Chapter 23: In Which It Hurts

It was yet again one of those days where Alexnder was nowhere to be seen the whole day because of him being away on another one of those missions and Isla had an incredibly boring day.

She wanted to see him as soon as possible at night so she decided to just have dinner with at the pool house, have whatever he was gonna have, hence, she retired to her room earlier than usual without dinner and got ready to sneak out to see her boyfriend.

As usual, almost like second nature she stepped on the nearest branch of the tree out of the window and got a wise grip on the one above, then she placed her right foot on the branch below the one she was on, this one was a little less thicker than the one she was already standing on. However, when she put her other foot down along with all her weight on that branch it snapped.

Before Isla could even reach to grab the branch above her to keep herself from falling, she tumbled down along with the branch and ended up on the ground on her side with her right foot at a very awkward angle and a searing pain shot through her arm.

Isla's breath got knocked out of her lungs for a moment before she let out a pained yelp.

Tears sprung to her eyes as she came to terms with what just happened and the pain that shot through her arm at even the slightest of the movements.

After a few seconds of laying in that position she tried to get up from the ground however, that turned out to be an even worst idea considering the pain that shot up her ankle almost had her screaming but she kept it down with great efforts as sobs escaped her mouth.

There was nowhere nearby to help her, plus she didn't even wanna call out for help because she didn't know how she'll justify her fall. It was too suspicious and would end up in trouble for her as well as Alexander.

So her best bet was that she would wait for Alexander to come look for her before anyone else discovered her.



Alexander had been expecting Isla at the pool house by 8 latest and was very anxious to see her considering they were apart for the whole day.

However, the clock now read 9 and she wasn't anywhere in sight and it was indeed very strange that his Isla, his girl, who would usually be in the pool house before he was even there hadn't come yet so he decided to pay a visit to her room from the same window Isla used to escape.

He just wanted to see her at least once to end the day in a good note by stealing a kiss or two from her.

Taking long strides Alexander made his way to the back of the main house where Isla's open window was.

However, when Alexander was only at a distance of a few steps, his feet halted for a split second at the sight in front of him as he saw his Isla laying almost limp on the ground and he took off towards her in a sprint.

Within seconds he was by her side, crouching down beside her to assess the situation.

"Alex... please help" she let out a little sigh of relief as she saw him approach her, her eyes still glassy with tears and teeth chattering a bit from being in the cold for half an hour straight.

"Isla! jesus what happened baby?" he asked, features etched in pure concern for her.

"I think I broke my ankle and atm... I..I... fell getting down from t...t...the tree and it hurts really bad, I can't get up" she told him breaking into tears at the end.

"Hey hey it's gonna be alright now baby, I got you okay, be strong for me, I got you" he consoled her even though his own heart was hammering with worry.

She nodded her head as best as she could with tears cascading down her face and lips in a pout as Alexander assessed her over before leaning forward and draping his suit jacket over her shoulders, bringing it around and tucking it properly around her, instantly warming her up.

Alexander knew they needed a doctor but they also needed some sort of alibi that would explain how she got injured and he raked his brain quickly for some excuse and luckily his eyes landed on the scarf around her neck.

"Alright baby, we need to get you a doctor but first I am going to fling your scarf up that tree so when they question you regarding your injury, you tell them you feel while trying to get the scarf that flew away onto the tree because of the wind. Understand?" he explained quickly to Isla who was only half way sitting up with Alexander supporting her back.

She nodded her head at his idea, it was the best he could do at such short notice.

Alexander gently unwound the yellow chiffon scarf from around her neck before carefully letting her lay back down on the ground for a minute.

"Hang tight baby, just a second and we'll be out of here" Alexander said and she nodded wincing at the pain that shot up through her arm at the slight movment.

Alexander did as planned and swung the scarf over a high branch on the tree before getting back to her.

"Alright now, I'll lift you up doll, I'll try to be very careful because I think you have dislocated your shoulder" He explained before placing his arms under her knees and back and carefully lifting her up with ease.

She felt ten times better in his arms as she wrapped her good arm around his neck, burying her face in his chest. He could feel her wet tears soak through it, his poor girl.

"I got you baby, it will be better precious, don't cry" he coaxed placing a tender kiss to her temple, holding her close to him.

With that he made his way around to the front door of the main house with her nestled in his arms, she seemed impossibly small and fragile now more than ever for some reason.

As soon he reached the main door, the men standing guard looked at the sight in front of them with wide eyes as they quickly scrambled to give way to them and Alexander carried her inside.

