"Help him!" She pulls off the scarf she has draped around her neck and pushes it into the wound on his head. "Oh, Xander, oh, my god, it’s you, Xander; it’s you."
"It’s not Xander," Michael pulls out his phone and dials. "I saw Xander’s body, and he was dead; I assure you. This… Whoever it is, is not Xander."
Xander. It’s Xander. I stare into the features of a face that looks so similar to mine. The same thick dark hair as mine, that square jaw, those eyes which are now shut but which had looked so familiar; now I know why. Those shoulders, that height… No wonder, every time I had looked at him, a shiver had run down my spine. I had been looking at myself… No, someone like myself… Like Xander… It can’t be Xander, can it? Is it really my twin, come back to life?
The scent of honeysuckle envelops me, then she brushes past me and races around to sink down on the other side of the fallen man. "Your jacket," she scowls up at me, "give me your jacket."
"What?" I blink. "This is not the time—"
"Fuck you," she snarls. "I have no interest in whatever twisted fantasy you are creating in your mind. I need your jacket to staunch the flow of blood."
"Oh." My neck heats. Shit, why didn’t I think of that? I was staring down at the body of my twin—no, not my twin, a man who resembles my twin—and didn’t even think to help him." Fuck, fuck, fuck.
I pull off my jacket, and pushing Theresa’s hands out of the way, I press it against his head wound. Within seconds, the cloth is soaked in blood.
"Porca miseria,"I groan, "he’s losing too much blood."
"Where’s the ambulance?" Theresa sobs. She leans over to cup his cheek. "Come back to me, Xander. I can’t let you leave me again. I’ve got you back, and no way am I letting you out of my sight again. You can’t leave me, you … you asshole. Don’t you fucking leave me, Xan, you hear me?"
More footsteps sound, then Nonna and Karma reach us.
"What—? Who?" Nonna’s voice seems to shake. And that is something. I’ve never seen this woman unsure, let alone this shaken. Guess that’s what happens when your grandson, who you think you lost forever, seems to reappear from the grave.
"Nonna!" Karma screams. I turn to find Nonna swaying. Karma throws her arm around the woman to steady her. At the same time, Michael closes the distance between them and wraps his arm around the older woman.
"Mica," Nonna breathes, "is that … is that…"
"That’s not Xander," Michael replies with hard finality.
Nonna can’t take her gaze off of the fallen man; she opens and shuts her mouth, then leans heavily into Michael.
"Christian," Aurora snaps, "I need your attention here."
I turn my gaze back to her. My wife’s features are composed. Any trace of the earlier conflict on her face has been replaced by a quiet confidence. She is Dr. Aurora, the woman who cannot bear to see anyone else in pain, the one who is focused on saving lives… Everyone’s, except mine, apparently.
"Why?" I growl at her, "Why did you do that?"
"Really, you’re doing this now?" she says without taking her gaze off of Xander’s—not Xander’s—the stranger’s face.
"Now is as good a time as any."
"A man’s life is in danger… Potentially, your twin’s life."
"My twin is dead," I say through gritted teeth. "This man is not my brother."
She draws in a breath, "I was at my wit’s end, Christian. I felt trapped, like I had no one to turn to."
"You could have come to me. Why didn't you tell me all of this earlier, Aurora. Don’t you trust me?”
"I ... I do," she swallows, "but I was worried that if I told you about the deal I'd struck with him, you'd hate me."
"What's stopping me from hating you now?" I straighten myself to my full height. "Goddammit, Aurora, you are a doctor. You took the hippocratic oath, and you judged me for what I’ve done, yet you didn't think twice about asking this guy to kill me?"
She winces. "It's not like that, Christian. I told you, I didn't ask him to kill you. If anything, I asked him not to hurt you. I-I just asked him to distract you so I could escape from you."
"So, you did want to escape me?"
"I did, but not anymore." She glances away, then back at me. "At that time, though, I wasn't thinking straight when I spoke to him. I was under so much pressure, from you, from him." She shakes her head. "I just wanted a way out." She glances to the side. "Also, when I spoke to him, I hadn't fallen for you yet."