Emery’s POV

All I could see from the moment that Brian opened the door was the large crimson puddle that was spreading across the room. Blood – so much blood. It was like all I could do in that moment was stand and stare at the horrific scene in front of me. The whole thing looked like something straight out of one of those horror movies that Brian liked to watch, and seeing it in real life was shocking. Never in my life had I seen so much blood, especially from someone that I cared about.

“Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!” Brian hissed as he put me down on my feet, my body stumbling to the side as I fought to draw air into my lungs. I was in complete and total shock. “Jo wait!” he called before cursing again and pulling at the roots of his hair.

“I need something to stop the bleeding!” My sister cried, my eyes snapping to her kneeling in the dark red puddle next to her boyfriend. She was on the verge of hysteria and I was frozen in place. I couldn’t breathe let alone move, and I had no idea how my sister was even functioning.

I swallowed thickly, shaking my head as tears welled up in my eyes. This all had to be a bad dream down in the cell, right? Yeah… that had to explain it because there was no way my father had done this to Matt, or that my sister had shot our father. But with each passing second, I was starting to realize this nightmare in front of me was a sad reality.

“So much blood,” I muttered, though my voice sounded distant and foreign. I hadn’t even realized that I had entered the room and was standing next to my sister, my body working on its own accord.

Suddenly my sister’s tear-filled eyes looked at me in a panic. “Help me!” she cried and I jumped into fight or flight mode. Right now it didn’t matter what kind of shock I was in or the pain or weakness I was feeling. No, right now it was about saving a life and helping my sister.

Without hesitation I dropped to my knees and ripped off the bottom half of my shirt, revealing the deep bruising on my ribs from one of my father’s beatings, but that wasn’t important right now. I bundled the cloth and applied it to the large gash on Matt’s side that was gushing blood. Oh shit, this didn’t look good. My father had done a number on him and I just hoped that we weren’t too late.

“Pull off his belt and hand it to me,” I instructed Jolie, as Brian called the guys for help. “We need a tunicate or he is going to bleed out…” I said more to myself than my sister, as I applied firm pressure to the wound. “Good, place the belt right above where I am applying pressure and pull it tight. He might have a bruise but the pressure over this artery will the slow bleeding.”

“He’s lost so much blood…” My sister sobbed, still trying to hold herself together as we tried to stop the bleeding. “We need to get him to the hospital… its critical.”

I swallowed thickly and looked up to see Brian pacing the space by the door, pulling at the roots of his hair in frustration and anxiety. Just seeing him and my sister is so much pain over Matt made my heart ache painfully in my chest. I wished I could take it all away and fix him up, but I didn’t have the training or materials.

Thankfully back up arrived and within minutes we were moving Matt out of the mansion and into the back of van. I sat next to my sister holding pressure on the wound, praying that the bleeding would slow. Thankfully the tunicate seemed to be helping.

“He will make it, Jo…” I whispered but Jo just brushed me off and continued talking to Matt.

“We’re here!” Jimmy’s voice called moments later and we quickly sprang into action again. Zack and Johnny carefully pulled Matt out of the van and placed him on the waiting gurney, where he was rushed into the ER with Jo close behind. I slowly got out of the van and followed the rest of the crew into the hospital, Brian by my side. I felt like my body was quickly slowing down.

“He will be okay… he has to be,” Brian muttered next to me as he guided me into the waiting room. I squeezed his hand tightly as my head started to throb painfully again. Damn, I felt like shit, and it was no wonder from all the beatings I had endured the past few days. I felt like a rag doll.

With each step I took, I felt the affects of my adrenaline wearing off. Every ounce of strength I had was dwindling away and I struggled to keep moving, but I had to stay strong for my friends… no my family. They didn’t need to worry about me while Matt was going into emergency surgery. I would be okay, I just needed to sit down for a little bit.

“Em? Are you okay?” Brian asked and I nodded, swallowing thickly.

“I’m fine… and I think we may have gotten him here in time,” I replied, looking up to meet his worried eyes. Brian slowly turned toward me and a deep frown fell over his face, his fingers grazing the deep gash on my forehead. I winced and pulled away, only to see a little blood on his fingers. How did I get Matt’s blood all the way up there? “The… the bleeding was… stopping…” Why did it feel hard to even talk right now?

