Page 50 of Waiting Game

Antoni laughed, and Dimitri came into my sight as well.

For once, Dimitri had nothing to say.

There was no teasing expression on his face as he stared at my bleeding torso.

Who would’ve thought that it would take getting shot to shut the kid up.

They both grabbed hold of me, pulling me out of the car slowly. Antoni and Dimitri helped me inside. I tried my best to limp along, but eventually stumbled. Antoni reacted quickly, saving me from the fall and scooping me up in his arms. He grunted under my weight, his face tense with concentration as he tried not to drop me.

“My hero,” I cooed, wrapping my arms around his neck

I looked over his shoulder and heard Valerie scolding the three of us for being“fucking idiots”before my vision went black.

15

Chapter 15

Valerie

The doctor arrived quickly, and he managed to remove the bullet and stabilise him. Luckily, they got his side more than his stomach. So no major organs were hit, but he had lost a lot of blood. I sat on the front steps of my brother’s house, with my head in my hands.

Ren was still asleep. Antoni was still by his side.

The sun was setting, and my phone buzzed in my hands.

I had been ignoring Pete’s calls since I got off the plane, but I knew that I couldn’t put it off forever. I knew that ignoring his calls would only make him more suspicious than he already was. When I left, I didn’t think he had any reason to be.

Now, everything was different.

I had broken every promise that I had made to myself before I returned.

I wasn’t going to get involved. I wasn’t going to reminisce.

I was going to watch my brother get married, I was going to spend some time with my siblings, and avoid Lorenzo at all costs, and then I was going to return home. There were still a few days until my return flight, and after everything, I was glad that I didn’t rush into returning.

This morning reminded me of how quickly things can change.

With the way that they lived, I could lose Antoni or Sammy, even Zarina, at any minute. It was better when I was ignorant to the realities, even though deep down I knew.

I answered the phone.

“Hi,” I said. My voice came out more shaky than I liked.

“I’ve been trying to reach you for days,” Pete said, his tone giving away his irritation.

“Sorry,” I said, “I’ve been out of reception.”

“Why?”

“I went camping with my family.”

He scoffed through the phone, “since when do you camp?”

“Since my brother asked me to go,” I said, rubbing my temples.

“When are you coming home?”

“I don’t know yet, Pete. You know I was here for the full week.”

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