Page 114 of XOXO

I took a deep breath. “Ok, I’m sorry, but I’m scared.”

“I know, it’s ok, Cuore Mio.” He hugged me tighter as the line we needed to take arrived.

We got on, staying silent on the ten-minute ride. I checked my phone constantly, willing it to ring, needing to hear from either of them. The walk to our rental was quick and the moment we rounded the corner we saw the mob of reporters. Matteo pulled me back quickly before they saw us. We peeked around the corner to see how we could get in without being seen, but there were too many of them.

“Shit, I wonder if Vi or Ru are in the house,” I said, running my hand through my hair.

“Ru wouldn’t be in there and I’d like to think Violeta wouldn’t attempt to go through that,” Matteo sighed. “What I want to know is how the hell they knew Ru was staying here if the rental is under my name.”

“Something is not right,” I said, grabbing my phone to call Ru, but that went unanswered again.

My phone rang with an unknown number and I answered it immediately.

“Hello?”

“Levi, where are you?” Ru asked frantically.

“Oh my god, why the hell aren’t you answering your phone?” I snapped, relieved.

“Minsu brought me to a hotel, but he’s told me not to talk to anyone, threatening to drop me as a client,” he said quickly and in a low voice. “Are you with Violeta?”

“He did what?” I growled. “We haven’t seen her and she’s not answering her phone.”

“Shit, that's not good,” Ru said. “I’m leaving and going back to the house.”

“Ru, that might not be a good idea,” Matteo said.

“I don’t care, I’m worried about Vi,” he said. “Her face is most visible in the photos and I just don’t want her to get spotted and something happens to her.”

“Maybe we should go to the Acropolis?” Matteo suggested.

“She left this morning, do you think she’s still there?” I asked.

“She might have gone to the other archeological sites,” Ru said, as the door closed. “Shit, I gotta go, but I will meet you at the house, if not I'll call you.”

The line cut off.

“Matty, this sounds awful, but what if⁠—”

“No what-if’s,” he said, with a look of determination. “Let’s go see if we can find her at the Acropolis and then we will figure it out, but first, I’m going to see if I can get these assholes cleared out.”

Matteo pulled out his phone as I tried Vi one more time. I felt better that we had a plan, but I still worried it might not be enough.

We spent the rest of the day looking for Vi until Matteo and I were exhausted. The urge to cry was overwhelming as we walked down the street to the rental that was now cleared of paparazzi. There was a car parked between houses that made me nervous, but it seemed the person waiting inside wasn’t here for us. It was quiet and dark as we entered. My hope that she was here vanished when she didn’t respond to her name and all the pent-up emotion I had been ignoring rose to the surface.

The first tear rolled down my cheek as we took off our shoes. Matteo led me to the kitchen to grab some water.

“Shower?” he asked, wiping the second tear that spilled down my face.

“Quickly? I don’t want her to arrive and we aren’t out here.

“Ok, come on. Let's shower and I’ll order some food,” Matteo said, putting our glasses down.

He led me down the hall, opening my room as I heard crying. I rushed to the bathroom, the door was slightly ajar with light streaming out.

“Vi?” I opened the door to see her sitting on the floor with her make-up bag in her lap, breathing quickly and crying.

“Hey,” I said, rushing to kneel by her.