Three: She Was Mine

Dmitry

God, Alec is a fool.

I fucking warned him not to get on the tracks in the rain, but he never listens.

Now here I am, pacing the damn hospital corridor, the sting of antiseptic crawling up my nose, burning like everything else tonight.

Gia crosses my mind and oh, fuck me. She's even more beautiful, more stunning with so much fire in her.

I wasn't quite expecting a warm welcome from her when I arrived, but I also wasn't expecting outright hostility. And a rejection, even without me hitting on her. 

I make sure to order a ride even before my arrival, drive straight to her house without a second thought and she tells me “we're done” so easily? 

We’re done? I repeat, chuckling darkly, we were never done and that’s what my little kitten doesn’t understand.

I walk over to the vending machine, needing a can of soda but as I’m about to put in my change Gianna walks in, hair messy, eyes bloodshot red.

This is exactly what I’m avoiding, my palm curls into a fist.

I’ll kill Alec once he wakes up.

As I start toward her, some guy I hadn’t noticed before steps up and wraps his arms around her, leaning in to whisper something that makes her nod.

Who the fuck is he?

Alec never mentions her having a boyfriend, I watch him closely eyeing his movements. Yeah, her type but he can’t handle Gia, that’s my job. Mine alone.

I made the mistake of choosing my family over her once, and I’ll be damned if I ever let her go again.

I close the distance between us, taking my sweet time to watch the both of them. She’s still in his arms, it makes the muscles in my jaw tick.

“Maybe you could take your little cozy romantic montage out of the waiting room?” I say flatly.

Her glare meets mine, sharp as ever, but there’s something else beneath it, worry.

“What happened?” she asks, ignoring my obvious taunt.

I turn to the guy, not caring who he is or how much he knows. He doesn’t belong here.

“This is a private matter,” I say, tone firm enough to leave no room for argument.

He nods immediately, ready to back off but Gia’s hand shoots out, catching his sleeve.

Is she serious about us being over? yeah, no.

So what if I leave for five years, I have every fucking right to be mad too but I’m not going to waste any more time.

I don’t trust myself to speak without snapping.

“Just fucking say it, Dmitry,” she hisses, voice cracking with fear. “What happened?”

I glare at his hand still fisting in her shirt. “It was a racing accident,” I grind through clenched teeth.

Her eyes widen, then fill fast, the tears fall before she can blink them away, and the bastard has the nerve to pull her against his chest.

“This is my fault,” she mumbles to him.

“It’s okay, G,” he murmurs, stroking her hair. “He’ll be fine.”

I need air, some distraction, other than watching her in someone else’s arms. It feels like being skinned alive.

I return back to the vending machine, before I do something to worsen my situation with Gia.

She hates my presence, that is obvious enough but what I don’t understand is why.

All of this is for her, everything I do is for her and yet she’s mad at me.

The can nearly pops under the pressure of my clenched fist as I watch the both of them.

The nurse from earlier appears down the hall, calling out, “Mr. Orlov? Alec’s awake.”

I stand straight, brushing my palms over my jeans, trashing the drink.

---

The nurse leads us down the hall, her shoes squeaking through the silence like it might split in two.

Gianna trails beside me pale, trembling, that other guy glued to her side.

When we reach the door, the nurse turns to her. “He’s awake, but… he’s only asking for Dmitry.”

Gianna blinks, eyes wide and wet. “What? Why?”

Her voice cracks on the last word, and for a second, I almost tell the nurse to let her in too.

But Alec is my mess. He always has been.

I meet her stare and say quietly, “I’ll tell you when I know more.” Then I step inside before I can change my mind.

Christ.

He looks like shit, head wrapped in thick bandages, his left leg propped up in a cast, tubes snaking out from under the blanket. His skin is too pale.

“Jesus, Alec…” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair as I move closer. “You couldn’t just listen for once, could you?”

His eyes flutter open, glassy but still focused enough to find me. “Dim…”

I swallow hard. I haven’t heard that nickname in years.

“Yeah,” I say softly, sitting down beside him. “I’m here.”

He tries to smile, but it cracks halfway. “Told you the tracks weren’t that bad.”

“Yeah, and look where that got you, dumbass.”

