Time stopped. My lungs collapsed. My legs gave up on me, and I fell to the floor beside a bloodied Alice.

What just happened?

"Alice!" Basilio called, kneeling beside Dario's mom and pressing on her shoulder. She fired her gun at Atlas right when he was about to shoot Dario, saving him. She took a bullet for her son, so why was I on the ground?

"Bambi... Baby, don't close your eyes!" Dario held my head in his hands and looked at my chest. His tears confused me as I did not know what was happening. Things felt different. Like I was on a cloud, trying to focus on the horizon.

"Why are you crying?" I asked as I weakly rubbed his cheek, wiping his few stray tears.

"Amore," he choked and kissed my forehead. "Atlas shot you, too. Just keep your eyes open for me, Bambi. Don't you dare close them!" As he said those words, everything turned dark.

How cliche can it get?

~~~

Dario

"Camila!" I yelled for Izan's sister at the top of my lungs, making everyone flinch. She was already one step ahead of me as she held a large bag and dropped to the floor next to my love. Blood was everywhere. I could not tame the raging fear in my heart.

I heard crying in the background, probably Phoebe and Diana, but I blocked them out. I only focused on my sleeping angel. She was bleeding way too much. "Camila, per favore. Save my Bambi. She's my world. She's my everything. I am begging you!" I pleaded with all my might to the heart surgeon, not caring for the whispers and looks. 

Camila nodded, looking as professional as ever. She took a quick glance at Alice and then put on the gloves. "Ma'am, your wound is shallow. Just keep pressure on it." I glanced at Alice but could not find the emotions to care for her. 

"Don't mind me, save her." Alice's tears were foreign to me, but she was not my focus. She could rot in hell for all I care. I wanted my girl to be alright. I was done with this fucked up world of mine.

Camila sterilized her tools and hands and pointed at her brother. "Izan, hand me the scissors," she instructed firmly and got to work. I saw as she cut my baby's dress, and the gunshot wound was clear as day. She did not deserve any of this. It was my fault. I was a fucked up mess and dragged her into my darkness.

I felt hands wrap around my shoulders. I weakly looked up and saw Enola crying. "It'll be alright, fratello. She will survive. She's a fighter. She's your Bambi. She's our Jolene."

"Did anyone call an ambulance?" Camila asked, catching our attention as she tried to locate the bullet. The sight was too gruesome for me to handle. I saw worse wounds than this, but when my Bambi was cut open like that...

She was too delicate for this.

She did not deserve any evil in her life.

I should have finished Atlas when I had the chance.

"They are on their way, and Dr. Snow is waiting at the hospital to assist you," Mattia explained as he held Andrea protectively, holding back his tears.

"It's my fault," I muttered weakly, but Enola did not hear me.

"What was that?"

"It's all my fault! I should have killed him. Why didn't I? I always make this mistake! I am a fucking faliure. I can't protect my girl, so why am I still breathing when she's not?"

"Dario! She's still breathing. She's alive. She will make it! Have faith, will you? Don't be a wuss and man up for a bit. You are the Don, for fuck's sake!" Lazlo yelled at me with teary eyes, and I was taken aback because it was the first time I saw Lazlo this angry at me. This expressive.

"I agree with Lazlo, Don. Have faith in our Donna," Orlando said, and Abramo, Giovanni, and Fabio nodded.

"I-"

"I got the bullet." I snapped my head to Camila, who held a bullet with a clamp in her hands. But she cursed and covered the wound with her hands before I could breathe. "Shit, an artery must have ruptured. Izan, hold her still. I will grab the source of the bleeding with my hand. Dario, this will get ugly." Her warning did not faze me as she inserted her gloved fingers into her chest.

"Oh my God," I heard Phoebe cry, looking at the scene as she held a phone to her ear. "You need to come to Sicily." She was talking to Dante. My angel's dad. How could I face him? "She's been shot... I- I don't k-know," she said, breathing heavily, and after a few seconds, she ended the call.

One of my men came to my side, carefully assessing the situation, and told me that the ambulance had arrived. Paramedics rushed inside with a gurney. "Quello che è successo? What happened?" The older woman asked as she saw Camila's hand in Jolene's chest.

"Gunshot wound to the chest. I am a heart surgeon." She adjusted her position, and I felt my stomach flip. "I removed the bullet, but I had to grab the artery. I can't remove my hand, or she dies, so I must get on the gurney with her and ride with you."

Both looked skeptical for a second until they saw me. They knew who I was. "Very well, can you men help us?" the younger woman asked, and Lazlo and Orlando were on the move. I could not hold myself without Enola's help.

I was pathetic.

~~~

"Camila, what did you do?" Dr. Snow asked the moment he saw the sight. He was horrified at the amount of lost blood. 

"What I had to do. I can't remove my hand, or she will bleed out. Take us to the surgery room, and you can take things over from there..." As she explained everything to Dr. Snow, we were ordered to wait outside.

I let my men wait outside and deal with the mess left at the Ball, but Enola, Grandpa, Alice, Phoebe, and I entered and waited near the surgery floor. A nurse took Alice to a room to check her wound, and I rested my head on the wall, praying and waiting.

"Please, God, don't take her away from me."

A moment of silence passed, and my phone rang. I pulled it from my pocket and paled as I looked at the called ID. I did not dare to talk to him and tell him that his daughter was fighting death while she was under my protection.

"Answer it." I handed my phone to my grandpa. 

"Dante," he answered in a clear tone and put it on speaker. I did not want to listen. 

"How's my b-baby girl?" his voice broke as he sobbed. I did this. "I am already on my jet. I will be there in about eight hours. But tell me, is she alive?"

Grandpa sighed. "Yes, she is alive. She's in surgery now, but don't worry. They have the best doctors, and they will treat her to the best of their abilities. Jolene is a fighter. She is stronger than she looks."

Dante cried harder over the phone, and I broke down. I slammed my head on the wall behind me, wanting to bleed. "Oh, please, God..." he pleaded, and Phoebe shut her mouth with her hands to not let him hear her cry.

"Dante," I called and waited a second before I could say, "I am sorry..."

"Did you pull the trigger?" Dante asked me, and I shook my head, crying harder than before.

I shook my head again despite him not seeing me. "No, but I could have prevented this," I reasoned as Enola patted my shoulder and rubbed my hair.

"Son, it's not on you. Atlas is dead, right?"

"Yes."

"He got what he deserves. Do not blame yourself, Dario. She will make it, and you will build your future together. I heard what you promised her years ago... You promised to be her future, so man the fuck up and wait for my baby. She does not need a sobbing motherfucker next to her. She needs a man."

I could not help but chuckle weakly at his words. 

He was right.

"All we can do is pray." With that, Dante ended the call, and I sighed.

They looked at me. "You promised her that? Does she know?" Enola asked gently.

"No, she doesn't know. She doesn't remember. Bambi was very sick that day and barely three years old."

"When will you tell her?" Phoebe remarked as she sat on the chair next to my grandpa.

"When I propose." As I said that, I stood up and started walking toward the exit. It was like something snapped inside of me. "Call me if anything happens." I ignored their shouts and rushed to my men. "Qualcuno mi presti la sua macchina, per favore," I requested and Abramo handed me his car keys without hesitation. [Someone lend me their car, please.]

"Dove stai andando? Dovremmo venire con te?" Lazlo asked, looking concerned, and I shook my head. [Where are you going? Should we come with you?]

I ignored them, got into Abramo's car, and drove to my destination. I might be crazy, but I was crazy in love with Jolene Hansley, and I want her to be Jolene Romano.

I am done waiting.

~~~ 

9.11.2023 

I got emotional writing this!