~Antonio
I paced the sterile hallway, every footstep echoing off the cold tile floors. My hands were clenched into fists at my sides, my mind racing, heart pounding with every passing minute. Time felt like it had stretched into a cruel eternity. How long had I been standing here? How long had I been waiting for some shred of news that Giovanni was going to make it out alive?
The lights overhead buzzed faintly, their hum the only sound breaking through the heavy silence. I didn't care about anything else. My mind was consumed with one singular thought: Please, make it out. Please, survive.
The memory of what Giovanni had said to me in the moments before he was rushed into surgery hit me like a gut punch. He’d looked at me, that damn smirk still lingering on his lips, and told me—no, ord
