Chapter 31
I rode in the ambulance with Piero, but a doctor held me away from him to clean the blood off of me and examine me. There were fresh bruises all over my body and I couldn't stop my hysteric sobbing, seeing Piero unconscious on the stretcher. When we got to the hospital, the doctors pulled me into a separate room and checked my head, asking me simple questions that frustrated me. I struggled to get to Piero, but they held me down and eventually determined that I was okay.
The police came and took me into a private room for questioning. They told me Piero was being cared for and I couldn't see him yet, and I answered everything as I anxiously awaited my chance to see him.
When the police were finally satisfied with the results of their interrogation, they asked me if I wanted to call anyone, and they gave me Piero's phone so I could call Gianluca and Ignazio. I tried to be calm and explain to them what had happened, but when I heard their voices I broke down and kept repeating that Piero was hurt. They both set out for the hospital as the doctors commanded me to wait in the small office I'd been questioned in, and they reassured me they'd fetch me as soon as I could see Piero. I sat in an impatient trance in the chair and quietly watched the hands on the clock move and longed to be with Piero.
When I was frustrated enough to get up and go looking for Piero myself, a nurse appeared and told me I could see him. I followed her briskly through the hospital to his room, and I hesitated before the door to take a preparatory breath. I cautiously opened it and stepped slowly inside.
"Piero?"
Piero lay asleep in the hospital bed, wearing the pants he had on earlier, but with one pant leg rolled up, revealing that his foot was bandaged the way mine had been before. His shirt was missing, revealing a line of stitches going from his right shoulder down past his chest, and various bruises. There were more stitches on his right arm. His right hand had a deep gash across the palm.
The doctors had cleaned him up, and there was no blood in sight. I walked slowly to the side of the bed, looking silently down at his peaceful face. He had a bruised eye, and I gingerly reached down to touch his soft cheek.
He didn't stir, and I turned and looked fearfully at the nurse.
"What's the report?" I asked.
She consulted the clipboard in her hand.
"Well, there's the sprained ankle and the stitches that you see, along with various bruising, and he has a mild concussion."
"That's all?"
She nodded.
"He's pretty lucky, considering the circumstances."
I nodded and looked back down at the bed, turning my full attention to Piero. I gingerly laid a hand on his arm, feeling the curve of the muscle underneath as the nurse's footsteps faded away and the door closed. I leaned down close to Piero and touched my lips to his. They were soft and warm, and I kissed them again. My insides felt trembly.
"Oh, Piero," I whispered, as a tear ran down my cheek. I laid my head softly against his chest and listened to his breathing. "I love you. You're going to be okay."
I carefully sat beside him on the mattress, reaching down to caress his peaceful face and run my fingers through his soft hair. I looked at the stitches on his bare chest, and pulled his strong, gashed hand toward me to study the afflicted palm. I touched his chest and his arms and his face, longing for him to wake up and speak to me. I admired his dark hair, his long lashes, and his soft lips. I softly kissed him again and again, on his head, his face, his chest, and his shoulders. He stayed asleep, and I sat quietly beside him, tenderly rubbing his arm and chest and leaning closely over him, gazing down at his beautiful face.
After a while the door opened, and I sat up straight and turned to see Gianluca and Ignazio rush in, talking rapidly to each other in Italian.
I quickly held a finger to my lips, and they saw me and fell silent. They looked over at Piero, and their faces fell as they took in the sight of him.
Then Gianluca slowly began to approach, and Ignazio followed closely behind. They went around the other side of the bed and stood beside it, looking down at him with somber faces.
"Oh, no, Piero," Ignazio said softly, shaking his head.
"Where's his glasses?" Gianluca asked softly, and looked to me as I dug the broken frames out of my pocket. I placed them in his outstretched hand, and the two boys looked sullenly at the cracked red glasses for a moment. Then Gianluca folded his hand tightly around them, dropping his hand back to his side.
They both looked back to Piero.
After a moment I whispered, "Sprained ankle, stitches, and a mild concussion."
Gianluca's hand went over his mouth, and Ignazio moved around him to kneel beside the bed, his face close to Piero's. Gianluca moved closer to the bed, and the two were still, looking down at their injured friend. Piero didn't stir, and I saw tears shimmer in Ignazio's eyes, though he tried to repress them. Gianluca reached out and laid a hand comfortingly on Ignazio's shoulder. Ignazio looked up at him, and then stood up and the two boys embraced, and then looked down at Piero again. Gianluca looked up at me, and then came around the bed and reached out to me.
