This chapter dedicated to MissLynneWrites this is just a little Sunday pick me up.
In a low groan I lifted my hand only to feel a restrain...
What the hell
Lifting my heavy eyelids I winced at the harsh bright white light. Rolling my tongue around my mouth I pitifully tried to moisten the stiff dryness with little success. My skin felt like I was covered in a sickly grime and my head felt incredibly heavy.. or my neck was insanely weak as I looked away from the light my eyes fell to the white walls. A small tv was mounted to the wall across the room while tall vases of blooming flowers were cluttered on a table and lined along the window seal. With the pleasant numbness filling my head my gaze rolled up to the monitors above my head. Immediately I recognized the heart monitor, the IV bag and another bag of liquid that I could only assume to be morphine for the pain I didn't feel. The room spun as I picked my head back up right and my eyes landed on the lubing underneath my skin of each of my arms. My head dropped suddenly as I struggled to focus.
Grumbling in frustration I followed the lubing of the morphine and tightened my hand as much as I could around the thin tube. With a swift yank my arm twitched as the cool air penetrated the hole in my skin. Immediately the above machine began beeping loudly. Gripping the handles of the hospital bed my arms shook and sweat beaded my skin as my muscles strained tiredly pulling myself upright. My head dropped again as the machine seemed to beep even louder ringing through my skull.
"Oh shit"
Lifting my head I stared back at Nick at the doorway of my room. His eyes were wide and a suddenly he smiled.
" Yo guys he's up!" He yelled hastily stepping back out of the door.
As I grabbed ahold of my head I closed my eyes with the only thing that really mattered to me on my mind.
Mia
I needed to see her.
Barely any time passed before the door to my room open again with Nick guiding the crowd. My dad was right behind with the faces of all of my closest friends in tow. Jake, Eli, Dom, Donte, Savino, his dad Gerald, and even Monty. Just as my eyebrows furrowed in confusion a doctor with a few nurses hurried in last. Immediately they began reading the monitors and grabbed the lubing off of the floor. Without words dad grabbed ahold of me, almost pulling me out of the bed. The bones of my shoulder blades shifted underneath the crushing embrace.
" Don't you ever scare me like that again" he muttered into my ear grabbing ahold of my head.
" You can let go now" my lips cracked as a weak smile rose up my face.
Releasing my head dad's eyes glistened as he ran his hand over the back of my head. Before stepping back as one of the nurses handed me a cup of cold water. Slowly the cold liquid coated my mouth and rehydrated my painfully dry throat.
" It's good to see you up bro, we thought you were dead" Dom chuckled light heartedly.
" You mean Nick hoped that he was dead" Jake spat sarcastically. Swiftly Eli and Gerald both smacked the sides of Jake's head.
I believed it
" What?!" Jake yelled shielding himself with his arms.
" Don't ever fuckin say that shit " Nick spat bitterly
Brushing past the nurse Nick extended his hand and as I clasped his hand with mine, he pulled me closer wrapping his arm around my back in a embrace.
With his head next to mine he spoke in a low tone. " Regardless of everything you're still my brother, it is really good to see you up bro"
As I let out a low dry chuckle Nick stepped away and the nurse handed me another cup of water.
" Hello Kaleb I'm Dr. Brunswick, I'm one of the doctors that checked you in when you landed. They had to remove a bullet from your shoulder but lucky the one in your abdomen went straight through your back, nothing fatal was damaged. But you did lose quite a bit of blood and that's what gave everyone here such a scare. So there's naturally going to be some pain and stiffness so you'll have take it easy. So over all how are you feeling?" The doctor said sternly as he gripped the clipboard ready to write whatever I had to say."
As I pondered it, I nodded. "I'm alright, I'm just tired"
As the words left my lips one of the nurses began to reattach the morphine tube. Immediately I pulled my hand away.
