*Olivia*
I watched the swirls of steam as they twirled around the rim of the mug. The heat of the ceramic blue leached into my hands, warming them from the bitter cold they were. On the surface of the dark liquid inside were tiny boats of white, floating and lting in the hot liquid.
I raised the cup to my lips, blowing the steam trails softly away before I carefully took a sip of the piping hot drink. The sweetness hit my tongue first, then the slight bitterness of the chocolate and the sugar of the marshmallows.
I breathed out, clutching the cup tightly as the liquid ward up as it slid down my throat and into the empty pit of my stomach.
Normally, I wasn’t a fan of the sweetness of hot chocolate drinks. I much preferred the bitterness of tea or coffee.
But this hit the spot.
“Feeling better?” Dahlia asked with a soft smile.
We lounged in the sitting room of my suite with Giovani, the TV turned on to so old Italian romance movie. I was barely paying attention as outside the glass window and door, a storm raged on.
It had begun raining soon after we’d arrived ho, and it hadn’t let up in the slightest. The chill from the cold showers seeped into the suite and I wiggled my warm socked feet as I pulled them onto the couch.
Dahlia had been quick to find despite my earlier outburst, and though I had made to apologize, she’d refused to accept it endlessly.
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” she said with a grin, handing the cup of lted chocolate and covering the two of us up with a fuzzy blanket.
I leaned against her, the two of us curled up to face the rainy weather and despite how everything had gone down earlier, I was calm.
Peaceful.
“Thanks,” I whispered quietly to her, watching the rain pelt against the glass as a man whispered his love on the screen.
“You’re my best friend, Olive.” Dahlia smiled. “I’m always going to be here for you. I know how hard it’s been for you, and you should know by now I won’t let you sulk in here alone.”
I smiled, leaning my head on her shoulder as I sipped at the hot chocolate. No doubt it had been made by Maria.
But that peacefulness didn’t last for long.
The door to the suite opened, and I heard a loud sigh accompanied by shoes hitting the tiled floors. I instinctively glanced at the new person, and it was no surprise that Giovani stood there.
He pulled his hair back from his face, sighing heavily, and though I could see the stress in his expression, I couldn’t bring it in myself to comfort him as I should’ve.
I turned away, feeling horrible with myself as I clutched the cup of hot chocolate in my hands. Dahlia sent a worried look, but I gazed at my lap, unable to look at either of them.
“Hey, Gio,” Dahlia called out, a bit nervously as she glanced at him and then .
I heard his footsteps approaching, stopping just behind the couch, and I stiffened on instinct.
“Everything okay here?” his voice asked hoarsely.
Despite feeling two sets of eyes on , I refused to answer. I just silently nodded my head.
“Um,” Dahlia started, uncomfortably, “she’s feeling a little... not great. I wonder if she could spend the night in my room again?”
I heard his sharp intake of breath, and I winced at the sound.
“Olivia?” he asked, an annoyed sound to it. “Is that what you want?”
My bottom lip wobbled as I thought about my mom’s words. Would I be happy going ho? Would I be happy to stay?
I didn’t know.
“I... I just need so ti,” I said quietly.
“Fine,” he said with a bit of a snappish tone to it, and I shut my eyes tightly, trying to control the wetness building. I could feel his disappointnt pouring over like a waterfall, but this was sothing I needed to do.
“Gio–” Dahlia started, but he cut her off rather abruptly.
“Take all the ti you need.” He sighed, and all I heard were his shoes on the ground, heading straight back the way he ca. The door slamd shut, and I flinched at the loud sound.
As soon as we were alone, Dahlia set her mug down and turned to with a frown.
“What’s going on, Olive?” Dahlia asked. “That wasn’t like you at all. Don’t you love him–”
“Of course, I do!” I snapped, jerking forward, and the hot chocolate spilled over the edge of the mug and landed on the blanket.
“Fuck,” I cursed, setting down the mug and ripping the blanket off the couch.
“Hey!” Dahlia protested, but I didn’t care as I balled up the blanket and stord to the closet. Before I got very far, Dahlia grabbed hold of my arm.
“Let go,” I said stubbornly, but she only shook her head.
“Tell what’s going on,” she demanded.
“Nothing!” I yelled, turning on her as I threw the balled-up blanket at the floor. I missed, accidentally flinging it at her. She let go of , screeching as she fell onto the couch with the force I threw it with.
I slamd my hands over my mouth, my eyes wide as I realized what I had just done.
