The Mafia's Surgeon

Chapter 19 - KAT

It was still dark outside when I woke up, either that, or it got light and dark again, and I have slept through the day. I couldn't help it though; I was completely and utterly worn out.

I didn't know how to feel about finding out Enzo had a girlfriend, it wasn't like anything was going on between us, or that anything had ever gone on between us. I stitched him up a couple times, he sedated me a couple times. We had short, straight, to the point conversations, but never about anything deeper. I was much closer with Antonio, Stefan and Pascal. Gian and Dante were hardly ever around, I guess because they were so high up in whatever business they were part of, they were busy all the time, but I still felt closer to them. Perhaps that's why I barely ever saw Enzo too, always so busy.

Ant, Stef and Pascal (I hadn't come up with a good enough nickname for him yet) were beginning to be like annoying older brothers. They lived in the house too, on the same floor I was currently on. Ant was Enzo's best friend, and they always confided in eachother, about pretty much everything. He, too, had brown hair, but his was in tight curls. His nose was crooked, like Enzo's, like it had been broken before too, but his eyes were a deep brown. Antonio had kind eyes, but within a second they could be terrifying, sending shivers up your spine, he's never looked at me like that though, yet. He was also tattooed, a lot more than anyone else. They all had the same tattoo in common, not just Enzo and his close friends, but every guard and soldier I had seen so far, even Gian. It was a dragon, wrapped twice around the bicep, about two thirds up the bicep from the elbow crease. The head and tail of the dragon both ended up on the front of the bicep, and there were two lines of the dragon's body curled around between the head and neck. The head breathed fire, and the tail turned into a dagger.

Stef had dusty blonde hair, and I found out he was actually the older brother of Pascal, who also had dusty blonde hair. Neither of their noses were crooked, but Pascal did have a scar descending from next to his eye and down his cheek, whilst Stef had a scar right across his nose, as well as other small ones. Both of their eyes were the brightest blue I had ever seen, yet absolutely terrifying too. Just like Ant though, they never looked at me in that way.

The three of them were like my brothers, and I couldn't wait to see them soon, but I did not feel like moving anywhere, knowing Enzo was probably still with his girlfriend, and I just didn't want to see them together. Don't ask me why, because I have no idea myself.

I heard voices outside my room, speaking Italian, of course. Fuck sake, I had to learn Italian soon so I could actually understand these people. It's quite similar to Spanish, so shouldn't be too hard. I heard one of them say my name. Why are they saying my name? Do you think they are looking for me? The clock said it was 9:46pm, surely if they actually wanted to look for me, they would've done it hours earlier, as I've been in this room since before 10am at least.

Maybe they already knew I was in here, but the fact that I wasn't leaving worried them. I had now missed three meals of the day, and my stomach let me know it, grumbling and growling at me. The easiest way I thought to not be hungry, or at least not feel it, was to go back to sleep, so I did just that.

There was a loud bang on my door, but I ignored it.

"Katarina let me in, you need food, please," pleaded Antonio on the other side of the door. I thought to myself, 'at least it wasn't Enzo', I don't think I would want to face him right now. My stomach grumbled ridiculously loudly, like it was a whale calling out for food.

"I can literally hear your stomach, let me in," Antonio continued to plead.

I walked over to the door, with the duvet wrapped around me like I was a burrito, and unlocked the door. Into the room ran Ant, Stef and Pascal. Ant was the first to grab me into a hug, but I yelped in pain.

"Shit, sorry," he said, looking sad. I went over to him and gave him a delicate hug, ensuring that I wasn't pressing hard on any of my various bruises or cuts. I looked at Stef and Pascal, both with their arms out wanting a hug, and hugged them both too, again, very delicately. Ant wheeled in a cart, full to the brim of food, and I sat on the bed and started eating. They sat next to me, Pascal and Ant with their legs crossed on the end of the bed, and Stef sat next to me, in a soft green armchair that he pulled up. They all filled me in on exactly what happened, how they didn't realise I was gone till it was the day I was supposed to come back, how as soon as Enzo called my mother, he began the search, they followed me to Paris, but were too late, finding a line of bodies but me disappeared, then they followed me to Russia, where Enzo spoke to my grandfather, then followed me to Manchester, where they spoke to my Father, and then back here.

"Damn," was all I could say. Enzo was looking for me the whole time?

"Damn indeed," said Pascal.

"He spent all that time looking for me?"

"He was fucking worrying his ass off Kat!"

"Why didn't he just spend that time with his girlfriend..." I trailed off, looking down at my food, suddenly losing my appetite and pushing the tray away.

"Girlfriend?" asked Stef, sitting up in his chair.

"There was a girl downstairs, said she was his girlfriend, I just don't understand how he could spend all his time looking for me, when he has a girlfriend waiting for him. Maybe I would get following me to Paris, as I was hurt a lot there, but when you guys knew I was safe with my family, why didn't you stop there? Poor girl, waiting for him to come home. I guess I'm no competition really, I just look tired, and skinny, and at the moment, like a fucking broken doll." I began crying.

"Boys, can you leave us alone for a second," spoke a voice. It was Enzo. He was leaning against the doorframe, watching me. I wondered how much he heard of what I said, how long he had been standing there. The boys got up, putting a light hand on my shoulder as a sign of comfort, and I smiled at them each, then they left the room. Enzo walked over, and I felt the bed dip as he sat next to me. He exhaled loudly, running his hands through his hair. My eyes immediately looked to the fresh hickeys on his neck, and when he saw where I was looking, he lifted the collar of his shirt to try and cover them, failing, miserably.

We just sat there in silence. I had nothing to say to him, and I doubt he could think of the words to say to me. I mean, there was nothing going on between us, there is no way I could be angry or mad, or even upset, even though I damn well wanted to be. He could have sex with whoever he wanted, a different girl every day, I had no leg to stand on.

"Eat," he commanded, pushing the plate back towards me.

"I'm full," I replied, pushing it back away from me. Unfortunately, my stomach gave another loud rumble, and I could feel my face going pink out of embarrassment.

"Eat," he repeated.

"I can't with you watching me."

"Eat."

"Enzo-"

"For fuck sake Katarina, just eat." I gave up and continued eating. The food tasted so damn good, and my stomach was so eager for it as well. When I was finished, he picked up my plate, and left, but just before he walked through the door, he turned around and said, "I'm glad you came back, and I'm glad you are safe." I smiled softly at him, and he left.

===========================================================================

Thank you so much for reading so far! It means so much to me!

Did you think the girl was lying about being his girlfriend? I hoped she was, but the hickeys say otherwise...

Please comment so I can hear your thoughts, and vote if you liked this chapter! Continue reading to the next one, it takes a TURN!

Hope you are all staying safe in lockdown! <3