Chapter 25
I ran around the side of hospital building straight to the beach. I walked quickly along the sand, looking for her.
A dock stuck out into the sea, and I saw Naomi sitting under it, feeling the tide run over her legs. Her back was to me, and I could see her whole back. The hospital gown lay crumpled beside her on the ground.
I froze, and ran a hand nervously through my hair. I thanked heaven that she was the only person on the whole beach, then I pulled out my phone and texted .
"Found her. I'll bring her back…"
Then I called out to Naomi, who didn't have her phone.
"Noami, I'm here! Will you please put on the gown?"
"No, Gianluca! I can't!"
I ran a hand through my hair again, blushing.
"But…I'll see…"
"I don't care, Gianluca…" she said, pulling her knees to her chest.
I sighed, then shrugged out of my coat and walked up behind her, eyes on the horizon. I draped it over her back, and when she realized what it was, she put her hands through the sleeves and buttoned up the front, then scooted back, out of reach of the tide, brushing sand off of her shorts.
I sat next to her, watching the tears stream down her face.
She turned to look at me, and I reached out and pulled her into my arms. She was shaking, and struggling to breathe, and I knew she needed to get back.
"Naomi, tell me what you're thinking."
She started to cry again, and I held her tightly and kissed her cheeks, tasting her tears on my lips.
"I'm scared, Gianluca! I had a panic attack, and it's hard to breathe, and you left me, and…I don't want to go back!"
"Listen to me, Naomi. You are okay. Everything is fine. The hospital is just a building."
"A building where people die!"
"And a building where people are healed. You don't need to be scared, okay? They made me leave so they could run some tests, and I'm going to stay here overnight with you."
"You will?"
"I will. I won't be able to sleep at home anyway, knowing you're here."
"What if I have another panic attack? They want to give me tranquilizers so that I won't, but…that won't work! As soon as they start to wear off, I'll start to panic! You shouldn't try to keep yourself from having an attack, or it gets worse! Do they not understand!?"
She buried her face in my chest, but then pulled back, gulping for air.
"Naomi, why did you leave?"
She sighed.
"Gianluca, panic attacks are a fight or flight feeling, and I just can't fight anymore!"
I cupped her sweet face in my hand and made her look at me.
"But, Naomi, you are a fighter."
She looked away, out at the water..
"Naomi, today you saved a little girl from a burning building. Just a few days ago, you fell down a mountain after having a panic attack, and then you walked home in the rain! When that guy in the sheep's field grabbed you, you roundhouse-kicked him in the face!"
She smiled.
"Naomi, you are amazing! And you can do this! I will help you go back, and I will stay with you all night. They'll give you some breathing treatments, we'll stay for only a night, and in the morning, when they know you're okay, we'll go home."
She leaned against me.
"I'm scared."
I held her tightly.
"I'm here. You don't need to be."
She was quiet, and then looked up at me and out at the water again.
"Okay, Gianluca. I'll go back. I'll fight."
I smiled, and tilted her head up with my hand to kiss her lips.
"You must be so tired Naomi. You've had quite a rough evening."
She nodded, yawning.
I stood, and she started to clamber to her feet, reaching for my arm to help herself get up, but I reached down and scooped her up into my arms, holding her firmly to my chest.
"I love you, Naomi."
"I love you too, Gianluca," she whispered.
I slid my foot under the gown, kicking it into the air and catching it on Naomi's middle.
She giggled.
"Let's go, my love."
I started walking back to the hospital, holding her firmly and carefully.
*Naomi's point of View
I was so tired, and Gianluca's arms were safe and strong and loving.
He snuck me through the waiting room and brought me down the hallway to my room, pulling back the covers and gently setting me down.
He placed the crumpled gown on a chair and went to find the nurse, who came in and scolded me for leaving, and then thanked Gianluca me for finding me. She let me remain in his jacket instead of the gown.
Gianluca told her that he would watch me and make sure I didn't leave again, and the nurse sheepishly agreed. I wasn't too pleased with her for sending Gianluca away. It was scary, waking up and seeing he was gone, and starting to have the panic attack. I knew it was stupid of me to leave, but I felt like I had to get out of there. I sleepily reached out to Gianluca, and he sat next to me, texting my mom, who came running in a minute later.
I explained everything that had happened without hiding anything, and she understood, but was frustrated with me for taking off the gown on the beach, which I understood.