Dahlia threw the blanket onto the floor, whirling on angrily as she snapped, “What the fuck is wrong with–”
She fell dead silent, her eyes softening as despite all my best efforts, a loud sob burst out of my throat, and I fell to my knees.
All the stress and fear ca pouring out of all at once, and hot tears rolled down my face as I sobbed into my hands.
“I’m sorry,” I tried to say through my full-body sobs, but it only ca out as gibberish.
“Olive,” she whispered, and I felt her arms wrap around as she pulled into her chest. “It’s okay. It’ll all be alright.”
Her soft reassurances were kind, sothing I didn’t feel I deserved at the mont as I cried into her arms like a little girl. Once my tears were dried and my sobs had faded away, I leaned into Dahlia and told her exactly what I’d said to my mother.
Once I finished, she sighed, leaning back to look in the eyes.
“If you want to go ho, Olive,” Dahlia said determinedly, “then go.”
I sputtered, staring at her in disbelief. “You’re not going to try to talk out of it?”
“Why would I?” She raised an eyebrow. “If you want to go ho, then do it. I won’t stop you. If you really feel like you need to, then don’t let anybody stop you. I can’t decide that, and Gio certainly can’t decide that. Only you can. That said....”
She took a deep breath, and I flinched as she squeezed both of my cheeks, keeping her hands there as she squished my face. I could feel my lips forming into a duck-like shape but Dahlia just stared into my eyes seriously.
“Look in the eye and tell the truth. Would you be happier at ho?”
I opened my mouth to respond but hesitated when no words ca out. I sighed, clutching a hand over my heart. It thumped heavily, and I tried to gauge what I was feeling.
“At first... no,” I said honestly. “But I could grow to be happy. I wouldn’t have to look over my shoulder for soone to kill or wonder if every friend I had was just a trap. I could find soone else....”
I trailed off, my heart squeezing painfully, and a lump developed in my throat. Still, my stubbornness persisted. I was being truthful, wasn’t I?
I would be okay away from all this, wouldn’t I?
“Sure.” Dahlia nodded. “I believe you can be happy without drivers or fancy dresses. You could find a different city, make more friends, and find a new school. I don’t doubt that one bit. But Olive... could you be happy without Gio?”
From the look in her eyes, we both knew the answer was written plainly all over my face. I was never good at hiding things, especially from my best friend.
“I don’t know,” I confessed. “I don’t think so, but I’m just so scared of losing everyone. I’m not strong enough for this.”
“Then talk to him about this. Tell him how you’re feeling, and find a solution together.” Dahlia comforted , patting on the head like when we were kids. “Don’t let this fester any longer ’cause I kinda want my room back.”
I burst into giggles, a little hysterically.
“Okay.” I smiled. “I’ll go talk to him.”
“Finally!” She threw her hands in the air, both of us giggling.
“Thanks, Dolly,” I grinned, wrapping her in a tight hug.
“I know,” she smirked, then pulled back to get to her feet. “That’s what a best friend is for.”
She offered a hand, a cheeky smile on her lips, and I grabbed it, letting her pull up. I wiped the remaining tears from my face as I tried my best to look presentable and not like I had been having a ltdown, even if I had been.
“Now, go get him.” Dahlia grinned.
I laughed, new hopeful energy flowing through . Whatever Gio and I were facing right now, we could get past it... together.
I wasted no ti as I slipped out of the suite, leaving the door open behind for Dahlia to head back to her own room.
I knew Gio would be in his study, so I headed for the stairs, taking them two at a ti as I raced to et the man I loved. I rounded the corner and noticed with a smile that his office door was open just a crack.
As I approached, however, I realized that he hadn’t left it open for as I had thought. Low voices reached my ears, ones I easily recognized as Giovani and Gabriele.
I leaned against the wall, just barely listening to what they were discussing.
“I don’t want to worry anyone–”
That was Gio. His voice was dark and stressed.
“They’re gonna worry regardless!”
Gabriele was arguing back with him, huffy like he thought Gio was being ridiculous.
“I know that!” Gio snapped. “But this is serious. We need to handle this quickly and quietly. We can’t let this cause a rift. We don’t want anyone thinking they can take care of this on their own.”
“You can’t hide this forever,” Gabriele retorted. “Those bastards walked right onto our territory and killed one of our top guys!”
My blood ran cold, my back flat against the wall as my heart raced like I was watching a horror movie. With my eyes wide, I realized I’d heard more than I wanted to.
I slipped away as quietly as I could, refusing to listen to another word as I let my feet take straight to sowhere safe.
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