Five

~Salvatore

I felt a sudden pain in my chest even though it was Ariana the bullet hit. I had been so caught up in the chaos, I didn’t realize I hadn’t pulled her under the table with me.

Her eyes dropped to the bullet wound in her chest before they drifted shut and she dropped to the floor beside me. Tears blurred my vision and before I knew it, I was beside her screaming her name.

In the process, I got hit by a bullet on my left arm. My brain didn’t register the pain and I immediately pulled out my gun to put an end to the idiot that shot her. But my men were finally handling it and they had managed to gun down all the attackers.

I don’t know where they were earlier when Ariana was getting shot but if anything happened to her, they all would be dead too. I carried her in my arms and rushed straight for my car.

I ignored everyone that tried to talk to me on my way out. I made sure she was securely strapped into the back seat before I took the steering wheel and started driving.

I ran every traffic light and broke at least ten different traffic regulations before I reached home. On my way I already phoned our usual doctor and she was waiting when I arrived.

I took Ariana to one of the rooms downstairs which had a few things set up in case of situations like this. I gently dropped her on the bed and excused myself to give the doctor space to start her work and also to gather my thoughts.

Ariana was in pain and it was entirely my fault. For the past few months, I had been so blinded by my hatred and trying to get back at her. And now, she was on the verge of death because of me.

I paced around the hallway, fighting my tears. I thought I had managed to kill my feelings for her. I believed I hated her but now that I was so close to losing her, I realized that it was far from the truth.

I was, in fact, very much still in love with Ariana. After everything she had done. And I didn’t understand why. But that wasn’t important right now.

I could think about it after she was out of danger. The rest of my family came back while the doctor was still treating Ariana. My mum came to where I was beating myself up in the hallway before anyone else could.

“Salvatore!” she called and I looked up from my hands where I had buried my face.

I was sitting on the floor in front of the room where Ariana was receiving treatment.

“Are y-you crying?” my mother asked, staring at me like I just sprouted horns from my head.

I sighed. “I-I was right beside her when she got shot. I couldn’t even protect her . . .”

The words caught in my throat and I felt a fresh wave of pain wash over me. There was a moment of silence for some time before my mum broke it.

“Unbelievable.” She scoffed. “Have you forgotten what she did to you?”

I hadn’t forgotten. I couldn’t if I tried. When my mum told me that Ariana had another boyfriend in school, I didn’t believe it for a second. Not even when my mum showed me a video as evidence.

I trusted Ariana and I knew she could never betray me like that. I tried to call her to talk to her and the said boyfriend picked the phone and had the audacity to ask who I was.

I demanded to speak to Ariana but he told me she was busy. He ended the call after telling me to stop disturbing his girlfriend. Even after that, I believed it was a misunderstanding.

That was until I visited her school myself the next day. I went straight to her dorm room and found her lying in bed with another man. They hadn’t locked the door so I literally walked in on the both of them naked.

They were still asleep and since I wasn’t in any mood to hear anything from Ariana, I left without waking them up. After that, I knew that there was nothing left between us.

“Salvatore, this . . .” My mom drifted off when her eyes landed on my arm and more specifically, the stained strap of clothing I had wrapped around my bullet wound. “You’re bleeding.”

I waved it off. “It’s a small scratch.”

“A scratch?” Her eyes were twitching now. I knew just how angry she was when she switched to Italian and her voice rose by an octave. “Per quella piccola zappa?”

“What’s happening here?” my father asked, joining us.

“Your son got shot while trying to save that girl.” She turned to me, her voice rising again. “I’m sure you didn’t even get the wound checked, right?”

Before I could answer, my dad spoke.

“After he let her get shot in the first place? He deserves worst. If anything happens to her, I will put the next bullet in his chest.” He was dead serious.

My mum’s eyes widened and she started asking him what was wrong with him when the doctor came out. I quickly stood up from the floor and rushed towards her.

“Is she fine?” I asked.

The doctor shook her head. “She needs a hospital.”

My shoulders sagged. “How bad is it?”

“The bullet damaged a major blood vessel near the lung and it’s bleeding into her pleural space. I’ve done everything I can but this is beyond me. She needs a thoracic surgeon and a proper hospital.”

For the doctor to have suggested going to the hospital, it must be life or death. She has been working for us for years now and she understands exactly why we never go to the hospital, especially in this scenario.

“How long do I have?” I asked.

“Less than an hour,” she said.

I nodded and made a move to enter the room Ariana was in but my mother grabbed my hand, stopping my movement.

“What do you think you’re doing!?”

“Mum, you heard the doctor. She’s going to die.”

“Nonsense! We’ll get another doctor. Would you rather get yourself in trouble by going to the hospital? And for her?”

I paused to think about it. Ariana had given me nothing but pain and although I didn’t want her to die, did I really want to risk everything by taking her to the hospital?

“Ma’am, I have done everything I can possibly do. I wouldn’t have suggested this otherwise. You don’t have the equipment needed for this case or—”

“I’ll call Doctor Matthew,” my mother said, completely ignoring what the doctor had been saying. “If he says the same thing, then you can take her to the hospital.”

I pondered it for a second before nodding. My father, who had been silent all this while, released a scoff.

“Unbelievable,” he said, shaking his head. Then turning to the doctor, he asked, “What's the nearest hospital I can take her to?”

“There’s one that’s just about ten minutes from here. The MD is my close friend so I can talk to her.”

“Can you do that on the way?” Father asked her.

“Sure.”

After that, he instructed one of the servants to carry Ariana’s body to his car and they both left. I wanted to follow them but once again my mum stopped me.

“Clara is badly injured,” she said, referring to the blonde I was with earlier.

I furrowed my brows. “She is?”

“Yes. But the stupid girl doesn’t know when to use her brains. She went to a hospital and they’re questioning her.”

I pinched the bridge of my nose. “Which hospital?”

“Come on, I’ll take you there.”