My Italian Nightmare

Chapter 29: As it was

Edoardo led me to the king sized bed that was placed at the other end of the room and I sat down on it. He gently took the clothes I was still clutching to my body away from me and put them on a chair nearby.
"Do you...need anything? Water maybe?", he asked, his voice almost a whisper. I nodded slowly and Edoardo handed me a bottle from the nightstand.
"Thank you", I breathed and I took a sip. I fetched my phone out of my trousers pocket and put it with the water on the nightstand. Quickly glancing at the screen saver, I saw that it was already well past three in the morning. I sighed and removed my trousers, before crawling into the bed sheets. I didn't care, that Edoardo was able to see me in just underwear. It felt pointless to care about things like that right now. I hid my face in a pillow and tried to control my breathing. Flashes of Angelo's face appeared before my inner eye, and I could still hear his voice in my head.
"You're pathetic, Ari."
I began to cry silently into my pillow, clutching it tight with my hands. Why must it all have gone so wrong? Why did I ever thought that anything good would come out of sleeping with my celebrity crush? I simply didn't understand Angelo's behavior. There was no reason to be so...so mean, right?
"Ari?", Edoardo said quietly and I just shook my head, keeping my head in my pillow. "You want to...talk? About what makes you so sad?" I felt how he sat down on the opposite edge of the bed. I shook my head again and sniffled a bit.
"I can't", I whispered and carefully turned my head to have a look at Edoardo. He was now only wearing boxer shorts and a tank top, his long hair was tied up into a bun. He was sitting still and faced the other direction, so I couldn't make out any expressions he might show. "What you want to do, right now?", he asked and I was wondering what was going on in his mind. "I just want to sleep", I answered and closed my eyes; my eyelids were so heavy that it was hard to keep them open at this point.
"Is it okay if I sleep in the same bed?" It was hard to determine a particular emotion in his voice, he asked in a tone as to how I would like my coffee in the morning. I opened my eyes again and watched Edoardo's back, thinking about what I was feeling towards him. I was not afraid of him. I was a bit intimidated, but not in a way that I felt tense. His presence felt actually kind of peaceful. I was also attracted to him but with his looks it was hard not to. Right now, I just felt like he was my knight in shining armor and there was no reason not to share a bed with him.
"It's fine, yeah", I finally answered and Edoardo turned around slowly. He smiled and grabbed his blanket, before lying down on his side and covering himself with it. He was now facing me and I looked back at him. Something about his face was very calming. Although it had defining features, like high cheekbones and a strong chin, it was still somehow very soft. His nose was straight but got a little wider at the tip, which was more noticeable when he was smiling – not his mysterious or polite smile, but his genuine big smile, when his eyes lit up and little wrinkles emerged around them. You could even notice small dimples appearing on his cheeks. I had not seen that smile more than once or twice on him, and I wondered why when it was so very beautiful and genuine. I felt Edoardo's eyes watching me and I couldn't help but notice how dark and handsome they were. With his long black lashes accentuating them, they radiated nothing but kindness and safeness.
"Thank you", Edoardo whispered and I nodded. "Good night, Ari. If you need anything...don't hesitate to wake me, yes?" I smiled lightly and closed my eyes again.
"Good night", I whispered back.

***

Thursday, 4th of November

When I woke up, I was confused for a moment because nothing in this place seemed familiar. Bright sunlight illuminated the spacey room, and when I looked around I found that I was alone. I massaged my temple and the realization of my situation hit me, which made me groan and sink back into my pillow. I was in LA, in Edoardo Bianchi's hotel room. I have had a fight with Angelo and I was terribly hung-over. And I had no idea how I ended up in this twisted drama that was now my life. I reached over to the nightstand and grabbed my phone. It was already 12 pm and I quickly got up, hastily checking my messages. I had fifteen missed calls from Hanna, eleven missed calls from Tom and several messages from both of them. I also had a couple missed calls from a number I did not know.
However, Hanna's last message on Whatsapp was –"Teo told me that Edoardo told him that you're still sleeping in his room. I'm not worried anymore but also what the hell Ari? Call me back as soon as you're awake and I hope you got a good explanation."
I grinded my teeth and opened Tom's messages. –"Ari, where were you last night? Hanna won't tell me a thing. Anyways, we're grabbing lunch soon, please call us asap."
I got out of bed and looked around to gather my things, while I opened Instagram to check my messages there. Teo had texted me: –"Ari? You okay? No one will tell me things, but something happened with Angelo again, right? And why did you stay with Edoardo? Let's hang out later and talk."
I shook my head impatiently and pulled my pants from last night on. I scrolled up to see that Edoardo had also sent me a message. –"I let you sleep, think you needed it. I want to invite you to dinner tonight to have proper talk, if you want."
My head was buzzing now and I put my phone into my pocket while I picked up my shirt and grabbed the water on the nightstand to moisturize my dry throat. After making sure I got all of my things, I hurried out of the room. I did not take the elevator but walked down the stairs while I dialed Hanna's number.