Memories In Italy

Chapter 19

The suspence was killing us all. We waited for another, more understandable reaction from Aline. Especially me! I felt so bad about it. I must have been a bad person, because she seemed to believe it! And she used to be my soulmate so she probably knew me for a 100%. So if she believed I would have done such a thing, I believed it too.

"Unbelievable!" she said again, this time slightly different. So she didn't believe it? We all were confused. Then she spoke up. "Don't believe her! We were together every minute before the accident! Well, almost every minute... Gianluca is not like that." Everyone agreed with her. So I wasn't a bad person? "You are not like that!" she seemed to answer my question while looking me straight in the eyes. At first I was kinda relieved but then I felt even more guilty. What if it still was true what Chiara said? Then I was even worse than bad because Aline and my best friends were very sure I didn't had a secret lover. Which means I must have been a very good liar! And that was indeed not good but bad!

"You see, Gian, nothing to worry about. Aline doesn't believe Chiara's story!" Piero said like he always had known how she would react. But when I looked to Aline, I saw her doubt about it already. "What are you thinking" I asked her. She didn't hear me at first. She was plunged in thought. But then she looked up. A hint of panic in her eyes made me expect the worst. "Or maybe I was wrong," she said. "Do you remember the times I had to work and couldn't be with you on the tour?" But of course I couldn't. "Oh right, you don't remember that. But like I said, I was at work and you were on tour. Of course we were not always together! That's impossible."
"There goes the proof," I thought, worried about how Aline would change her mind about me immediately. "I understand it if you don't like me anymore!" I said. "What? Of course I still like you!" she said quickly. "I just don't know what to think about it anymore!"
"Believe me, I understand that!" I said while all the others seemes to feel the exact same thing. "What now?" Ignazio asked. "No idea," Jonas said short. "We need to see Chiara!" Piero said. "But has anyone an idea of where we could find her?" Nobody answered. "That's what I thought." Aline suddenly left the room. Ignazio followed her instantly. "I don't think she really believes I haven't cheated on her." Piero nodded his head. "No, she's just a bit confused. We all are. But I still believe in your innocence!"
"Me too!" Jonas said quickly. "Thanks but you really don't need to. If I am guilty, I will never be mad at you for ignoring me after that." Piero came towards me, just to hug me. "I think you need some rest. How is it possible you think about yourself like that! You are as innocent as a baby turtle! Believe me! I will always support you!" Jonas came closer too, but before he could say something the door went open.

Aline's POV

Ignazio followed me. "Please let me alone!" He catched me up and took me by the arm. "Aline? What are you doing? Is there something we need to know?" I didn't say a thing. "Of course it's difficult! More for you than for any one else. But don't flee away from your problems! We are trying to solve them, together! And...Gianluca needs you!" He still held my arm. I looked at my arm, starting to feel caught. "Can you please let me go?" I asked, starting to cry a bit, not because of Ignazio of course. "Oh of course, sorry!" He let my arm go. I didn't run away immediately but I really wanted to. "Where are you going?" I lifted my shoulders. "Don't do something stupid!" he said, wanting to lay his hand on my shoulder but after the previous thing he didn't. "Gianluca really wants you to stay! I know that!" I looked to the ground, still crying. "Aline you are so special!" he said lifting my chin so I would look into his eyes. This was a thing Gianluca would do as well. It felt a bit akward. "I'm sorry, I just need to tell it now. I can't hold it for myself anymore. And I know it'll never be the same anymore if you hear what I am gonna say now." What was happening? I even forgot to cry further. My tears just stopped from confusion.

"I think I am in love with you!"