" No, no more of that"
" You need it, for your pain" she insisted
Looking away from her I looked back at the doctor. "Can I get some pills or something for the pain? The morphine has my head all loopy I don't like it"
Scribbling on the paper he nodded. " Absolutely but before I can prescribe you anything we need run a few tests. Let me put the order in and the nurses will be back for you "
" Alright"
With that the doctor left with the nurses in tow and my gaze fell to Jake, Dom and then Monty.
" I have to ask, what are you all doing here?"
" You were shot" Donte spat obviously getting a chuckle from Savino.
" Twice" Savino confirmed.
" I've been shot before, you guys are acting like I died"
" You did die Kaleb" Gerald's deep voice came out low.
" Your heart stopped for 2 minutes" Dad said glumly taking the glasses from his face and wiping the lens with the ends of his shirt.
Frowning I tried to rake my brain as to what all happened that day. Everything was fuzzy and none of the pieces seemed to fit.
" You guys came all the way to Italy for me? If I didn't know better I would have thought that you guys loved me"
" We do love you bro, we're family" Savino insisted
" Besides.. we're not in Italy" Nick finished softly while looking away getting scolding looks from around the room.
" What are you talking about?" My eyes narrowed as I asked.
The room fell silent as everyone looked at each other in contemplation on what to say.
" Don't get quiet on me now, you loud bastards. What the fuck is Nick talking about?"
"We're in back in DyverCity" Dad informed me. " Once you were stable enough you were transferred to DyverCity Presbyterian hospital "
" Why?"
" Tony's trial is in a few days, it actually looks good" Gerald added with a grin. With the deep bags under his eyes it was obvious that having to carry Tony's duties were weighing down on him.
Just like a light switch a thought popped into my head.
" The trial? How long have I been out?"
With a deep breath dad stared back into my face.
" Two weeks"
Two weeks... Fourteen days. Immediately my heart began to race as I remembered why I was shot in the first place. As I looked at the faces in front of me I felt myself break into a cold sweat. Marco wasn't here and neither was.. my Mia.
" Where's Mia?"
" Kaleb-"
" Where is she?!" I barked unable to control the rage brewing inside of me. The machines over head beeped alarmingly at my elevated heart rate. " She's not-"
" With the Bravata's? No" Dad confirmed
I could practically feel the tears at the back of my eyes as I released a shaky breath. " I was about to have a heart attack"
" We could see that" Eli stated nonchalantly nodding towards the monitors. " I'm sure she's fine"
"What's that supposed to mean?" You don't know if she's okay?"
" No"
"Mia's gone Kaleb" Jake added before I could say anything else.
" What do you mean gone?"
" Mia is literally her name" Savino chuckled softly. " M. I. A she broke out of Vito's cellar-"
" The cellars.. why the fuck would you put her in there?!"
" The bitch is nuts Kaleb, she went fucking crazy when we got to Vito's. We had no other choice"
" No other choice huh have you forgotten what the cellars are for?! You literally set her to get raped by Achille"
" Broken in you mean? Achille already knew not to touch her-"
" By who's orders, yours? Who's idea was that?"
" Vito gave the order but I told Achilles"-
" When the fuck does Achille listen to you?"
" Man fuck you! this is what I get for trying to look out for everybody huh?" Savino barked with a incredulous scoff he turned on his heel striding out of the room.
" Don't mind him, everyone's emotions are running high" Gerald insisted furrowing his thick eyebrows reassuringly.
" I know you are worried about your girl but she's Tobias's daughter, she's resourceful. Achille couldn't have done anything to her if he wanted to"
" How could you be sure of that? Were you there?"
" Kaleb-" dad interjected abruptly
" Because she was gone by the time I went to get her" Nick cut in. Cupping his hands together he visibly tried to keep himself calm as he shifted to each of his feet.
" Days passed before Ash let it slip that she and Marco were in the cellars. When I went down to get them, they were gone"
" And the cameras, I know the Ccvt picked up something"
" They did"
"And?"