Suddenly a wave of dizziness washed over me and I stumbled into Brian, my vision turning spotty. “Shit, Em…” Brian grabbed me pulled me toward the chairs in the waiting room just as a doctor walked by.

“Is everything okay, Miss?” He asked in a concerned tone and I closed my eyes, the darkness feeling like a welcome relief on my throbbing head. The dark haired physician kept flashing in and out of focus as I nodded.

“I’m fine…. Just-just a little dizzy…” Everything was moving sideways and now all I could see were those haunting brown eyes looking down at me.

“Emery? Em!” Brian’s deep voice called, my body rumbling from the vibration in his chest. Even thought my fuzzy vision, I could see a look of panic flash in his eyes.

“I’m… fine…” I mumbled, my eyelids getting heavier by the second. “I-I… just need to…. S-sleep.”

“No! Don’t shut your eyes, stay with me, Em!” Brian’s voice now reflected his state of panic, as he picked me up, my head falling back from weakness. I was just so sore and tired…

“Put her on the stretcher, I will take her to the exam room,” the other voice said as I felt my body being set down on a soft surface. Mmm… that was exactly what I needed. The only thing that was missing now was Brian’s warm body pressed to mine and his cologne filling my nose. I missed him so much the past few weeks that it was almost torture to be away from him now.

“Brian?” I whined, suddenly not feeling him next to me anymore. What was going on?

“What’s wrong with her? She was fine a few minutes ago!” Thank goodness he was still close but I needed him next to me. I couldn’t be without him again!

“She is very thin and appears to be extremely dehydrated,” the doctor replied. All I could see were the bright lights in flashing above me. And if the hurried footsteps I heard, we seemed to moving rather quickly. “Where did she get all these abrasions?”

“She-er-she—” Brian stammered, obviously flustered and nervous about the whole thing. I still didn’t see what the big deal was. I was just dizzy and tired – nothing a nap wouldn’t fix!

“I-I fell…” I mumbled, knowing full well that we couldn’t really explain the whole situation with my father. It was probably suspicious enough that we came in with a stabbing and shooting victim. The last thing we needed was for one of the guys to get charged with my father’s murder or hurting Matt.

“I see,” I doctor replied, my gurney stopping abruptly. I let out a light moan, the sudden stop making my head throb even more. “I’m sorry, Sir, but I’m going to have to ask you to wait in the waiting room.”

“Over my dead body!” Brian growled and I tried to shake my head. No! I needed him with me! “I’m not leaving her!”

“It’s hospital policy, Sir,” the doctor insisted and I let out a moan. No, I wasn’t going to lose him again. “Only family members are allowed in the exam room.”

“He-he is family,” I stammered, wishing my head would stop throbbing. “He comes with me… please,” I begged, pinching my eyelids shut.

“I’m sorry but—”

“You heard her! You let me back there with you or we will go to another hospital!”

Matt’s POV

“You think so?” Pagano chuckled as we circled each other around the center of the room. I wanted nothing more than to rip is fucking head off, but watching him bleed and slowly die was the death he deserved. Never again would this fucker see the light of day, and this little spar was nothing more than a joke. I was smarter, younger, and faster than him and he would fall. Pagano would be dead before I left this room and that much was certain.

“You think that Jolie made it out already?” His eyes glanced and the door and my heart dropped to my feet at the sound of her name. That fucker had no right to even think of her! “That she would be going with you again? She was here just before you arrived, you fool,” he spat and my eyes widened and followed his gaze to the door. No, Jolie wasn’t here. She couldn’t have been!

“What?” I barked, charging at him, rage taking over my vision. There was no fucking way in hell he got Jolie! No way! Not when she was with Gates heading to the basement cell. He was fucking lying!

When I reached him, I grabbed his head and felt a sharp blow in the gut, a knife stabbing deep into my stomach. I gasped and stumbled backwards in shock, looking down at my wound. Blood was already starting spread through my shirt as I tried to reel a breath into my lungs. Fuck! How did I not see this coming? That fucker got me good but I couldn’t’ stop now. I had a job to do.

“You are so easy to distract, as if my daughter would be staying with you, you bastard. She is worth so much more, I will fucking sell her to any old rich man who wants her, while you will be just a memory in her head, slowly fading and drifting away,” Pagano taunted and I saw red again. Over my dead fucking body would he touch those girls again! The only thing he had coming was a slow and painful death on this old wood floor!

