ROMEO (book 1)

56. ROMEO

The FBI raided the warehouse. I run in, looking at the cages to try and find Delilah. There's hundreds of them.

"Delilah!" I shout.

A bald white guy punches some other bald white guy across the face. This is Jakub. I grab him, "Where's Delilah?"

"Cage fifteen." He pushes me, then punches me. "That's for cheating on her." He punches me right in the nose again, "And that's for making her cry for fourteen days straight." He pushes me, "Go to her."

I run into the room and look at the numbers on top.

Fifteen.

Fifteen was bleeding.

I shoot the lock and then kick the cage open, running in.

Between her legs, she was bleeding.

They shaved her hair. Took her piercings out. She looks so different.

"Precious?" I kneel on the bed, lifting the dress up. She's bleeding so much. "Delilah?" I shake her.

She doesn't stir.

I press my fingers against her neck and feel her pulse beat slowly underneath my fingers. "I need an ambulance!" I shout, she's bleeding so much.

I lift her up bridal style. For the first time in my life, I didn't care that blood was dripping all over me.

I run out of the building, pushing someone out of the way to get to the ambulance. "Good Lord." The paramedic takes her off me. "Extensive vaginal bleeding." He shouts.

Mom runs up to me, "Romeo get in." She pushes me. I get in, staring at Delilah. Mom gets in too and Athena after that.

Athena takes one look at Delilah before looking at me. She doesn't say anything just shouts medical jargon to the paramedic as she hooks Delilah up to machines.

She was still bleeding.

"Athena why is she bleeding?" I look at the blood on my hands and legs. My hands are shaking so much.

"It could be a range of things. I won't know until I do some scans." She says, the machine beeps, flatlines. "She's going into cardiac arrest." She starts pressing on Delilah's chest.

I couldn't look.

I cry.

I turn my head and cry into my moms shoulder as my girlfriend flatlines in front of me.

I hear them shout clear.

I hear the sigh of relief as Delilah's heart starts beating again.

"Hurry up." Athena shouts.

"Mamma don't let her die." I shout. "Don't let her die."

"She'll be okay." She rubs her fingers through my hair.

Once in the ER, the security guard pushes me away to let the doctors deal with her. Athena was there and I trust Athena.

I hug mom, sobbing.

They take us to a private waiting area and soon it fills up. Ilaria hugs me when she sees me, the first she's even paid attention to me in four weeks.

Matteo opens a bottle of beer, staring at the ground.

Delilah is too good for this. I dragged her into this. That's my fault.

"We arrested fifty people." Kairi walked in. "They're in your warehouse, Romeo."

I don't say anything.

"Romeo, how about you wash your hands."

I don't want to.

I don't say anything either.

"I'll go see if I can get any news on Delilah." Kairi walks away.

"She's bleeding so much." I mumble. "Mamma she's bleeding so much."

"They stopped the bleeding, Ro. They stopped it in the ambulance." She strokes my hair again.

"No."

I don't remember that.

"Yes. They stopped the bleeding in the ambulance." She frowns a little.

"I don't remember." I close my eyes, rubbing my hand down my face. All I can smell is blood. I have her blood all over me. "She's too good to die."

They stay silent this time, because they don't know if she's going to make it or not.

Dad walks in, "Romeo, come on." He holds the door open.

I shake my head no.

So he pulls me up and pushes me toward the bathroom. Luca keeps me standing while dad scrubs at my hands to get her blood away.

"I'm scared, papa." I say quietly. "I'm scared."

"I know you are." He looks at me through the mirror. "But I checked on her before I came in here and she was okay. Athena is treating her." He puts more soap on my hand.

I look at the brand of soap.

It's the soap I use; that Delilah likes.

"Delilah likes this soap." I rip it from the wall. "Delilah likes it."

Luca takes it off me, "She's gonna be okay."

"You don't know that." I frown. "She's bleeding."

"No, they stopped the bleeding a while ago." Dad says.

They did?

"When?"

Him and Luca look at each other and just stay quiet.

He cleans my hands and then tells me to change into fresh clothes.

Her blood saturated my clothes and is on my skin.

"Romeo, it doesn't take fifteen minutes to put pants on." Dad knocks on the door.

I just keep looking at the stains.

He pushes the door open and sighs a little, then he wets tissue and wipes my legs down. "Don't be too long, she could be out by now."

I change quickly, then walk out.

Luca grabs my arm and pulls me back, looking at the needle marks. "Romeo Reign."

"It's morphine to help with my back." I look in his eyes, "promise."

He lets me go.

I walk back, her blood is still in my rings.

I wait for six hours, only to be told she's okay.

I wait another six hours to be told she's awake.

I can see her in an hour.

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word count: 932