"Mia," I said, dropping beside her. She moved her hands away from her side and a sticky, red liquid covered her palms and seeped from a large gash down the side of her stomach.
Mia looked at me, panic etched into her features. "Help me."
∞∞∞
"I just need to know that she's okay!"
"Mr Foster, as I said, there were some complications, but the surgeons seemed to have overcome them," the nurse repeated. "They shouldn't be much longer."
She left and I sank back into the chair. Lydia and Stefan had arrived at some point after Mia was taken into surgery. Dante had also been admitted to remove the bullet from his leg but was already out and in recovery.
I couldn't sit still. I ran my hands through my dark hair and pulled at it. When I brought my hands back down, I could see flecks of blood on my palms. Why had Mia left? Why had she gotten into a car with Marco? Why had I brought her into my life?
I had tried everything to keep her safe, but she had left and walked straight into danger the moment she’d had enough of me and this life.
"Luc, she'll be okay." Lydia placed a hand on my shoulder, startling me out of my thoughts. When I turned to look at her, I felt all the emotions rush to the surface and tears burned my eyes. Lydia pulled me into her and kissed my head. "She's a fighter, Luc."
Before long, the nurse informed us that Mia was out of surgery. We piled into her room, but she hadn't come around from the anaesthetic. Stefan stood in the corner of the room talking to a consultant, but I couldn't take anything in. I couldn't focus on anything but Mia.
Mia was petite but she looked tiny in the bed. I wanted to reach out and touch her, but I couldn't move my feet to get closer to her, frozen with the overwhelming sense of how badly I had let her down. I had a sudden wave of panic that told me I shouldn't even be here, given that I was the reason she had been admitted. Without another word, I left the room.
"Lucas!" Lydia had followed after me. "Lucas James Foster!" The use of my full name made him stop in my tracks. Lydia caught up to me and placed a hand on my arm. "You're scared to see her," she said.
"It's my fault she's in here," I said, dropping my head.
Lydia considered the statement before she spoke. "Mia may not feel that way."
I felt like Lydia was clutching at straws. Shaking my head, Lydia led me into another room where Dante laid in bed, speaking rapidly down the phone.
"No, Mama. I promise you I'm fine. I'm alive. Yes. He's fine. I need to go, Mama. I love you too." Dante put the phone down and looked at the two of us. "She's out?" he asked hopefully.
Lydia walked in and kissed his forehead. "Yes, she is, love."
"She's okay?"
"I believe so."
"Why aren't you there?!" Dante asked, looking at me.
"I think I'll leave you both to it," Lydia said. "Lucas, I'm going to head home and bring Mia some of her things. I think she'll appreciate her belongings." She gave Dante's hand a squeeze. "Do you need anything?"
"No, that's alright, Lyds," he replied. "Thanks."
As Lydia left, Dante pushed himself up in bed and filled me in on everything. "Everything's taken care of. Michael and Theo cleaned up. You don't need to be anywhere but here."
There was a reason that I considered Dante as more of a brother to me than Stefan. He knew me. He could anticipate my next move without hesitation. He knew that right now I would want to be a million miles from here. Bury myself in work and run from the guilt.
"I could have lost her," I told him, choking on the words.
"You didn't though," Dante reminded me. "And instead of being with her, you're in here with me."
"I don't know if she'll want me there."
"You won't know unless you actually see her," Dante said with a heavy sigh and winced.
"All good?" I asked as he settled back down.
"Yeah, just sore as fuck. You know the drill."
