Venice; Money Heist [2]

Anxiety

Fear fills me as I lie on the floor of the bank, struggling to breathe, barely aware of anything but the faces of Alejandro and Palermo hovering above me, their features blending more and more with the dark spots clouding my vision.

...Everything can go to hell in less than a second. In moments like this, you feel death creeping in, and you know that nothing will ever be the same. You know you have to do whatever it takes to survive. But as I lay there on the dirty floor of the bank, unconsciousness slowly taking over, the same painful thoughts kept swirling in my head. The others didn't care if I died. Out of a team of ten, only three people fought to keep me from bleeding out. Nairobi was dying. And I knew I was, too. But that thought was constantly overshadowed by the image of my brother — him talking to Tokyo about me, using me. By Tokyo shamelessly trying to get close to my boyfriend, and, above all, the disappointment and betrayal I felt toward our team...

"Julia, hold on!" I feel my body being lifted, and my eyes begin to close. A sudden jolt rushes through me, and I wince in pain. Someone is pressing hard on the wound in my shoulder, and I can't help but groan in agony.

"I'm sorry, Venice! Hold on, do you hear me? Hold on!"

"Come on!" I hear from somewhere farther away, but when I look up, I realize it's Ale, yelling at Palermo beside us.

...Everyone has a sniper aiming at their heart. But true terror... isn't when the bullet hits you. It's when it takes away someone you love. The thought of dying didn't scare me in that moment. What scared me was the guilt of not being able to save my best friend. The thought that I might leave Alejandro alone in this world...

"Come on, come on, come on!"

"Venice, you have to hold on! Stay awake, sweetheart, stay awake!"

I look up at the fading images, everything around me going black, my name the last thing I hear before everything disappears.

Alejandro

"Come on, come on, come on!" I shout at Palermo beside me, his hand pressed firmly on Julia's wound.

"Venice, you have to hold on! Stay awake, sweetheart, stay awake!" he calls out to her, his eyes catching the sight of hers slowly closing.

"Shit!" I yell. "Venice! Love!" No response. "Shit!"

"Denver! The door!" my boyfriend shouts, racing forward to hold open the door to the library.

Inside, chaos reigns. The others have just brought Nairobi in and are preparing her for an urgent examination and surgery. But that's not my concern right now.

"Palermo!"

"Here!" he slides a table toward me, and I lay Venice down on it. I look down at her blood-covered, pale face, and tears sting my eyes. "Shit!"

The others are focused on Nairobi, who seems to be barely conscious, but is also nearing the edge.

"The recoil must have made it worse," Palermo mutters as he moves to my side. We both begin to unwrap the bandages, and he immediately presses a cloth to the wound, trying to stop the bleeding. I grab another clean cloth, soak it in sterilizing solution, and start wiping the blood from her skin to assess the size of the wound and the damage. Why her? Why always her? Stupid girl... Why can't she see how much the others hurt her? No matter how much I wipe, more blood gushes out. "It won't stop bleeding!" my voice cracks mid-sentence.

"Shit, shit, shit, okay... we need to stay as calm as possible," Martin murmurs beside me, but I stare at him in disbelief.