Angelo tries saying something, but I raise my hand, causing him to stop speaking. I look around the room one more time, hoping I just caught a glimpse of Nicola's face, but nothing.

"Just tell me where he is," I whisper with tears threatening to fall from my eyes. Instead of answering of me, Angelo tries holding me once more.

I don't want him to hold me because that means one thing, and that can't be true, I don't want it to be true.

"Nyx, just listen to me," Angelo tries to reason with me, but I shake my head. I turn on my heels and run up the stairs.

My shoes splash into small pools of blood and leave marks across the floor. The bottom of my dress soaks in some of the blood, but I could care less about my stupid dress right now.

I get to the second floor and head straight towards the table where we were all seated not so long ago. My heart cracks just the slightest when I see that Nicola isn't here.

I throw myself onto one of the chairs and start to unstrap my shoes. These thing are going to slow me down so I'm going to take them off.

With both of my shoes of my feet, I toss them to the side and jump up from the chair. I start running as I go searching for him throughout the second floor.

Vincenzo and Angelo run after me as I go running around like a mad woman. I look from side to side, up and down, in search of my best friend.

He has to be alright.

He is alright.

"Nicola!" I shout while looking around frantically. He is going to answer me then I'm going to find him and give him a giant hug.

I jump over bodies of the enemy's men, stepping on a few of them in the process. Angelo and Vincenzo call our for me to stop, but I ignore them as I keep looking around for my best friend.

"Nicola!" It's like I cover the entire second floor faster than expected and there is no sign of Nicola.

I run down the stairs, my feet almost slipping out from underneath me because of the blood on the stairs.

I pause at the bottom of the stairs and look around, trying to figure out where he could be. The last time I saw him was on the south side of the room so I head there first.

"Nyx!" Angelo shouts, but I don't stop running. I run between the tables, slipping on my feet in a pool of blood, but I catch myself and force myself back up to my feet.

I continue running, my eyes going in every direction. Soon, I come to a forced stop.

Please, no...

Nicola is pushed up against one of the chairs with his hand pressed to his side and his head is tilted to the side.

Blood paints his fingers as he tries putting pressure on what I assume is a gunshot wound.

His chest is heaving up and down due to how heavily he is breathing. His brown eyes that are usually full of life and joy, now look as if they are being drained of everything good in him.

"Nicola," I whisper out of shock and pain. Angelo and Vincenzo stop behind me while I step closer to Nicola.

I get down on my knees in front of him and his eyes slowly move to mine. His eyes almost roll back into his skull and I gently shake him to keep him awake.

"It's ok, it's over, come on, get up so you can give me a hug," I beg him with a small smile. I tap his arm so he can get up, but he doesn't move at all.

"Hug me... like... like this," he breathes heavily and I quickly do as he wishes. I throw my legs on either sides of his hips and hover over his lap. I gently wrap my arms around his shoulders and pull him closer to me, making sure that I don't hurt him.

"Call an ambulance! Please!" I shout at Angelo and he tells me he already has. "You will be fine Nico."

"You... just called me Nico," he laughs, but his usual loud laugh is now so low and tired. "I like it," he says with a weak smile forming on his face.

His eyes close for a second and I go into full panic. "No!" His eyes snap open and I cup his face between my hands. "Stay with me, please."

"I can't."

My heart shatters in that moment.

"No! You are staying, you are staying." The look in his eyes tells me that he is tired, but I have to keep fighting. He is stayed mg with me one way or the other.

I can't lose him, I won't lose him.

"You have to attend my wedding as both the maid of honour and a groomsman."

I already have so much planned for Nicola, Angelo and I to do before my wedding and I can't see any of it through if he isn't there to do it with us.

"Amore, I–"

"Shut up!" I look over my shoulder and Vincenzo takes a step back, understanding that I don't want hear from him right now.

"Trouble... in... para-paradise already?" Nicola laughs a bit more lively and I smile as I turn my head to look at him.

"No." He tries to smirk, but his lip doesn fully complete the expression.

"Tell me about the wedding."

I giggle while slipping my hands down his neck and to his shoulders. I lower my left hand and press it against the hand that's pressed against his side. I apply more pressure, a bit of his blood smudging onto my hand, but I don't care.

"There is so much to do. When you get better, we are going to have fun."

My breath gets stuck in my throat as I feel a tight lump form in the back of my throat.

"We are going to go dress shopping for the prettiest wedding gown, you can even choose the colour."

"Black and white," he whispers and I nod with a wide smile. "Something... something bold..."

"I can pull that off. You will see me in something bold, yes? Yes, you will," I say more to myself, but Nicola gently nods.

"Then we will go buy you and Angelo suits that will make all the ladies' panties drop."

He cracks a small smile and I keep going.

"Then we are going to throw a bachelorette party and we can have strippers, lots of strippers, yes?"

"Slutty... nurses... and cops," he chuckles, coughing a bit. I giggle while nodding because he is staying with me.

"Then we can get drunk and wake up with crazy painful hangovers hours before the wedding."

The smile on his face only grows wider.

"Then after the wedding and I'm officially part of the Martinelli family and the Mafia, we will be the most unstoppable and dangerous trio the Mafia world has ever seen."

"That sounds amazing," he says and I nod.

It's only now I realise that tears are falling from my eyes. I try to blink them away, but that only makes them fall down my face even faster.

He takes a deep breath in and I encourage him to stay with me. His smile falters a bit and I beg him to start smiling again.

His smile is going to fix everything, if he just smiles then he will be ok.

"Don't cry." His hand comes up to my face and he wipes the long stream of tears from my left eye. A bit of his blood smears onto my cheek, but I don't care. "You are... too beautiful to cry."

Even at his darkest hour, he doesn't stop telling me that I'm beautiful.

"Your wedding is... is going to be amazing."

"Yes, and you will be there, si?" English escapes me for a second. "Tu sarai lì."

"Nessun."

The defeated and scared look in his face is the exact opposite of what I want. He has to be happy because he is staying with me, he shouldn't be scared because he is going to make it.

He is going to make it.

"Ho paura di morire," he says and my already shattered hearts breaks into smaller pieces.

"Beh, non stai incontrando la Morte oggi."

"Sono."

"Nessun! Tu sarai lì!"

"Nessun Nyx," he whispers and I look at him in disbelief.

"Sì, tu sarai lì, sì." The tears keep escaping my eyes as his hand slowly slips down my face. "Nico, per favore..." His hand slips off my face entirely and I shut my eyes. "Per favore."

"Nyx." I open my eyes and Nicola just smiles up at me. "You are my best friend. E tu sarai sempre." He closes his eyes and the hand pressed against his side falls weak.

"Nico..." I shake him but he doesn't respond. "Nico." I tap his face but he doesn't even scrunch his nose up.

"No!"

————

...

————

Tu sarai lì: You will be there.

Nessun: No.

Ho paura di morire: I'm afraid to die.

Beh, non stai incontrando la morte oggi: Well, you are not meeting Death today.

Sono: I am.

Nico, per favore: Nico, please.

E tu sarai sempr: And you will always be.