A twist of Wheels and Fate

9

*Marco*

Paola snuggled a little closer to me while she was already fast asleep.

She was really warm. The fever must be pretty high. Even if she was otherwise relatively well. I gently stroked her hair as Gia came into bed with us.

I spread my arm out a little. Gia immediately came closer and laid her head halfway on my arm.

"Marco?" she whispered and my heart rate immediately went up.

She never called me by my first name. Except when she was angry. What had I done to make her mad? Or wasn't she mad, because then she actually sounded different.

"What's wrong, gattina?" I whispered, looking at her worriedly.

"Why didn't you tell me that Pierre had called?" she whispered thoughtfully.

So he had told her. But I didn't know how much he had told her.

"I honestly just forgot," I whispered, "You forgot your cell phone when you left with Martha and I only answered it because I was worried that something was going on with Paola. But he just wanted to talk to you. And then I just fell asleep and forgot. I'm sorry." I looked her in the eye to see if she believed me.

It wasn't really a lie at all. I had almost forgotten that he had called and that we had argued. But I was pretty sure that he hadn't told her about the argument. Otherwise, I'm pretty sure she would have reacted differently.

No. She would definitely have reacted differently. I knew Gia well enough to know when she was really angry. And if she had known about the fight, she would have been angry.

But it was clear that he hadn't told her because we had both said things that were supposed to be embarrassing. That's probably why he hadn't told her.

"I'm sorry, Gia," I whispered and pulled her closer to me and Paola.

"It's okay," she mumbled, but something in her voice told me how tense she was.

She had thoughts running through her head that she wasn't saying.

I took my hand that had been holding her daughter and slid it into her hair "Hey, I really just forgot. I'm really sorry," I whispered as I stroked her hair.

I knew how much she liked that. The relaxation was immediately visible on her face.

"It's okay." she whispered "But he... he took me up on it. Because he wanted to talk to me. He really confuses me.".

"Why?"

"Because... somehow it seems like he really wants to do more with us again. Like it wasn't just talk. Maybe... Maybe I should give him another chance after all," she murmured.

I immediately felt jealous again. 

I had no right to it, I was aware of that. But I was jealous. Especially after what had happened tonight when she had come back drunk. If I had reacted differently, if I had let it happen, would she think differently?

Why had it even gone this far tonight if she thought differently about it now?

Why did everything have to be so confusing right now?

Yes, she could give Pierre another chance. That would be her right. But if she wanted a family, that's exactly what she already had.

Her, Paola and me.

The little one snuggled up a little closer to me and my heart sank once again. I loved this child and I loved Gia. And I was damn close to finally telling her that. Especially now that I was almost certain that she felt more than just this friendship. I wanted to tell her, but something deep inside me stopped me.