Page 42 of Bound By You

Fuck, I hate the reminder that, right now, I should be married to the woman I love, but I fucked it up.

I look him in the eye and state darkly, "I never said it was me, Basil. You have no legal right to any information regarding your daughter. Four months ago, she legally cut all ties with you, and the paperwork is airtight. I already spoke to her lawyer, who explained it. There are specific instructions, including who can have knowledge of and any say over her care if she were ever admitted to the hospital. You and Selene are both on the restricted list."

"She fucking gave Juan power of attorney? That won't stick; we can say she was coerced into signing it." Sergi chuckles darkly, getting Basil's attention. "This isn't fucking funny, boy. My daughter may be dying. I need to ensure she gets the correctcare and isn't kept on a ventilator for months. She won't want to be a fucking vegetable."

Selene chimes in, "We also need to ensure my grandmother's inheritance isn't given to the wrong people."

Sergi smirks at her. He looks like a deranged sociopath, still covered in his cousin's blood. His voice dark, he remarks, "Well, considering she made all these plans behind everyone's back, being coerced into signing shit won't stand, and as for her being ventilated,ifshe makes it off the operating table,Iwill decide what happens with her care. As for the inheritance, you, Selene, will be getting fuck all." Selene and Basil look at me, confused.

"My woman made her blood cousin her power of attorney. Sergi gets the final say, Sergi gets any inheritance, Sergi will own your house, and it seems as though he is also a blood relative to Athena, and the legal documents were personally signed by Juan as witness. That means, you two can't do anything."

Selene's face goes bright red, and I look at Basil and say, "I called you because she's your daughter, but by the shit you just spewed about her being a vegetable, and Selene instantly chimed in about the inheritance, you don't actually give a fuck. You let that bitch get in your head on the way here, as usual, listening to the evil one. That tells me all I need to know; stay out of my fucking way." I turn and take a seat. I lean forward and place my head in my hands. I feel someone sit next to me, and I know it's Basil.

He sits for about five minutes before he says, "I haven't listened to her; I just don't want to see my daughter on a ventilator, but I also don't want to lose her."

I nod but don't say anything, because I know the fucking feeling.

Two more hours later, the doors open again, and I jump up, knowing it can't be Juan yet. His flight is roughly eight hours.

I see the doctor, his scrubs covered in blood. My face pales, and I go to him with everyone else at my heels. He rubs a hand through his hair as he looks at me.

"It was touch and go; we lost her a few times on the table. I managed to save her large intestine and her lung. Her esophagus is badly bruised but should heal just fine, and she has a concussion, probably from a fall."

He rubs his face and his words filter through my head…. She died on the table…more than once. A tear starts to fall down my cheek, and I don't wipe it away.

The doctor continues, "The bullet was 1 mm from her heart; it was lodged in her chest cavity. She'd lost a lot of blood, but she survived the surgery." I can feel my knees going weak while I hear my mother and Sofia sob. I look at them to see my father holding them both. Avery is holding Sergi up, while my brother grips my arm. Basil stands there stone, still listening to the doctor list his daughter's injuries, and even Selene has gone pale, realizing the severity of the situation.

"The next 48 hours will be the most critical; she's not out of the woods yet." He clears his throat. "She is in an induced coma; we'll try weaning her out of it in 3–4 days, but I don't know if she will wake." My legs give out, but my brother is there holding me up as my father quickly grabs hold of my other arm as the doctor continues. "If shedoeswake up, we're not 100% sure she will be the same again; each time she had to be revived, she was losing oxygen to her brain. If she wakes, she may beawake, but she might notbe there, or she may not have her memories or even her speech and motor skills. We won't know until she regains consciousness."

He reaches forward and squeezes my shoulder. "I'm sorry, Alexandr, but her chances are not great; all we can do is wait and pray that she fights."

Then he turns to leave as I roar out in pain, falling to the ground. My father and brother wrap me in their arms as I sob silently. I can hear my mother and Sofia wailing, and Basil shouting 'no' repeatedly, while Avery tries to help Sergi, who falls apart in her arms.

twenty-two

Phoebe

My body hurts,and my head is pounding. I try to open my eyes, but I can't. Why can't I open my eyes? I panic; my heart rate is accelerating. Suddenly, I hear, "She’s crashing! Get the crash cart in here!”

"Phoebe?" Sergi? He sounds so far away; where is he?

"Phoebe, no!" Alex?

God, he sounds like he’s in so much pain. I feel a jolt go through my body, and it suddenly goes quiet. Where did they go?

I don't know how long it's been, but I hear voices again, whispering in my ear while I feel a warm tingle on my hand and on my cheek.

"Malen'kaya ptitsa, come back to me, sweetheart, I need you; it's been too long since I've seen those beautiful green eyes.S'agapó.”I feel warm lips against the corner of mine. He said “I love you”; he learned Greek, my Alex, but he's struggling with something.

I try to wake up, but I can't; I was leaving him again, everything fading.

Suddenly, I hear Juan. "Come on, sweetheart, you need to open your eyes; Alexandr needs you. He's gone on a rampage, killing many Romanians with Sergi's help. We need you back, your family needs you." Why is Juan here and not in Spain? Fuck, why can I not wake up? My body is tired again, and everything fades.

Suddenly I heard shouting, “Where are you fucking taking her? Phoebe!” Alex is in so much pain.

"Alexandr, she's got internal bleeding; we need to operate again, or we'll lose her."

The voices fade. My body is relaxing again. My mind is fading.

---