𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐛𝐢𝐫𝐝

9

matteo

It's been two days.

Two fucking days since I last saw Valentina and I'm loosing my fucking mind.

The only reason I haven't broken down that damn door is that when I call her name, she answers. Telling me that she's one, alive and two, if she wanted to come out she would.

I've given her some space to figure shit out on her own, but if she doesn't come out today, then I'm breaking the door down no matter what.

My brother and Cairo have both been messaging me non stop, worried about their new friend. I think they like her more than me.

Looking at the watch on my wrist, I sigh and rub my forehead in an attempt to rid myself of a headache. It's four pm and I need to drop by my apartment before going back home.

I spin my pen around my hand, counting the minutes until I can leave this meeting.

After a gruelling half an hour it finally finishes.

After stopping by my apartment to grab some more clothes, I open the front door to my family home, a small pit of dread in my stomach as I make my way up the stairs.

"Purple, you in there?" I knock on the door softly, waiting for a reply that doesn't come.

"Amore?" Yet again, no answer. My heart starts beating a little faster, the door is still locked and you can only lock it from the inside.

She could be asleep?

"Valentina." I say a little louder, pounding on the door a little harder. For some reason I don't believe that she's asleep, even though it's a perfectly good explanation.

"If you don't answer me I'm gonna break the door, principessa." When there's no answer, I hit the lock with my palm a couple times, breaking the handle off and unlocking the door in seconds.

Pushing it open, my jaw drops at the sight in front of me. Valentina's passed out at the end of her bed with so many broken pieces of glass scattered around her and some that are pressed into her skin, causing small cuts.

How long has she been like this?

I talked to her this morning and she sounded fine, well maybe not fine but conscious at least.

Stepping closer I spot three broken whiskey bottles that were obviously empty prior to being smashed to pieces.

My hands shake as I crouch down in front of her, carefully pushing away all of the broken glass that surrounds her body, meaning that I can get closer without cutting myself. I gather her hair and gently put it up in a messy bun on top of her head, before picking her up making sure not to push any pieces of glass further into her legs as I carry her to our bathroom.

Valentina's eyes flutter slightly when I place her down on the marble counter and then fully open after a couple blinks. The big purple tinted eyes that I'm used to seeing are now bloodshot and tired, her normally soft looking lips are now dry and cracked and her skin is pale and dull.

She looks exhausted, both physically and mentally.

I pick up my tweezers and look her in the eyes before looking down at her legs and then back up, silently communicating my next moves. She nods her head emotionlessly, watching me as I place my hand on her thigh.

We spend the next few minutes in silence as I pull out the pieces of glass one by one. Her only reaction to the pain is her thigh tensing underneath my hand but other than that she just accepts it without any complaint.