Sufferable Acceptance

Forty-Five

Amelia

Charlie and I drove around most of the night reaching out to old friends of Dominic. Many were less than willing to help us, but we hoped that the really angry ones would let Dominic know we were looking.

I was exhausted by the time Charlie and I pulled up to the house. I headed into the house looking for Theo, ready for bed. As soon as I walked into the house I was met with a dozen or more people sitting in the living room. They all stood when they heard us walk in. I looked around the room and found Theresa. It was obvious she was crying. When she saw me she let out a shriek that struck every bone in my body.

I looked around the room for Theo, but he wasn't there. I scanned the room again desperately.

"Where's Theo?" I asked.

No one answered me.

"Where's Theo?" Charlie asked this time.

Slowly Lorenzo walked up to me and Charlie. He put his hand on Charlie's shoulder and looked at me with worry on his face.

"There was an accident." He said. "Your mother, and Theo were out in the city and they were ambushed-".

I cut him off, "Where is he?" I asked again.

Someone from the living room crowd stepped forward. A woman who looked like a doctor approached me.

"He took a few bullets to the chest, and lost a lot of blood." She said.

I heard those words and my heart stopped. I couldn't feel my legs anymore. I would have fallen, but someone held me up.

"I was able to repair the arteries, but we will have to wait and see if he wakes up." She said, "He's downstairs in the infirmary, but he's in critical condition."

"I want to see him." I said.

The doctor gave a nod and led Charlie and me downstairs. I heard someone trying to talk to me as we walked down, but everything was muffled. I walked with Theresa to the infirmary, but stopped when I got to the door. I couldn't force myself to go in.

Theresa saw me stop at the door, and held my hand as we walked into his room. Lying in a hospital bed was Theo. His whole chest and torso was covered in bandages. I saw minor injuries on his arms, he looked so still and peaceful.

I looked to the doctor, "How long has he been out?" I asked.

"Almost seven hours, but don't panic. That's to be expected. His body is trying to recover from bullets and a major surgery. What he needs now is time to rest, and to let his body heal." She explained.

"How did this happen?" I asked, looking at Lorenzo.

"Amelia, we can talk about that later. Right now you need to be with Theo." He said.

"Tell me." I demanded.

"We have street cam footage that shows a couple of your father's men in the neighborhood at the time of the attack. We think Nikolas ordered the attack, and your father was following Theresa and Theo as soon as they left the house." He said.

I looked back down at Theo and could feel tears on my cheeks. I fell to my knees beside his bed, "I'm so sorry." I cried, "I'm so sorry!"

"It's all my fault. He did this. It's my fault. I'm so sorry." I choked, losing my breath. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest.

"It's my fault!" I screamed. Between cries I could feel my lungs start to fail, and I couldn't breathe. I hit my chest trying to get any air flow to my lungs. Everyone stood in shock as they watched me struggle on the floor. The doctor held my shoulders and tried getting me breathing again.