Luca’s face crowds my blurry vision. The persistent beeping is the only thing I can hear. I blink a few times to clear my vision, the fucking white and bright lights aren’t helping. God, my mouth is so dry. As I cough, a sharp pain sears into my left side.
“Fuck!” I hiss.
“Grayson, let me get the doctor.”
Doctor?
It takes me a while to come round.
Maddie.
Where is Maddie?
Panic rushes through me, and I bolt upright in the bed. Which is probably the worst thing I could have done as the pain is almost unbearable.
“Lie the fuck down, Grayson. You nearly died, for fuck’s sake!”
“Where’s Maddie?”
“Luca, where the fuck is Maddie?” I roar and immediately break out into a coughing fit.
He shoves a plastic cup of water into my hands. My arms are so heavy as I bring it to my lips and take a sip. Even the effort to swallow is exhausting.
“Just hang on. Let the doctors do their thing, then we talk.”
I shoot him a look. The doctor comes over. The cold air makes me grind my teeth together as he opens up my gown, pulling back the dressing just under my ribs.
“All healing nicely. No signs of infection. You are lucky. Just a few millimeters either side and you’d probably be in a lot worse condition, if not dead. You need rest. You’ve been in and out of consciousness for two days now.”
Well, fantastic.
“We need to keep you here under observation for a few more days. Mr. Russo has covered your stay.”
“Great, thanks.”
The door clicks as the doctor leaves.
“Spit it out, Luca.”
He shifts uncomfortably in his seat. He leans over to my bedside table and hands me a white letter, folded neatly in half.
What the fuck.
I unfold the paper, my eyes scanning over her words. My hands shake with rage.
“This is bullshit, Luca.”
“I know.”
I re-read the letter over and over again. Her tears stain and smudge the black ink. I don’t believe this, not for one second. Scrunching the paper in my hands, I launch it across the room.
“Fuck!”
Suddenly the machines next to me go ballistic, and I faintly hear Luca calling my name as I slip back into the darkness. There’s no sunshine to bring me back this time.
