Deep Distress
Enrico
I had planned to go straight from Sarah's place to Joseph's house because I needed to see my father and know how he was doing in person, regardless of Ryan assuring me he seemed well and happy, and that Lindsay was taking good care of him. However, when Hilary and Lorenzo arrived to visit Sarah, the conversation became lively, and I ended up staying at Sarah's much longer than I had intended. I felt like a complete coward for postponing this confrontation once again, and instead of going where I should have, I ended up joining my friends on a sightseeing tour of Seattle, as Hilary was showing Lorenzo around the city.
However, it was completely pointless for me to tag along. Besides being a couple, I didn't fit into this equation. Moreover, I invited Bruno to join us because he must have been quite bored at the hotel and, being unfamiliar with the city, might want to see the sights.
In my case, this was utterly ridiculous, as I had always lived in Seattle and knew the city very well. I had often visited the same places, but I didn't want to face the harsh truth about myself: the fact that I couldn't resist Rachel.
As the afternoon wore on, I eventually called Bruno to accompany me to my father's house. Perhaps I could maintain my immunity to the spell Rachel seemed to have cast over me. Even after meeting several interesting and attractive women, I still couldn't get Rachel out of my mind.
However, fate, as always, was determined to undermine my sanity. As I parked the rented car in front of Joseph's house, I was met with a shocking sight, and an insane desire to do something terrible almost completely overwhelmed me. At first glance, the situation didn't seem so serious. It was just Rachel talking with a man, who must have been the owner of an extremely extravagant Rolls-Royce parked on the sidewalk.
However, the situation took a drastic turn when she pulled him into an intimate embrace, triggering a flood of emotions within me, the most predominant being jealousy. I was consumed by a fit of rage.
"What the hell is going on here?" I asked, crazed with jealousy. "Since when did the front of my father's house become a lovers' meeting point?!"
"Enrico?!" Rachel asked, surprised, finally stepping away from the man beside her.
The situation spiraled completely out of control when the man, the main culprit for everything, dared to involve himself in a discussion he had no right to be part of. Suddenly, Rachel began to cry in front of all of us.
"Rachel!" I shouted as I saw her collapse to the ground.
I tried to prevent her from hitting the pavement, but the man also tried to do the same, resulting in neither of us being able to stop the worst from happening right before our eyes. Now, Rachel lay on the sidewalk.
"Don't interfere, you idiot!" I said, pushing the other man away.
He was about to kneel to check on Rachel, but I scooped her up in my arms and quickly carried her back to my car. At the same moment, Bruno also parked his car behind mine.
"What the hell happened here?" Bruno asked, clearly bewildered.
"I'm taking her to the hospital, and you notify Lindsay where we're going," I instructed my friend, laying Rachel down in the back seat of the car and informing him which hospital we were heading to.
"I need to at least know what happened here and why Rachel is unconscious, Enrico!"
At that moment, one of the security guards who usually stood at the gate of the house also came out and started asking questions. I ended up passing the responsibility to the stranger who was with Rachel when I arrived.
"This guy here can tell you what happened," I said, indicating the stern-looking man next to me.
"You can't just put her in the back seat of your car like that, idiot," the man dared to confront me. "Someone needs to be with her back there."
I didn't have time to dwell on what he said because Rachel opened her eyes and let out a soft groan of pain. Against my better judgment, I agreed with him. I tossed the key fob to Bruno, who instinctively caught it mid-air.
"You drive," I told Bruno, then turning to the security guard, I added, "And you, this guy can explain what happened and pass on the information to Lindsay and my father."
I sat in the back seat of my car and cradled Rachel's head in my lap to make her more comfortable, especially now that she was fully awake.
Rachel, however, seemed to be in pain. To my relief, she was quickly attended to as soon as we arrived at the hospital and was rushed for several tests to check on her and the baby.
"She's pregnant!" was the first thing I alerted the medical staff as they placed her on the hospital stretcher. "You need to check on the baby."
"We'll take care of your wife and the baby, sir," the nurse said kindly. "Please try to remain calm."
\--------------- ❤-----------------
Much sooner than I could have imagined, not only Lindsay and Joseph arrived at the hospital, whom I expected, but also Ryan, Maíra, and even the man Rachel was talking to on the sidewalk.
We were all anxious for news, which seemed to be slow in coming. With every passing minute, the anguish grew as we had no updates about Rachel.
"Why isn't anyone saying anything?" I complained, pacing back and forth in the waiting room. "It's been hours since Rachel went through those doors, this is unacceptable!"
"Well, actually," Bruno began to explain, "it's only been an hour since we arrived at the hospital."
"Only an hour?" I questioned, surprised that it had only been that long. "It can't be!"
"Believe me, I know how you feel," Ryan commented, also restless and pacing in the room.
Sometime later, we finally received an update on Rachel's condition from a nurse.
"Are you the family of Rachel Mitchell?" she asked, looking at everyone in the room.
"Yes, we're all here waiting for news about my sister," Maíra was the first to respond, visibly nervous.
The nurse scanned the group, and I felt my heart was about to leap out of my chest with anticipation of what she would say.
"Miss Mitchell is stable," she conveyed directly.
However, I soon realized this information wasn't complete, and once again, I felt a dizzying rush of anxiety.
"And the baby?" I asked desperately. "How is our baby?"
The nurse hesitated for a moment, choosing her words carefully.
"The baby is fighting, but is in intensive care. We're doing everything we can to ensure its well-being," she responded seriously.
A collective sigh of concern filled the room, and I felt a lump form in my throat. Rachel had always wanted this baby so much, and now both her and the baby's health were at stake.
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