"You are crazy, girl!" she said, kissing my cheek and putting the things she had brought me on a chair.
Gianluca moved to the wall for my mom to sit next to me.
"Mom," I said. "I'm okay, really, and Gianluca's going to stay with me. Will you go home and sleep?"
She shook her head.
"I don't think so, Naomi."
"Mom, I know you hate the hospital, too. I don't want you to have to stay here for no reason. Gianluca will keep me sane, okay? Please go home!"
I reached my hand out to Gianluca, who immediately came back to my side.
"I'll take care of her, ."
She sighed.
"Naomi…"
"Please, mom? I hate making you stay here."
She was quiet, watching me.
"Are you sure, sweetheart?"
"Absolutely! I want to keep as few people here worrying over me as possible! Go home!"
"Okay, Naomi. Call me if you want me to come back, okay? I'll be here in the morning!"
I nodded, and she kissed my cheek, and told Gianluca to text her if anything happens, and he agreed. As soon as my mom left, I sighed and leaned back against the bed.
"It's exhausting acting like you're not exhausted," I admitted, and Gianluca smiled and came to sit next to me. I cuddled up to his chest, and he kissed my head, putting his arm around me to hold me firmly.
"Okay, Naomi," he said softly. "You need to let Piero and Ignazio see you now."
"Do I? I hate all these people worrying over me, Gianluca!""
"Yes, you have to. They've been waiting, and they need to see you're okay."
I nodded.
"They can come in."
I insisted on sitting up on my own, trying not to look quite so pathetic.
He texted them, and they came quickly to the room, entering cautiously and smiling at me, Piero looking nervous, and Ignazio looking exited to see me, his dimples showing.
They came to the bed and each took one of my hands and kissed it, and I smiled. They were so sweet! They both sat at the edge of the bed and watched me intently.
"Are you okay, Naomi?" Piero asked, and I nodded, though my lungs ached. I never thought breathing could hurt so much.
"How do you feel?" Ignazio asked.
"It hurts…to breathe. But I'll be okay, as long as there's no swelling or anything."
"Gosh, I bet you're tired!" Piero said, and I nodded, giving up and leaning against Gianluca, who warmly accepted me against his chest. He was so warm, his arms so strong, and his scent so comforting.
"We'll let you sleep this time," Ignazio said, and I smiled a little at the reference to the night of the mountain disaster.
"Gosh, you scared us, Naomi!" Piero said.
"I'm sorry…Thank you for coming to see me, guys," I said to them. "I really appreciate it."
They nodded, and Ignazio shook his head in disbelief.
"You, Naomi, are something else."
They kissed my hands again, and promised to visit me when I went home in the morning, then to my delight, Gianluca suggested the three of them sing something before they left.
After discussing for several minutes what to sing (such perfectionists!), they finally sang "We are Love," and I closed my eyes, listening blissfully, feeling the intakes of Gianluca's breaths as he sang.
They boys left, and I fell asleep against Ginaluca.
After about an hour, a nurse came in and woke me up, to give me a breathing treatment. I was exhausted, but I was happy to for the momentary aid. It was noisy, though, and it was bright in the hospital, and cold! I just wanted to sleep!
As I breathed in the medicine, I started to remember that I was in the dreaded hospital, and my heart started to pound. I started to get stiff and wide-eyed, and I started clinging to Gianluca's shirt again. He took my hand in his, and made me look at him.
The ability to breathe at all was slipping away, and I began to gasp.
Gianluca held my hands tightly and kept telling me I was okay, and as I stared into his calm expression and listened to his soothing voice, I started to calm down. My lungs relaxed and I slowly inhaled, replacing lost oxygen. My lungs felt dry and hot, and I coughed.
The treatment finished, and the nurse returned to give me some pills to swallow.
Gianluca took the blanket my mother had brought and unfolded it.
He draped it over me, and I snuggled up to him again, closing my eyes.
I slept, but soon Gianluca was jostling me, and the nurse was back to give me another treatment.
I moaned.
"Can't you let me sleep?" I asked them.
"Naomi, you're wheezing," Gianluca said. "You need a treatment."
He took the mask from the nurse's hand and slipped over my nose and mouth.
