"What if we broke through the window and ran for it?"
"The window is alarmed and Bell hurt herself trying that."
Lovino scowled. "That's not helpful."
"It wasn't supposed to be," Maddy mumbled from her spot on the floor, the usual sarcastic note missing from her voice. She picked at her bandages again, only slightly wondering why she suddenly felt so empty and apathetic. Honestly, she'd gotten used to the feeling.
Lovino sent her a worried look, noticing the miserable slump of her shoulders. He'd learned a lot of her expressions over the years and didn't miss the way her eyes had dulled over the time he'd been there or the way she stared blankly off into space, chewing her lip. She may have had a blank expression on her face, but he knew that just meant her mind was racing and it wasn't in a positive way this time. "Ragazza?"
She startled, her clouded gaze finding him and seeming to clear just a little. "I'm sorry, I was thinking."
Jeez, even her voice had lost its usual touch of sass.
"Ragazza... are you okay?"
"Peachy." She replied and although there was some snark in it, he could easily tell that it had been forced.
"How do you know the window is alarmed?"
"After Bell tried to get out that way, they fixed it and alarmed it."
"That doesn't answer my question."
"...Oliver told me."
"And you trust him." His voice came out cold and skeptical.
"He's not a bad guy. He's actually quite nice."
"He's part of the reason you didn't see your best friend for twenty years!"
"He wasn't expecting someone to push her off a roof!"
"That doesn't make him innocent!"
"He's the only reason I'm still alive!" She snapped finally.
Lovino stopped, staring at her. "What?"
She rolled her eyes, though she almost seemed more exhausted than annoyed. "If it wasn't for him, I'd have died of blood loss weeks ago."
It was silent for a long time as Lovino tried to process that and wondered if maybe, just maybe, she might be right about the pink haired englishman. A chuckle made them both jump. "How sweet." James taunted, leaning against the wall. They'd been so distracted with their argument that they hadn't noticed him come in, with Allen close behind him. "I'll let Oliver know you think so highly of him, beauty." Lovino grit his teeth to keep from snapping at the blond. He absolutely despised the condescending tone the man used with Maddy, even if he wouldn't admit it. Almost subconsciously, he stepped in front of her protectively. Maddy noticed this and sighed, her heart dropping. Damn it, Lovi. You being stubborn and protective isn't going to help. It's just going to end with people getting hurt.
Another chuckle from James brought her out of her train of thought. He'd noticed the threatening glare Lovino was sending him. "What are you going to do, feed me pasta until I die?" Lovino, meanwhile, tried his hardest to suppress the shudder that went through him as the canadian faced him. Much like Matthew, this man dwarfed him. James smirked before stepping away and casually pulling a gun out of his belt. Lovino eyed him suspiciously until the gun was turned on Maddy. His eyes widened and he moved to tackle the canadian, only for Allen to grab him and hold him in a headlock. That, however, didn't stop him from struggling and spitting curses.
James shook his head. "And here I thought Flavio was the more dramatic one of the two of you." He shrugged and turned his attention back to his original captive. Instead of looking even remotely afraid, she was glaring coldly at him. He cocked the gun, hoping this might cause some reaction.
"Do your worst." She growled, her expression never changing.
He pulled the gun away from her, a sort of smug grin growing on his face. "Alright." He turned away from her and pointed the gun at Lovino. He glanced back, to see that her eyes had gone as wide as saucers and she'd paled considerably, which was saying a lot for her. Now, she actually looked concerned. "Oh, you didn't think I'd brought him around just so he could watch your torment, did you?"
"He'll just regenerate." She replied in an almost robotic voice.
"Will he?" James asked mockingly. "Al, hold him still. And make sure he can't scream." The canadian waited until his brother had complied with his wishes before moving closer. Very slowly and deliberately, he pressed the gun against the italian's forehead. "You think he'll regenerate if I put the bullet in his skull?" He began squeezing the trigger, time seeming to slow down.
