GOLDWING (ing version)

chapter 3

After almost 1 hour in and out of bars, one of the things that Damiano most wanted at that moment was not to be famous, because a lot of people recognized him and asked for too many pictures. Unfortunately, having given up hope of finding her, he went back to his car, which was parked about 500 meters from the last bar he had passed. And long away, he took the opportunity and went to a pharmacy to buy bandages, ethyl alcohol, and some compresses, because everything he had of first-aid material in his suitcase was already gone.

As he got into the driver's seat of the car, an unpleasant yet familiar feeling began to spread difficulty breathing, tremors, excessive worry, and dizziness. In other words, an anxiety crisis. At that moment, he felt completely groundless. Then came a memory from a few times ago, when he was having his first anxiety crisis in his life, and who was there supporting him was Vic. He was trying to calm down, and all that going through his mind at that moment was that phrase she used to say repeatedly: "Everything it's going to be fine, I promise."

Fifteen minutes had passed, and his heartbeat was getting slower and his hyperventilation was starting to slow down too. After all, everything was fine. A few moments later, Dam was still inside the car, trying to organize his mind, until he received a call from Leo.

"Hi, so, do you have any news from Victoria?" asked Leo.

"I was asking you the same thing," Damiano said, sighing. "I have been in almost all bars, and I haven't seen her in one."

"Wait, a minute, Ethan is telling me he's seeing her from his balcony entering the hotel. She is back, Damia!"

"Wow, what a relief. I'm on my way there."

And off he went, reaching the allowed speed limit and with a super relaxed heartbeat to the hotel. When he got there, he walked quickly to the elevator. The elevator stopped on Vic's floor, and he went there very excited. The bedroom door wasn't locked, which even made sense since he thought Ethan should have been with her. But when he gave his first footprint with his wet Dr. Martens in that room, he saw the opposite.

Yes, Vic was there. But it was in a very different state than he expected.

"Oh, Vic... wait, what happened?"

Looking closely at her, he noticed a few things: her clothes on the floor, the blurry makeup, and stripped bandages over her.

"Vic, can you talk to me?", he asked, repeatedly.

For a while, she couldn't say even a word to him. Fortunately, they could communicate by eye signals.

"Don't forget to blink twice for yes and once for no."

He was asking her some questions, some answered with 2 winks, others with 1 wink, and others just with tears. Just the fact that she can't express her feelings in words left Damiano even more groundless.

"Vic, look me in the eyes," he said, and she glanced. "What have they done to you?"

She responded with tears. When he saw her cry, his heart broke into a thousand pieces. Then, she pulled up her oversized t-shirt. It had a major injury around her chest and black marks.

"They took the tape I had," she said, with a weak voice. "With so much goddamn force.."

As he watched, he saw red marks where she used to put her tape. In a short time, his eyes filled with tears. He didn't know what to say, so he just hugged her and waited until she calmed down

"But who are they?"

That was a question she couldn't answer with 1 blink, 2 blinks, or even a tear.

"You know, I better... go take a shower," said Vic, sighing.