"Come here," he said gently, and I stood up from the mattress. He kissed my cheek and hugged me firmly, his arms comfortingly tight around me. The tears returned, and I held onto him and let him hold onto me, and when he released me Ignazio was there to do the same. When he let go of me he gently reached up a hand to wipe my tears, and I looked in his eyes and realized that the two of them probably still didn't know what was going on.
"Do you know what happened?" I asked softly, and Ignazio shrugged, keeping his hand gently on my back.
"We were told that Piero was in a fight with the same guy who hurt you. The police told us that he was going to hurt you again, and Piero came to your rescue."
I nodded, and reached into my pocket to pull out Ray's note, which I had taken from the theatre before we left to show to the police. I held it out and opened my fingers to Ignazio, who took it and unfolded it. Gianluca moved close beside him to see it.
"Let me explain," I said as they looked up at me in stunned silence.
The three of us left Piero's hospital room so as not to disturb him while I filled them in on the happenings at the theatre. We went to the office where the police had questioned me, and the three of us sat around a small table.
I began by telling them of my abusive relationship with Ray, and I was touched to find that Piero hadn't even mentioned
Ray to them until the night I got hurt. Even then, he left out telling them I was abused before that night, and that he was trying to help me get away from Ray. Gianluca and Ignazio seemed pleased with Piero as I told them of his continuous efforts to help me, and I even told them my side of the night Ray beat me. They listened intently and hung onto my every word.
When I began to speak of the events earlier that night, the fearful shaking quickly set in, and the two moved close beside me to comfort me, holding my hands and reassuring me that everything was over and that I was safe. I told them about Piero rushing in to save me, and about the fight, and how he was almost shot. I even told them about my mother. As I spoke, both boys teared up, and it was my turn to comfort them. Soon we were all still and silent, thinking in the comfort of each other's company.
"I'm sorry," I said, breaking the silence. "…that I went to the theatre. If I hadn't gone, Piero wouldn't have had to come and rescue me."
"No," Gianluca said firmly, "It's not your fault."
"How could you have known the note wasn't from Piero?" Ignazio said. "You are not to blame, Julia, and don't you even think about blaming yourself."
I nodded, and then said in awe, "He saved me. He could have died, and he almost did, but he came to save me."
"Our Piero's a brave boy," Ignazio said, smiling.
"He just knows when something's worth fighting for," Gianluca said, and then smiled at me. I smiled back, blushing, and Ignazio laid a hand on my arm. He said earnestly, "Julia, you've been through a great ordeal tonight. Are you okay?"
I thought about this.
"I'm okay," I said, nodding. "I just want Piero to wake up."
They nodded and then Gianluca asked after a moment, "What now?"
"Well…" Ignazio said, running a hand through his long tangled hair. "Piero needs his spare glasses. You and I can go get them, Gian. Julia will take care of our Piero, right?"
I nodded quickly, and then the three of us stood up. I went alone back through the bustling hallway to Piero's room and found him still asleep, in the same position I had left him in. I climbed carefully onto the mattress to sit beside him, and leaned down to feel his lips against mine.
"Julia? Julia, wake up."
I opened my eyes and held my hand up to block the bright light above me.
"What's going on? Is Piero all right?"
Ignazio smiled, his eyes shining.
"See for yourself!"
I realized that I had fallen asleep next to Piero on the mattress, my head beside his on the hospital pillow. I sat up and laughed softly, smiling down at his peaceful face.
"I'm sorry to wake you up," Ignazio said, "You must be exhausted after today. But I wanted to entrust these to you."
He smiled and held out a new pair of red glasses to me, and I smiled back and took them.
"Aren't you going to stay here with Piero?"
"Gianluca and I are going to get something to eat, but we'll be back later. Do you want anything?"
I shook my head and watched him leave, quietly closing the door behind him. I rubbed my eyes and reached down to gently touch Piero's face. I gazed down at him and leaned down to kiss his cheek, my hair falling gently over his chest. Then I pulled back and studied him.
He'd been asleep for a long time. What if something was wrong that the doctors weren't aware of? My heart rate quickened, and I buried my face in the crook of his neck and tried to reassure myself, pressing my palm against the warm skin of his chest. Maybe they had given him medicine that made him tired. Maybe the concussion kept him drowsy.
I kissed his neck and got up to pace nervously back and forth, clutching the glasses in my hand and looking down at then as I thought about everything that had happened. Images and phrases whirled through my mind, and I longed for Piero to wake up and show me that he was okay.
A soft sigh behind me interrupted my worrying, and I whirled around and saw Piero move his hands groggily up to his head and run them over his face. He winced, and pulled away his gashed hand.
