Chapter 90 Hospital

Chapter 90 Hospital
I squint at the fluorescent light above me. The blinding light makes me close my eyes again for a second. I'm not sure how long I've been unconscious, but by the looks of it, I guess I'm already out of surgery. Now I'm lying in a bed, in my own private hospital room. On my right, my father sits on the chair next to me, staring at his phone with a deep frown. When he realises I'm already awake, he puts his phone away and puts all his attention on me.

"Hey. How are you feeling?" my father asks.

"I'm fine," I say, feeling how sore my arm still feels. Once the drugs wear off, I'll probably feel the pain again. I hope it won't happen anytime soon. Getting shot hurts a hell fucking lot.

Everything seems to stop for a second as Dante crosses my mind. He should be out of surgery already, right? Unless there's something worse going on with him, there's no way he's still in there. I wonder if he's okay now.

"Where's Dante?" I ask.

"In the ICU. He's lost too much blood, and his condition is still critical. Enzo is nearby him, so don't worry. He'll let us know if anything happens with him," my father says.

My worries only heightened even further after hearing my father's answer. It's a relief that Dante is still alive, but knowing that he's still in the ICU, anything worse could happen to him. With how critical his condition is after losing so much blood, I can't help but fear for his death. I want to see him awake, but I don't think that would be possible anytime soon. It'll probably take him days to recover until he's stable, and even longer for him to fully recover.

I miss Dante already. I want to see him now. It's okay if he's not awake yet. It's better for him to take his rest anyway. As long as I can see him with my own eyes, that'll be enough for now. All I want is to see his face and see if he's still alive and fighting for his life.

"Can I see him now?" I ask.

"No. You should rest. He'll be fine. Don't worry about him," my father says.

I know he's going to say that. I'm fine now. It's not like I'm actively dying after getting shot in the arm. I'm good now. I won't just drop dead after I leave this bed. I hate how overprotective my father can be. I will be fine. Seeing Dante right now won't kill me.

"Just for a minute. I just need to see if he's okay," I say.

"Tomorrow. For now, rest," my father says.

"Fine."

Tomorrow. It's better than nothing. I know my father won't budge if I keep asking to see Dante. Perhaps Dante will be in much better condition tomorrow. If miracles do exist, he'll probably wake up tomorrow. Just the thought of it gives me a bit of hope. Dante will be fine. I just need to have faith in it. He'll be okay. The worst has passed. All he needs is to keep fighting for his life in the ICU.

"Do you know who did this?" I ask.

"The Romanos. Their men hijacked one of the staff's vans and held our man hostage. With our man with them, they could pass the security easily. That's how they got in," my father says.

I knew it was them. They know we've been trying to get them, and this is their way to tell us to stay the fuck away from them. What happened today might only be a warning, but the next one will be an actual bloodbath. I can't let that happen. I'm not letting them kill more of us. This is the time for us to get serious and fight back. They won't stop until we truly kill each one of them.

"Don't worry about them. They're just messing with us. I got a text from someone right after you called me. It seems like they've had enough of us spying on them," my father says.

"Do you think the Ricci has anything to do with\-"

My phone rings, and I frown at the ID on my phone screen. Antonio. Does he know what happened? I wonder if Fabio has anything to do with this. If Antonio knows about what happened, then someone must've told him about it, and that someone must be his father.

Taking a deep breath, I click on the green button and place my phone next to my right ear. Let's see what Antonio wants to say to me. Is it just another condolence or does he want to tell me something else?

"Alessandra. Thank god. Are you okay? I heard there was an attack at your house. Your father told mine earlier, but I couldn't reach you," Antonio says. The panic in his voice is clear. I can even hear his voice tremble. Is he that worried about me? No. Don't let him get to you, Alessandra. He's probably faking everything, remember?

"I got shot in the arm and passed out earlier, but I'm fine now," I say.

"I'm on my way. I'll be there soon," Antonio says.

"Okay."

I put my phone down and end the call, sighing to myself. Antonio will be here soon. I feel like he's gonna be here in a few minutes. I need to prepare myself. Just like before, I just need to be like who I've always been when I'm with Antonio: be his loving girlfriend. It should be easy. What's hard is not to let myself go completely like before. Just act normal, but not too lovey-dovey with Antonio. That's all.

"Alessandra."

After a few minutes, Antonio finally arrives in my room. By the looks of it, he's here by himself. That's good. I don't know if I can handle it if everyone is here. And now that I'm still kind of under the influence, I can't really think straight. It'll be bad if I suddenly say something I'm not supposed to say.

"I'll leave you two alone," my father says.

"Okay," I say.

"Thank you, Mr Benetti," Antonio says. He walks further into the room as my father leaves and closes the door. Once Antonio is seated, I can only stare at him, unsure of what to say.

"Are you okay? What happened?" Antonio asks.

I recall what happened, from when I first heard the gunshot until I saw Dante on the floor with blood leaving his body. And then the time I got shot and how we rushed to the hospital, driving past the speed limit and trying to get there as fast as we could to save Dante. All those memories only make me cry again. The dread that fills my body makes it harder for me to breathe, but I try to calm myself down again.

"It's okay. You don't have to tell me," Antonio says.

"No. It's fine. Apparently, it's the Romanos. They attacked us in our own house, but they didn't seem to want to kill anyone. It's like they're only trying to scare us," I say.

With the gun they had in their hands, it should be easy for them to kill us all at that exact moment, but they didn't. However, their shooting Dante in the stomach is definitely a warning. It's intentional. They want us to know that next time, Dante and everyone else will probably not survive as they do right now. It doesn't seem like they tried to kidnap me earlier, either. They move too slowly if they actually want to kidnap me. So, all that happened earlier is absolutely nothing more than a warning.

"Shit. Is everyone else okay?" Antonio asks.

"They got a bit hurt from the fight, but they're fine. Carlo, Dante, and I were the ones who got shot. Thankfully, no one other than us got shot," I say.

"How are they? Carlo and Dante, I mean," Antonio asks.

"Carlo is fine, but Dante..."

My voice wavers as my head is filled with concerns about Dante again. Fuck. The thought of losing him was frightening. He's the only one left that truly cares about me after I've lost my mother and brothers. Without him, I wouldn't be here anymore. Losing him means no reason to stay here anymore. My father surely cares about me, but not as much as Dante cares for me. So, I don't know what I'll do without him. Maybe I'll be like a headless chicken with no life purpose anymore. With Dante, my purpose is clear: to be with him and maybe live the rest of my life with him. Even if it costs my freedom to leave this kind of life, I don't really care as long as I can be with him.

"It's okay. He'll be okay," Antonio says, pulling me closer to him. I put my head on his shoulder, trying to stop myself from crying too much.

"There was so much blood. I thought he wouldn't survive," I say.

"But he's survived, right? He's going to be fine," Antonio says.

I only nod at Antonio. Despite all his words and acts to calm me down, I still worry about Dante. Even though he's already out of surgery, I can't help but worry about him still. With him still unconscious and critical, I don't think I'll truly calm down. I can only rest once he's awake and tells me that he's okay.