He wheezes a laugh that turns into a grimace. “Don’t start. My head feels like a fucking orchestra."

He’s got jokes, huh but still neither of us speaks for what feels like hours.

Finally, Alec’s voice drops. “She’s here, isn’t she?”

There’s no need to answer, he knows perfectly well she is.

He nods weakly. “I need a favor.”

“Anything.”

“Take care of Gia. I don’t know if I’ll make it or not, but please, take care of her.”

I look away, I can’t take care of someone who can barely stand being in the same room as me.

“Stop saying shit like that, get some rest and don’t worry about Gia.”

His eyelids flutter, already losing the fight to stay open. “I knew I could always count on you, like old times.”

But the “old times” are long gone, and for the first time in years, I’m not sure I can fix what’s left of them.

The door shuts softly behind me, and for a second, I just stand there, staring at the dull hospital tiles like they might give me a damn answer.

Gianna is on her feet instantly. “Well? How is he?”

I exhale slowly. “He’s alive. Making silly jokes, he’ll be okay."

She sags into that guy’s arms, sobbing quietly against his chest.

I hate the way his hands snake around, giving her the comfort I’m dying to give her.

The nurse brushes past us suddenly, then another one, sprinting down the corridor.

Gianna’s head shoots up. “What’s happening?”

I don’t answer, my legs move with them to the direction they’re headed but before I can reach the door a doctor shoves past, yelling orders.

“Get the crash cart, now!”

Gianna follows, panic breaking through her voice. “No—no, no, what’s happening to him?!”

She tries to run after them, but the guy catches her around the waist. She fights him, wild, tears streaking down her face.

“Gianna, stop—” I reach for her, but she’s already crumbling.

Her knees buckle, and she hits the floor, shaking, hands over her mouth like she can hold the scream in if she just tries hard enough.

“Let me go! I need to see him, please!”

A couple of minutes later, Gianna is still on the floor and the doctor walks in.

“Mr. Alec is stable,” he begins, and for half a second, I believe him, until the pause.

“But he’s slipped into a coma.”

Everything goes still, except Gia’s painful yelp.

The guy with her pulls her against his chest but she doesn’t seem to feel it, she just stares past him, right through me.

And I swear, I’d rather have taken the hit on the tracks myself than see her face like that.

The doctor leaves after giving more information about Alec’s recovery, Gianna is still on the floor, her body trembling like her bones can’t decide if they want to hold her up or fall apart completely.

I crouch beside her, my hand hovering uselessly near her shoulder. “Gia… hey. Look at me.”

But she doesn’t budge at all, only clutching to his finger.

The other guy murmurs soft nonsense to her, the kind that’s meant to help but never actually does.

“Stay with her,” I mutter to him, standing. “I’ll get her some water.”

The vending machines down the hall hum quietly as I fish for coins, trying not to think about Alec, about how one minute he’s cracking jokes and the next he’s in a deep sleep.

Less than 24hrs in the Big Apple and terrible things are already happening.

I get the bottle and head to the reception to clear the bill for as long as that jackass in there will be before returning to Gia.

But the sight in front of me stops me dead in my tracks, she’s stopped crying and is instead smiling at what he says.

My legs refuse to work anymore, what the hell am I doing?

I throw the bottle into the trash before I make a fool of myself.

I am fucking trying and all she does is play house with an asshole that shouldn’t even be here.

Man fuck this, I am already storming to the both of them before I can stop myself.

“Get up,” I say.

She blinks at me, confused. “What?”

“We are heading home, and you need rest."

Her brows knit, that spark of defiance flaring through the exhaustion. “Excuse me?”

“It’s almost midnight, ki— Gia. We need to go home.”

She stares at me like I’ve just grown another head. “Kev will take me home.”

So Kev is the fucker’s name.

“I don’t think he knows where I live,” I shoot back, jaw locked.

Her full attention is now on me. “What do you mean?”

“I mean that Alec asked me to take care of you and that’s all I’m doing.”

She stares daggers at me, but doesn’t say a word to either defy me or accept my conditions.

I need a better reaction from her, yes Alec never says she has to live with me but that’s the only way I’ll be able to be around her daily to make sure he doesn’t have a chance with her.