Page 63 of Mafiosa
Everything was red and blue. A line of heavily armed policeman surrounded the exit. We stumbled forward, and I slipped into the role of terrified-innocent-teenager more easily than I had hoped possible. I was crying so loudly my voice was resonating with the sirens’ pitch. Luca held my head against him and whispered fake nothings into my hair. His fingers pressing tighter and tighter against the wound, the nausea curling in my stomach.
Over my head, I heard him speaking to the policemen. ‘She’s in shock. She was in the bathroom when it started. I had to drag her out of the stall.’
I pressed my face into his jacket, and wailed some more.
The cops were asking Luca questions about the shooter. He was batting them away expertly. ‘I don’t know. I was withmy girlfriend the whole time. She had a panic attack. Can I take her home?’
I sniffed again. My face had grown deathly pale.
Seeming satisfied and somewhat distracted by our display, the cops ushered us behind them, out of the way, and we joined a huddle of students being herded back from the entrance.
I turned my face to Luca, blinking him into focus.
He was already looking at me, a frown rippling across that smooth composure. ‘How is it now?’ he asked. ‘I’ll ease up the pressure.’
‘I need to lie down.’
He pulled me tighter against him, so I was half leaning, half standing. ‘I’m taking you to the hospital. Vita will have a look at you there.’
‘No,’ I groaned, my head lolling against him. ‘Please, no hospitals.’
‘I’m not taking any chances, Soph.’
‘No outsiders.’
‘Vita is Paulie’s wife. She’s a doctor.’
‘No hospitals,’ I laboured. ‘Can’t you bring Vita to us? If the Marinos came to a school, I doubt they’ll have any moral hesitancies about barging into a hospital. You didn’t see Donata. She’s baying for blood. She’s a loose cannon now.’ I nearly flopped over from the effort of those few sentences.
Luca seemed to be considering it, because instead of arguing back, he went silent. He knew I was right. It was too dangerous, and my condition wasn’t serious enough to warrant the risk.
‘I’ll figure something out,’ he said at last, the words filteredthrough a sigh.
We hobbled further away from the crowds, but not far enough to stop Millie spotting us and making a beeline for us. Cris struggled to stay arm in arm with her; only Millie could sprint like that in heels.
‘Sophie!’ She tried to grab me by my arm.
‘Don’t!’ Luca pulled me backwards. ‘Don’t touch her.’
Millie dropped her hand as if I had burnt her. She narrowed her eyes at Luca, then at me. They widened, just a fraction, taking in my appearance. ‘What. The. Actual. Bloody. Hell. Is. Going. On?’
‘I don’t know,’ I said quickly. My eyes were telling a different story.Don’t talk about this in front of Cris.‘It all happened so fast. I think the shooter’s still in there.’
Millie was having a hard time piecing everything together. I was deathly pale and hanging by a thread. Every passing second, I was leaning more on Luca and less on my own two feet. I had to get the wound seen to. I had to lie down. I turned to look up at him, and as quietly as I could, I told him, ‘I think I’m going to pass out.’
‘We have to go,’ he told Millie shortly. ‘Immediately.’
Millie clocked what was happening – well, maybe not the whole thing, but she could see the strength draining out of me and the urgency creeping into Luca’s voice.
‘ToEvelina?’ she asked him.
‘What’sEvelina?’ said Cris.
‘Yes,’ Luca said to Millie.
‘Are you OK, Sophie?’ Cris said, watching me now too. ‘You don’t look so good.’
‘I got a fright,’ I said, trying to force my head up straight. ‘Ihad a panic attack in the bathroom.’