Well, I didn't see that coming! "And I know you probably hate me now and that you don't care about me. I just needed you to know it!"
"I don't hate you!" I said immediately. "I am...confused? I'm sorry, I didn't expect something like this! I don't know wat to say actually." Ignazio seemed to understand. "I know Gianluca is the only one for you! I was not asking to love me back. Not in the way I love you. I just couldn't hold it for myself anymore. And I know it's not the right time either," he said. "But, you know, you are so special and I really hope everything between you and Gianluca will be alright soon! Please stay with him! He needs you and you need him!" I was still a bit overwhelmed about what just happened and indeed it wasn't really the right time to go away. But I just needed some time for myself. Gianluca as well. "he doesn't need me like before! So I think, he can use some rest to think about everything. Besides I still have Alopecia Areata, you know, that disease why I can loose hair when I have had a stresfull period. So I want time for myself." And then I turned around, on my way out of the hospital. "Don't come after me!" I said. "But where..."
"I wont tell you." I said when I looked in his direction again. "And sorry that I don't have the feelings like you have for me!" I felt guilty of course. I was behaving selfish. Leaving Gianluca like that and letting Ignazio fall in love with me without I ever noticed. But it only gave me another reason to leave for a while.

Gianluca's POV

"Igna? Where's Aline?" Piero asked. Ignazio had a guilty look on his face. "I am sorry but she is not coming back for a while!" "Where did she go?" She didn't tell." Aline was fleeing away from me. I knew that for sure. But where to? "What now? Chiara nowhere to be seen and Aline is gone!" Jonas said. Riiiiing! Piero took his phone. "Eh hello swee...eh yeah. Is it okay I call you back soon?" And then he put his phone away again. "Who was that?" Ignazio asked curious. It was the question we all wanted to ask. "Oh...eh nobody!" "Your friends are nobodies?" Ignazio laughed. "In your case, yes!" Piero laughed. "Guys, we need to think about more serious things right now!" Jonas said, obviously the smart one because I was thinking that too. Wait? Did I just remember that? Or was it a new memory? I started to remember silly things first. In this case the fact that Aline always said her brother was the smart one.

"Right, but the problem is, there is no solution right now! We need to wait untill we meet that Chiara bi...eh girl, eh more woman then girl." Piero said. I giggled a bit with the fact he actually wanted to say 'bitch'.

7 hours later

We couldn't do anything usefull anymore, so we decided to just do the dinner for christmass like we planned. We couldn't talk about our problems with the other people in the hospital, like my family and Carlotta. I didn't want them to worry about it as well. Me lying in the hospital was worse enough. They knew about Aline who was gone. We just told the others that she wanted to be alone for a moment. Nothing weird actually so everyone accepted it.

It was the worst christmass dinner I ever had. Not that I remember much of the other times, but it was very obvious it couldn't be worse than this. Besides, I already missed Aline. Like there was a piece of me missing. Well bassicaly, there was more than one piece missing since the accident. Luckily there were improvements because the full afternoon, Piero and Ignazio wanted to have a repetition!

"Maybe we should try to sing some songs together!" Ignazio said. "Because that's a big problem too! We have to perform in a few weeks!" Everyone agreed and Jonas left the room to visit his lovely daughter again. Luckily her situation was good! "So," Ignazio said, rubbing his hands, "with what song do we start?" Piero put his finger in the air to get attention. "O sole mio!" he yelled.

"Che bella cosa na jurnata 'e sole..."I started to sing. "What? You still remember?" Igna screamed happily. "Let him sing, let him sing," Piero said enthusiast. And so I sang my part and Ignazio and Piero joined in.

It was like nothing had happened. I even really remembered the feelings and the gestures I always made. Piero said it too. "Everything is exactly the same like before! Did you watch your own videos maybe?" I laughed because of course that was what I had done when I was lying in bed all day. But it was different than just learning songs out of my head! I really remembered everything about it. I remembered even the day we shooted a videoclip for it! What we ate that day (so I even remembered more than before I guess?) and my feelings about it. It was a great moment! Our first videoclip, our first song as Il Volo!

It was probably the best moment of the day. But definitaly not the christmas 'dinner'. The atmosphere in the room was somber. Everyone tried to act like this was a beautiful evening but we all knew it wasn't at all. "Hello Liene?" Jonas suddenly said. He was calling with his younger sister apperently. I was just thinking too much I didn't even hear the phone ring.

"Oh, that's good! Really! Thanks for letting me know! Oh...I understand...yeah, have a nice Christmas evening! Yeah, thank you! Miss you too. Yes I hope too see you soon!"

When the phone call ended, everyone had already stopped talking and waited for the news.

"Aline is in Belgium!"