Animus (11 page)

Nico closed his eyes; wishing guns could undo this tragedy; however bullets could not slaughter faceless enemies. His intuition told him to trust, blindly and for the first time in his life, he did. “Sí, mama…my hatred has ceased. Ti amo.”

Sergio walked alongside his Uncle as they navigated the hilly descent. “Aren’t you glad I stopped you from killing that woman?”

Nico was not in the mood for Sergio’s yapping. “Silenzio!”

“I’m just saying, what if you would have shot that lady and then f
ound out she didn’t do anything wrong, I mean that would suck, right?”

Nico scoffed. “I don’t go back and recheck facts. If I killed her, she’s dead. End of story. Once you start regret
ting one killing, you start a downward spiral.”

“Are you seriously that cold Uncle or are you trying to scare me and shit?”

“You should have gotten scared a long time ago.” Nico walked faster in a hurry to get to the car and away from his talkative nephew.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Sophie and Amelda were in the room waiting for Giuseppe to open his eyes. Seventy-two hours had passed
–yesterday. The doctor said his vitals remained stable, no subdural hemorrhaging was seen on the latest CT scan, therefore the prognosis was good, unless Giuseppe awoke and there were neurological changes undetected by the tests. They had begun to wean him off the meds and the ventilator, this was now the fourth day of their waiting and yet Giuseppe had failed to wake. She went home to change and returned praying he’d open his eyes and say, “Mama…mama.” Those are the words she wanted to hear.

Fear set in. A mother’s nightmare was her son never speak
ing or walking, but only sleep. She’d said good-bye to Selange in the fog of the stressful days. Her love for the woman surpassed any feelings she had for her friend. Oh, that Shanda had stolen her grandson, promised to call to check on Giuseppe, but she hadn’t. She swore, oh how she promised that Shanda would meet her fury if she continued to keep her grandson away. The most important thing at the moment was her son. He required a mother’s serenity, absent of storms.

The specialist, along with other medical staff hovered to assess the patient once he awoke. But he didn’t. This was day five.

Sophie gripped Amelda’s hand. Her fingers tightened around her daughters for strength. Her eyes were on her son’s face willing him to wake up. She missed Carlo in that moment, and yearned for his presence. In a mother’s vigil, a door opened and the man who walked to her side, hugged mother and daughter, bringing strength and faith. The eyes of Giuseppe’s brother, lighter and an effervescent blue could see. He did not need words to understand the situation. Something was wrong, or else Giuseppe would have awakened.

He rubbed their spines. “He’ll come out of it. Geo’s tough.”

He released them and walked to Giuseppe who breathed with an oxygen mask. The doctors dispersed respectfully to the hall. Alfonzo scoffed, looked down at his brother whose eyelashes fluttered like wings. He was fighting to get loose from the hold of sleep. It is the hand of a brother, touching another in solidarity and the timbre of a mountain speaking in a shared language that quieted a mother’s fears. “
Mio fratello, sangue che amo. Ho bisogno di te. Papà ci ha derubato entrambi, ma abbiamo cominciato a recuperare il tempo perduto. Sulla tomba dei nostri antenati, si prega di restituire alla tua famiglia.”

Sophie wiped the wetness from her cheeks
during Alfonzo’s speech. “My brother, blood I love. I need you. Papa robbed us both but we have begun to make up for lost time. On the grave of our ancestors, please return to your family.”

No immediate reaction came, and then Alfonzo felt Giuseppe’s hand gripping his. The nerves in his arm caught fire when his brother tightened his fingers around Alfonzo’s wrist. The eyes on his face were like seeing the sky when sight is gained. Despite his pain Alfonzo leaned over to kiss Giuseppe’s cheeks. A weight so heavy had lifted causing a broken chest to heave involuntarily and Alfonzo sobbed.

