Gone Rogue original not to be finished

Chapter Twelve

The wind pushed me back, but I leaned over until I was almost lying on the handlebars. Amelia screamed, then clung to my back, laughing her head off and crying at the same time. I whooped, like the day Dimitri and I found the twins.

We zipped along, laughing and screaming and making as much noise as we dared, until I saw Out Look on the horizon. The closer we got, the more I looked for Dimitri. Finally, I saw him, running towards us, his coat flowing like a cape behind him as he bolted.

"Jump on!" I screamed, and he made a spectacular leap as the crack of a gun rang out. He looked fine, but his breathing was heavy, when he landed, wincing at the impact. "Dimitri, are you okay?" I called, speeding away, swerving to avoid the bullets.

"No," he groaned, holding his lower back gingerly. Right where the tattoo was. His face was contorted with pain, and Amelia shuffled forward so he could have more room.

Amelia very carefully turned herself around, and gasped. "Lupa... Lupa, he's been shot!" she cried, and the bike jumped as I willed it to go faster. A motor started behind us, and I veered to the right, trying not to lead our pursuers back to my family.

I replied five minutes later. "Dimitri, you ass, stop getting hurt, damn you!" I yelled, swerving again as another few bullets whizzed past. Finally, the cars chasing us gave up and turned around after a while. I corrected my course, and twenty minutes later, I was in the garage again, jumping off the bike to grab Dimitri before he fell.

"Amelia, go get my dad. Don't let Nicholas see this," I instructed, and turned to see Dimitri trying to stand on his own. "Dimitri, take off your damn coat and let me help you." He flinched, and as I gingerly held him up, peeled off his coat. I saw how much blood he was losing, and began to pull his shirt over his head.

"Lupa, I'm fine. I can..." he mumbled before his knees buckled, and lucky for him I caught him before he hit the ground. "Okay, maybe not."

I gritted my teeth as my father arrived to hold Dimitri up. There was a nasty looking hole in his back, straight through where the guns crossed, surrounded by blood while more blood poured from the wound.

"Help me get him to the couch," my dad said in a quiet voice, putting Dimitri's arm over his own shoulders. I did the same and gingerly held his weight, gritting my teeth at the death grip he had on my arm. After what seemed like an eternity, we could set Dimitri down on the couch, where he sat gasping. I ran upstairs to get the rolls of gauze. Running back down, I saw Dimitri lying on his stomach while my dad desperately tried to stop the bleeding. When I handed the gauze to my father he looked at me, and I saw how scared he was. He loved Dimitri like his own son. "Lupa, the children are in their room. Go stay with them. I got this," he told me, making a pad out of gauze. I nodded, choking up, and ran back upstairs.

Nicholas and Amelia were in the bathroom, and Amelia was heaving and crying. Nicholas was sitting beside her, his hand on her back, singing a quiet song that I knew I had heard before.

"Come with me child, to where the willows sway, where all of your fears will melt away. Come to drink at the brook, I'm sure the wolves will not look."

I watched them for a minute, unsure what to do, until Nicholas looked up at me. His eyes were red and puffy, and he could barely sing. So I sat down with them, singing with Nicholas and holding Amelia's blond hair back.

Finally she had thrown up everything that was in her stomach. I flushed the toilet, and when they both held me tight, I didn't let go. We sat like that, all three of us crying again.

Nicholas looked up at me, snot running from his nose. "Is Dimi going to be okay? Is he going to die?" he asked, begging for answers.

I sighed, and pulled him back into my arms. "I don't know. I don't think he'll die, but he's not going to feel very well for a few months, maybe even a year or two. He's not doing too well," I murmured, petting his hair back.

"When can we see him?" Amelia asked, her voice cracking.

I thought for a minute, then stood up and struggled to get free of them. "Go in your room, and I'll go ask my dad. He might be doing okay now, but you're not going down until I'm completely sure, okay?" I suggested, and the twins nodded before stumbling to their own room.

Taking a moment to collect my thoughts, I washed my face with cold water and decided to change shirts, because mine had blood splatters on it. I went to my room and picked the first shirt I saw, a black tank top with some band symbol on the chest. Once I was changed, I walked slowly down the steps to see my dad sleeping in a kitchen chair, and Dimitri sleeping on the couch, his middle wrapped in slightly bloodied bandages. When I stepped closer, his eyes opened, and he managed a weak smile.

"Hi." he whispered, breathing heavily still. I almost broke down at how much pain he looked like he was in. And Dimitri was known for being able to hide his pain.

I reached down to pull an oily strand of hair out of his eye. "I'm not sure whether to slap you, punch you, or hug you and cry. You stupid, irresponsible, shot up piece of crap," I replied, kneeling beside him and putting my crossed arms on the couch beside him.

"Geez," he mumbled back, closing his eye and taking a shuddering breath. My heart broke. I hated seeing him in pain, even if I hated him. He opened his eye, and looked at me. Another weak smile crossed his lips, and it pained me to watch him like this. "Can you get me some water?" Dimitri asked, turning his head painfully.

I nodded, and got up to walk into the kitchen. Figuring that a water bottle would be better, I opened the fridge to get one and stopped.

On the middle shelf, right under the pack of water bottles, was a home made cake. "A candle for every birthday I missed" it said in slightly messy handwriting, alongside seven candles. Below that, were the words "I love you" in different handwriting. My dad had obviously made it, with the help of my grandmother. A tear slipped out, and I looked at the calendar hanging on the fridge. The sixteenth of May was circled, with the words "Lily's birthday" written in red pen. Today was May fifteenth.

I quickly got a bottle of water, and speed walked back into the living room, where Dimitri laid, looking up at the ceiling. Handing him the water bottle after twisting the cap open, I brushed at my eyes and looked down.

"You saw the cake, didn't you?" Dimitri asked, after he had gulped down the entire bottle.

I nodded, and laughed. "You guys think of the craziest things. I haven't seen a cake in forever!" I said quietly, turning to make sure my dad was still asleep. "The twins were worried about you. Amelia was actually throwing up. Nicholas looked like he wanted to."

Dimitri looked worried. "Why would Amelia be throwing up?" he questioned, and I kneeled beside him again.

"She saw the wound, and she was the one who figured out you'd been shot. Need I say more? Both of them were horrified. I'm surprised Nicholas didn't throw up too," I explained, my mood dropping.

Dimitri looked like I had slapped him. "Go tell them I'm okay. Please?" he begged, and I stood up with a sigh.

"Fine, but I'm not letting them see you like this," I whispered, standing up and walking back up to the stairs, but not before shooting him a sparkling smile, which he responded to by laughing and wincing.