That Italian Smile (manxman) *Completed*

Chapter Nine

A/N: totally wasn't planning on updating until after Christmas, but I got too excited about writing this chapter. I love this story so much already, and it's only chapter nine. Enjoy!

        Pain. That’s all I was feeling, nothing but excruciating pain. “It hurts, make it stop,” I begged while tears ran down my cheeks.

        “You are going to be okay Nikolai,” Leo said while holding me tighter to him while entering the hospital. You are going to be okay Nikolai; those words were suddenly bringing back a painful flashback.

        “You’re going to be okay Nikolai, you’re a strong boy. We love you.” Those words were the very last words my father told me. I remember the way he tried to put on a brave face, as his wife was dead next to him. I remember his labored breathing, trying to stay with it. For me. His only child. I remember looking at my mother’s upside down face, chunks of broken glass and small pieces of car parts digging into her soft skin. I remember when my father took his last breath. “Daddy!”

        Jolting back to the present I saw we were being surrounded by doctors, trying to get Leo to let go of me. “We’re going to take care of him.” As those words left the mouth of the doctor, it brought back another flashback.

        “We’re going to take care of you, you’re safe now”, the police officer said while putting me in the back of an ambulance. How could I be safe? I wasn’t safe from life, which I now had to face alone. I was only eleven.

        Jolting back to the present again, I watched as Leo reluctantly put me in the arms of a doctor while gently kissing my forehead. “It hurts!” I heard myself yell while desperately trying to keep my hold on Leo. 

        “It hurts!” I yelled while looking down at my leg, which had a giant piece of glass in it. The piece was so deep you could see bone. Desperately not wanting the police to leave, I tried keeping him next to me all while catching a glimpse of our car. Our car, the one dad had bought after a pay raise. Our car, the one I had pretended was a rocket ship. Our car, the one that had gotten hit by another car, and flipped over. Our car, where the two most important people in my life died.

        Looking up I realized I was out of the flashback once again. Leo was trying to get me to calm down, while the doctors were trying to make him leave. “I know it hurts bello, but they will take care of you. I will be here when you wake up, I promise.”

        Crying harder, I watched through tear stained eyes as I was being wheeled away from the one person who made me feel completely whole again. Away from the person who I don’t know anything about, but who I feel completely safe around. Closing my eyes I watched the darkness engulf me, bringing me away from that person, those painful flashbacks and from myself.

**

        “Nikolai, be careful sweetie.” Giggling, I slid down the bright yellow slide, feeling the wind rush through my long brown hair. After getting up, I ran over to my mother, smiling when she wrapped her arms around my body and twirled me around. “How does ice cream sound?”

        “Yay!” Grabbing her hand, we were about to turn away when I noticed what looked like two men kissing. “Mommy?”

        “Yes sweetie?”

        After pulling her hand to stop, I continued to stare at the two men kissing before she kneeled down next to me. “Why are those boys kissing?”

        “Well my sweet Nikolai,” she started while pushing some hair behind my ear. “There are many different kinds of love in this world.”