Sophie and Amelda rushed to Alfonzo. Their arms and bodies pressed his spine. They clutched hold; their cheeks touched the cloth of his suit jacket, his solid body, firm pillows of warmth. Only once had they witnessed Alfonzo’s passionate love. Today they saw him stripped bare to cry for his brother. Their tears were not only happiness Giuseppe was no longer asleep, they cried in gratitude for this person of strength who was unashamed of displaying affection.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Shanda misplaced her darn cell. The last time she had it was at the airport before she boarded the plane, at least that’s what she thought. All of her contacts were in that phone. The only person’s number she memorized was Selange’s, but her friend wasn’t answering her calls. She called the hospital every day to check on Giuseppe and received the same rote response. “No English.”

“Ugh,” she grumbled irritably. Maybe, she shouldn’t have left. Her parents were becoming over-bearing, not in a bad way, but smothering her and Carlo to death with love. Each time she stared into her son’s face, Giuseppe’s image stared back and slowly guilt began to creep inside. Her parents weren’t helping; they acted as if Giuseppe never existed and she had a child by Immaculate Conception or an alien swooped down and
gave her the baby.

Her mother came into the room as Shanda tried again to contact the hospital for information. “Are you coming with us to dinner?” she asked with a sanctimonious smile.

“No, ma. Go ahead.”

“Are you trying to reach that man again?”

“Yes I am.”

“Here it came.
The, ‘you’re better off without the thug’ speech. “You know baby girl, Carlo is much safer here. Are you so in love with that person, you’d risk having your baby killed?”

Shanda’s hand slightly trembled. The mention of how close she came to losing Carlo elicited panic. The pounding in her chest grew loud and made her gasp. “No.”

“Then you have to let him go…for Carlo’s sake. Let him go.”

The phone was placed back into the charging bay. Maybe, her mom was right. If anything happened to her baby, she’d have herself to blame. Giuseppe had plenty of family. They’d take care of him, after-all she was an outsider, at least now she was home
...safe.

~ ~

The delirium lasted hours. Giuseppe didn’t know where he was, he only remembered the sounds of people talking in his head. His eyes danced around the room, searching faces for someone but not knowing who. He saw Lucia, their eyes locked and he smiled. He was being assessed, asked questions, and directed to move his limbs as if they were broken. He flexed his leg and the doctor’s joyful face puzzled him. Why did they all smile like imbeciles?

Lucia looked worried. Giuseppe called her name when the doctor walked away to
confer with a nurse. The others in the room maintained their distance in his foggy brain. They were vague visions, except Lucia who stood vivid and not a dream. Their love was strong. “Bella, I have missed you.”

“Buongiorno Geo, I am glad you are well.”

“Where is my kiss of greeting?”

Lucia’s eyes widened as Giuseppe’s family looked on. They did not know the secret of teenage lovers. Giuseppe was speaking too much of the past. She sought to quiet him and kissed his dry lips. Sophie’s countenance changed at her action. Her spine went stiff as did Amelda’s in disapproval.

Alfonzo’s eyebrow ascended. The fondness in which his brother spoke to Lucia confirmed what he suspected. She was after-all Amelda’s best friend and Matteo’s sister. And Giuseppe was quite the lady’s man. From the intimate scene unfolding, the two shared a past.

“Your kiss is sweet. Do not worry donna…our families will embrace our child. We are young but we are in love, no?”

Sophie gasped. Amelda yanked Lucia away by the arm.

Giuseppe rubbed his aching head. His eyes roamed, shutting out the voices of women talking loudly. He saw a man with eyes which mirrored his and a sudden recognition occurred. “Fratellino!”

“Grande fratello, good to hear your voice,” Alfonzo responded and stepped closer to the bed.

“Mama…is she here fratellino?”

Sophie had been there all along. Amelda and Lucia’s voices increased in volume. Her daughter was as shocked as her mother about what Giuseppe said. Bambino, what bambino? Lucia hadn’t given birth. Giuseppe was confused, he had to be. “Sí, mama is here figlio. Mama has never left.”

Giuseppe reached for her hand and held. The
weariness from the medication rested on his eyelids. “I am tired…mama…I do not want to sleep.”

“Rest is good for healing.”