The smoke from the machine curled up to the ceiling as I breathed in the medicine. The medicine made me shaky, and made my heart speed up, and it made me unable to sleep for a while.
"It speeds up the breathing system, and everything else, too," the nurse explained.
When the treatment finished, I raised my shaking hand to rest on Gianluca's chest, and he took it and kissed my fingers.
I fell into a light sleep, and suddenly, I was five years old, watching a burning building collapse, killing everyone inside. I woke up, pulling away from Gianluca, panting, struggling to breathe and failing. Tears were running from my eyes, and I buried my face in my hands.
Gianluca took my arm and I turned to him. He pulled me to him, and I buried my face in his chest.
"Gianluca!" I said, muffled. "I should tell you about what happened today."
He nodded.
"I wanted to know, but I didn't want you to have to tell me if you didn't want to think about it."
I leaned against him, catching my breath, and he carefully wiped under my eyes with his thumb, and then pulled the hospital blanket over me again.
"I was watching the fire, and I felt like I was a scared little kid again, watching the houses on my street burn down. I heard a little girl screaming, and I knew I had to save her, because no one else was going to!"
I sat up, moving my hands to his face.
"Gianluca!" I said. "I need you to go find that little girl! I need you to make sure she's okay! I need you to find out what happened to her!"
He took my hands.
"Okay, I will. I will find out!"
The nurse came in, then, and Gianluca stood, speaking in rapid Italian, and she spoke back, while she took a stethoscope and listened to my breathing.
Gianluca was asking her something over and over, until she left, and then he took my hands.
"Can you walk?"
I nodded, and stood.
He wrapped a hand around my waist, steadying me, and led me out of the room and down the hallway.
"Gianluca, where are we going?"
"We're going to see her."
We went down a few doors, and Gianluca stopped at one and knocked.
The door opened after a moment, by the man who was screaming and trying to run into the fire earlier.
Gianluca spoke to him in rapid Italian, and the man took my hand and knelt in front of me, speaking to me in Italian.
"He says you have saved his little girl, and he thanks you," Gianluca explained, and I blushed and nodded.
He stood and led us into the room, where there were two beds. In one slept a woman who was being tended to at the fire. She was being given a breathing treatment, and her head and leg were wrapped in bandages. The little girl lay in the other bed, sleeping peacefully, smiling a little. She had bandages over what I presumed were burn wounds, and she had stitches on her sides. A machine was helping her to breathe.
I went to the side of the bed, and quietly watched her while Gianluca spoke with the man. Then he came to me and hugged me.
"The woman is the girl's mother. She got injured while trying to save the daughter, and someone dragged her out, but didn't know about the little girl. But Naomi, they are both going to be okay."
I smiled.
"Naomi, do you realize you're a hero?" Gianluca asked, and I averted my eyes and shook my head a little, suddenly feeling very tired. I put a hand on his arm.
"Gianluca, can we go back? I feel very weak."
He nodded and bent to pick me up, holding me carefully to his chest.
He carried me back to my room and sat me on the bed.
He sat next to me and I lay against him.
"I found her in a burning bedroom, hooked on a heap of burning boards. I pulled her away from the fire, and found that I couldn't go down the steps. So I found a window, and I jumped out and landed in the pool."
I started to tremble, and he held me tightly and kissed my temple.
"Gianluca? I think my dad helped me somehow to save her."
He smiled.
"Really?"
I nodded, smiling back, and shivered.
Gianluca picked up the hospital blanket and draped it around me, and cuddled with me, wrapping both arms tightly around me.
I slept, and hated having to wake up so often for breathing treatments. Gianluca was so warm and comfortable, and strong, and I just wanted to sleep. His arm was around me, gently supporting me against him.
When the nurse left after a treatment, I looked up at him, and he looked down at me, and I reached up to kiss him, and he kissed me softly back, reaching to gently touch my face. I laid my head on his chest.
I loved him. I loved him so much. I reached up my hand to rest it on his chest, and he rested his hand on top of mine.
"I love, you, Naomi."
"I love you too, Gianluca."
He closed his eyes and smiled when I said it, and then opened them to gaze at me again, shaking his head.
"You're so wonderful, Naomi…and you need to rest. His arm moved to adjust me against him. "Should I sing you a lullaby?"
"Yes please!"
He started to sing, "This Time," and I closed my eyes, listening, and fell asleep again, safe and comforted.