Forever

The silence

The sun was barely starting to come up as everyone got to the location. Polly and Ada stayed in the car, but were brought for immediate medical help. The cartel gave Scarlett more opium, so she would be out of it for a while.
          "Don't kill them...not yet. I want them to suffer." Tommy ordered.
          "Can we beat them up first?" Arthur asked.
          "Obviously, now let's go."
They all followed Tommy in and they beat up and shot the guys that tried to stop them. Everyone made sure to shoot them in the leg or arm just like Tommy ordered. They tied the cartel members up and put them in the truck. Tommy walked into the room Scarlett and Chelsea were in. The uncles, Arthur, and Kane followed him.
          "Jesus." Tony said.
Carmine crossed up and closed his eyes. Tommy ran over to Scarlett and got her down. He took his tie off and tied it around her thigh to stop the bleeding and then he added pressure with his handkerchief to hopefully stop the bleeding from her stomach wound.
          "Scarlett. Scarlett. Wake up."
She slowly opened her eyes and blinked a few times and then closed them. It's all he needed though. He saw that she was alive. He took off his suit jacket and put it on her body. Tommy looked over to see Kane shaking Chelsea, but she wasn't waking up.
          "Chels, come on baby. Wake up. Please wake up. You're okay. I'm here now. Please." Kane pleaded as he held her lifeless body.
Tommy looked up at Tony who was over there with Kane. Tony shook his head 'no' at Tommy. Tony took off his suit jacket so Kane could cover Chelsea up. They picked up their women and got in the cars. Tommy got in the back as he held Scarlett and Chelsea was in the other car. Arthur was driving as Ada and Polly sat in the front.
          "What's wrong with her, Thomas?" Polly asked.
          "Gunshot wound to the stomach, gash in her thigh, and she has bruises...I...I don't know what else."
          "There was a bed in there with handcuffs, Tom." Arthur said.
The girls turned to look at him.
          "Do you think?" Arthur trailed off.
          "I don't want to think about it, Arthur."
Tommy cleared his throat and ran his hand over Scarlett's face.
          "But yes....I think they did."
Arthur hit the steering wheel with his fists and kept driving. They got to the hospital and they got the bullet out and stitched up her stomach. They stitched her thigh and wrapped it. The doctors checked her out and everything else seemed okay. She would be sore and have bruises from all the hits. They had a warm blanket over her because her body temperature was alarmingly low as well. A few hours went by and Tommy sat there beside her bed.
          "Anything yet?" Tony asked as he walked in.
          "No, they heavily drugged her...they said it'll take a while for the drugs to leave her system." Polly said.
          "How's our boy?" Carmine asked.
          "He won't leave. He's just sitting in the corner as he stares at her body." Tony responded.
          "I'll go talk to him." Carmine said as he stood up.
He stopped as he saw Scarlett start to open her eyes. She looked confused as she looked at everyone. Everyone stayed silent as they looked at her.
          "Uncle Carmine."
He sat down on the bed.
          "Where's my father?" She asked.
Everyone looked at each other.
          "Where is he? Where is my dad?"
          "Scarlett...you don't remember?" Carmine said.
          "I want my father." She insisted.
          "Scarlett." Tommy said.
          "No. I want my dad. Where is my dad?" She said as she started to become hysterical.
Carmine held Scarlett's shoulders and looked at her.
          "I want my dad....I..I want my dad." She said as she started to cry.
No one knew what to say. They didn't know why she didn't remember. Carmine just pulled her into a hug as she cried. Tommy got everyone out of the room as he talked to the doctor.
          "She's coming off the drugs and her toxin levels were so high...it's incredible that she's even alive. There's no telling what drugs they gave her. She will be out of it and possibly hallucinate until the drugs are fully out of her system. They should pass through in a few hours."
Tommy nodded and then looked at Scarlett through the glass.
