Storm and Sea - Book 1

Chapter 5

TW in the description
Thank you to candykale (rare.candykale.art) for the amazing image!

Alberto POV

Alberto barely got any sleep that night. No matter what position he lay in, it hurt. He rose extra early, taking longer than usual to dress with the brace on one wrist. He walked into the kitchen and started making himself an espresso. Footsteps sounded from the hall, and Luca walked in, rubbing his eyes.

"Good morning." Luca yawned. "I'm surprised to see you up so early."

"I couldn't sleep," Alberto said, pouring both of them a cup. "Is Giulia coming?" He asked, holding a third cup.

Luca laughed. "I've never seen Giulia get up by herself anytime before noon. For school, either her mom or I had to drag her out of bed."

"Sounds about right." Alberto chortled.

"What are you going to do today?" Luca asked, taking a hot sip of espresso.

"Well, I'm no good at the Pisceria with a busted-up wrist," Alberto said, waving his brace in the air. "And the doctor said I couldn't swim either. If I do the Change, it'll mess up this brace."

"Do you want to come to the hills with us?" Luca asked. "Giulia and I are going to pick berries for a pie. She said the best black currant berries grow just on the other side of the hill."

Alberto frowned. He knew very well that there were no berries up there. And he didn't want to be a part of whatever Giulia was planning.

"No, I think I'll pass." He said, already feeling ten times worse.

"Oh right." Luca said, "You're probably too sore to hike. Sorry."

"No, it's not that," Alberto said, waving his hand. "It's just that I don't want to end up a third wheel."

"What do you mean?"

Alberto threw his hand in the air. "Agh, I don't know!" Just thinking about those two going up in the hills alone made him angry. His chest started to do that tightening thing.

"We can stay if you'd like." Luca offered.

Just then, Giulia burst into the kitchen at a run.

"C'mon, guys, we gotta hurry!"

"Hurry for what?" Alberto asked, trying not to let his sour mood show through.

"The race, of course! We had to reschedule it for today!" She grabbed Luca's half-finished espresso and downed it in one gulp. "Let's go!"

Alberto opened his mouth to protest that she just stole Luca's espresso, but Luca cut him off.

"Alberto and I are going to stay in today." He said quickly before things could escalate.

"What?" Giulia said, putting on her shoes.

"Alberto is still hurt, and I promised Massimo I'd watch him today."

Giulia groaned loudly before racing out the door. After hurricane Giulia passed, they both relaxed.

"Did Massimo really ask you to watch me?" Alberto asked, going to make Luca a fresh espresso.

Luca smirked mischievously. "No. But I knew it was the only way I could stay in with you."

Alberto laughed. "You sneaky devil."

They spent the rest of the morning and most of the afternoon hanging out in the living room. They watched TV for a while. Then Luca brought out some of his school books and showed Alberto fun illustrations of the planets and solar systems. Alberto thought that the biology textbook was the most interesting. He liked all the illustrations of exotic animals.