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His words shock me. What part of taking credit did he not understand? Elias turns toward me, but doesn’t look surprised. I’m sure he isn’t, if Lorenzo talked enough. Or if he inferred that I had something to do with it. Or maybe he’s just good at hiding his emotions. Aurora, however, looks in shock.
I cover my face with my hands, sighing. “I hate you Lorenzo,” I whisper.
“No, you don’t.” He releases his arm from behind me, as if giving me the stage. “Violet, my great friend, did some research and found out about a company with a weird name, who happen to be partners with Roland,” He explains.
“Vid Vibez,” Elias corrects. Even Aurora shrugs. I think we have come to a group agreement that the name is just bad.
“Yes, that one. Anyway, my other great friend, who Aurora is obsessed with, works with Vid Vibez.” This gets a small reaction out of Elias, and he shifts his posture slightly. Aurora’s expression changes, relaxing slightly. “Violet asked me to talk to Val, and she told Vid Vibez about your dad’s plan to leave. They didn’t seem impressed and it looks like they spoke to Roland and solved the problem,” he concludes. It’s weird hearing me being used in a sentence as two different people.
Aurora’s face relaxes completely by now, and she turns to Elias. “Oh my God, see Elias. You tell me I’m obsessed with her. She is a milagro.” She shakes Elias by the arms. He smiles, nodding to her. Milagro. What’s that?
“Do you know what a milagro is?” I ask Lorenzo. He’s Italian, but he’s studied some Spanish.
“Miracle,” he answers. Oh, that makes sense. Aurora then walks toward me and wraps her arms around me.
“You are also a miracle. Thank you, thank you,” she tells me, gratitude all over her face. I smile, hugging her back. Part of the reason I did this was for her. And I’m glad I did, because she looks so genuinely happy. And I’m now apparently two miracles. When she lets go, she walks to Lorenzo to tell him something.
Elias then approaches me, to say thank you, I presume and hope. I risked literal war with Roland for him. “I can’t believe Violet Hart, who hates every part of me, decided to help me stay,” he says with a grin.
“Well now you can. Don’t let it boost your ego though, I did it for Aurora and to offend Roland,” I tell him, partly joking. The fact is, I did it because no one deserves to have a father like that. Yes, Aurora and Roland had something to do with it, but my main intention was to make it clear that he was moving for a ridiculous reason. Roland can keep his arrogant, rude personality to himself. And he can also keep it away from me, because this is one of the most disrespectful things he’s done.
His smile softens before suddenly, out of nowhere, he steps closer and lets his arms surround me. I stop breathing, frozen by the act. Speechless. Elias Miller is . . . hugging me. Elias freaking Miller is hugging me. I stand there in utter shock, but a sense of warmth hits my body with his touch.
“Thank you. Even though it wasn’t your fault,” he utters in a low voice, almost a whisper. It’s like everything around us goes silent, only the sound of my thoughts trying to wrap my head around what’s happening right now. All I know right now is that Elias Miller’s hugging me. And, for some unknown reason, I find it comforting.
I accept the hug, still in complete surprise about it. “You're welcome,” I manage to whisper, my voice weak. Why is this happening? Why am I surprised? Why am I speechless? It’s just a hug, for God’s sake.
He finally releases me, facing me with a genuine grin. My face is hot, and I already know there’s a hint of red on it. I smile back, not knowing what else to do.
“We need to go, right Elias” Aurora says, breaking the moment between us. “There are some things we need to do before class.” We both turn to look at her, and Elias nods before they both head the opposite way.
I just stand there. I don’t move, still trying to process what just happened. What was that? That sudden shift of feelings? It should’ve been normal that Elias hugged me, it was out of gratitude. So why do I feel like it was something else? Something more.
“I’m sorry, but I need to check something here,” Lorenzo says in a teasing tone, “and I need to guarantee that what I’m seeing is correct. Are you, Violet Hart, finally warming up to Elias?” His comment startles me back to reality. I turn around to see him, his eyebrows raised and a grin on his face.
“What? No. Of course not,” I lie. He steps closer until he’s inches away from me before tilting his head to the side, keeping his smile on his face.
“Lies,” he says.
“I’m not—” I try to say, and he narrows his eyes at me. I sigh. “Fine. I’m . . . warming up to him,” I admit, and Lorenzo beams, spinning in his place.
“I knew you would. I don’t mistake people,” he gloats, and I blink at him.
“Don’t tell him though. It shows weakness,” I warn him, and he rolls his eyes in response. Elias could still be tricking me. This could all just be an act to get me to warm up to him. I still don’t completely trust him. But the feeling still circles my head. The questions repeat again and again. Maybe it’s just the warming up part of all of this. I haven’t specifically talked to anyone I don’t trust or like much, and certainly never got hugged by them. This is just my body telling me that I trust him a little bit more.
“So, do I get a hug, too? It only seems fair considering everyone else did,” Lorenzo says.
“You’re going to squeeze the life out of me,” I tell him, and he giggles. He then steps closer and wraps his arms around me tightly. “As I predicted,” I say, but still return it.
“The school needs to give us more classes together. We aren’t spending enough time with each other,” he says, still hugging me. We’re in two different grades, it really isn’t common for us to have any similar classes. We’re lucky we even have one.
“I’ll free up time on the weekend. Just please stop squeezing me,” I beg, and I hear his laughter in my ear, making me smile. At least I can hug him without confusion. I honestly don’t know what I would do if I didn’t have him with me. I don’t even know how I survived the past two years without him, and I don’t know how I will when he has to leave again. But for now, I’m going to spend all the time I can until I’m bored enough of him that Isurvive the following year I have to spend without him. It’ll be hard though, considering I could never really get bored of him.
Chapter 32 – Cinquantatré
Val
I walk toward the school, alone today, and find Lorenzo arriving at the exact same time. It’s such a coincidence, considering he’s in a car and I’m on my feet. Luckily, everything is alright now. No more problems. It’s just a usual, normal Tuesday. I need a break from all these problems. It gets tiring. A normal day. That’s all I need.
