Peccatori | Damiano David [ENG]

XXVII

POV: Damiano

Voices are coming from all over me, clumping together in one big cacophony. The image of the Bentley driving away blurs before my eyes. Someone grabs my hand, but I completely ignore the touch.

My life is a mystification.

I don't understand what has happened in the last ten minutes.

I chatted cheerfully with my father-in-law and his colleagues about things I have no idea about. I waited for Lilith, but in the meantime Giorgia caught me. I was surprised by this gesture, but I considered that a casual conversation was nothing bad. Then some premonition touched me and I went out to the stairs.

I don't think I'll forget that sight for the rest of my life. It will haunt me in my nightmares for the rest of my life.

She ran out of the room all shaken up. She looked anxiously at the walls as if she was looking for help. Our gazes crossed and I was flooded with a wave of anxiety. She said a few incomprehensible words and ran out, and I followed her.

She drove off, but I don't know why.

- She knows how to end a party with a bang. - said Gio, whose voice expressed her displeasure. - Damiano?

I don't react. I don't even bat an eyelid. He stares stubbornly at the spot where a few minutes ago Lilith's purple car was still standing.

I only move restlessly when he tightens his slim hand on my shoulder.

- Are you all right? - She asked. - Is there anything I can do for you? - Behind this innocent question there must have been a second meaning.

I yanked my hand out of her grasp in exasperation.

- Nothing is fucking all right. - I said nervously, combing through my thick hair.

I turned my back on her. I think this gesture will allow me to at least take my mind off reality for a while. I take out a packet of cigarettes from my pocket and nervously light one. I inhale and the deadly cloud of smoke licks my lungs lazily.

The crowd of people around me seems to grow tighter and tighter by the minute. Confused voices are starting to come from all around me, merging into a single harmony.

- You don't have to be so nervous. - Giorgia keeps pressing. - Come with me, you will relax and forget all this farce. - she said coming closer to me.

I don't believe my ears.

I turn on my heel and give her an exasperated look. I don't know where to put my eyes, so I run my eyes all over her body, but they don't stop for long.

Nicotine and adrenaline are bubbling in my blood. I lose control of myself and the words I say. All the brakes are released.

- Do you hear yourself for God's sake? My girlfriend has been hurt and has gone God knows where, and you're standing here offering me sex? - while gesticulating and waving his arms in all directions? - You need to knock yourself on your ass, because since we broke up, I think you've got it all wrong. You're not the person I used to know. You're not the Gio I used to love. We will never be together again. There is no more us. Hell will freeze over before I get back to you. - I spoke in a tone so calm as to be frightening.

The woman froze in stillness suspending her hand in mid-motion. I spoke in a hushed tone, but I got the impression that everyone understood the situation without words. People moved away from us, as if to keep a safe distance.

- You think you're such a great guy and you're standing here like a pole and you're not even looking for her? - she laughed quietly. - Shall I remind you of what I once told you? - she asked.