Mafia Kingpin: A Dark, Thrilling Organized Crime Romance

88

CHAPTER 11

RECOVERY

§ LOUIS §

I groggily lay down on the hospital bed, rubbing my swollen eyes. A machine was beeping next to me. I didn't know how long I'd been here.

I couldn't even remember being admitted here. Everything felt like a blur. I vaguely remembered the night of the party...

But after that, everything went black. And I didn't know what to think.

I thought I was going to die. I'd been praying to the Lord. Praying for redemption. Praying for forgiveness for my sins. I thought I would be six feet under right now...

But it turns out, God had different plans.

I took deep breaths in and out. I was still swollen, and my body still ached. I could barely move. I felt so stiff. This was like torture. It felt like somebody was continuously putting me through pain... Once I got numb, and I thought the pain had stopped, it would kick in all over again.

I blinked several times, to make sure that I wasn't hallucinating. To make sure that this was real. That I was actually here, alive, in a hospital room, and this wasn't just God playing tricks on me. It felt like I was here in my fucking spirit.

I could vaguely make out a woman in blue scrubs, running towards me, with a stethoscope around her neck.

"He's conscious," she said.

I rubbed my eyes again, and suddenly, everything became clear. I saw Mum running to the hospital bed, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Oh my God, Louis," she sobbed. "You're alive, you're alive, you're alive..."

"He's going to make it," the doctor reassured. "He's going to survive."

The doctor made her way out of the room, leaving me and Mum alone. I took deep breaths in and out, slowly removing the mask from my face so that I could talk to her properly.

I lay down exhausted, my whole body in agony.

"I love you son. You're going to be just fine," Mum sobbed. "I'm never going to let anything like this happen to you again. Ever. I'm going to take care of you properly."

I opened my mouth to speak. My throat felt so dry, it was hard to get any words out.

"Shhh, don't cry Mum. I'm fine," I mumbled. "I'll be out of here in no time."

I slumped backwards, my back searing in pain.

"You bet you will," Mum sniffed. "As if you got stabbed! On your birthday!"

My heart thumped as I recalled every painful moment of Thomas punching me, kicking me, stabbing me, beating me till I was blue in the face. My mind went into a state of shock. Everything was coming back to me so fast...

And as much as I was in agony right now, the only thing that I could think about...

Was Steve.