"Oh my goodness! what happened, is Miss Gambino okay?" a maid came, fretting over Isla when she saw her in Alexander's arms, carrying her up to her room and she followed in tow.

"She fell, go call a doctor, she is hurt" Alexander ordered, as cold as ever.

The maid didn't question further as she vigorously nodded her head at no one in particular and quickly scampered off to call the doctor.

Alexander kicked the door to her room open, the whole time she clung to him, not looking at anyone or anywhere and even as he tried to lay her down on the bed, she clutched onto him, not wanting to let go and if it was a choice at that moment, Alexander would have never let her away from himself either, however, that wasn't the case.

"I know darling but I can't hold you the way you want, anyone could walk in at any given moment but don't you worry, I am not going anywhere, I standing right here" Alexander comforted as he pried her wrist away from his shirt gently, laying her down and this time she complied. He put the blanket over her and brushed her hair back.

The frantic maid came in soon after.

"He is already on his way, 15 minutes tops he said" she informed.

"Get a glass of water for her"' Alexander ordered yet again as he stood beside Isla. The mate yet again scampered off.

"I am sorry..." Isla spoke after a minute, her voice below a whisper.

"Baby, you have nothing to be sorry for, don't say that, if anything I should have considered how dangerous it was for you to get down a tree, I should have done something about it" Alexander said, his voice low.

"No not your fault... " she hissed at the end as she tried to move her arm a little and Alexander immediately held her in place.

"Don't move" he said, eyes stern and she gave him a meek nod, staying still.

The maid eventually came back with the glass of water and the doctor right behind her, the same one who had treated Alexander.

"Miss. Gambino the doctor is here and I went to inform your father but apparently he is in LA for business" the maid informed as the doctor opened his case with tools.

Isla didn't give any sort of reply to the maid, she had too much on her mind.

"May I ask how this happened Miss. Gambino?" the doctor asked.

That dreaded question.

"She fell from that window, trying to get her scarf off of that tree" Alexander answered on her behalf which she was grateful for considering she had no energy.

"I see you took quite a tumble, now where does it hurt?" the doctor asked while checking for any sort of internal injuries but she seemed to be in the clear in that regard.

"Everywhere... but my arm and right ankle hurt a lot" she complained and the doctor nodded his head moving to her ankle first, examining it for a while making her wince on occasion and during that time Alexander had his jaw clenched, his fingers digging in his palms behind his back.

He hated that he couldn't hold her in a moment like this, when she needed it the most.

"It's definitely sprained, we'll put a cast over it" the doctor said letting go of her foot carefully and moving to her right arm.

He barely moved it when Isla let out a small pained scream which had Alexander's feet digging into the ground in order to stop himself from running by her side.

"I see, you have a dislocated shoulder, we could fix that right up and then we can put a precautionary cast on it as well" the doctor diagnosed and Isla gave him a little nod as she sniffled from all the crying.

"I need someone to prop her up a little and hold her so I can place the shoulder back in place" the doctor said and Alexander didn't need to be told twice as he immediately made his way to her side.

He sat her up straight with his arm circled around her back as support. She felt so much more better and safer this way, she felt like she could get through this. Even Alexander felt a little bit at ease, it made him wonder how he ever even lived without her around.

"This will hurt but only for a second" the doctor said as he held her shoulder, ready to go on with the task.

Isla couldn't help but turn her face away, burying it at his side, eyes tight shut. Alexander didn't reprimand her for it either because he knew that setting the shoulder back in place would hurt like a bitch, he had dislocated his own a couple dozen times but popping it back in place never got easier, it was painful like hell each time. So she could squeeze the life out of him if it helped take away some of that pain.

On the count of three the doctor pulled and the sound of her shoulder popping into place was drowned by her pained scream as Alexander held her tight, refraining her from moving.

"Shh shh it's done it's done" he couldn't help himself but comfort her as he felt her tears on his shirt.

The doctor paid no mind to them as he started working on a cast for both her ankle and her arm.

Alexander held her for a few more seconds before pulling away with great hesitance but he had to considering the maid had came back in to check if they needed anything else.

Once the doctor was done with the casts and prescribing pain meds that were to be fetched instantly on orders Alexander told the maids and workers to let Isla rest and not disturb her for the night as he closed the door to her room behind him, stepping out.

However, there was no fucking way he was going to leave her for the night after she was hurt like that, hence, he climbed up from the same window sneaking back into her room.