"Bella?" He called out to me, and whispered in my ear, kissing it, "do you know why I call you 'Bella'?" I shook my head, "tell me." I could feel him smiling, "beautiful- that's what is means in Italian. The name goes with your face." I blushed at h...
"Bella, will you be my girlfriend?" He asked me, as I gasped at him. Tears swelled my eyes, but I still nodded. He slipped a ring on my left pinkie, and kissed me.
I gasped awake fiddling with the ring that was still placed on my finger. I brought my knees up to my chest, and held my head since it was throbbing. "Isabella are you okay?" I lifted my tear filled eyes to where the voice was coming from, and nodded.
After I had calmed down, Vittoria sat by me, and hugged me, "you know, just because we have similar names to the people you used to know, doesn't mean we are them." She chuckled. "Right, yes. I'm sorry. Still not over it I guess." I sighed, still curled up in the same position. "Wanna tell us what happened?" She asked me softly. I lifted my head up, to find all the workers being dismissed by a strong mascular guy, who I'm guessing is the 'boss'. He was leaning on a wall, facing me. Glaring at me like I was a prey, or one of his victims. I had seen him before. Where had I seen him? That's when I realized, he was the one who slapped me that day.
I shifted my gaze to Vittoria who nodded, "he's my brother." I looked at him into his light brown eyes again, and I instantly wished I hadn't, cause God they were beautiful. I took a deep breath, and started narrating the story, "okay, so the first thing you need to know about me, my birthday is on the 31st October. Yes I know, lucky right, that my birthday is on Halloween? Wrong. For me it wasn't. It was a curse." I shifted my eyes towards my blanket, unable to look at everybody's pitiful eyes. I continued, "All of the curse started when I was 6, and I had just met Marco on the 31st October 2006. We hated each other's guts because if I remember properly, he had pushed me." I smiled at the memory, as I heard the other's laughing with me.
"I went home after school, and it turned out, that he was my next door neighbor, and conveniently, or inconveniently, his bedroom balcony was right next to mine, almost touching each other. Anyways, time went by, and we became partners in crime. We did all kind off stupid things. Steal wine from Marco's parents and take a sip when we were 12, ruined people's clothes, you name it, and we had done that." I smiled again, however this time, I started twisting my ring. "However, when we grew up, we slightly drifted apart. I was learning how to shoot, and how to protect myself, with focusing on my studies. He somehow always had time." I sighed, "he had made a habit, and I wished he so hadn't, but every year, to mark my birthday and our meeting day, every 30th November at exactly 12:01, he would play any prank on me."
Before I could say anything else, Antonio spoke up, "I'm sorry, but how is this something that traumatized you." Almost suddenly, Vittoria threw a pillow at him, "shut up!"
"Anyways, I heard a knock from my balcony door, and he told me to meet him up at the most famous waterfall a street away from our house, wearing something nice. I thought it was another one of those stupid pranks, but it wasn't. When I reached there, rose petals were placed on the grass leading towards a BEAUTIFUL gazebo, right next to the waterfall. We were 14, and that right in the moment, he asked me to be his girlfriend. Obviously I accepted, because I did actually love him. My best friend became my lover."
"Still don't..." Antonio shot up, but instead, my anger got the best of me and said in a very sarcastic tone, "I'm sorry that I'm boring you, but people in here do actually want to listen. So if I'm taking up your time, do you see the door? Yes, you can go through it." He rolled his eyes, and sat back down, as I gave him a really fake innocent smile.
"Isabella, did he give you that ring?" Vittoria asked me, as I nodded to her without looking at her.
"We grew even closer, and loved each other waaayyy to much!" The next sentence I whispered, which only Vittoria heard, "if only he knew it would end up taking his life." I head Vittoria gasp, as tears filled my eyes.
"The date was 31st October, and I had just turned 17. I woke up to hearing screams, and smelling smoke. For the first 15 minutes, I believed it was just Marco playing yet another prank on me. However when I had called his name many times, I... I- I went to open the curtains, and that is what then traumatized me." I let my head fall down into my lap, "if only he didn't love me, he would still be alive," I sniffled, as they all gasped except Marco, who was still glaring at me. Vittorio was instantly by my side, hugging me, whispering assuring things. "It wasn't your fault Isabella, you can't blame yourself." That was when I snapped, "yes I can. It- it was my parents that found out about our relationship, and burned their house! It was my fault for loving him, and my fault all of them died." I cried into my arms that were placed my my knees. "It was all my fault..."
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