Panicked blue irises with the intensity of someone nearly crazed opened wide. “Carlo…mi donna…mi donna…dove sono?”

Sophie shrieked as her son seized her arms, shaking them so hard there was pain. She couldn’t break free which required Alfonzo’s intervention. He pried Giuseppe’s finger
s loose but then Giuseppe took possession of his neck.  His hands were iron clamps on his brother’s throat as he demanded the whereabouts of Shanda and his son.

Blood spread across one side of Alfonzo’s collar. The bandage nearly touching his ear stained like red dye to seep through Giuseppe’s fingers. Alfonzo’s face contorted. Veins under pressure protruded from Alfonzo’s skin, his hands were weak compared to Giuseppe’s strength. The heat climbing to Alfonzo’s skull flushed
the color from his face and sharp bolts of electricity careened to his hands. The bodyguard tried to assist, but Giuseppe had such a vice-grip, nothing could break it.

“Dove sono?” Giuseppe asked again and again.

Alfonzo’s eyes fluttered. Weakness from his injuries made it difficult to deflect. By the hands of his brother he saw death.

Dizziness.

Twisting.

Weightless.

Numbness soon counter-balanced Alfonzo’s pain.

“They’re safe,” is the answer Sophie cried frantically. This seemed to calm her son’s fears.

Giuseppe’s fingers relaxed. The panic had subsided. Tired he slumped back. Alfonzo’s skin had a cyanotic tint. Blood dripped upon the white sheet. There’s a lucidity which replaces madness when a loved one is hurt. In such a moment, Giuseppe saw his brother’s injury and a gut-wrenching sadness stole across the chiseled face. Alfonzo’s eyeballs rolled to show white and the tiny optic veins. Alfonzo’s legs buckled and he collapsed. A soldati caught him before his head struck the floor.

Sophie squealed. Amelda and Lucia’s argument had turned into a physical altercation. Their fighting resulted in an overturned tray. Clatter is what Giuseppe heard
and chose to ignore the incessant shrieking. Bloody hands fascinated him. The gurney being wheeled in, Alfonzo being lifted onto the plastic mattress without a covering was a dream. Women in fine clothing, screaming and pummeling one another was the fantasy of someone asleep. He’d become accustomed to such nightmares. But this blood, why did it seem so real? “How did this get here?” he asked the air.

More soldati entered straight into
the chaos. They found the Capo de tutti unconscious and women rolling on the floor. The doctor ordered them out and hands touched waists in bold threats that silenced any further comments. The women were separated, Lucia escorted from the hospital. In parting Amelda shouted. “Non e 'finita Lucia!”

“Eravamo giovani. Avevo paura!” Lucia yelled before the door closed in her face.

Amelda hurried to her mother as frightened eyes assessed the mayhem. “Mama what has happened?” she asked as a nurse administered oxygen to her bleeding cousin.

“Giuseppe attacked Alfonzo.”

“Oh mio Dios!”

“Is it true about Lucia?” Sophie questioned through heavy breaths of anxiety.

“Sí mama, she says they were young and she was afraid, that is why she terminated the bambino!”

Sophie frowned. Giuseppe had never spoken of this. The past cannot be undone. She did not hate Lucia; frightened young girls sometimes do foolish things. Giuseppe had a son, his name was Carlo and he is the child who lived.

A doctor attended to Alfonzo’s wounds. Giuseppe’s fingers had reopened the site and another suturing was performed. The women watched helplessly, praying Alfonzo was not gravely injured.

Giuseppe turned to see his brother and shouted. “Fratellino, who did this to you
, I will kill him. Tell me, who fratellino?”

Sophie clutched her breast. Giuseppe was hallucinating and unable to remember what occurred. Had he gone mad?

Thankfully, Alfonzo breathed and the pallor disappeared. The doctor’s informed Sophie, Giuseppe experienced an ICU psychosis. Once the medications were out of his body the condition usually disappears. Meanwhile, he was given a small dose of Ativan to calm him as a frightened mother chewed on her lip.