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I stop, my blood boiling. What did he just say? My hand fists at my side. “Oh, you’re dead!” I shout, running at him with a clenched fist, before I’m stopped and held back. A body stands next to me, preventing me from moving.
“Both of you, calm down.” Oliver demands. Of course he’s getting involved. Elias looks at me with a dead stare. Stupid bastard.
Aurora and Val then come in, standing between us. Val crosses her arms, taking a deep breath. “Guys, please, you have to stop fighting. You’re going to send each other to the hospital if this keeps happening,” she pleads.
I swallow, biting my cheek before I say anything. My body relaxes a little and I move away from Oliver.
“Val, maybe if you told us what’s going on, we’d be able to fix the problem,” Oliver tells her. She looks down, pursing her lips, then runs off to her room, avoiding his question. I try to follow her.
Aurora stops in front of me, not letting me pass by. “Leave her alone,” she says in a low voice.
“Aurora, she’s my—” I try to explain, but she interrupts me.
“I don’t care. It doesn't take Sherlock to know she’s troubled and it's because of you guys. So, the both of you, leave her alone,” She demands, then walks to the kids’ room. I take a step back.
She’s troubled and it’s because of you guys.They don’t know her. They don’t know what she’s gone through. If they knew half of it, they would have sided with me. If Aurora knew half of it, she would side with me without a second thought. Someday she’ll know, Val will tell her. And when she does, she’ll know why I’m doing this. She’ll know why I’m blaming Elias, how I’m doing this to protect Val. That’s all that matters. Protecting her.
Chapter 71 – Quattordici
Val
I sit on the floor of the room, my headphones covering my ears. Soft music is forced into my ears, in an attempt to calm my mind down. I’ve been sitting here alone for an hour. I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this. I want to go back in time to stop all this. To stop myself from making all these mistakes. It’s like no matter what I do, I keep making things worse.
I want to end it. I want to end the trip early. I want to go home and let everything go, forget about everything. But I can’t. I’m a celebrity, I don’t get to just do that. Especially at an event like this. I need to stay strong and get through it, like anyone else would. I’m trying. I really am. But I mess up every time. I just want this to end.
There’s then a small knock on the door, and I look up. Aurora is standing there, having changed into more comfortable clothes and her hair now tied up. “Hey. Are you okay?” she asks.
“Yeah, I always am,” I lie, faking a soft smile. She walks into the room, stopping to sit next to me. I take off my headphones, letting them rest on my lap. She wants to know what’s happening, I already know it. Who wouldn’t want to know? Elias is her cousin, and he’s a part of all this.
“I’m sorry about them, I really don’t know why they’re doing this,” she apologizes on their behalf. She shouldn’t be the one apologizing. If anyone, it should be me. I’m causing all this.
“It’s not your fault, don’t worry. I’m sorry it’s ruining the trip,” I tell her.
Everything feels like an explosion. Lorenzo still hates Elias, and now Elias hates Lorenzo. The two have been getting into more arguments. Elias is angrier now. Ever since Christmas. Ever since our encounter. I’m to blame for that. I shouldn’t have said anything. I broke him.
“Can I ask you about it? What’s happening?” Aurora asks.
I nod my head. She deserves to know. “They’re fighting because of a misunderstanding. On the last day before the break, Elias and I . . . kissed. Ever since, I’ve been stressing about it, because Lorenzo also likes me. Ellie then told Lorenzo, but she told him I was troubled about what happened, and he took it the wrong way. He came to the conclusion that it was forced, which is why he’s fighting with Elias. Now they both hate each other and they’re arguing. It’s all a mess,” I explain. She’s silent for a second. It’s a lot, I know.
“Wow. That all happened, and I didn’t know,” she utters. I rest my arms on my knees and drop my chin onto them. Wow. Exactly. “Wait, but why were you stressed about Lorenzo?”
“Lorenzo likes me, and I don’t like him back, not that way. I feel guilty for kissing his best friend,” I mutter.
She goes silent for a while again. There’s nothing to say, especially to me. I am entirely in the wrong here. Everything that’s happening is my fault.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t know any of that,” she says.
“There was no way you could. Plus, I didn’t want you to. It would’ve ruined the trip for you.”
“Do you need anything? You don’t look the best.”
I shake my head. I don’t need anything from anyone. I need to get myself together. I need to stop making stupid mistakes. “I’m fine. You should go check on Elias, I don’t think he’s doing so well. I have some work to do anyway.” I straighten up, turning my head toward her.
She hesitates for a second, before getting up and leaving the room, leaving me to myself and my thoughts. This is better. I can’t make mistakes if I’m alone.
I open my eyes and find myself in a black space. Everything is dark and empty, and it feels like I’m standing in the middle of nowhere. Where am I? I then start hearing murmurs. They echo around the place, and I look for a source. Nothing. Just a blank space.
I start walking around, the sounds becoming louder and clearer. I spot a couch, stranded in the middle. Two people sit down, and the closer I get, the more recognizable their faces are. A girl with tied brown hair, blue eyes and tanned skin. A guy with brown hair, brown eyes and light-toned skin. Aurora and Elias.
