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He doesn’t move though. Neither does Elias. They’re both still, as if my words just evaporated in the air. I drop my head. Of course. Why would they listen to me? I’m the cause of this whole problem. They aren’t to blame, I am. If I just hadn’t kissed Elias, everything would be all right. Nothing would’ve happened between Elias and I. Lorenzo wouldn’t have anything to be worried about. They wouldn’t have anything to fight about.
They’re fighting because of me.
I turn around and walk out, back to the room. I can’t do this. Not now. The day keeps getting worse and I just want it to end. I want to go to sleep, then wake up tomorrow, and realize it was all a dream. That nothing happened. Everything is back to normal, and everyone’s happy.
This isn’t the first time I’ve wished to wake up from what feels like a nightmare.
This isn’t the first time I won’t wake up.
I wake up to the faint sound of a knock on the door, making me jump out of bed, fix my hair, put an extra layer on, and open the door. Oliver stands in front of the door, already all dressed. “Good morning,” he greets.
I rub my eyes, refining my focus. “Good morning to you too,” I mumble before looking back up at him. “Why are you here so early?” I ask.
“It’s 8 a.m. so it’s not early, but I’m here to ask you about what’s happening to the ‘friends’ in the room behind me,” he states. My expression, and whole mood, drops. He had toremind me so early in the morning. He notices the shift in expression, raising his eyebrows.
I sigh before answering, “They’re fighting.”
“Mhm, I figured. Didn’t you say they were friends?”
“I did, because they are. It’s just they’re in a fight now.”Because of me.
He crosses his arms against his chest. “Why?” He questions. Because I made one of the dumbest mistakes of my life. Because I didn’t tell Lorenzo in the first place, which led him to hearing it wrongly from Ellie. Because I ran away after everything happened on Friday with Elias.
“It’s complicated. Lorenzo misunderstood something, now he’s angry at Elias,” I say instead.
“And is this going to be a problem?”
“Probably,” I utter.
He sighs, raising his hand to his forehead. “Teenagers, I swear,” He mutters.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know they were fighting,” I apologize, almost like it’s a reflex.
He looks up, dropping his hand, before pursing his lips together. “Don’t apologize, it’s not like you could’ve done anything. Just try and make sure they don’t cause any public disasters. And if you know the issue, try your best to stop them,” he tells me.
I nod my head weakly. I do know the issue. I am the issue. The only way I could solve it is if I have the ability to go back in time to stop Lorenzo from listening to Ellie. Or even before, to stop the kiss from ever happening.
But I can’t go back in time. I can only try and change what’s going to happen right now, and stop what might happen in the future.
Chapter 65 – Venti
Elias
We don’t do anything today. It’s Christmas Eve tomorrow, so the whole group decided today would be a day to rest and explore New York, individually if anyone wanted. We’ll be busy tomorrow, anyway, and there are some activities here in the hotel, as well. I just stay in the hotel room however. Lorenzo’s still angry. I still don’t know why. Val still isn’t talking to me. I still don’t know why. I’m being ghosted by both of them, and I have no idea why. I feel empty. But Aurora looks happy, so at least there’s that.
When the day is coming to an end, I enter the main room, since mine doesn’t have a kitchen. The doors to the main room are always open. There’s a door to the hall, which keeps us secure. Our room has a door, and the bedrooms in the main room have doors. The kitchen and living room are however open for use by us as well. I enter and grab a cup from the cupboard. I open the fridge and get the water pitcher, tilting it to let water fill the cup.
I then sense movement around me. I place the pitcher on the countertop and turn around. Val is there, walking from the roomto the kitchen. “You’re still awake,” she points out. I look away, back to the cup.
“Yeah, I don’t normally go to sleep early,” I say, raising the cup to my lips. I let the water run down my throat, keeping it from getting tighter. Looking at her hurts. Looking in her eyes. It brings back the moment. The longing of feeling that again. “You?”
“Uh, work. I always stay up,” she answers. Without looking, her voice alone links her to Violet. I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before. How similar they are. How they connected as one person. Not that it would’ve changed anything.
The room goes silent, but I know she’s still there. I put the pitcher away, then walk to the sink to wash the cup. The sound of the running water breaks the silence as it splashes over the surface. From here, I get a glance at her. Her head is tilted, and she’s looking at me. Not the same way as she did before, though. It’s different now.
“I’m sorry about your eye. Is it feeling any better?” she asks, bringing me back to focus on the cup. I turn off the water and place the cup to dry.
“It’s good. I was able to treat it early, so it isn’t the worst,” I answer. She steps closer, around the island.
