their lost girl

bruises

ANGELOS POV (DAD)

I held my baby girl in my arms as her body fell limp, the courage she just showed completely void now as her breaths became shallow.

I rocked her slowly in my arms as we drove to the hospital. I rocked her slowly like I did when she was just a baby, a baby who I promised to protect.

And I failed her, I failed to protect her. I failed Raven, she sacrificed her life to save our Violet and yet I still failed.

Before I ever had children I swore I would always protect my kids, I would not be the abusive cruel father that my Father was. My children would never fear me and I would always protect them but I couldn't even protect Violet.

She weighed nothing in my arms but the weight of her pain hung heavily on my shoulders. Tears rolled down my face as I gently cupped her face with my hand, I smiled through blurry eyes looking at her rosy cheeks. The same colour they were when she was a baby, except now bruises littered her face, bruises that now I noticed after her tears had washed away the makeup.

The guilt felt heavy in my heart, how had I not noticed? I was so distracted with the fact she was here that I didn't stop to think about the life she lived while she was gone.

She had been here for two days and yet I already feel like I have failed her.

I lifted my gaze from Violet's sleeping face to look to the side. My gaze fell on Leo who sat vacant eyed staring at Violet. His eyes held no tears but guilt wrecked his face.

I felt the pain of losing my daughter but Leo felt the pain of losing his twin. To lose the person you came into the world with, that pain alone I knew nothing about. 

Tobias finally pulled up to the hospital as I still held Violet in my arms, Victor just getting off a panicked call with his workers at the hospital.

"Capo, down this way please." our family doctor Michaelo said. Leading us to our private wing in the hospital.

I placed Violet down on the hospital bed as I began to watch all the hospital staff poke needles to her arms, and lay equipment all around her. I felt numb and unable to move watching them, my baby girl looked so peaceful even in a room full of chaos.

"Be careful." Leo growled protectively getting closer to his sister, as one of the male Nurses touched Violet's ribs, causing her even in her unconscious state to whimper.

I looked to the other side of the room, Lucien sat on the hospital floor with his face in his hands, Tobias carefully observed everything the staff did to Violet while Victor was ordering to the nurses what tests needed to be run.

Nico was nowhere to be seen, he stormed off after his outburst at Violet. I was disgusted with how Nico treated Violet but I could see through the tough exterior he put on. He blamed himself most for the night Violet went missing. We all knew he blamed himself the most but he never talked about that night. I tried to get him into therapy after he began doing hard drugs at 14 but he refused and pushed us all away. He was never the same after that night and he never spoke about that night.

Leo and Lucien were the only ones who allowed themselves to go to therapy and I was proud of them. I was proud of all of them. Our family had faced such tragedies but they all kept going. I always believed they got their resilience from Raven. 

When I first saw Violet at the police station in London she instantly reminded me so much of Nico, she put on a brave face through it all but I could see her silently breaking down. It was no wonder she and Nico had so many similarities, they were the closest, Violet was his mini me but now he treated her like she nothing. In a way it's good Violet does not remember Nico it would only put her through more pain seeing who he has become.