Sighing Dad and Gerald exchanged glances before turning back towards me. " Mia and Marco stole enough ammo and guns for a small army and hot wired Cassidy's 1967 Caddy and left"
" And Vito just let them leave?" I asked as my fingers went up to my temples. As I tried to wrap my brain around what was happening a dull long pain stretched through the inside of my mind. Mia left, she knew I was shot and I was hurt and she left me.. it didn't make sense.
" I keep telling you guys modern vehicles are the way to go " Eli sighed frustratedly as he leaned against the wall.
" You keeping saying that like people can't hot wire modern cars" Donte spat bitterly rolling his eyes.
" Sure they can but that's like hot wiring a computer and I've seen Mia and Marco's grades, they are not hot wiring a computer. But hot wiring a old fashioned dinosaur car, is child's play" Eli shrugged with a grin.
" I thought you liked my car" Jake muttered with a pointed look
" That car is an antique that you will die in because the airbags don't work"
" Jesus, that's dark" Monty mused nonchalantly scratching the back of his head as he looked out into the hallway.
" What the fuck am I speaking Hungarian?" I asked dropping my hands from my head. " If you all are just going to ignore my question, then you can get the fuck out!" I spat impatiently gesturing towards the doorway.
" Whoa"
"It's always a good show when the nice one goes crazy" Nick muttered nonchalantly with an amused grin as he pulled open a bag of chips. Swiftly Eli plucked the bag from Nick's hands. Dumbfounded Nick stared at his empty hand and clapped his fingers together like the bag was still there but only invisible.
" What the hell" immediately he looked up and around until his eyes landed on Eli with his chips in hand. Just as Nick went to snatch the bag away Eli moved his hand out of reach.
" You can't eat in here"
" Fuck that Kaleb doesn't care so give me my shit, you store bought mutant ninja fuckin turtle"
" I care, it's disrespectful"
" Oh my God" Jake sighed frustratedly as Dom let out a loud laugh Monty hide his face inside of his shirt as he gripped his sides obvious laughter. Gerald wore a easy grin waiting for dad's word while Savino and Donte watched in amusement watching for the first blow. As my skull pulsated in a sharp pain my fingertips went to my temples again.
" Kaleb?" dad urged in a soft tone placing his hand on my shoulder. I didn't want this, I didn't want any of this and the voices, each one was more jarring than the last and the only voice I prayed to hear wasn't here. I needed to see her smile, smell her skin and feel her soft hands. I asked her to marry me to be my wife. To stand by me always, I never thought Mia would run, she was fearless and she laughed at the thought of death so I always believed she would be here..
But at the first sight of trouble she ran..
she left me.
As the pain moved to the back of my eyes my fingertips curled into fists. Staring at the faces around the room I wasn't happy, I was pissed. It was the same old story no one in this room gave a fuck about me, it was the principal, it was the loyalty that held us together that made them all be here. If you are really stand with Ghidorah you'd show up if someone in the inner circle was hurt or dying. It was no only disgraceful but disrespectful if you didn't at least send get well flowers with a bullshit generic note attached. There was no love, no real friendship and the only one that really gave a flying fuck if I lived or died was my dad.. like always just the two of us.
Mia.. she didn't give a fuck about me.. it was painfully obvious.
" Get the fuck out!" My throat strained painfully as I roared gripping the railings to my bed.
With an odd hush everyone stared back at me.
" All of you get the fuck out of my room now" I almost I didn't recognize my own voice as it trembled threateningly with each syllable.
" What's wrong with you? You gotta shit" Nick spat bitterly matching my glare.
" You are, what the fuck is wrong with me" I spat. " You don't really give a fuck if I died or not. You only ever wanted Mia, that's the only person you give a fuck about besides Tony"
" For real" Nick chuckled bitterly with a snuff. " I grew up with you, I had no siblings so you were my brother. Blood relation, Ghidorah loyalty or not. You were my fuckin brother but I'm the problem" with a bitter chuckle he shook his in disbelief almost as if he didn't recognize me.
" Fuck this" Nick turned on his heel striding out of the door.