I charged Pagano again and slammed him against the wall, my fists pummeling into his face over and over. I wanted to make him pay – to feel the same pain he inflicted on the girls. This bastard didn’t deserve to live!

“You fucking bastard, I will fucking wring your neck till all the life drained out of your body,” I raged as Pagano fell to his knees. Yes, take it like the little fucking bitch you are, Pagano!
I continued to punch ever inch of his body, my own sinking down next to him from loss of blood. I could feel my strength depleting and I knew it was time to end this once and for all!

I grabbed his throat just before a shot echoed through the room. I had no idea what happened, but the next thing I knew, I was laying on my back, my vision flashing in and out. I had an intense pain in my side and a loud ringing in my ears. What he fuck happened to me? I didn’t know but one minute Pagano was standing above me with the gun, and the next Jolie was looking down at me with a tear soaked face.

“I’m so sorry, Jo…” I gasped with all the energy I had left, my vision going fuzzy. I had no idea what was going on or why I was on the floor, but with each passing moment Jo’s was getting farther and farther away. No! I couldn’t lose her! I had to stay with her – fight for her!

“You promised me a future, you won’t give up now!” I heard Jo’s distance voice sob. It took all of the energy I had to stay with the dim light I saw through my eyelids, but it was fading. She was right. We had to be together and I wasn’t going to give up.

As I focused on the light, all I could feel was a pulsing feeling in my stomach. It was like with each pulse and breath I took, everything was getting darker and dark. I didn’t know how much longer I could hold onto the light, but I was going to fight. I couldn’t let go, not when Jolie was waiting for me on the other side.

“Don’t you die on me now, you said we would be getting out, we all would be happy when this was done!” I heard a voice say before I couldn’t fight the darkness anymore.

The next thing I knew, I heard a continuous beeping and the sound of hushed voices. What the fuck was going on? Everything was still dark but I could feel myself looming on the edge of consciousness. But no matter what I tired I could push past the threshold. It was like my brain was alive but my body wouldn’t respond. Fuck! Fuck! Fuck! I couldn’t even get my hands to move!

“He’s lost a lot of blood, but we were able to close the wounds in time,” a deep voice said somewhere to my right. Who the fuck was that and who were they talking about? “You’re lucky you got here when you did.”

“So he’ll pull through?” Was that Vengeance? Fucking hell, this would be so much easier if my body would fucking respond!

“I can’t guarantee anything, because he’s not out of the woods yet. He still has the risk of infection and the stab wound to the abdomen was extremely jagged. We closed it the best we could, but one wrong move and he could have internal bleeding. That’s why we have him sedated right now.” Were they talking about me? Is that why I couldn’t control my fucking body?!

“But you think he’ll make it?” Vengeance asked again, this time sounding irritated.

“If everything goes smoothly in the next few days, then yes,” the other voice replied and I heard a deep sigh of relief. “Just remember only family members in the ICU until he wakes up to help avoid infection.” Family members? So Jolie wasn’t with here? Where the fuck was she?! Had Pagano actually captured her?

“But what about his girlfriend? She’s about to lose her fucking mind and have a nervous breakdown in the waiting room. Can she come in and see him?” Vengeance pressed and a wave of calm came over me. So she was here and safe? Thank fucking god, but what about Pagano? Was he still out there?!

“I’m sorry, but only family members are permitted right now,” the doctor answered and I wanted to scream. “I’m going to give him another dose of morphine and we well check on him again in a few hours.” The voice said before everything slipped into darkness once more.

I don’t know how long I stayed in the darkness but a deep voice next to me was slowly bringing me back toward the light. It sounded so familiar, and yet I still couldn’t place who it was.

“And don’t worry about a thing, boss. Everyone made it out in once piece… well, except you that is, but the doc thinks you’ll wake up any time now. And damn will it be good to see some life in your eyes. You gave us quite the scare back there, Shads,” the voice continued as I came closer and closer to the light. “And I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but Jolie really needs you to wake up. She is out of her mind with worry about you,” the voice continued and just the sound of her name made something inside of me burst through the surface. I could suddenly squeeze my hand and I felt my eyelids flutter.