"No, don't!"
He stopped, a small smirk growing. Maddy's eyes went even wider (if it were possible) and she slapped a hand over her mouth. The desperate wail had burst out of her, despite how unaffected she'd been trying to act. Lovino continued squirming until he'd managed to move his head enough to get Allen's hand off his mouth. "Ragazza, don't-"
"Quiet!" She snapped, cutting him off.
Despite the fact that one of them was at risk of getting shot, one was holding a squirming hostage and the other was in the course of threatening someone's life, all three men in the room froze. They'd all gotten to know Maddy well enough to know that tone. The tone that meant 'shut the hell up or I will end you.' Eventually, however, they all relaxed and James grew bored. He scowled. "If you're done-" He turned to Lovino and Allen again. Time seemed to slow down as he squeezed the trigger. There came a horrified screech of "No!" and then there was a blur in front of him. Maddy had jumped in front of him, hoping to block the bullet using herself as a shield, but while it hit her, it was a very shallow graze and it continued its journey to the italian behind her. He stiffened as the bullet buried itself in his flesh and blood began flowing from the wound. Allen shoved the now injured italian away from him, stepping back towards the stairs.
James put the gun back in his belt and followed his brother. Honestly, he couldn't care less what happened now.
"Calm down."
"You just got shot!" Maddy snapped, her eyes narrowed angrily.
Lovino tried to shift his position, but pain stabbed at him and he froze, gritting his teeth.
"There's no exit wound." While she was trying to remain calm, her shaky voice betrayed how afraid she was. Afraid that she would lose him.
"Great," Lovino replied sarcastically, deciding not to comment on her fear. She hated to admit being scared of something. "That means I only have to worry about blood coming from one place."
"No!" She snapped again. "That's not good. A bullet that stays in does more damage than a bullet that just goes straight through you!"
"I'll regenerate."
"You've been saying that for an hour."
"Sometimes it takes longer."
"Lovino!"
"Stop freaking out!" He growled finally. "You're not going to fix this by badgering me. I was trying to lighten the mood a little, okay?" While they could generally read each other's mood with extreme accuracy and usually didn't fight, every so often, one of them would say or do something that would set the other off.
She rolled her eyes and Lovino opened his mouth to say something, only for his vision to go black around the edges. He grimaced, instinctively pressing a hand against his wound. Maddy's irritation vanished like a flame in the wind and she watched him worriedly. "Lovi?"
He didn't answer beyond a pained groan. She stared at him in horror, frozen and unsure of what to do. She wasn't sure what finally snapped her out of her trance, but once it had, she looked around for something to wrap the wound with. Her eyes settled on her hoodie. It wouldn't make the best bandage because it had gotten so thin from years of use, but it was the only thing she had. She practically ripped the garment off and folded it into a shape she hoped would make it a better bandage. Pressing the thickest part against Lovino's side, she tied the sleeves around him. "Just hold on." She muttered, mostly to him, but also to herself. This had to work. "You're not going to die. You can't. Not like this. That's not how it works. Countries can't die from things like this."
By this point, Lovino was too dizzy and exhausted to comment on her rambling. He tried to say something, something to calm her down, maybe. He didn't really want the last thing he saw to be her terrified face. Terrified of losing him, he realized with a jolt. His mouth wouldn't work. No matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't get his lips to move. His vision was still fading. Was this what happened to everyone when they died?
Before he could ponder it further, everything went black.
Okay, I know it's been a month since I've updated and I'm sorry. I know the last chapter ended on kind of a cliffhanger. Well, this one isn't any better. Truthfully, I kept putting off writing this chapter because I've been planning since the beginning of the story to have this happen, but I was dreading having to actually write it, so I procrastinated it for as long as I could.
That and school started up again last week.
pinkittwice54: Maddy never actually called Lovino a pimp. She misheard something Antonio said and thought Antonio had called him a pimp. This happened when she was pregnant with Sev and living with Lovino.