Destined

Chapter Twenty-Two

Elena

Fear.

I didn't know what else to feel but that one emotion. It was irrational to be afraid of Enzo, of going back home, but I was. I was utterly terrified of what would happen. It was strange. I shouldn't have been this scared to head home with Enzo. 

He's my brother; they were my family, and I should have been happy to be home and safe with them, yet all I could feel was dread pooling in my stomach. My stomach was twisted into knots, and I felt nauseous and dizzy. 

I felt sick to my stomach, and I didn't know if it was because Danny and Connor had died before me, and I was still processing how they looked. Bile rose in my throat once more at the image of the bullet piercing through the center of their foreheads.

I clutched my stomach tighter to keep my contents from coming back up. Or because Enzo was looking at me with a murderous look from the rear-view mirror. Looking over at Enzo, I knew one thing was for sure. 

I didn't want to be here with him. I wanted to be with Oisín and Aofie back at home with my new family. It was horrible to think I sold my blood and my own family, but I didn't care how horrible I sounded. Oisín and Aofie were my family, and I wanted to be back with them. 

I was terrified of closing my eyes and seeing Danny's soulless eyes staring back into mine, so I remained alert. I must have been in shock or something because I still wasn't able to process everything.

Danny and Connor were shot right in front of me, and I blamed myself for forcing them to take me out, for making them such an easy target. They should have been home, guarding the doors and gates, not outside where anything could happen. 

I kept my hands on my lap, my nails almost breaking the skin of my wrists as he drove us to the Morelli house. Finally, the car stopped, and Enzo dragged me out of the car, only for me to throw up all over the ground. 

He let go and shouted in disgust, but I couldn't stop throwing up. I felt sick and dizzy, and I couldn't hold it back. It went on for a few minutes as I threw up everything in my stomach until I was gagging and could almost see blood coating the bile on the ground. 

Coughing, I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand and then wiped the tears that fell during my sick moment with the other hand.

"Cazzo! What the fucks the matter with you?" Enzo snarled.

(Translation: Fuck.)

"I don't feel good," I murmured, and I almost stumbled if he hadn't clutched my elbow.

"I don't fucking care. Get in the house." He opened the door and all but shoved me inside.

My mother and nonna were standing there, and just as I was about to run to them, they became a blur. My body was exhausted from everything that had happened. I fell to the ground and could almost hear the distant sounds of everyone screaming and crying in Italian.

**

I woke up with a pounding headache and groaned in pain as I tried to move. Then, I sat up and closed my eyes as if the room was still spinning around me. I rubbed my face aggressively and forced myself to calm down. 

That's when I saw a Band-Aid on the inside of my elbow. There was clear evidence of blood-stained through; it was like my body had caught up. I felt the ghost feeling of a needle poking through. I scratched at it nervously while looking around and saw that I was in some strange room. 

It wasn't my room, the one I grew up in. It was some weird room with no carpets or blankets. All there was the bed I was lying on, and that's it. There wasn't even a window or dresser or even a bathroom.