Come Back To Me

Chapter III- Past Ringings

The song ended, and you caught yourself frantically searching for a way out of the whole event. You found some sort of a pathetic excuse to leave Lucas' side, and almost ran to what you guessed were the bathroom.

Taking a good look at yourself in the mirror, you struggled to breathe. After all this time, you thought, after everything that had happened, his mere presence was enough to cause your heart to ache much more than you ever thought it physically could.

Deep down inside you knew the reason it ached so much was because it didn't make much sense to you. The same man who had told you countless times just how much he loved you, wanted you, practically adored you, had failed to even show up, precisely after you too had admitted your own love to him.

Of course, there was no way you could know what could have happened all this time that he was gone. However, if something had indeed happened, causing him to decide he no longer wanted you to be a part of his life, how did that look, that sheer essence of longing, of warmth mixed with that familiar cloudiness that you had just spotted in his dark eyes make any sense? Why would he be longing for something he himself had rejected?

Those thoughts kept circling around your head, causing you only to feel even more helpless. The sound of the door closing, though, managed to bring you back to reality, as you noticed a young woman had just entered. You exchanged smiles, as it was the polite thing to do.

" Wonderful evening, don't you think?", she asked, the smile still on her face as she took out some powder and began touching up her makeup. You nodded slightly.

" Absolutely. The music helps too.", you said, mentally cursing at yourself the moment you heard the works escape your mouth. The woman nodded excitingly.

" They definitely fit the theme of the party. No wonder Armani loves them.", she said.

" Exactly. And it's good for their careers too.", you managed to say, wishing nothing more than for her to disappear and leave you alone with your thoughts again. However, right when you finished your sentence, her eyes widened and one even bigger smile appeared on her face.

" Oh, if only you knew just how much this means to them... Honestly, gaining recognition and seeing that more and more people start appreciating their music means the world to them.", she finished, and you couldn't stop yourself from raising your eyebrows.

" I take it you know them personally?", you asked, and she nodded.

" Yes, I am fortunate enough to be the girlfriend of one of them... Ignazio. Don't know if you know their names, he's the-", she started saying but you cut her out almost immediately, and you spoke as you felt your heart slowly breaking.

" The tall one, I know... I used to work with them some time ago.", you said, trying to sound as normal as possible. She nodded, yet again.

" All three of them are really, really good people. Ignazio, though, he's... He's something special, you know?", she smirked, and you felt yourself wanting to scream in her face that you knew, of course you knew he was special, something more than special. It took all your power to stop those words from rushing out of your mouth, so you simply smiled.

" I can imagine...".

She smiled back and excused herself as she exited the bathroom. The moment the door closed, you felt the walls becoming thicker, the weight of the truth coming crushing down on your shoulders. Certainly it was the most logical and expected thing that could have happened, people don't get stuck on stories that hardly even have a beginning. People move on.

And with that thought, you tried to calm yourself down as you exited the bathroom as well. Your eyes searched for Lucas frantically, and thankfully you spotted him fast enough. You rushed to his side, your hand softly caressing his and a small smile forming on your lips when you felt his finger wrapping around yours.

" Took you long enough...", he whispered to your ear, the moment he got the chance.

" Well, it's a big bathroom, I almost got lost...", you said, trying your best to sound playful and not like the nervous wreck you felt you were at that moment. He chuckled lightly, but the moment he started to speak you were interrupted by the voice you'd heard only minutes ago in the bathroom.

" See, I told you she was here, but we didn't have the time to introduce.", you heard, a sound you had already started to hate, and both you and Lucas turned around, only to come face to face with Gianluca, Ignazio and Michele, who stated that Piero was feeling a bit sick, therefore had left the event the moment the performance ended.

You managed to mumble some semi-excited greetings to everyone, and they did the same, the only ones visibly unable to grasp the tension in the atmosphere being Ignazio's new girlfriend, who introduced herself as Mariza, Lucas and, thankfully, Michele, who did most of the talking.

You tried to stay focused on Michele, but your eyes almost automatically found Ignazio's. His girlfriend kept talking excitingly, and it was obvious to you, or so you thought, that he wasn't paying much attention to what she was saying.

You noticed his eyes moving to your hand that was delicately intertwined with Lucas', instantly clouding. His gaze almost stayed glued to the sight, and you internally begged him to look in your eyes so that he could see that you felt the exact same hurt he was feeling every time you looked at his girlfriend resting her hand on his side.

" So, how long has it been since you all saw each other?", she asked, and both you and Ignazio answered simultaneously.

" Almost a year.", and you looked at each other as if you had just revealed a huge secret. However, the looks you gave to each other went unnoticed by the others.

" And what happened to your partnership?", she continued asking, completely oblivious to the actual answer that begged to be released from your lips. You averted your eyes from Ignazio's, desperately trying to focus on Marisa's.

" Another job came up, and they needed me so I had to... quit.", you said as confidently as you could, and you noticed Ignazio nodding.

" Yes, it was so urgent, she left almost without saying a word. ", he said, his tone filled with bitterness. You looked at him, and almost breathlessly claimed.

" Almost...", hoping that he would understand that your disappearance that morning was, to you, equal to his absence that night at the Fontana.

" Oh well, at least this event brought you all back together, just how wonderful is that? ", Marisa exclaimed, and everyone nodded, even Lucas; everyone but you and Ignazio.

" In that case, and since the party is almost over anyways, how about we all go somewhere else to eat? I know a great place that's not very far away.", Lucas suggested, and your heart only sunk a bit more in your chest.

" Oh you do? ", Ignazio pressed, his body fully now turned towards Lucas.

" Yes, me and (Y/n) go there every time we visit Milan.", he answered, completely oblivious to how his answer would affect Ignazio, who let out a loud breath, causing you to think that he too was trying to maintain his calmness.

" Great, sounds like a plan then. Lucas, will you drive first, so the rest of us will follow?", Marisa's annoyingly thrilled-sounding voice interrupted again. Lucas agreed and, not more than ten minutes later, everyone was on their way to the restaurant.

Surprisingly enough, you didn't feel anxious, panicked or even remotely nervous. You could describe your psychological state as a mix of numbness and calmness; a calmness only compared to the one that fills the atmosphere right before the storm.