly from behind me, guiding the nurse away to the corner so he could speak to her privately.
“What are we going to do if they call the cops? Don’t they have to report it if someone comes in with a gunshot wound?” I asked Angelo frantically.
“Relax, Antonio will handle it. We have a few cops in the area that are on our payroll, they’ll make sure there’s no official report. Now come sit down.
…
We waited for hours without any word on Carlo’s condition. My mind raced and the tears fell down my face in a constant stream for hours. Frankie came to sit beside me, wrapping one of her small arms around my shoulders as she spoke softly into my ear. “He’s going to be okay, I can feel it in my gut. Carlo is way too stubborn to die,” I gasped at her words, a sob ripping through my chest followed by a fresh wave of tears. I buried my head in her shoulder and wept.
A soft voice filtered in over the sound of my sobs, “I’m looking for the family of Carlo DeLuca?”
I stood up so suddenly I had to brace myself on Frankie’s shoulder to avoid falling over, “That’s me,” I croaked.
The woman walked over to me slowly, as if I was a wounded animal she didn’t want to spook. She wore green scrubs and her white sneakers squeaked across the linoleum as she approached. “I’m Dr. Marshall, the lead surgeon working on your husband. We did everything we could, he’d lost a lot of blood…” A whooshing sound filled my ears, effectively blocking out the doctors words. This couldn’t be happening, my head grew hazy and dots formed in my line of vision. “Coma, only time will tell…” her words filtering through.
“What?” I asked, snapping back into reality.
“He’s in a medically induced coma. We did everything we could to repair the damage, but we won’t know the extent of his injuries or recovery time until he wakes up. We had to remove his spleen because it was ruptured by the bullet. Thankfully no major arteries were damaged. One of his lungs was punctured but we were able to stop the bleeding. We’re going to keep him unconscious for a few days to give his body time to heal from the trauma before we take him off sedation. They’re getting him settled into a room now, I’ll have a nurse come out in a little bit to bring you to him. Only one visitor at a time though, since he’s in the ICU.”
“That’s fine, thank you,” Angelo said beside me. I hadn’t noticed him come up while the doctor was speaking.
The doctor nodded and made her way back through the double doors.
“He’s alive,” I said to no one in particular. I was still in shock. I had thought for sure she was telling me he was dead. My head hurt, the exhaustion of the day taking its toll on my body as I sagged against Angelo.
“He’s alive,” he repeated, wrapping his arms around me and supporting my weight. “He’s going to be okay.”
…
True to her word a little while later a nurse came and led me to Carlo’s room.
“Now honey, I need to prepare you, he’s pretty banged up and since he’s sedated there’s a breathing tube down in throat. Do you understand what I’m telling you?”
I nodded numbly and followed her into the room. I didn’t know what I expected since she had just explained what condition he was in but the sight of him lying prone on the hospital bed with wires and tubes hooked up to him caused me to let out a tortured cry. I slowly approached his bed, my hand over my mouth, muffling my sobs.
“They say they can hear you when they’re under like that, might help to talk to him a bit. Let him know you’re here. I’ll give you some privacy, just press the red button if you need something,” she said and left the room quietly.
I pulled a chair up to the side of the bed and sat down, reaching for his hand, careful not to disturb the IV. “Hey baby,” I said, my voice wobbly with tears. “I don’t know if you can hear me but if you can I want you to know how much I love you. I need you to pull through, we have a wedding to plan,” I laughed, because it sounded ridiculous and trivial but I wanted it, “And once you’re better, I’m going to kick your ass for scaring the shit out of me.” I laid my head on the bed next to him and continued to talk, describing our future and repeating the words ‘I love you’ over and over again
…
I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew I was being woken up by the same nurse that had brought me to Carlo.
“Hey honey,” she said quietly, “I need you to hop up for a minute so I can check his vitals.”
I stood up, rubbing the sleep from my eyes and letting her get the readings she needed.
She turned to me when she was done, “Visiting hours are long over and my shift is almost up but I pulled a few strings and as long as you don’t cause a fuss or get in the way, they’re going to let you stay with him, okay?”
“Thank you,” I said, tears forming in my eyes. I felt like all I’d done since Carlo had been shot was cry but I couldn’t help it, my emotions were all over the place. “That means so much to me, thank you,” I said again.
She patted my shoulder and walked out of the room without saying another word.