Bad Blood

Chapter 11

It was 10:57 at night when my brother finally opened his eyes.

“My poor baby,” Dad instantly launched himself towards Ali only to be stopped by mom’s arm.

“Easy, you don’t want to hurt him anymore,” Mom scolded Dad, nudging his shoulder before turning back to my brother, “How are you feeling?”

Ali cleared his throat, “Bearable,” He croaked, his gaze landing on me, “What happened?”

“Oh honey, you don’t remember?” Mom sucked in a breath, “On stage, you were performing when…” Another breath, “Dante attacked you. Your sister tried to stop it but…” She shot me a sad glance before wincing, “Well, you have a concussion, a broken arm and 2 broken ribs.”

“And is Kat okay?” Ali looked at me, causing my parents to follow suit.

They all stared at me, concern clouding their faces. I just gave a loose shrug, biting down hard on my teeth. Dropping my head, I caught sight of the watch - now counting down by hour.

1:02

1 hour 2 minutes.

I slumped down deeper into the chair.

Is this really worth it? Is Dante really worth it?

I squeezed my eyes shut at his words, biting down on my lower lip, “Do you mind if I can talk to Ali? Privately?” I managed to croak.

“Yeah, of course honey,” Mom replied, shooting me a sad smile.

Taking a step forward, I wrapped both arms around my parents, my right one around Mom, left one around Dad.

“I love you guys so much,” I swallowed the growing lump in my throat.

“We love you too,” Dad ruffled my hair before walking towards the door of the hospital room, mom following closely behind.

My heart sunk to the bottom of my stomach when I realized this was probably the last time I’d ever see them. Resisting the urge to run after them and give them a big hug, I planted both feet firmly on the floor, watching as they closed the sliding doors.

“I know what I did was wrong Kat, I don’t need a lecture from you,” My brother sighed from behind me, exasperated.

I turned towards him slowly, my gaze defeated, “Then why did you still go along with it? Does it make you feel better?” Stalking towards, the seat next to him, I plopped down into it.

“No,” Ali admitted bitterly.

“Exactly,” I bite my lower lip, “Now look what you’ve done,” My shoulders slumped down.

“What I’ve done?” The heart monitor began to beat more rapidly, “What about what he’s done?”

I placed a reassuring arm on Ali, massaging it lightly in an attempt to calm him down.

“I’m done with telling you what to do Ali,” I played with the fabric of his hospital gown, “I’m just here to tell you that what you’re doing to him is just as worse as what he’s doing to you.”

Ali said nothing, just stared straight ahead.

“Look,” I croaked, licking my lips, “You’re my brother and I’ll always love you, but think of this as my dying wish…” I sucked in a breath, “Just end this feud. Please,” My voice broke off at the end.

I blinked away some pooling tears as my brother’s non-broken arm shifted, his hand finding mind.

“It’s not that easy Kat,” He ran his fingers over my knuckles.