Sufferable Acceptance

Fifty-Four

Amelia

I hardly slept last night. The images of Dominic and Nikolas were busy bouncing around in my head. I couldn't believe I actually killed him. Dominic was gone. He was a terrible person, so why did I feel bad for what I'd done?

When I pulled the trigger I didn't see a man who was trying to destroy the Romano's I saw the man who pulled me out of hell at the company and helped me get back on my feet. No matter who Dominic turned out to be I would always be grateful to him for saving me all those years ago. That was where the guilt was coming from. I didn't kill Dominic Petrov. I killed a man I once considered family.

I wanted to lie in bed all day and do nothing, but my muscles and bruises were telling me it was time to get out of bed. I had hardly moved all night and my body was aching. Stretching awake I rolled over and opened my eyes. To my surprise I was met with an already awake Theo watching me as I slept.

"Jesus Theo!" I gasped.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I just can't believe this is real. You're really laying next to me." He said brushing a few strands of hair behind my ear.

"How are you feeling?" He asked.

"Sore. Everything hurts. Will you help me walk over to the bathroom?" I asked.

"Sure." He said giving me a kiss on my forehead.

Theo steadied me as I walked over to the bathroom. Once in the bathroom I saw myself in the mirror. I looked terrible. The cuts and swelling on my lip and cheek are going to take a while to heal. It only got worse the more I looked. My collarbone had formed a giant bruise that was sore to the touch. The cut on my rib was worse than anything else on my body. I should have taken care of it earlier, but I had nothing with me and I didn't want to stop. Hopefully the swelling would go down and it wouldn't get infected.

"I look like shit." I mumbled.

I wanted to look away from myself, but I couldn't pull my eyes off of me. I don't think I've ever looked worse than this. Not even when I lived at the company. I gave out a sigh and walked over to the shower. Theo helped me get out of my pajamas and into the shower. After a long hot shower I dried my hair, rebandaged my cut, and put on some fresh clothes.

Walking out of the bathroom I heard Theo arguing with someone.

"She's not ready. You shouldn't be bothering her today. She obviously needs to rest." He yelled at Marcus.

"Then go tell that to your dad! I'm just the messenger."

"What's going on?" I asked.

Theo saw me behind him and sighed, "Dad wants to see you. But I'm telling Marcus here that you need your rest and more time to heal."

"I'm fine. Let's go. If he says it's urgent we should go find him." I said leaving the room.

Following behind Marcus Theo and I headed to Lorenzo's office. Waiting for us was Charlie and Gio.

"Amelia, good morning. How are you feeling?" Lorenzo asked.

"Still a little sore, but doing better." I lied.

I saw Theo roll his eyes in disagreement.

"Amelia, this family is so grateful for what you've done for us. There's nothing we could ever do to repay you. You have sacrificed a lot for us and I'm thankful." He paused his thought.

"But?" I asked knowing there was more he wasn't telling me.

"But, it's just the beginning. You were right. There was an attempted attack on the house yesterday. Your father's men attempted to raid the house. They were unsuccessful, but I'm sure they'll try again." He told me.