Amore Inaspettato

Capitolo 1

"Ginevra!" Camilla yelled. Ginevra turned her head smiling as her friends walked toward her.

"I was hoping I wouldn't have to search for you two everywhere," Ginevra smiled.

"Are you ready for our weekend of fun?" Chiara asked. Ever since the girls were little they almost always spent every weekend together. As they got older and busier the whole weekend became rough to commit to, but they would always make sure to spend at least one day of the weekend together. They would always switch off offering to host for the weekend. Well at least until Ginevra's eighth birthday. That's when everything changed.

She had come from a happy family, with two loving parents that supported her in everything that she did. Right after her eighth birthday, her mother got into a car accident. She was killed in the head-on collision with a drunk driver. Ginevra was absolutely devastated, as was her father. But unlike his daughter, her dad never fully recovered from the loss of his wife. The pain was too much for him to bare and slowly he started looking for ways to help him cope with the sadness. His main vice was alcohol, but sometimes he would take drugs as well. Those were the rough nights, when he'd mix alcohol with whatever drug he was taking.

Ginevra can still remember the first night it happened, she was twelve. Her dad had gotten so mad that he was throwing dish after dish against the wall as they shattered over the floor. The girl called Camilla and asked if she could come over. Thankfully Cami's parents agreed and Ginevra was able to sneak out, walking to the Rossi's house as it was not far from her own.

"I am so ready!" Ginevra smiled.

After that night Ginevra did everything she could to not be at home unless absolutely necessary. She often would stay at either Camilla's or Chiara's house, sometimes even Fabio's. But those times when no one was available she would have to wander home, hoping, praying, that her father was on a light drinking night.

Thankfully her two friends never really questioned why they stopped having their fun weekend at Ginevra's house. When her mom died she just stopped offering to host and her friend never pressed her about it. It wasn't just that she didn't want her father to hurt one of her friends, she didn't want them to know about his behavior period. The less they knew the better. It's not that she didn't trust her friends, but she knew that if word got out about her father, her life would be ruined. He would lose his job at the big tech company he worked for, she wouldn't be able to attend her high school anymore, and she would be taken away from everything she knew. She couldn't risk her life being turned upside down any more than it already was.

"I can't believe we're all actually free the whole weekend. This hasn't happened in a while," Chiara smiled as the girls looped their arms and walked toward the main entrance of the school.

"Are we walking to your house, Cami?" Ginevra asked looking at Camilla.

"No, my brother has the car today. My parents told him he had to give us a ride home if he was going to take it," Camilla smiled.

Ginevra had known Niccolo for just as long as she'd known Camilla and Chiara. He was like your typical boy at their school, thought he was hot shit. He was also very much a player even though he was dating Virginia. His cockiness made her eyes roll practically every time she saw him, he was almost insufferable. As for her knowledge, he thought the same as her. They didn't necessarily hate each other, but they didn't really get along either.

"Cami, it's about time. I've been waiting forever," Niccolo rolled his eyes as the girls walked up to the car.

"The bell only rang five minutes ago. I'm sure you weren't waiting very long!" Cami said also rolling her eyes.

"Whatever. I may have been forced to give you a ride but I'm not going to wait around for you all day," Niccolo said opening the driver's side door, "Get in the car or you're being left."

Chiara and Ginevra climbed in the back of the car while Cami sat up front with Niccolo. Chiara and Cami chatted away about track as Niccolo pulled away from the school. Ginevra stared out the window as they drove. She had a lot on her mind recently. She was only sixteen but she needed to start thinking about her future. If she wanted to get away from her father she needed to focus on doing good in school.

"Did you hear me?" Cami asked making Ginevra look at her. She noticed that the car had stopped.

"No, sorry. What did you say?" Ginevra asked.

"We're getting snacks for this weekend, do you want anything?" Cami asked."Surprise me," Ginevra smiled.

Chiara and Camilla got out of the car leaving Ginevra with Niccolo alone. She looked down playing with the ring that was on her left middle finger. It was her mother's wedding ring. Her father had given her the ring after her mother passed, back when he still had some love left for his daughter.

"What's your problem?" Niccolo asked from the front seat.

Ginevra looked up to meet his eyes in the rearview mirror. She felt a little uneasy under the stare of his blue eyes.

"Nothing. I'm fine," Ginevra said breaking their gaze.

"That's bullshit. You're usually all chatty like the other two. Today you're quiet," Niccolo said."I just...I have a lot on my mind," Ginevra said.

"Oh what, boy problems?" Niccolo scoffed.

She furrowed her brows meeting his eyes back in the mirror, "Some of us have bigger problems in the world other than dealing with the opposite sex."

"Oh please, what could the prefect princess possibly have going on in her life that is such a struggle?" Niccolo asked.

"You don't know anything about me," Ginevra said as tears started to fill her eyes. Niccolo's face softened as he opened his mouth to say something but the car door opened. Ginevra wiped the tear that had run down her cheek and turned toward her friends who were laughing.

I hope that you guys enjoy the first chapter of Amore Inaspettato! Updates will probably be slow at first but I hope you love it 💛

~A