Adeline Santiago's POV.

I burst through the hospital doors, more pissed off than I have ever been in my life.

Who dares to put a bullet in my brother?!

And what stupidity causes him to pull some shit like this?!

Now is not the time to be manly, it's the time to realise your mortality.

I walk with some crazy speed to the front desk and ask of my brother, Matéo follows close behind.

Everything about her disposition screams 'long day' from the way her dyed hair had been tied into a messy pineapple on her head, to the way she slouches in her chair, clicking on the mouse to her computer screen almost robotically

I don't care.

The lady at the front desk asks me some unnecessary questions like how old I am and what my middle name is.

I slap my hand down on the desk making the lady jump and look up from her computer.

"Let me go and see my brother now!" I yell.

She shakily mentions the room number and I speed off to the room.

I burst through the door and see commotion.

Doctors and nurses are sprinting around the room, grabbing things and I half expect to see Elijah laying on the hospital bed in extreme pain.

A doctor meets me at the door.

"May I help you?" He asks and I feel as if I am going to kill the next person to block me from seeing my brother.

"My name is Adeline Santiago and I am looking for my brother Elijah Carter " I state.

"Ah, I am Doctor Richard Moyes, you may recall our phone conversation" He says,extending his hand but I ignore it, only wanting the details on Elijah.

Matéo takes my hand and squeezes it reassuringly.

"What is going on with my brother?" I ask him.

"With your permission, we knocked him out and he is in surgery at the moment and we are working on him the best that we can, hoping that he may pull through if he survives the..." the doctor starts but I cut him off.

"No! When he survives!" I yell.

"You will make sure that my brother survives or else you and I will undergo a very long and painful process that you don't want to start with me right now, doctor" I fume, using his title, rather than his name for more emphasis.

The doctor takes a deep breath and continues.

"I can see that you are quite upset but I need to calm down..."

That is it!

Before I can wring the guys neck, Matéo hauls me away, pulling me to the waiting room, kicking and struggling to go back.

He pulls me into a corner and sits me down, without saying a word.

He hugs me and I relax, burying my face in his chest and I cry like I have never cried in my life.

I sob and sob and sob until my head aches and I can't even cry anymore.

After a good few minutes, I hear the sound of clattering and someone shouting.

"What the fuck do you mean, there is no fucking evidence!" The voice yells.

Jerome?

I look up to see Jerome talking to someone down the phone.

He looks angry but then he sees me, takes a deep breath before speaking again.

"I want to know who shot my brother, what kind of bullet they used, where their family lives, who they work for and the best way in which to track them down by the end of the week  or else it will be your blood that will be mopped off of the floor by the time I am through with you, am I clear?" He asks. 

His voice is deathly still and calm.

But he is angry.

I can hear the vengeance in his voice.

He doesn't wait for the person on the phone to respond, he cuts the call.

He walks into the room as if the conversation never even occurred.

He doesn't even have to say a word.

He stretches out his arms and I run into them, leaving Matéo still sitting there.

I hug Jerome but I don't cry.

Not in front of him.

"Where are mom and dad?" I ask him.

"Mom is on her way" he says.

"And dad?" I ask ignoring the fact that there is a chance that our parents don't even know that Jerome is still alive.

Do they?

No, Elijah doesn't even know.

Does he?

"Do they know?" I whisper, pulling away from him and returning to Matéo.

He shakes his head, no.

"Dad doesn't know and neither does Elijah." he whispered.

He is still so scared of our dad?...

"So mom knows?!" I ask, stating what he has basically already said.

He nods and looks a bit guilty.

There is an uncomfortable silence.

For the sake of Elijah, I say nothing.

As if on cue, our mother opens the door and walks through it, closing it after her.

She spots us and opens up her arms to hug me.

I step back and go and sit next to my husband.

She turns to Jerome.

"You told her without me?" She asks him accusingly.

He nods and then bows his head. My mother turns to me.

"Baby, I was going to tell you..." She said but I hold up my hand.

"Save it. We will talk about it later. I state.

She closes her mouth.

We all sit in down and wait, hoping for the best.

                                 ***

*A few weeks later*

It's been a good 2 weeks and my father still hasn't shown up.

My mother said something about a new shipment coming through.

So that is his fucking excuse?!

Work!

Again!

For how long?!

But what did I expect?

I am still not talking to my mother and Jerome feels as if it's best to wait until Elijah has healed up properly.

The surgery went well and the doctor claims that Elijah was 'very lucky'.

I went to go and see him afterwards but he was still asleep.

There were tubes coming off in every direction and it was horrible!

He looked so lifeless in his all white hospital clothes, the colour drained from his skin and his body completely still.

I walk in to my brother's room to check on him.

He is now awake for the first time since getting shot.

He is sat up and is talking to a nurse, who seems to be trying to convince him about something.

I rush over to him and he reaches out his hand to me.

I take his hand and run my other hand along the waves in his hair.

He looks into my eyes and suddenly looks away, before he bursts into tears.

I feel myself choke up with shock as I hug his head to my abdomen.

"Ade, I loved her..." He mutters in between the sobs.

He voice is all croaky as if he hasn't drank any water properly for weeks.

"What?" I ask but he doesn't seem to hear my question.

"I loved her more than anything and she shot me! She actually shot me" he cries.

I try and comfort him by stroking his hair.

"Who did this to you?" I whisper.

He shakes his head and avoids my gaze.

"You'll kill her if I tell you" he mutters.

"Elijah, please, I can't just let you go through this" I goad.

He shakes his head and looks away.

He won't tell me and my heart starts to crack in two.
---------------------------------------------
Hey all!

What did you think?

Tell me in the comments and don't forget to vote.

~ xo.