Locked Fates

03. three

JOANNA stared at her screen, reading Giuliano's text over and over again. Her stomach was in all kinds of knots, but the only thing she could think was why had she not blocked his number? How could she have forgotten to block his number? Not only was he not blocked, he was still saved under «ma vie🧬❤️».

She had been feeling so good, how was it that in the thirty seconds she saw him, he had reduced her to this much of a mess. Thirteen months of progress, gone in less than thirty seconds. It hadn't even been thirty seconds because why would Giuliano grant her more attention than those thirty seconds?

'Hey, Joanna, what's wrong,' Nisrine asked as the elevator dinged, announcing they had reached the ground floor. 'What happened, baby?'

'I need to go back to the room, I can't--' Joanna's words got stuck in her throat. Fuck you, Giuliano Formosi, Joanna thought. When would he stop ruining her life?

'We'll go back to the room, it's not a problem,' Nisrine comforted her, pressing the button to the sixth floor.

'You should go to dinner with Kyle, I don't want our reservations to go to waste,' Joanna said, holding back a sob. 'Plus, you look so good.'

'I don't want to leave you alone,' Nisrine said, matter of factly.

'Nis, I'll be fine, please go enjoy that dick you so desperately want.'

'I won't enjoy it if I know you're in our hotel room crying, hallo? Hoor je jezelf wel?' Nisrine finally accepted to go out with Kyle instead on the condition that Joanna would share what had affected her this badly. 'Call me when you want me to come back.'

Joanna, 21:27: I hate Giuliano Formosi.

Lauren, 21:28: EHH 😭😭😭

Lauren, 21:28: gewoon zomaar 💀😭

Lauren, 21:28: leave my brother alone

Joanna, 21:29: fuck your brother effe serieus

'Girl, please, give me a content warning before you come into my phone with hate speech,' Lauren said when Joanna picked up her call. 'Shit, you're crying? What happened?'

'Giul-- Giuliano.'

'Formosi? I thought y'all weren't talking?'

'We're not talking,' Joanna clarified through a sob, why was she still crying, my God. 'Nisrine wanted me to meet these guys she'd met and when I went Jules was there, we didn't talk, he barely said hi to me. This sounds so fucking stupid, I'm crying because my ex said hi to me in a way I didn't like.'

'Wait, Jules is in Malta, too? And I'm in this shit ass weather?'

'Stay focused, Lau.'

'You think he did all this just to see you? Do you want me to text him to find out?'

'No, I don't think he knew I'd be here, he seemed just as shocked to see me.'

'Oh, well it must be fate trying to get you two to reason since you two do your best to sabotage your own relationship.' The line went silent as Lauren observed her through the screen, only now realising how hard Joanna was crying. God this was embarrassing. 'What did you wish happened?'

'What?'

'You're upset because you wanted something to happen between you and Giuliano, what is it? If your relationship is over and done with, why are you still so shaken from seeing him? Y'all didn't end on bad terms, did you?'

'I don't know, I wish I didn't see him? I was having so much fun, I was planning to make friends with those guys, but I can't because they're already friends with him, why does he know everyone?'

After they hung up, Joanna stayed in bed, rethinking Lauren's words, what did she wish happened? At first, Joanna didn't want to admit it to herself, but she had wanted to see Giuliano affected by their break up. She had wanted him to properly acknowledge her, more than his generic hi. Disregarding their previous relationship, they had grown up together, for fuck's sake. He was someone she had known her entire life. Joanna had expected a warmer greeting than the one Nisrine, a stranger to him, had gotten.

Giuliano, 21:14: What the fuck do you think you're doing?

Joanna, 22:08: Come to my room

Giuliano, 22:09: Fous toi de ma gueule vasy

Joanna, 22:09: Stop cussing

Giuliano, 22:10: What are you playing at?

Joanna, 22:10: Come to my room Giuliano, I'm not talking to you over text when we're in the same fucking building

Giuliano, 22:11: I'm not coming to your room

Joanna didn't know why her stomach dropped at his last text. He hated seeing her that much, he couldn't come talk to her face to face? Putting her phone away, Joanna stared at the ceiling, hoping she would stop thinking and fall asleep soon. Her phone vibrated under her arm, just as she drifted off to sleep.

Giuliano, 22:28: Where is your room?