Thanks to Yaoi-Is-Life-and-Love, Cat on the table, Senii, Praise's Waterfall and an anon for reviewing.

Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia.

Chapter 64

When Romulus entered the hospital room, he could have sworn he felt his heart stop for a brief moment. Fryderyk gave him a sympathetic look before leaving him be. Numbly, Romulus took a few tentative steps closer to Lovino.

He was paler than he'd ever seen him before. It was even worse than last time, and the only colour came from the bruise decorating his face. There was a tube attached to his mouth, and Romulus wondered if it was really necessary. But he knew that at least some of the machines Lovino was hooked up to were.

Lovino's heart rate appeared stable, and the beeping was the only sound that filled the room. Romulus didn't dare interrupt that sound. It was the sound that assured him that his son was still alive.

If he had been even a few minutes too late… If he hadn't told Toris to call the police the moment he received the call from Lovino…

Romulus sat down on the seat next to the bed, grabbing Lovino's hand and bringing it to his mouth, kissing the knuckles before clutching the hand with both of his, almost as though he was praying. It scared him how cold this hand felt. Tears sprung to his eyes and he began to sob. He'd been so close to losing him again… and there was still a chance that Lovino might be lost. If his body rejected the blood he received…

"Please," Romulus whispered. "Lovino, please… Please be alright. You've cheated death before. You can do it again. Please."

He remembered Matthew telling him about Lovino having amazing luck when it came to cheating death. Hopefully luck was on his side now as well. He didn't want to lose him.

…

"Like, couldn't those jerks just leave him alone?" Feliks lamented. "I mean… like, did they have to do this to him?"

"I don't know," Feliciano said. "But… they've gone too far this time! If I get my hands on them…"

Feliks looked towards the Italian. His shoulders were trembling, his hands clenched into fists, and his face twisted in the worst scowl Feliks had ever seen. Marcello looked equally upset.

He heard that it was the nice people that one should fear. Because to get nice people as angry as the two Italians were at that moment… It took a lot. Feliks was glad that he wasn't on the receiving end of that anger.

He realised that he should probably inform the rest of the group about what happened, but he didn't have it in himself to take out his phone to do so. It wasn't something that he could say through text, and if he called them and told them, he would have to deal with their individual reactions, and he would have to explain all he knew. He didn't think he had that strength.

Feliks remembered the early days, when Lovino was under the impression that everyone hated him. What could be more hateful than an attempted murder? How would this affect him?

He felt someone stroke his hair, and he looked up to see his mother. She had only dropped him off earlier while she went to do something else. She had friends in the police department, and she wanted to see what they were doing about the situation.

"Any news?" Feliks asked.

"The three boys were arrested," Felicja explained. "They can't interrogate them yet since they're minors, and they have to wait for a lawyer and/or their parents or guardians. But apparently the parents are too angry to do anything. They even refused to pay bail. Said that it would be good for them to spend at least one night in a jailcell."

"Good," Feliciano spat. "Those three deserve to be punished."

Felicja looked over the three teens before she sighed.

"Have you had a chance to eat yet?" she asked.

"Not hungry," Marcello said.

She shook her head, before turning to Feliks.

"We should be getting home," she said gently. "You still have school tomorrow."

"I want to stay," Feliks muttered. "Like, I can't just leave now."

"And I understand. But there isn't much you can do right now."

"Like, I can help Feliciano and Marcello."

"Go," Marcello said. "We appreciate you coming here, but you're only wasting your time. You can't even go in to see Lovino. And we're here for each other."

Feliciano nodded.

"You still need to tell the others, right?" Feliciano said. "So why don't you focus on that? If something happens, your dad will probably tell you."

Feliks hesitated, and his mother placed her hand on his shoulder.

"I know you want to be here for your friend," she said. "But staying here isn't going to help you. I'll ask your father to call whenever there's an update on his condition. Okay?"

Feliks stared at the two brothers for a moment before he sighed and nodded.

"Like, good luck," he said, standing to follow his mother out.

The two adults that had been there – Romulus's colleagues – had already left, but it was clear that they were worried about Lovino as well. Especially the Lithuanian. Feliks recognised him from the last time Lovino was in the hospital. There was some sort of connection between them, but he'd never gotten around to asking Lovino what it was.

He just hoped that he would get a chance to ask that.

…

Francis stared at the table in front of him with absolute fear. His hands were cuffed in front of him, and there was a glass of water on the table as well. His throat was dry, but he didn't dare drink any of the water.

The events of the day kept repeating through his mind, and he couldn't believe that they were mere hours ago. It all felt so surreal, as though it was a dream, or memories of a movie scene.

But no, it was real, and Francis was starting to recognise how bad the situation was. The policeman had said 'attempted murder'. Those words felt like a punch in the gut, or like the kick he received from Lovino earlier. All things considered, perhaps he deserved it.