"Mmmm…" he moaned in pain as he reached for his chest and fingered the stitches. He opened his dark eyes and groped blindly beside the bed for his glasses. I quietly stepped forward and held them out to his groping hand, and he grasped them and slid them onto his face. He blinked and looked up at me, and he drew in a quick intake of breath.
"Oh, Julia!" he whispered when he saw me, and he immediately thrust out his arm for me. I moved quickly to the bed and leaned over to kiss him, hugging his neck tightly as our lips locked together.
His arms went around me, touching me softly at first, but then he gripped me more tightly.
"Are you hurt!?" he asked urgently, looking up at me with a frightened expression.
"No. I'm okay," I said, and he smiled in relief, closing his eyes as the worry flowed out of him. Then he opened his eyes and pulled me toward him, onto the mattress and on top of him.
"Piero, I'll hurt you!" I gasped in fright as my weight landed on his bare chest.
"I don't care," he said firmly, and his hand found my head and pulled me close for another kiss. He kissed me over and over again, the hand on my back pressing me against him.
Our faces were so close together, and he hugged me tightly. "I almost lost you," he choked out.
I watched him tearing up, and I teared up also.
"I almost lost you, too."
He pulled me in for another kiss, trembling against me. I could tell my weight was hurting him, and I strained against his grip and got off of him. I lay next beside him on the mattress, and he held me tightly against his side as he quickly filled me in on his side of the eventful night.
"The police called me and told me Ray had escaped, and I went to your apartment and found that you weren't there. I went to the hospital and you weren't there either. I went to your old house, and I saw the note through the window. That's how I knew to find you. I was so terrified…I knew he'd go after you, and I felt like I was racing against him to get to you. I wish I could've gotten there earlier."
"That's okay," I said, my hand cradling his cheek, "You still saved me."
He looked bewildered for a moment, and then his face broke out in a huge grin.
"What?" I asked, smiling in confusion back at him.
"I did it!" he said in hushed surprise.
"Did what?"
"I saved you! You didn't get hurt! I kept my promise!"
I laughed, and he did too, and then pulled me closer to him for a kiss.
"Oh, I'm so happy!" he cried joyfully, and repeated it, "I did it! I kept you from getting hurt!"
I smiled at his huge, happy grin, and kissed his cheek.
"Wait…" Piero said, his smile fading. He looked at me, confused. "There was a gun pointing down at me. I remember looking up at it. He was going to shoot me. How…?"
"My mama."
"What?"
I filled him in on my mother's rescue, and informed him that Ray was dead. He studied my face.
"What do you think?"
"I think…that she's beginning to love me."
Piero smiled and kissed my neck.
"I'm so happy for you, Julia," he said softly, looking tenderly into my eyes.
I kissed him, and we were both quiet for a moment. I looked somberly at the stitches down the side of his chest, and he nudged me to get me to look into his eyes instead.
"I love you, Piero. Are you in much pain?"
"I'm alright."
His face was strained, but he smiled weakly at me as he tried to ease my concern.
"So, nurse Julia, what are my injuries?"
"You have a sprained ankle, a mild concussion, and the stitches, of course."
He nodded thoughtfully.
"You're in pain," I observed, watching his face, "Is there anything I can do to help? Anything at all?"
"Just stay with me."
"Of course. Anything else?"
He shook his head.
"I'm okay."
I watched him fearfully, and he kept wincing and shutting his eyes as he bore the pain throughout his body.
"I'm calling the nurse," I said, and he didn't protest as I wriggled out of his grip. The nurse came and gave him some medicine, and Piero slowly began to relax, to my relief.
"Gianluca and Ignazio will be back soon. They went to get food," I told him, and he smiled.
"Good. I'd like to see them. Maybe they can take me home, too."
It wasn't long before the two returned, and when they entered I sat up, but Piero caught me and kept an arm on me to keep me beside him.
He greeted the boys in Italian as he strained to sit up. He managed to prop himself up on his elbows, and the boys came over to hug him carefully and talk with him. Ignazio joked around with him, and then they talked about cancelling Saturday's concert. Piero protested, saying that he didn't need a foot to sing.
"No, but you need your head, and you've got a concussion!"
"It's only mild!"
While Ignazio persuaded him to take it easy for a while, Gianluca sat beside me on the mattress and asked softly, "How is he?"
"He was in pain, but the nurse gave him medicine. He's okay now."
"Good. Ignazio and I are going to talk to the doctors and see if we can bring him home now. Will you come and help him get settled?"
"Actually, I was thinking that maybe I should stay with him tonight, or at least for the rest of it, to make sure he's okay." I smiled at his strong hand resting on my shoulder, his thumb lightly massaging me. "And I'm not sure if he'd let me leave, anyway."