Page 73 of Viparious

I ignore history telling me I’m wrong — I would fucking know.

He speaks slowly, carefully, as he directs me to the side, unable to meet my eyes.

“Your wife has lost a lot a blood and we’ve started infusions. Your daughter is in the progressive care nursery if you would like to see her.”

Nodding along, I’m not taking any information in because he hasn’t said they’re alive.

“They’ll be okay?”

He smiles, but it’s sad, and refuses to offer any promises.

“We’re doing everything we can for your wife. Your daughter is four pounds and two ounces, a healthy weight for her size.”

One moment, I’m trying to gather the information because he didn’t say ‘yes, they are alive’ like he should have. The next, he’s choking, and I can see my hand around his neck. But I’m not in my body, and someone grabs my arm, pulling me into it and forcing me to look down. I expect to see Inessa rolling her eyes, telling me not to kill anyone. Instead, Valentin holds me back and I don’t realize I’d raised my other hand. He pulls my fist back from meeting the doctor’s face and speaks with maturity he doesn’t possess.

“You can go do your job and make sure my sister pulls through. Vlad, let him go.”

Fuck, my hand is still around his neck.

My fingers loosen as I let the doctor go. His face is already red, and he chokes down air as my brother does what I can’t. There’s no tantrum and he acts like a fucking adult, making everything weird as fuck. I can’t breathe and I’m hyperaware of everyone around me forcing me to remain standing. I could breathe when I was pacing, but this dick forced me to stay still, and everything is slamming into me.

I should have kept moving, she would have been okay.

If I ran faster, she would have been okay.

Valentin received the same information I did, but he somehow manages to make sense of it and allows the doctor to walk away. Turning to me, he nods his head towards the hall. I follow him to keep moving, and he waits until we’re alone to speak.

“Go see your daughter. It’s not right that she’s alone,” he says softly.

My fucked up brain doesn’t make sense of his words and I’m about to question him when he points towards wherever the doctor said.

“Go, man, she doesn’t have anyone while they’re helping Inessa,”he urges again.

I can’t make my feet move. If it was to fight or to kill someone, it would be easy. Swallowing around the lump in my throat, I delegate. “Sit with her. Make sure they’re doing what they should to help until Inessa’s ready. One of them cunts so much as makes her murmur, kill the fucker.”

He looks me up and down with his lip curled up then shakes his head and scoffs, “You’re a prick.”

There’s no other argument and he does what he’s told while I go back to my pacing.

They’ll both be okay. I’ll handpick guards and train them. They’ll move back in, and I’ll move to another floor so they’re never alone and they’ll both be safe.As long as I keep moving, they’ll be okay.

* * *

It’sthe second instance of me sitting at my wife’s hospital bedside, but she’s not conscious this time. The machine beeping only shows one heart rate and the looks of disgust have multiplied. Between my swollen hands and her bruised face, the dumb fucks have painted me as the artist behind her tapestry of blues and purples.I would never be able to raise a finger to her, never mind actually cause her pain.

My brain has altered to make her voice the internal argument, telling me I already have hurt her. Taking her hand, I trace the brand I placed on her ring finger. She can’t get rid of me, I’m on her skin. I’ll be there to watch them, no one will get near them. Not me, or anyone else. They’ll be locked away like true royalty and only experience the world high up from a balcony.

Her hands aren’t as warm, so I take them both and hold them between mine.

“Wake up, meelaya, I’ll leave your life if you open your eyes.”

Not blue.

Her heart is beating, I can see the proof of it. But she’s lost too much blood, all because I was wrong and didn’t kill that fucker years ago. She would have been safe.She should have been safe. She is at the top of the hierarchy for fuck’s sake.

The door opens, and I sit taller as Ana pokes her head through. She whispers as though Inessa is asleep rather than refusing to come out from the anesthetic.

“Maximoff has asked for you.”

---