Pandora's Box - An Ethan Torchio Fanfic

Never Let You Down

As promised, I'm bringing you a new chapter with some answers!
And btw, a couple of you did guess correctly the person who caught them!
Enjoy!
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Summer 2016, five years ago

"Well, well, well... what do we have in here?"

Ethan and I looked in shock at the person who had decide to burst in, breaking our bubble. There it was Bianca, holding her phone as she snapped a picture while Ethan was still holding me by the ass with my legs wrapped around him.
"I'm sure your mother will love to see this." Before she could exit the room, Thomas and Victoria stopped her, pushing her inside as Damiano walked in and closed the door behind him.
Ethan carefully put me down before turning to the blonde girl while Damiano was standing against the door, blocking the only exit.
"Delete the picture, Bianca." This was the first time I was seeing him being mad, he had lowered the tone of his voice as he spoke to her and stepped in front of me in a protective way.
"Let me think about it? No." Bianca shook her head, an evil smirk appearing on her lips as she swung her phone in her hand. "I'm not going to delete it and, actually, I will show it to her mom." She tilted her head, glancing over Ethan's shoulder to look at me directly. "I'm sure she will be happy to know what you've been doing."
"You will not go to her mother, you will delete the picture and then, you will leave us alone for good." Ethan crossed his arms over his chest, taking a step forward towards Bianca.
"What do you even see in her? She's nothing special." She threw her hands in the air in a dramatic way, as if this was an scene taking out of a soap opera. "How can you prefer her over me? Are you blind?" Bianca was too focused on Ethan and me to realized how close Victoria was and, in a swift movement, she snatched the phone from her hand.
"Now we don't need you to delete it, we will do it ourselves." Victoria jumped victoriously, looking down at the phone.
"If you delete the picture, I'll start screaming and everybody will come to see what's going on." Victoria turned to look at her with her mouth wide open, but no words were coming from her. "I will tell everybody that you tried to steal my bag, or maybe attack me, so you can kiss goodbye to any future gig and your pathetic band."
"What do you want, Bianca?" I rested my hand on Ethan's shoulder, sighing softly as I felt how tense he was under my touch.
"That's actually very easy. First, I want my phone back." She stretch her hand, tapping her foot on the floor as she waited for Victoria to give her the phone back. Once she had it in her hand, she put it in her purse and turned to look at me and Ethan. "And second, I want you two to break up."
"What? No!" I shook my head, rolling my eyes at her and her stupid condition while Ethan moved his arm to wrap it around me. "That's not going to happen Bianca."
"Then, I guess your mother will be very happy with the news." With that, Bianca turned to leave the changing room, forgetting that Damiano was blocking it.
"Wait!" I shouted at her, motioning her to stop as I turned to Ethan, whispering so only him could hear me. "Please, trust me in this and don't say anything." I bit down my bottom lip, leaning to kiss his lips softly before looking at Bianca. "Fine, you win. I won't see him anymore."
I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath as the rest of the members of the band tried to talked me out of it. "I have one condition, you will leave Ethan alone."
"Sure, I was actually starting to get bored of him, anyways." She shrugged, chuckling lightly as she again turned to leave the room, this time Damiano moved out her way. "And by the way, I'm keeping the picture just in case you decide to break our pact."

Once she had left the room, I turned to the band who were looking at me with a mix of disappointment and disbelief.
"Guys, I know what you're thinking, but you have to trust me on this, I have a plan." I nodded, reaching to take Ethan's hand and giving a soft squeeze while I lean to kiss his lips one more time. "I can't tell you about it, but this is not the end. Believe me."
I quickly hugged everyone, biting the inside of my cheek as I tried to not break down, keeping the tears at bay while I silently pray for my plan to work, not looking back as I walked out the room.

I easily found my mother who was already looking for me, it was then when I realized that my face was a mirror of the pain and fear I was feeling.
"Are you alright, dear?" She gently reached for me, placing two fingers under my chin to make me look at her while my stepfather approached us. "Are you two ready to go?"
"I think so, yes." She quickly nodded as Carlo wrapped one arm around my shoulders, guiding me outside the bar and towards the car that was already waiting for us.
Silence reigned during the ride, my stepfather tried to make some small talk, but neither my mother or me were in the mood.
As soon as the car stopped in front of the house, I practically flew towards my bedroom, closing the door behind me before throwing myself on the bed, pressing my face against the mattress while I ignored my phone that had been buzzing non stop for a few minutes already.
The day had completely drained me, I knew that the opening party wasn't going to be easy, but the outcome had been even worse, and even though I told Ethan and the rest of the band to trust me, I wasn't fully sure of my plan or how to go through it.

I realized I had slept on my party clothes when my mother woke me up with breakfast brought to bed.
"Good morning, a new day has begun!" I opened my eyes, blinking a few times as my mother opened the curtains, letting some light in, outside the sky was covered with dark clouds just like the mood in my room. "Oh, what's wrong, chérie?" I raised my eyebrows, surprised at how nice she was being to me.
"I didn't sleep well, that's all." I quickly shook my head, running my fingers through my hair as I moved to sit up.
"Amelie, I might not be the best mother in the world, but I still can see when something is bothering my child." She reached to place the few strands of hair behind my ear and, for the first time in my life, she looked truly concerned. "Believe it or not, I have missed you, and I want you to have a good time in Rome so you will ask to come back more often."
"Really? Cause for the last few weeks it looked as if all you cared was your status, and I was just a tool to achieve it." I looked down at the tray, reaching to grab the cup of tea while I tried to avoid her eyes.
"I know, last night I had a long talk with Carlo, he said that you weren't happy, and it hurt to see that he had noticed that before I did." Sighing, she sat down next to me, resting her back against the headboard. "He loves you as if you were his own daughter, you know?"
"I like him too, he's pretty cool." I quickly nodded, tilting my head to look at her, she was looking out the window with a frown on her face, as if she was measuring every word before letting them out.
"I know it might sound stupid, but you are the only one I can trust here apart from him, and I hope you know that you can also trust me." She turned to look at me, maybe because I was feeling vulnerable, and also desperate, I believed her and her words.

"I have to tell you something and you might not like it."

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Is she going to tell her mom everything?
We will find out on the next chapter!
Love,
A