Rihai

Tredici

Couldn't leave you guys hanging for long.

🍂

Fear. It's grips ones heart, clenches it in its vice grip and then leaves it battered and bruised. Everyone fears. And everyone fears to lose. Some to lose a chance, some to lose a battle and some to lose the love of their life. His, seemed to be the latter.

His fists clenched and his mind went blank. How does one react to this? Just when he was ready to move on from his anger, her betrayal, everything halted to a zero.

Nothing. He could hear nothing. His brothers were yelling, his sisters in law were yelling but he heard nothing. He saw nothing but blood. He hated blood. He was the only one who had seen his mother lay lifeless in a pool of her own blood and he has hated the sight since. But that image is now gone. In its place is a new one. His wife, unconscious on the floor, her blood enveloping her in scarlet. His ears rung. He heard the beeping of a hospital machine. The line straight, and deadly.

Armando turned into a statue. He was right there with her almost fifteen minutes ago and she was fine. There was no blood. And she wasn't on the floor, looking pale and lifeless. His life long trauma returned. Would he lose her the same way he lost his mother?

"Armando!" His shoulders were grabbed and Romeo screamed in his face. "Get your head straight!" Armando blinked at his brother, his bearings finally returning. He looked at his wife, who was held by both her sisters, then at Aurelio who was on the phone, barking orders at a guard to bring out the cars. He looked back at his wife's pale body-

No. It wasn't a body. She is alive and she will be fine. He ran upto her and pulled her into his arms, out of her sisters grip. Her wrists weren't slit, it wasn't a suicide attempt but he was yet to find the wound.

He was running on thin ice. The time was of the essence. Armando ran out the room, down the hall and out of the house, followed by everyone else. His wife was tucked into his chest as he sat in his car. Aurelio drove it at full speed, not caring about anything else but reaching the hospital on time.

Armando didn't look away from Aadya. He didn't care that his clothes were soaked by her blood, he didn't care that he would probably have to torch this car later or he would be reminded of this horrible day everyday. He just wanted to see her fine.

"Please don't leave me. I am sorry. I was stupid to be angry at you, please, mio dolce, please." He whispered low enough for only her to hear. If she could hear him that is. His whispers didn't even reach his ears but he hoped they reached hers. He couldn't muster up talking. He couldn't speak louder.

"You wanted me to forgive you? I do. I would never be upset with you ever fucking again, I promise but please just come back to me." If she was to open her eyes now, she would see the man she thought a stone, cry. He hadn't cried in years. He stopped crying after his parent's funeral.

But he loved her more than anything and watching her slip through his fingers was enough to bring him to his knees. Crying was nothing.

The hospital finally came into vision and Aurelio swirled the car around to stop it right infront of the gate. There was no time for anyone to contemplate anything. Armando ran out of the car with his wife in his arms, screaming for a doctor.

The doctor came and took her away. If his heart was ever ripped out of his chest, he was sure he would feel the same. He sat on the nearest chair, glaring at his hands that were covered in her blood. How did he go from not being able to look at blood to now having it on his own hands?

His white shirt was crimson, so were his hands and some blood had even dripped own on his brown Oxfords. He didn't look away. Not once did he bat an eyelash as the pain he buried in his heart returned.