ELENA'S POV:
We parked outside of Vic's house and I looked over at Mattia.
"Aren't you coming?" I asked him, but he ignored me and took out his phone. I rolled my eyes and played off my sadness as if it were annoyance. I didn't know why he was acting this way. But it hurt. A lot.
I knocked on the front door and waited for someone to answer. I looked in the reflection of the glass panes in the door, and Mattia was staring right at me. Leaning on his hand, a single tear fell from his eye. He let it run down his cheek before leaning into his seat and throwing his head back in frustration. He looked at the roof of the car and then shut his eyes tight. I rang the doorbell again and blinked back the tears that had newly formed in my eyes. The door flung open and Victoria's Mom stood there with a towel slung over her shoulder. She had flour on her jumper, and the fresh scent of chocolate cookies took over my lungs.
"Hi Elena, it's so lovely to see you" she smiled, pulling me into a warm hug. I smiled and hugged her back. Vic's Mom was the kindest person I'd ever met, and it was clear her daughter had gained that quality too.
"Is Vic in?" I asked, and she pointed upstairs.
"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me" she said, before heading back to her baking. I headed up to Vic's room.
6:30pm.
I didn't have as much time as I wanted. I knocked on her door and poked my head around the door. She was doing homework and looked up with a smile to see me.
"Hey sis" she said in a vibrant voice. She cleared away her work and went to sit on her bed. She patted the space next to her and I walked over to join her.
"What's wrong?" she asked, studying me carefully. I didn't want to open my mouth because if I did, I'd start crying. And I don't know how long it'd take me to stop. Vic's smile soon disappeared when she figured out why I was over.
"It's really happening isn't it?" she questioned, pools of tears instantly forming in her eyes. I put my hand on hers and held it tightly.
"W-why?" she whispered as a tear ran down her cheek and fell onto her hoodie.
"Why does it have to be you" she said, closing her eyes tight, allowing more tears to escape. I wiped her tears with my thumbs and pulled her in for a hug. She cried onto my hoodie and wrapped her arms around me tightly. I held onto her, wishing I could hold my bestfriend forever. But forever didn't exist.
"Vic" I said, tilting her chin up to me. She wiped her eyes and nodded at me to continue.
"Promise me you'll watch over Mattia for me" I said, and she smiled at me sadly and sighed.
"It shouldn't be that hard, he'll be too broken to even look at anyone else"
And that's when I broke down. I sobbed knowing I was going to lose the love of my life. I tried to catch my breath and saw that on Vic's clock the time read:
6:45
"Vic I have to go" I said, trying to stop the tears. But they weren't leaving anytime soon. She nodded and walked me to the front door. She embraced me tightly, causing her to shed more tears.
"I promise I'll see you soon" I whispered, reluctantly pulling away "and then we can have sleepovers again, and talk about boys"
She laughed and I laughed with her. It was these kinda gold moments that I'd miss the most.
"I love you so much Elena" she said, wiping her eyes once more. I managed a smile and kissed her head softly.
"I love you more Victoria"
I opened the front door and stepped out into the piercingly cold wind. I looked at the sky and it was turning a miserable grey. Perfectly reflecting my mood. I walked over to the car and got in quickly. The icy silence between Mattia and I remained there as he drove to his house. I rubbed my hands together nervously as we got closer to his house. His Dad's car wasn't there, meaning he was at the restaurant. Again, he stayed in the car, leaving me to break the news alone.
Camila came to the door and looked elated when she saw me.
"Mija! It's been so long" she exclaimed, pulling me in for a warm hug. I smiled and rested my head on her shoulder. She stroked my hair and I took in her familiar strawberry scent. She looked at Mattia over my shoulder.
"Is Mattia not coming in too?" she asked me. I swallowed hard and looked up at her.
"I'm leaving tonight Ma" I said, trying as hard as I could to hold the tears back. Her face fell and she took my hand.
"I promise I'll send Mattia to come see you as often as possible" she sniffed. I smiled and shook my head.
"You don't have to do that, hopefully I'll be back quickly" I said, looking up at her. Mattia's Mom always smiled. She smiled so much she had those little wrinkles at either sides of her eyes.
Except, they weren't there today.
"Oh Elena" she frowned, holding my face in her hands. My eyes hurt from crying so much, and I felt drained. But I could feel my lips trembling as I looked into her brown eyes.
"I don't wanna go Ma, I really don't" I said, breaking down for what seemed like the 100th time today. She wrapped her arms around me quickly and calmed me down. I held onto her tightly and heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Gianluca.
"Is it Elena?" He said eagerly as he made his way towards us. I quickly wiped my tears and plastered a smile on my face.
He wrapped his arms around my waist and I bent down a little so I was at his height.
"Promise me you'll FaceTime me everyday" he said, frowning a little. I wasn't about to start crying infront of him. That's not the memory I wanted to leave him with. Instead, I messed up his hair and laughed when his nose crinkled.
"Of course I will" I leaned forward a little and whispered to him "don't tell him I told you this, but I think you're way better than Mattia"
He let out a hearty laugh and starting sticking his tongue out at Mattia, who was in the car pointing at the time on his phone.
7pm.
Shit. I kissed Gianluca's head and stood up.
"I guess this is goodbye" I said to Camila, biting my lip hard. She gave me a final hug and kissed my head several times.
"Go make us proud Elena" she whispered in my ear. A warm feeling entered my heart and I nodded at her before leaving the house. Probably for the last time, I entered Mattia's car and took a deep breath. He didn't say anything, but what's new? As soon as we started driving, the heavens opened and it started raining heavily.
We got to my house and Mattia got out before I did. I guess he was coming in this time. I quickly followed after him, quickly becoming soaked in the rain.
"Can you just wait?" I shouted above the rain. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the ground. Our clothes were wet through, but I didn't care, I had to know why he was being this way.
"Mattia at least look at me" I pleaded. I felt the tears fall down my cheeks. They were hot, in contrast to the freezing rain which was also hitting my skin. He shook his head and stayed facing the house.
"Why are you doing this?" I yelled.