Another thing that kept clawing its way back to the forefront of his mind was his parents' expressions when the police took him away. Shock. Anger. Disappointment. Betrayal. Shame. And Camille…

His sister looked at him as though he was some sort of monster. And perhaps he was.

He looked up when the door opened and two men entered. One was a policeman, the other was dressed in a nice suit. The man in the suit made his way towards him and held out his hand.

"Kasem Saetang," the man introduced. "I've been assigned as your attorney."

Francis hesitantly shook the man's hand, before he sat down next to him. The officer sat down across from him with a folder in his hands. He opened the folder with a sigh.

"Do you understand why you're here?" the officer asked.

"Y-yes," Francis stammered. "It's because… of Lovino Vargas."

Kasem leaned closer to him.

"You don't have to answer anything," he whispered. "And especially don't answer when I tell you not to."

Francis shuddered, but he nodded his head. In truth, he had no idea what to do or say.

The officer took something out of the folder, and he pushed it in front of Francis. The boy paled when he saw what it was.

It was a photo of Lovino, most likely taken at the bridge. His eyes were closed and his face pale, but the thing that immediately drew Francis's attention and which made him sick to his stomach was the red covering the otherwise green shirt. So much red…

"Do you recognise this boy?" the officer asked.

Francis jerkily nodded his head. Of course he recognised Lovino. They'd known each other for years.

"When was the last time you saw him?" the officer asked.

"W-wait," Francis said. "Um… I-I saw this e-enough on TV. If… If I… I tell you everything… what would happen?"

"You mean, if you tell the truth?"

Francis nodded. The officer sighed and cradled his head with his hand.

"Am I right to assume that you admit to attempting to murder this boy?" the officer asked.

Francis flinched. There it was again. That word. The word that had haunted them at school for the last few months. The most appropriate word. He nodded his head in confirmation.

"A guilty plea could get you a reduced sentence," Kasem said. "And in general, a more lenient punishment."

"You're a lot more compliant than that German friend of yours," the officer sighed. "He's pretty stubborn. Alright, so then can we return to the questions?"

"What else is there to know?" Francis asked. "We stabbed him. All three of us."

"Yes, but did you plan to do that?"

Francis gulped and released a shaky breath.

"We… we took him to the bridge…" he said. "We planned to rough him up, give him a few cuts, and… and push him over the bridge, into the river. We… we were hoping that it would look like the rocks in the river smashed him. He… He tried to commit suicide before, so…"

"So you were hoping to make this look like suicide," the officer finished. "And at what point did you decide to stab him?"

"You don't have to answer this," Kasem muttered.

"Non, I… I have to," Francis said. "When… when he tried to get away, and… he called his father. So… we then thought… we could make it look like a mugging."

The officer didn't say anything for a moment, but his lips were pursed. Francis looked down at his hands, realising how it sounded. No matter what, there was no denying that they'd attempted to murder someone, even if it was Lovino. That was not something that normal people did. And to make it look like something else… This was what monsters did. Camille was right to look at him like that.

"I have one more question," the officer said. "Why? Why did you do it? What did this boy do to make you hate him so much?"

Francis took a shuddering breath. His mind flashed back to the bridge. It wasn't the officer's voice that asked those questions, but Lovino's.

P-please. Why… are you doing… this? What did I do… to make you hate me like this?

"I-I don't know," Francis said at last, and for the first time since he was taken away from his house, the tears fell. "I honestly don't know anymore."

…

Feliciano sat next to his brother's bed, but he couldn't bear to look at Lovino. His skin was too white. Even whiter than it had been when Lovino tried to kill himself.

His mind kept flashing back to that day. All the thoughts racing through his head when he realised that his brother had swallowed the bottle of pills. When he realised that his brother had no intention of living anymore. The fear he felt, and the anger for not being able to see that something was wrong.

And it got even worse when he found out why Lovino did what he did.

He also recalled what the trio had to say about Lovino the previous time. Feliciano couldn't remember ever being so mad in his life. How could they just say things like that about his brother? And in front of him no less. It was as though they didn't care who heard them, as long as they could insult Lovino.

That punch he'd delivered was one of the most satisfying things he'd ever done.

He didn't think it was possible, but the anger he'd felt back then was surpassed by the anger he felt at that very moment. Last time, they only drove Lovino to the point where he wanted to die. This time, they tried to kill him themselves. It was unforgivable, and once again, he felt foolish for thinking that those three were good people. That they were his friends.

"Don't worry, fratellone," Feliciano said. "Those three aren't going to get away with it this time. They've gone too far."

In all honesty, Feliciano believed they'd crossed the line a long time ago, but now, for a fact, it was 'too far'.

…

Antonio swallowed nervously as he watched the policeman and the lawyer leave. They already finished interrogating him, and now he had to wait to be taken to a cell.

