You are a young girl of 15 who has a severe phobia of water and of fish. Your therapist wants to try exposure-therapy, and hands you a plane ticket. Can a neurotic girl and carefree boy bring out the best in one another? And what happens when you fi...
اوووه! هذه الصورة لا تتبع إرشادات المحتوى الخاصة بنا. لمتابعة النشر، يرجى إزالتها أو تحميل صورة أخرى.
You felt like this was something you shouldn't be intruding in on, a father disciplining his son for harming another person. It was only the first day and you feel like you've been wrongfully eavesdropping on this family's business. But Massimo didn't send you upstairs, instead he didn't seem very bothered that you were seated across the table from him, beside Alberto who was looking down at the table top shamefully.
"Not everyone in your life is going to like you," the man tried explaining to his son. He sounded like he had had this conversation with Alberto many times before and was now just going on autopilot. "There's nothing we can do to stop that. Maybe you're... different," Massimo sounded sad, "Maybe they have no reason, but dislike you anyway. It's something you need to live with."
The tan boy grumbled and crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, "I know! You keep telling me that and- and I get it! But this time he was being creepy to Y/N, and you always tell me to keep sticking up for my friends and family."
'He considers me his friend already?' You think, raising an eyebrow. You don't say anything though.
Massimo doesn't say anything either. Eventually he just sighs and rubs the bridge of his nose, "Alberto..."
You glance between the two of them and open your mouth, "Mr. Marcovaldo, he's not overreacting. That guy really was being creepy." You idly rub at the back of the hand that Ercole had kissed, cringing as you remember that moment.
"See?!" Alberto gestures to you, "Thank you!"
The burly man looks at you seriously, raising his eyebrows so you could see how serious his look was. "This is the honest truth?" He asks, relenting when you nod. "Alright. Thank you, Y/N. Now I need to have a much more serious talk with Alberto, would you mind stepping out the room?"
You didn't mind, in fact it felt like the atmosphere could be cut with a knife, so you were quite eager to get up out your seat and head out into the hall to head up the stairs. Only, you didn't go up the stairs. You leaned your head against the door to listen in, feeling a little bad for doing so, but you were a curious teenager.
"I have no reason to believe Y/N would lie about such a thing... Maybe we should send her somewhere else... It may not be safe here for her."
"No!" you hear the table slam, "Please. I never meet anyone nice anymore who is my age. Luca and Giulia always leave for stupid school. I- I can keep an eye out for her, you know I will!"
"And what about your part-time job as a lifeguard?"
"I'll just be extra careful! Please, you know how much a new friend means to me..."
A sigh, and a chair creaking, "If it were up to me you'd get unlimited chances with this, but this is serious. You cannot blow this. For Y/N."
The chairs scraped against the floor and you took it as your cue to turn and, as silently as possible, scramble up the stairs into the room assigned to you. You heard light footsteps on the landing, the hissing of little kittens, and the shrieking of Alberto in the next room over. You cover your mouth and smile, leaning against the wall.