" Nicky!" Gerald called out before nudging Savino. " Go get him"
Hastily Savino started after Nick and less than a minute passed before Nick and Savino came back into view. But now Nick was anxious shifting from one foot to another.
" Look I don't know how hard you hit your head when you hit that concrete but who ever this is needs to go the fuck back in that head of yours before I put you in this hospital permanently" he spat bitterly glaring back at me.
" You need to realize where you are at Nicholas" Dad snapped impatiently.
As Nick's eye darted around his demeanor changed almost instantly. " You guys know me, I would never do that "
" Yes you would" I stated staring back into his face. " That was a threat and you meant it. It's just like you said we're brothers so I know you better than anyone in this room. So listen me to now, I want all of you except for my dad to leave.. right now"
" Fine but we'll be back later" Dom stated pointedly before nudging Donte and they headed out of the room.
" Hope you feel better" Monty added with a forced smile.
" Shut up Monty" Nick spat nudging him out of the room.
" Kaleb" Jake tossed me a small rectangle shaped box. With my slowed coordination skills I didn't even try to catch it. Pulling the box open a top of the line cell phone laid inside. " Call me when you get released we have things to do "
I only nodded and Jake left with Eli then Gerald and Savino followed after with Dad's acknowledgement.
Just in case you forgot. ↓↓↓
_______________________________
Daddy #1
Daddy #2
______________________
No we're not done ☺️
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As the door slowly closed with a subtle click, dad sighed tiredly pulling the glasses from his face, folded the legs then slid them into the pocket of his shirt.
" It was a set up"
" Made by Levi?"
" No"
Raising a eyebrow dad shook his head glumly. " Vito"
My stomach clenched tightly as my skin broke out into a cold sweat with my pulse racing beneath my skin.
" What?"
" I know.. remember when I told you that there was were reports about Bravata's youngest son was spotted around Montalcino?"
" You said to keep a look out, it was too early for them to be there"
" It wasn't a coincidence Vito gave the Bravata's the green light to come early "
It was fucked up on every level. Raul had broken the timeless law of the underground but Vito had broken the code within Ghidorah itself.
" But why?"
" From what I could gather from his non sense is that he anticipated Mia taking the bullet for you"
" He wanted Mia to die"
" As he put it, he claimed you needed a dose of reality. Vito felt like you were distracted because of Mia, but if she was gone you could get back to being yourself"
" If Mia were hurt I would have gone completely crazy. I wouldn't be like myself at all"
" You mean like how you are now, lashing out at all of your friends. Your brothers"
" Dad-"
" No, I understand you are upset but they are not your enemy. Everyone that was in here is only a small part of those in your corner Kaleb. Vito's resolution was a bit unethical but he has a point. You have changed because of Mia and you owe everyone an apology"
Laying back against the pillow, I sighed frustratedly unable to not picture her beautiful face. " I love her"
" I know and you've been lacking because of it. You're a boss Kaleb you need to go back to acting like it. Mia made you soft and now she's gone... So what are you going to do?"
" I don't know" a frown fell across my face.
" I know it hurts"
" That's an understatement" I hummed. My chest actually hurt and there was a dull ache throughout my whole body just like if I were having a withdrawal. I couldn't help but crave her presence like an addict.
" Now I don't want you to think I'm condoning Vito's actions. I will deal with him myself if he weren't a part of Ghidorah I would take one of his son's just show him what it feels like. But I need you to do something for me"
" What?"
"I need you to sit back and really think about everything that has happened. Mia in particular. You are better than this and you deserve better than someone who runs when things get scary."
Dropping his gaze I nodded as the pain in my chest intensified.
" I just don't understand it, it's not like Mia to run"
" Kaleb-"
" Something else happened, didn't it?"
Sighing Dad leaned back in his seat. " Vito doesn't care for the Langley's and while you were fighting for your life Vito made sure Mia suffered. No food, no water alone for days. He wanted to punish her for what happened to you, he wanted to break her headstrongness she inherited from Liana but he forgot that she has that same psychotic tick that Tobias had"
" What do you mean?"