That scared him. He was going to spend the night in jail.

He'd asked the officer if he would get bail or something, but the man said that his parents refused to pay. They said that he didn't learn the last time, so he would have to learn now.

He wanted to be angry at Lovino, but found that he couldn't. He kept hearing Lovino begging for them to stop. And not just this day. Ever since they were small, Lovino would often beg for them to stop whatever it was they were doing. And they would continue. They would continue, because they believed that Lovino deserved whatever was done to him.

And Feliciano's words, spoken months ago, also echoed in his memories.

You say that Lovino acts as though the world owes him something. Well, it does. It owes him an apology for putting him through hell!

You want to make Lovino the monster. But tell me something: What has he done to any of you?

Antonio tried to fish through his memories, searching for one that would provide a suitable answer. A suitable justification. But he found that he couldn't. He couldn't think of anything that justified trying to kill Lovino.

And it wasn't just Lovino. Antonio recalled having his hands wrapped around his cousin's throat. Miguel had been a victim of his cruelty as well.

He tried to remember what had led them to this point. They had been angry at Lovino for the lengthy punishment they received. But it wasn't Lovino's fault. Neither Lovino nor his family told their parents about what they'd done. It was Miguel. Miguel was the one that informed Antonio's mother about the situation, and she in turn informed Francis's parents and Gilbert's father. Miguel even admitted that Lovino was afraid of him because he reminded him of Antonio. And the look on Miguel's face after Antonio strangled him…

He buried his hands in his hair as he realised that Lovino was never the evil one. Antonio was evil. And he didn't know about Francis and Gilbert, but what they'd done was evil. And Lovino was in the hospital, fighting for his life. All because of them.

What had they done?

…

Marcello ran his thumb over the back of Lovino's hand as he held onto the only part of his brother that he could safely touch. The skin was far too cold. Too pale.

He couldn't believe the three of them would stoop so low. Didn't they cause enough damage? Couldn't they just carry on with their lives? If they could just leave things alone, then Lovino wouldn't be there. He wouldn't be in danger of dying.

Marcello could still remember the day he walked into Lovino's room and saw his brother with a knife against his arm. The look of fear on Lovino's face when he realised that he was discovered. Until then, he'd always thought of his eldest brother as unapproachable. Always angry and violent. But it all changed that day. He realised that his brother was hurt and vulnerable and afraid and alone. And one of the things that hurt Lovino was the fact that Marcello had been afraid of him.

And after that, Marcello had grown protective of Lovino. The more he saw about what Lovino went through, the more he wanted to be there for him. But Lovino had been so used to being left alone, and Marcello had no idea how he could help. And when that attack came…

He didn't like how he had been so helpless. He had no idea what was happening to Lovino, and then he learned that it wasn't the first time. Attempting to understand the cause of the attacks was what had caused the accident that took their mother from them. An accident that Lovino blamed himself for.

His phone buzzed, but he ignored it. It was probably Camille again. She'd been texting and calling him every now and again, but he couldn't answer her attempts to connect. He knew that she most likely knew what happened to Lovino if her brother was indeed arrested for attempting to murder him, and she wanted to ask him more about it. But he simply did not have the strength.

And a part of him was afraid. Would she be angry at him because her brother was arrested for attempting to kill Lovino? Would she blame Lovino? He didn't want to face that yet.

…

"This is insane!" Gilbert exclaimed as he paced the cell.

The trio were each inside one of the cells in the police station, and while Gilbert was pacing, the other two were on the beds, ignoring each other's gazes. After a moment Gilbert stopped, turning first to Francis's cell and then Antonio's.

"Why don't you say anything?" he asked his two friends.

"What do you want us to say?" Francis asked.

"I don't know! Something about how unfair this is! If it wasn't for Lovino, we wouldn't be here!"

"No," Antonio said. "We can't blame Lovino anymore. This… we did this."

Gilbert rounded on Antonio, his nostrils flaring slightly.

"What the hell?!" Gilbert demanded. "Don't tell me you're feeling guilty!"

"And you aren't?" Francis asked, glaring at his friend. "Gilbert, we tried to kill someone. Even if it was Lovino… Do you have any idea how serious this is? Our parents didn't even want us to come home tonight."

"We messed up, amigo," Antonio sighed. "And now… I'm afraid of going to prison."

"We're still minors, so they won't send us to prison," Gilbert said. "If we can just convince them that…"

"We can't!" Franics insisted. "Gilbert… There's no getting out of this. This is our fault. And are you seriously telling me that it won't bother you if Lovino actually died?"

Gilbert scoffed, but he didn't say a thing. He didn't want to admit that Lovino's tear-stained face still intruded in his mind.

I wanted to show Lovino's friends' reactions, but this turned out longer than I expected. Oh well. Next chapter.