Emilia

40: Emilia

-Amara-

Entering the medical center, I gave the nurses a small wave and smile as I continued my way to Emilia's room. I adjusted the giant teddy bear inside of my hands before my eyes fell upon Vincent as he sat on the floor outside of her room with his head tossed back as he stared up at the ceiling.

My pace had slowed down as I seen a tear roll off of his cheek and I contemplated turning around and just leaving. I didn't want to be a bother to him and make him even more upset.

"She's in the room sleeping if you still want to see her." He said right as soon as I was about to turn away and leave. I pursed my lips as I stopped myself before slowly walking closer to her room.

Salvatore told me about everything that's happened to them. It made me sick to hear about the things that Vincent's father had done. To hear about all of the abuse and the killings of their mothers. To hear about what his father and her brother did to Emilia. I've never hated men more in my entire life until I found out about Bruno and Mario.

"Are you okay?" I hesitated to ask as I stopped right in front of him. He raised his eyebrows, keeping his eyes on the ceiling while he clenched his jaw.

I felt bad for him. Emilia had mentioned how they were going to have a baby. She told me about how he had been wanting kids for a while and that he was stoked to become a father. Sadly, he blames himself for the things that happened to Emilia. He still feels guilty no matter how many times she tells him that it wasn't his fault.

"I feel fucking fantastic." He said with sarcasm in his tone. I sighed, setting the bear down on the floor as I sat down next to him. I stared up at the ceiling with him, wondering what was so fascinating about it. It was silent between us.

"You know, Emilia knows that you blame yourself for the things that happened to her, but the thing is, she doesn't blame you, Mr. Fontana. The only person here who blames you is you." I informed him as he messed with the black scrunchie around his wrist.

"I broke my promise to her. If I had gotten there any second later, she wouldn't even be here right now." He said quietly, my brows pulling together as I gave him a small frown.

"But you didn't. You were the one who got there in time, and you were the one who saved her." I said and he scoffed ever so slightly while shaking his head.

"Barely." He muttered under his breath.

"I'm being serious. I don't know if she's ever told you this, but she told me that before meeting you, she never really knew what it was like to truly live. She was only living to survive a life she didn't even want, and then she got to know you, and you changed that. You made her feel like she had something to live for, Vincent. You don't even realize it, but you've been saving her from the very beginning." My hand came in contact with his shoulder for comfort. He just sat there in silence, picking at the scrunchie while he stared at it.

I huffed out a breath of air, removing my hand from his shoulder as I fumbled with my fingers. We sat in our own quietness before a small grin pulled over my lips.

"Things may be tough right now, but you know what you gotta do when life gets you down?" I broke the intense silence, turning my head to look at him. He looked over at me, arching his brow in curiosity.

"Just keep swimming." I quoted Dory. I held back my smile as much as I could while he stared at me for a moment before the corner of his mouth twitched into something of a grin.