𝘴𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘨𝘪𝘯𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 ☽

✯ chapter IV

ELEANORA

the next few days went by in a blur, oliver and i spent most days together, much to elio's resentment but nevertheless we enjoyed yourselves. elio had turned cold towards me, this happened during our visits to italy as he would go off with the interns and i would stay at home helping mafalda and manfredi whenever they needed the extra hand.

as elio saw it, i was stealing oliver off of him. i'd never taken any interest in the past interns so why now did i finally want oliver to myself when we also wanted the american so badly. was is love or lust for him? a question that i couldn't even answer myself. all i knew for certain was that our little trips to 'the sweet place' and our picnics down by the sea were some of the best memories i have very created when in crema.

it was a wednesday, the first day that oliver had spent apart that week. without his presence i sat down by the small pool. the place in the villa that oliver liked to call his 'heaven' which became a place that i adopted for my own pleasure as well, he was spending all day at his translators in crema and i'd offered to go with him but mamma said it would be best if i stayed home for today and got work done.

i was seven pages down in my novella on mine and oliver's time spent in italy. my thoughts were to give the book to him at the train station the minute he was leaving. to call him back in desperation and pass it to him, wrapped in a bow and a kiss mark left on the front page. sat in heaven i carried on writing with my headphones in and minding my own business, until i was disrupted.

"where is he?" elio asked as he plucked one of my earbuds from their place.

"in town" he groaned at my response.

"does he talk of me?"

   "we talk about you" i told him stubbornly, he was acting like a dick and he knew it and i wasn't willing to talk to him when he was in this sort of mood because there is no point. nothing is good enough for dearest elio when he is in this mindset.

i returned to my writing and before i knew it, like the headphones, he snatched the papers from my hand and started to read them aloud for everyone to hear. i tried to get them back and with the wrestling we were both taking part in, elio lost his balance and was sent flying into the pool beside us and drenching my writing in the water.

i tried to salvage them the best i could but the paper turned to mush in my hands, in anger i went to hit elio but was stopped and pulled away by a pair of strong arms. he had no right to treat me like this because he didn't have precious oliver all to himself, because i wanted to make friends this summer. i turned to see who had carried me away and my body relaxed to see the blonde carry me back inside and up to his temporary room.

"and what was that for?" he asked as he fetched me a dry shirt from his wardrobe, the blue button up he had worn on the first day he had arrived at the house.

"he ruined your-my book" i spat out of anger at my brother, i stared up at oliver as his mouth held an amused grin.

"oh i do hate that smile" i groaned and threw my head back onto the soft pillow and tucked myself under the sheets. "you do realise why he hates me right now?"

"possibly"

"because i have you, every winter or summer he gets the intern and i show no interest in them. i treat them as if they were invisible and that is how they treat me. it is a mutual, nonverbal agreement but you oliver, messed it up my friend. you acknowledged my existence and that was your first wrong move"

"so you want me to treat you as if you're nothing?"

"look who is finally catching on" the smile that once stood proud now sunk into a frown as the american just nodded and bit his lip. i'd hurt him, i was worried about him hurting me all this time but in reality it it me. my fault.

i pushed him away, as if he as nothing.

now i am nothing. nothing at all.