“Shit, he’s moving!! He’s waking up! Shads, can you hear me?!” the voice called as a burst of light hit my eyes.

“Ugh, fucking hell,” I hissed, closing my eyes from the blinding light of the room. I slowly blinked a few times, letting my eyes adjust to their surroundings, before I saw a pair of dark green eyes staring back at me. “Vee?”

“Thank fucking god!” he hissed, patting my hand with a huge smile on his face. “You gave us quite the fucking scare!”

“What happened?” I asked, trying to pick up my hand to rub my eyes. Only I was met with an intense pain in my side when I stretched it up. “Oh… fuck…” I hissed, wincing from the pain.

“Easy!” Zacky warned, putting my arm back down. “You were stabbed and shot and had emergency surgery. You can’t move too much or you’ll rip open your wounds.” Stabbed and shot? I only remembered Pagano stabbing me in the side. Did that mean that fucking bastard shot me too? Where the hell did he get a gun?

“That fucking bastard,” I growled. “Did I fucking kill him at least?”

Vengeance pursed his lips and slowly shook his head. “No, you didn’t kill him—”

“So that bastard is still alive?!” The heart rate monitor to my left quickly increased, the quick beep echoing in the room.

“No, he’s dead. Jolie shot him and saved your life,” he said and it felt like my stomach dropped into my feet. Jolie shot Pagano? She killed her own father?

“Where is she?” I asked, the shock of his words still sinking in. For the first time since I opened my eyes, I realized that she wasn’t in the room and I started to panic. Was she safe? Did she leave? Fuck, what if she resented me for having to kill her own father? Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

“Easy now…” Zack said, holding his hand up. “You need to relax or else you’ll—”

“WHERE IS SHE?” I bellowed, trying to sit up.

“Easy! Easy! She’s safe,” he replied, gently pushing me back down. “She’s in the waiting room!”

“Why isn’t she in here? I need to see her. Now!” I ordered, my jaw locking with worry. Fucking hell, how could I have let this happen? How could I have let myself get beat by fucking Pagano? I just hoped Jo would forgive me for having to shoot her own father. Damn it! How could I mess up this badly?

“They wouldn’t let her in because she’s not family,” Vengeance threw his hands up in the air in defense. If looks could kill he’d be dead on the floor right now. “I tried my best to get her in here but they wouldn’t budge.”

“You’re not fucking family so obviously you figured something out! I need to see here! Now!” I hissed in a deadly tone and Zacky let out a sigh.

“I told them I was your brother but she had already admitted that she was your girlfriend. They said she had to wait until—”

“I don’t give a fuck what they said!” I screamed, the heart rate monitor going crazy now. “I need to see her now!”

“Is everything okay in here?” The doctor asked, finally making an appearance with the loud beeping. “Ah, Mr. Shadows. Welcome back are you—”

“No, my girlfriend is coming in here, now.” I threatened as the doctor came closer and tried to examine me.

“There is plenty of time for visitors. I just need to check your wounds fi—” I grabbed the doctors hand as he reached down toward my side, squeezing it hard.

“She comes in here, now,” I ordered as the doctor hissed in pain. The older man looked toward Zack and then gave a light nod, causing my best friend to disappear out the door. I let go of his hand and he ran his hands nervously down the front of his white lab coat.

“Now, that she is on her way, may I check your wounds?” he asked and let out a light grunt, my eyes focused on the door. I had to see her. She was the only thing that mattered. The only thing I wanted – no needed. Jolie was my reason for fighting and I had to make sure she was safe. God I fucking loved her so much it hurt.

The doctor carefully removed my dressing and ran his fingers along the very painful seams of my wounds. I hissed and looked up at the ceiling, fighting the tears that were forming in my eyes. I had been shot and stabbed before, but nothing had ever felt like this. No, I felt like I had died and was brought back to life, every nerve ending in my body screaming as his icy fingers gently touching my flesh.

“Fuck… “ I hissed and the doctor nodded.

“I can imagine that hurts, it was a large nasty stab wound. But the good news is that it looks like it is healing nicely. You will just need to be extremely careful not to move too much or else the stiches on your intestines and liver will rip. I’ll give you another dose of morphine in a few minutes for the pain,” he said just before I heard the one thing I had longing for.

“Matt?”

Notes

Anyone still out there? Anyway, here is a new chapter! hope you like it!