Torn Between Shadows And Love

Still a troublemaker after all

^Totally unrelated but true damn

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Amelia's POV

"Thank you for bringing me to my destination, safely." Adriano teased, unbuckling his seat belt and turning towards me completely.

I scoffed dramatically while regarding him, "I, Mr. Pietro, am an excellent driver. Thank you very much." I replied, rather offended.

"Of course, you are, doll." He chuckled from beside me, and I followed. A little awkwardly, the nicknames still taking me by surprise.

"You have been exceptionally quiet after our, well, little mission. Is everything alright?" I looked up at his gentle eyes, frowning to myself as I was reminded of the reasons for my silence.

My heart definitely did not flutter at the soft, comforting tone of his voice, and is not beating faster due to his gentle yet intense look.

Absolutely not.

"I- uhm. Yes, I am alright. I am just, well, me. I often overthink stupid things and then I got lost in my own web of thoughts. I am, in short, extremely complicated." I admitted, a little embarrassed of my not-so-positive habit.

I subtly leaned back when I saw him raising his right hand as he gently removed the frown off of my face with his finger and smiled at me almost lovingly.

"That's alright. I'll stand between you and your overthinking, every time. I'll remind you to be in the present instead. That is if you allow me to." He softly murmured, placing both his arms on the center console armrest.

"You'll get exhausted, you know. It's tiring, even for me." I timidly replied, gulping nervously and suddenly being all too aware of my sweaty hands. Even the first step of opening up to someone is terrifying to me.

"I won't get tired. I'll never get tired. That's a promise, love. It's okay to rely on someone for a short while." Adriano cautiously verbalized.

"I might get addicted to it. Addiction is never good." I stubbornly retorted.

"Or, maybe, you get a mental recharge and come out stronger as a person?" He argued, making me sigh deeply.

"Why do you seem so adamant?" I finally muttered, the irritation a little detectable.

He smiled in response and gave me a simple shrug before vocalizing his thoughts. "I just want to be there. With you. For you. And I don't want you to feel some sort of pressure. I promise I am never going to cross any line and am willing to be with you as whatever you wish me to be. I'll never do something you don't allow, even if that includes us talking this way. I'll stop. If you want, I'll step back at any given moment. And trust me, I'll never back off from my word." He explained in a low voice, as low as a whisper but not quite.

I could feel my heart crazily thumping at the unexpectedly sweet words of this aggravatingly beautiful guy in front of me. He just smiled at me, turning around to grab his backpack from the backseat.

"Don't overthink this, yes?" He gently urged making me chuckle quietly.

"I'll see you tomorrow." I said with a growing smile which he seemed to return while getting out of my car and going inside his home. I collected my thoughts before driving past Peitro's mansion as well.

Why was I ignoring him again? Ah yes, because of this reason exactly.

Because of how he is making me feel. I hate this feeling of helplessness. This loss of control over myself. I hate it. Yet, I can't say the same for him. He is making me feel more alive.