          "We can give her something to make her sleep for a while, so she's not confused or scared. By the time she wakes up, her system will be clean." The doctor said.
          "I think that's the best." Tommy said.
Tommy walked in with the doctor and then Carmine stood up. Tommy sat on the bed and held her hand.
          "Scarlett, they are going to give you something to make you sleep for a few hours, okay."
          "No..no. I don't want anything. Don't let them..don't let give me anything." She said as she started to freak out.
          "Scar, it's okay, I promise. You'll be okay."
          "No...no...I don't want it...please."
The doctor gave her the medicine and she was out quickly. Tommy pushed the hair out of her face and then kissed her cheek. Carmine walked over and patted Tommy on the shoulder.
          "She'll be okay. She's tougher than anyone."
Tommy nodded and then Carmine left to go talk to Kane. He got down to the morgue and sat down on the ground beside Kane.
          "My whole life...my whole entire life is laying right there on that fucking table." He said.
Carmine just looked at him. They have never seen Kane this way.
          "We were trying to start a family...how could she...how could she leave me." He said and then broke down.
Carmine hugged Kane as he cried.
          "I can't live without her. I...I don't want to." He sobbed.
A few hours passed and Scarlett started to wake up again. Tommy was the only one in the room this time.
          "Tommy?"
He sat on the bed as he held her hand.
          "I'm right here, Scarlett."
          "Myles and Bella?" She asked.
          "They're at home...they're okay."
          "And Chelsea..where's Chelsea? Is she okay?"
Before Tommy could respond, the two uncles and Kane walked in. Scarlett couldn't look up at him. She remembered what happened, but she didn't know about her best friend.
          "Where is she? Is she okay?" She asked again.
She looked up and saw Kane's face and she knew. She started to shake her head as her eyes teared up.
          "No...no. She can't be. Chels can't..." She trailed off.
They all watched her process the loss.
          "My best friend....We were just together...she was so excited to start a family....she...she was supposed to be a mother..she never got to be a mother." She said as she started to cry again.
Kane put his hands on his head and then walked out as Tony followed him. The doctor came in and just did a brief check up.
          "Everything looks good. We are just keeping you over night for observation."
          "No...no I'm not staying. I don't feel safe here."
          "Mrs. Shelby." The doctor started.
          "No. I want to go home. I want to go home now."
          "You need to stay for observation."
          "No. Please..I just want to go home." She cried. 
The tears were streaming down her face as she looked at Tommy.
          "I want to go home. Please take me home, Tommy." She cried.
He nodded and she leaned into him as he hugged her. It broke him to see her like this.
          "I'll take you home. Shhh...it's okay. We're going home." He said as he put his hand over the back of her head.
          "Our doctor from New York should be here within the hour. She'll be staying at the house." Carmine told the doc.
          "As long as there's a medical professional there, you can take her home." The doctor said and then walked out.
Carmine closed the blinds and then walked out. Tommy helped Scarlett up and then got her dressed. They got her home and she went straight to her bathroom to shower. Scarlett hasn't said a word since she told Tommy to take her home. She hasn't even looked up at anyone. Bella walked into the room and over to Tommy.
          "Where's mommy?"
          "She's taking a shower. She doesn't feel good."
          "Is she okay?"
          "Yes, but she just needs to rest, okay? I'll let you see her in a little bit."
          "Okay." She said as she hugged him and then walked out.
Scarlett turned the water as hot as it could go. She scrubbed her skin as hard as she could, but she couldn't get rid of that feeling. She got out and put on Tommy's t-shirt as she stared at herself in the mirror. She had a stitched up forehead and a badly bruised cheek and eye. Her hands shook as she lifted her shirt and looked at the new stitches. Eventually she walked out and Tommy looked up at her. She just got in the bed as she stayed silent. He walked over to the bed and kissed her forehead and started to walk away, but she grabbed his hand. He got in bed and just held her. The silence spoke louder than any words ever could.