**Two Months Later**
*Caterina*
I woke up and groaned in pain; my shoulder bothered me constantly ever since I’d been shot. Luckily the bullet had made a clean exit so the injury hadn’t been too bad, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.
I rubbed my shoulder, trying to get the worst of the pain to go away. Most days I was able to forget about the pain after a while, but every morning I woke up feeling like I’d been shot all over again. I tried to remind myself to be grateful for my health and the health of the baby, but it was difficult to feel anything but hatred.
Dealing with a gunshot wound was the last thing I wanted to be doing during my pregnancy. I had envisioned lazy days spent lounging with Anna and my mother, relaxing before the baby came. I had thought I would be spoiled by Elio, and not just because he was trying to hide how much real danger I was actually in.
