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“Thank you. So much,” Aurora tells her, probably for the hundredth time. Val gives her a bright look.
“I’ll see you on Sunday then,” she says, and we both head out the door as Val returns to her table. I stop at the door, letting Aurora continue in front of me. My sight is on her, turned around while she moves different things around the desk.
I should say something. I want to say something. To her. About all of it. I want to ask her what happened. What went wrong. What I did wrong. I try to, but my mouth won’t open. The words won’t come out. So, I look away, then continue outside, leaving all the words unspoken.
Chapter 59 – Ventisei
Val
I unlock the back door, turning the handle to open it, before entering the house. I’ve finished for the day, having completed everything I needed to do. I’ve done the concert, made the announcement, gave the information to Aurora and Elias, and made sure of all the papers and names have been filled in. Everything is organized.
In the living room, Ellie is waiting in front of the door, like usual. She wants to say something, I can see it in her eyes. I already know what she’s going to ask. I stop and look at her, as if giving her permission to speak.
She’s almost ready to burst when she speaks, “So, am I going?” I nod my head at her, and she jumps, screaming. She launches herself on me, hugging me, and I laugh. “Thank you, thank you, thank you!” she squeals.
“Don’t worry about it.” I giggle.
She pushes back and looks up slightly. “I promise I won’t cause any problems.”
“You better not.”
Ellie squeals again, hugging me more. Squeezing me, even. I knew she would be this excited. It’s why I did it. I finally had a chance to take her, why wouldn’t I take the opportunity?
I then spot Mom walking in, and Ellie turns around, screaming to her that she’s going. She hugs her as well, then runs into her room to “start packing.” Mom laughs as she exits, then turns back to me.
“So, how did it go?” she asks. I take off my shoes and purse, hanging my purse up and placing my shoes on the rack, before walking closer to her.
“It was good. Everything worked out,” I answer.
She grabs my hands when I’m close enough. “And Elias?” she asks, reminding me. A wave of sorrow travels through my body.
He looked so dull. He didn’t want to be there. He didn’t look like he wanted to be anywhere. Probably because of me. I ran away and never went back. He doesn’t know what happened. If the kiss felt as good to him as it did to me, he has every reason to feel like this. To hate me.
“Horrible. I don’t know how I’m going to do the whole trip without him,” I tell her, and she rubs her thumb on my hands. Her head tilts to the side.
“Take Lorenzo with you. As a distraction,” she suggests. As much as I want to, it feels like the worst idea ever. I want to spend more time with him, to have him there as support. But if he figures out what happened between Elias and me, it might cause problems. If they both go, they’d be stuck together.
I sigh. “I don’t know. It seems like a risky idea,” I reply.
“If he doesn’t know anything, you’ll be fine. Plus, I’m sure he’ll understand,” she assures me. I go silent for a bit, thinking about it.
Hell, what am I saying? How am I going to go through it without someone there with me? Someone like Lorenzo. Someone who understands me. He’s leaving the day I get back, and then it’ll be another year, at the least, until I get see him again.
She’s right. I should take him. “Yeah, I should ask him to go.”
“Well. Better now before it’s too late,” she points out. The trip is in four days, he should have some notice. She’s right once again.
“You’re right, I should ask him. Thank you,” I say, going back and putting on my shoes and a jacket again.
“You’re welcome!” She shouts as I run out of the door and back into my car.
I drive to Pierre’s house, where Lorenzo is staying. I get out, then head up the long set of stairs. This should be easy. Just ask him to go with me. Knowing I kissed his best friend, and still haven’t told him. Not hard at all.
I knock on the door and wait. Soon, it creaks open, revealing Lorenzo. He looks at me in confusion, both his eyebrows bent down. “Val. What are you doing here?” he asks.
“I know it’s late, but I was thinking about it, and I realized I can’t go to the event without my best friend. You’re leaving immediately after I get back, so I won’t get to see you, and then I’ll have to wait another year, and I don’t think I can do that. I also need you to help me, if I run into some problems, because who else would help me? So, I hope it’s not too late to ask you to come with me,” I confess, crossing my arms around my chest. I want him to say yes. I want him to go with me. To be my support.
He looks at me, processing what I just said. His lips then curl upward, and I notice his eyes spark. “Of course. I wouldn’t leave my best friend without one last fun trip,” he replies, and a sense of relief takes over me. I take a step closer and hug him. BecauseI love him. Maybe not in the ways he wants, but I love him all the same. Because I hate myself for what I did to him.
