𝐓𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐚𝐦𝐞// 𝐓𝐎𝐌 𝐊𝐀𝐔𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐙

Shutdown

🎧please use the music provided above for a better experience🎧

**Toms POV**

I sprint deeper into the hospital, heading down the first hallway labeled "A." My heart races as I quickly scan each door along the way:

- Room 350A
- Room 351A
- Room 352A
- Room 353A
- Room 354A
- Room 355A
- Room 356A

Finally, I reach my destination, Room 357A.

I attempted to open the door, but it was locked. My anxiety growing, I began to bang on the door relentlessly until a nurse came to the door, barely opening it, her head peeking out.

"Excuse me, sir—" she began, but I cut her off and pushed the door further open, brushing past her. That's when I saw her on the surgery table, surrounded by tubes and monitored by beeping machines to keep her alive. I turned to the nurse, gripping her shoulders.

"What happened? Is she going to be okay?" I asked frantically.

"Yes, she's going to be fine; she just has a torn muscle and a broken rib," the nurse stammered, growing tense in my grip.

I released her with a big sigh of relief, then walked out of the room and leaned against the wall.

"Tom!" Bill's voice called out, and I turned to see Bill, Gustav, and Georg approaching, all of them clearly worried.

"Where is she? What happened?" Bill stammered.

I pointed to the room in front of me.

"They say she's going to be okay; she's in surgery right now."

"Jesus, fuck." Bill exclaims, releasing a sigh of relief.

"Guys, I don't mean to add any more stress, but Natalia was just on TV. What if Caterina's men come here looking for her?" Georg raises a valid concern.

I lift my head, realizing there's another problem to deal with. Fuck. "Bill, call some of our men to guard every single hospital exit. Nobody leaves or enters this hospital until Natalia is awake." I say sternly. Bill nods, and the others follow him.

Now, I'm left alone, waiting anxiously for Natalia's recovery.

————

Time seems to have lost all meaning as I continue to fixate on that door. It could have been hours or days; I've lost track entirely. Finally, a team of nurses emerges from the room, and I quickly stand.

"The surgery went well, but we can't predict when she'll wake up," a doctor says, wiping sweat from his forehead.

I nod and push my way through the medical staff, entering her room. She lies there, looking paler than I've ever seen her, her beautiful face now has a large scar across one side of her face from her eyebrow down to her cheek. I pull a chair up to her bedside and take a seat. Her hand feels ice-cold as I clasp it in mine, trying to infuse warmth.

"You fucking idiot, why did you have to be so reckless?" I mumble, my voice filled with a mix of frustration and fear, tears threatening to break free.

———

**Bills POV**

February 25, 2011

It's been five long days since Natalia's accident, and she still hasn't shown any signs of waking up. The hospital remains on lockdown, and the guys and I have reluctantly returned to the house to keep business afloat. However, Tom hasn't left the hospital's confines since then. In fact, I'm not even sure if he's stepped out of Natalia's room. I'm growing increasingly concerned for him; he hasn't eaten, bathed, or engaged with anyone. He just sits there, a statue of worry, never taking his eyes off her.

I decided to bring Tom a fresh change of clothes and some food, hoping to pull him out of this depressive state.

"Tom?" I say softly as I enter the room, but he doesn't even acknowledge my presence. I take a seat beside him and place my hand on his back.

"Tom, you need to eat." I insist, holding up the food.

"Not hungry." he murmurs softly, pushing the food away while still keeping his gaze fixed on Natalia.

"Tom, I'm serious; you're starving yourself." I say, my tone growing firmer.

"I'm not doing anything until she wakes up." he replies, turning to look me dead in the eyes. His gaze is vacant, dark bags underlining his eyes, and he appears utterly worn out.

"Jesus, Tom, have you even slept?" I ask, furrowing my eyebrows.

He doesn't respond, merely redirecting his attention back to Natalia.

The situation is taking a toll on Tom like nothing I've ever seen, not since the loss of our father. I've witnessed him kill his girlfriends over issues like this to just avoid dealing with them or simply abandoning them in the hospitals or on the side of the road, left them to die, but Natalia has changed him in a way I could've never imagined. It's difficult to determine whether this transformation is for the better or worse, and it fills me with worry.

I'm anxious that Natalia may remain unconscious for longer than anticipated, and I'm even more concerned that my brother's intense devotion to her is slowly deteriorating his own well-being. The weight of the situation is becoming unbearable for me, and it's a challenging ordeal for everyone involved.

I sat down beside him, unable to bring myself to leave his side. The sight of my brother in such a depressive state was heart-wrenching, but I couldn't stand the idea of him sitting there alone with his grief. The room was filled with a heavy, oppressive silence, broken only by the soft beeping of the machines monitoring Natalia.

As I gazed at him, his face etched with worry and exhaustion, it felt like a gut-punch of sorrow. I knew that this situation had taken a toll on him, and the thought of Natalia's prolonged unconsciousness was an unbearable weight on our shoulders.

I reached out, placing a hand on his trembling shoulder, trying to offer some semblance of comfort in the face of this heartrending ordeal. My presence was my silent vow to be there, be there for my big brother.

———

Hours slipped away in utter silence as we remained in that room. My brother's hand remained tightly clasped with Natalia's, and from the corner of my eye, I could see him struggling to keep his eyes open, to hold his head up.

"Tom, please rest for a bit. I'll wake you up if she wakes up." I implored, my hand gently rubbing circles on his back in a feeble attempt to provide comfort.

He didn't respond, but his head gradually lowered onto Natalia's arm. His fingers tenderly caressed her hand, and, with a few tears escaping his closed eyes, he finally allowed himself a moment of rest, even if it was fraught with worry and sorrow.

I watched my brother, his face etched with lines of unrelenting stress, even as he slept he still looked stressed. My fingers maintained their slow, rhythmic circles on his back, a desperate attempt to provide any modicum of comfort.

Just as my eyelids grew heavy, and I swayed back and forth on the edge of sleep, Tom's abrupt movement jarred me back to full alertness. His head shot up like a possessed man, eyes wide with hope and fear, fixated on Natalia.

"She twitched." he whispered, his voice quivering as his unwavering attention remained fixed on her.

Then, as if time stood still, a breathtaking moment unfolded before us. Natalia's fingers began to stir, and her eyelids fluttered. And, in an instant, her eyes burst open, the irises like windows into her returning consciousness.

Natalia is awake.