13| How

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"Oh, are you going on a trip?" she asked when she saw his suitcase.

"I've already been away for two weeks," he replied.

MATTEO

"But how is that possible?" Ava asked, staring unbelievingly at the documents again. Her eyes flitted from one name to the next, as though she might have missed something, some clue that would explain Dr. Smith's absence. But the name wasn't there. There was no Dr. Smith, and everything felt even more confusing now. I could feel the tension building in her body. She wanted to understand; I could see it in her eyes, but it was too much all at once. Too many contradictions, too many questions, and I wasn't sure if I could explain it all to her without scaring her even more. "Matteo, this is... this doesn't make sense," she said, her voice thin, almost a whisper. "I talked to him. He helped me. He was there. How can he just be gone? How do you explain that?"

I took a deep breath, my hands clenching in my pockets. She was right. It sounded crazy, but I knew she couldn't handle the whole truth yet.

"Ava, please," I said, stepping a little closer to her. "I know how this sounds. But that man was never part of your treatment. You might have seen him, but he has nothing to do with what really happened." I could feel my heart pounding harder now. The more I spoke, the more it felt like the ground beneath me was crumbling.

I watched her face, searching for any sign that she might understand, but there was only confusion, fear, and disbelief. She shook her head slowly, as if trying to piece together something that didn't fit. The documents in her hands trembled slightly, a mirror to the tremor in her voice as she tried to make sense of what I was saying.

"But Matteo, I talked to him," she repeated, her voice breaking slightly, like she was trying to convince herself. "He was there, and if he wasn't there to help me..." Her words trailed off, and I saw the realisation in her eyes. I could see the panic starting to creep in, and it tore at me. The last thing I wanted was for her to feel this way — uncertain, betrayed, trapped in a web of confusion I wasn't sure I could untangle. But I had to keep her calm. I couldn't let her spiral into fear. Not when everything was hanging by a thread.

"Whoever he is," I said, my tone firmer, trying to regain some control of the situation, "I will make sure you're safe. No one will hurt you. Not again. But right now, we need to focus. We need to find out who this man really is and why he was there without anyone knowing. I promise, I won't stop until we have answers. Do you trust me?" Ava didn't answer immediately. I could see the weight of my words pressing down on her, but eventually, she nodded, though her face was still pale, the fear lingering in her eyes.

"I trust you, Matteo," she whispered, her voice shaky but resolute.

And that was all I needed. That trust. It was the only thing keeping me from completely losing myself in this chaos. But as I watched her, I couldn't help but feel the darkness closing in.  "Good," I said, my voice steady despite the storm raging inside me. "Then let's focus on finding the answers. But I need you to stay calm, Ava. Please."

She didn't meet my eyes, her gaze drifting to the floor as her hands tightened around the papers. I could see the tension in her shoulders, the way her chest rose and fell with quick, shallow breaths. It was clear she was struggling to keep it together, and I hated seeing her like this. But there was nothing more I could say to make it easier for her, not now.

"I think I'll take a shower," Ava said suddenly, her voice a little too quiet. The words felt off — like an excuse. I studied her face, and in that moment, I knew she was trying to escape the weight of the conversation, to put some distance between herself and the chaos that had been unfolding around us.  I wanted to protest, to keep her close, but I saw the way her hands trembled, how she couldn't quite hold it together. She wasn't ready to talk about it any more, and pushing her now would only make things worse.

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