Tangled Alliances

38

I changed into black shorts and an off-the-shoulder grey sweater, brushed my hair and left it down, and put on a bit of makeup.

Just as I finished, the doorbell rang.

I opened the door and let Matteo in. He was wearing a black loose button-up with some looser white pants. "Hey," I greeted him.

"Hey," he replied. We went up to my room, and he sat on my bed, examining everything.

He picked up a picture of me as a baby with my grandmother.

"Who's this?" he asked, looking at the photo.

"That's me and my grandma," I said.

Matteo looked at me, urging me to continue. "What was she like?"

"She was the most loving person ever. Wore her heart on her sleeve." I said, the thought of my abuela makes my heart hurt.

"It was sad," I said quietly.

"What?" he asked, confused.

"To watch her love people so much," I replied, feeling a lump in my throat.

"Why?" he asked gently.

"Because no one loved her the same way,"

I said, my voice barely above a whisper. "She gave so much of herself to everyone, but it felt like no one ever gave back to her the way she deserved."

Matteo put the photo down and looked at me, his eyes soft with understanding. "She sounds like she was an amazing person."

"She was," I said, sitting next to him on the bed. "She raised me more than my parents did. Losing her was the hardest thing I've ever been through."

Matteo nodded, his expression thoughtful. "I'm sorry, Valentina. It must have been so tough for you."

I nodded, feeling tears prick at my eyes. "It was. I didn't know how to live without her at first. But I had to learn. It made me afraid to care about people too much. Afraid of losing them."

Why am I opening up to him?

"I get that," Matteo said softly. "It's hard to open up when you're scared of getting hurt."

I looked at him, wondering if he could see through my walls. "Yeah. And now, with everything that's happening... it's just so overwhelming."

"You're not alone, you know," Matteo said, reaching out to take my hand. "I'm here for you."

I squeezed his hand, feeling a mix of fear and hope. "Thank you, Matteo."

He gave me a small smile. "I mean it. You don't have to go through this alone."

I nodded, taking a deep breath. "I know. But sometimes, it's hard to believe that."

Matteo squeezed my hand gently. "I'm not going anywhere."

I looked at him, feeling a warmth spread through my chest. Maybe, just maybe, I could start to trust him.

"Okay," I said softly.

We sat there in comfortable silence for a while, just holding hands, and for the first time in a long time, I felt a glimmer of hope.

I watched Valentina, her face a mix of exhaustion and worry.

Trying to lighten the mood, I leaned back against her headboard, making myself comfortable.

"You know, I've been thinking," I said, breaking the silence. "Do you think there's something going on between Sabrina and Julian?"

Valentina's eyes lit up with interest. "You noticed that too? I was thinking the same thing."

I nodded, glad to see her engage. "Yeah, I mean, the way they look at each other sometimes. It's like they're trying to hide something."

She laughed softly. "I caught them exchanging these weird glances the other day. It's so obvious."

"Right? And Julian's been acting all weird and secretive lately. It's not like him at all."

Valentina smiled, the tension in her shoulders easing a bit. "Sabrina too. She's been more distracted than usual. I think they might actually like each other."

I grinned. "Imagine the drama if they got together. We'd never hear the end of it."

She chuckled, shaking her head. "True, but I think it would be kind of cute. They balance each other out."

"Definitely," I agreed. "Julian could use someone like Sabrina to keep him grounded."

We continued sharing observations and theories about our friends, and for a moment, it felt like the weight of everything we were dealing with was lifted.

She stretched and glanced at me, her face softening a bit.

"I should probably go to sleep soon," she said, stifling a yawn. "I've got school tomorrow."

"School?" I asked, surprised. "It's summer."

She paused for a second, as if hesitant to admit it. "Yeah... well, I failed a couple of classes, so I've got summer school now."

"Makes sense," I said, nodding without thinking.

Valentina's head snapped toward me, her brows furrowed. "Makes sense that I failed?"

I realized what I had said, seeing the hurt flash across her face. "No, no, I didn't mean it like that," I quickly added, my hands instinctively raising as if to defend myself. "I just... I get it, that's all. I know things have been stressful."

She eyed me for a moment, then seemed to relax a little. "Okay..."

The awkward silence lingered for a beat before I spoke again, trying to shift the mood. "But don't forget, the ball's tomorrow too. I'll pick you up after school."

Her gaze softened, the tension easing slightly. "Yeah, I won't forget."

As she stood there, looking tired but determined, I felt the urge to do more than just watch her navigate all this pressure on her own. Tomorrow was going to be a big day, and I wasn't going to let her go through it alone.

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