" Mia snapped down in those cellars, it's best if you kept your distance"
" I can't do that"
" Kaleb-"
" I love her, I asked her to marry me Dad.."
The heavy silence hung between us as we stared back at me.
" I was going to pull every string I could to protect her and she left me. I need answers "
With a little chuckle dad shook his head. " Sometimes I hate how much we are alike"
" Where is she?"
"She's not in Italy anymore"
" How did she get out? Do the Langleys have connections we don't know about?"
" It's possible, everyone that Tobias came into contact with admired him"
Slowly I nodded as the pieces inside of my head fell into place. "And Vito he just let them go?"
" Vito didn't want them there to begin with, he didn't exactly have them hunted down or try to stop them from leaving"
" So he just had them watched until he knew for sure they were gone"
" And where did she go?"
" I assumed back here but nobody has claimed to have seen her or Marco"
" Brazil?"
" We're on the outs with Raul, and he's a traitor. Even if I did call I doubt he would answer"
" What about-"
" Kaleb" dad sighed with an apologetic look in his eyes. " Maybe this is a sign?"
"I'm getting my answers but if I'm being honest all of this is exhausting, I think need to go back to sleep"
Dad nodded in agreement. You should some rest before those come back for you."
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Groggily I shifted against the unpleasantly soft pillow beneath my head. The bed had no stability and even my neck was stuck stiffly. Rolling my eyes behind my lids they weren't heavy but incredibly dry pointing out how dehydrated I was. I almost wished that I hadn't rejected the IV the nurse wanted to reattach me to. My test had came back fine and the only thing I was attached to now the heart monitor. As good as my tests results were the doctor still wanted me to stay a few more nights.
Opening my eyes again they widened at the familiar face, nonchalantly skimming over the newspaper. As I pulled myself upwards their attention immediately snapped towards me.
" Hey sleeping beauty " Haden Cooper grinned folding his newspaper before casting it aside.
" You don't have to humor me, I'm fully aware that I look like shit" I grumbled tiredly rubbing the crust from the corners of my eyes. " What are you doing here anyway?"
"News travels fast and I had business nearby so I thought I'd come by and see how are you were "
" You mean you wanted to see how critical my condition was?"
Haden let out a unamused chuckle. " I'm no fool Kaleb, I know you're strong. I was sure you were fine.. physically. I wanted to know you were actually feeling? I know you were shot but how are things" with his middle and index finger he put them to his temple. " Up here"
Huffing I laid down against the bed.
" And that girl of yours? You're not still fighting are you? We didn't see her on the way in, if Mica came with me he would have been disappointed"
" Where is he?"
" Leon got in contact with me when he heard we were in town. He invited us to experience the" an comfortable expression filled his face. " Castle. Bordellos aren't my thing but Mica and Enzo graciously took upon the invitation. I'm sure I'll have to drag them out of there but anyways back to the question at hand. Where's your girl?"
" I don't know"
" You don't know?" Haden asked like he was confused by the question itself.
" When I was shot Mia ran, no one knows where her and her brother are.." an overwhelming sadness washed over me as thoughts replayed in my head.
" So now what?"
" I don't know"
" How could you-"
" I said I don't fucking know! Can you lay the fuck off?!"
" No" Haden spat incredulously. " In the life we live you don't get to not know.. you already know this so I shouldn't have to tell you"
Sighing I looked away from him as I licked my unbearably dry lips. " If Joella watched you get shot and when you woke up in the hospital she wasn't there. Then everyone tells you she ran, she left you to pretty much fucking die what would you do?"
With his hardened stern expression Haden actually hesitated. " My Ella wouldn't do that to me"
" Yeah, well" I gestured to the bandages at my right shoulder and my left side. " I thought the same about Mia"
Sighing Haden leaned forward with his elbows on his knees and tented his fingers together. " Let me ask you this. Do you still love her? And would you do anything to get her to get her back?"
" Yeah" I nodded. " That's not a question"
" Then how do you not know what to do? Go get your girl"