Save Me

Chapter 17

"Alright, when you're allowed to leave in the morning as long as tonight goes well, I'm gonna tell you what you need to do while at home," Doc starts off once Alexi has left the room.

"No need, Doc, I know the rundown of healing from a gunshot wound," I murmur with a small smile. "Not the first one I've had, and won't be the last."

"Okay then, just behave, or I'll have you brought back here to heal," he threatens, and I know he's being serious.

"I understand, Doc," I mumble, picking at the hem of the blanket that's covering my waist.

He leaves after giving my covered foot a gentle squeeze, leaving me alone with my thoughts, and let me tell you that this is never a good thing. Guilt, shame, and hatred course through my entire body about my proposition to Theo, not being home to care and spend time with Lucca, and having to recover from a wound. I miss Gabriele, and feel guilty that I can't move on from him, and our relationship, and not being able to give Alexi a fair try at a romantic relationship. Eventually, I fall asleep, and throughout the night, Doc or Theo come into the room to check on me, giving me pain relief, and changing the dressing on the wound. By eight a.m., I've probably gotten four hours of sleep, and I'm beyond ready to go home, and sleep in my own bed, and see my son.

"Alright Milan, you're free to leave once someone from your family arrives to escort you home," Theo states, entering the area I'm located, and gives me a soft smile.

"Awesome, I'm so ready to sleep in my own bed, and see Lucca," I groan with a loud sigh of relief.

He gives me a grin, nodding his head; "I know it sucks being here with Doc and I constantly checking in on you. I need you to come back in a week, so I can check your wound, and remove the stitches."

Nodding, giving him my promise that I'll return in a week when Alexi, Romeo, and Lucca enter the room. Lucca cheers as he runs to the bed where I'm sitting up, and he tosses the clothing they brought me to change into.

"Thank you, buddy," I praise, using my good arm, wrapping this around his waist to help him onto the bed next to me, despite the pain that this causes me.

Kissing his temple with a grin as he settles himself next to me with his own grin, and he snuggles into my side. He mumbles a 'welcome,' too, and then he looks up at his uncle and Alexi, both are staring at Lucca and I with soft smiles.

"Once I'm changed, Theo said I can leave with you guys," I mumble, kissing Lucca's head again before grabbing the pile of clothes, and carefully standing off the bed to the bathroom, so I can change.

I don't wait for a reply from either of them as I walk toward the bathroom slowly. By the time I finish changing into my clothes, I'm out of breath, and in pain, but I'll take some pain reliever when we get back to the house. Exiting the bathroom, I toss the hospital gown into the bin to be washed later, and walk back to Alexi, Lucca, and Romeo, and plaster a fake smile onto my lips, so they don't worry about me, especially Lucca. I can tell by Romeo and Alexi's facial expressions, they don't buy my fake smile, but thankfully Lucca doesn't understand that I'm in pain.

"I'm ready to leave," I mumble, and Lucca hops off the table with Alexi's help, and Lucca runs over to me, and grabs my good hand that I'm holding out toward him.

"Let's go then, and once we're home, you're gonna rest either in your room, or on the couch in the living room," Romeo states, and his tone leaves no room to argue with him, not that I'm gonna argue with him anyway.

"Papa, we wac' 'Bluey'?" Lucca sweetly requests, and I instantly agree to his request because why not?

Arriving back at the house, we walk inside, and are met with Papa and Da sitting in the living room, and they softly hug me before insisting that I sit on the couch. Sitting in the corner of the couch, I pull the throw blanket off the back of the couch, and cover Lucca and me with it, and Da turns on 'Bluey' for Lucca. He lays his head on my chest, on my good side, and we watch the show, and Alexi hands me a glass of water, and two pain relievers, and I take them, and thank him once I've swallowed the pills.

While Lucca continues to lay on me, Da, Papa, Alexi and Romeo softly talk to each other, and I drift off to sleep, safe, comfortable, warm, and content. Gradually waking sometime later to hushed voices, and the volume on the television on low, I realize Lucca's still pressed into my side with my arm wrapped tightly around him. So, I'm thinking I haven't been asleep long. Cracking my eyes open enough to see around me, finding Da and Alexi in the room with Lucca and me.

"Alexi, I know you have romantic feelings for Milan, but you need to give him space, and decide for himself if he's interested or not," Da states, and his tone is serious, like he's warning Alexi from doing something he shouldn't. "You need to remember that you've been gone a long time, and the Milan you know, really doesn't exist any longer. He's grown up, and not the teen you once knew. He's had a rough year and a half, too, not that he regrets Lucca, or being with Gabriele, but his son is his entire world because he's Milan's last physical reminder of his lost love. You also need to remember that Gabriele was harshly taken from them both, and Milan's not just going to magically get over that - there's no time frame for grief, or anger and sadness of this event for him. So, what I'm saying is, stop trying to push yourself into Milan's life because you cut contact with him when you left, but remained in contact with Romeo, and you never told Milan how you felt about him before you left. You only told Romeo how you felt about his younger brother."