Brooklyn:
After being forced to spend one summer in Italy with her grandma, Brooklyn always found her way back to the cobblestone streets but not for the feeling of a summer never ending, but for Valentino, a boy who radiates trouble and sees throu...
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POV: Brooklyn "If the hurt comes, so will the happiness." - From milk and honey Summer #2
The water calls me.
Like the way a siren calls a lost sailor into the depths of her waters, singing a song that will lead him to his imminent death. He is no smarter than the men before him. Just another victim of her song. It's the same cycle. Before he can even realize it, it's too late. He's gone too far, and the fire of his life is snuffed out by her soft whisper, leaving him only with a life never truly lived.
I don't want that.
I want to soar above her waters and discover new ways of living. Not just the box given to me or the world other people have shown me. I need to be different for once, but the weight of my fears anchors me down, drowning me further into her waters like the men before me. I'm no better than them and never will be.
Even if my feet are hanging off the edge of a cliff now.
Just one more step, and maybe I can say I lived a little, but what happens after that?
"Brooklyn!"
My head turns so fast that it gives me whiplash. "Jesus, Val, you scared me! What if I fell?"
Valentino pins me with a bored expression: "And what? Drowned in that vicious water"—Val and I stare at the calm water below.
Okay, maybe it wouldn't be that bad, but still. It's a principle." I cross my arms and turn my face away from him for emphasis. Although my defenses are broken when he takes his index finger and places it under my chin, making me look him in the eyes,
Hard lines.
Rough edges.
Lethal gracefulness.
That's what everyone else sees him as, but there's so much more that I've yet to discover. I cherish those rare moments when he gives me little pieces of who he is outside the bounds of his father's grasp. I want the whole picture and nothing less. No matter how long it may take.
Valentino closes the inches between us so much that his breath becomes mine and mine becomes his. It's intoxicating. Addicting. And everything I ever needed. When my eyes flutter shut, Val's lips brush against mine. "Do you trust me?"
The answer leaves before my next heartbeat: "Yes." It's a simple response, but I feel so much deeper. I trust you with my soul, heart, and secrets. The words are the truth, yet they still sit at the tip of my tongue. Someday I will tell him. Once we get away from the bone-crushing expectations of our parents and move away to a place where no one can find us,
One day.
When I try to close the gap between us, Valentino inches back and takes a step forward. On instinct, I pull away, but his grip on me is formless. "Val-"
But he ignores me and takes another step. At this point, we're hanging off the tip of the cliff with my back to the water and his arms wrapped around me. Fear instills its claws into me, and I let it. I'm scared shitless while Val's heart beats steadily against my thumping one.
"Do you still trust?"
"Yes."
And with that, we go freefalling into the water below us. Time slows as I feel Valentino's lips meet mine and my eyes flutter shut once again. I wish I could pause and stay in this moment forever. Let the magic swirling around us stay, but once the water washes everything away, I knew that nothing could ever last forever, so it would be best if I could cherish the little moments and make the most of them.
A shiver runs down my spine after I realize how cool the water is, even though it's summer. I've somehow lost Valentino, and when I rise to the surface, I still can't find him. Only more water ahead of me. Instantly, I'm not worried about the cold water anymore, but if Val got hurt,
What if he hit a rock or broke a leg?
"Valentino!"
Nothing.
"Valentino!"
Still nothing.
I'm about to dive back under the water when a body wraps itself around me. I wash the relief down with frustration: "You need to stop doing that!"
"I saw something shiny at the bottom." There's a tiny smile on Val's lips before he turns me around and places his forehead against mine. When he opens his palms, there's a small pink pearl inside. It glints in the summer sun. Before I take it, I let the question that has been swirling in my mind forever leave my lips.
"Why do you care so much if I trust you?" As soon as I say it, I know it wasn't the right time by the way Val's body tenses.
"Because you said it yourself. Trust is the building block of a relationship. Come on. Let's see if we can find more pearls." He dives back under the water, leaving me dumbfounded. Valentino is lying, and we both know it. An ache fills my chest when I remember Mrs. Morelli saying that Val is a boy with many secrets. She warned me to stay away from them because secrets hurt, but I think what she meant was that the truth hurts and it's better to be ignorant.
But I don't do ignorance.
I've been collecting secrets since I was five. They don't shock or move me anymore like they used to. I don't hear secrets dripping from the ceiling anymore, either, so why won't Val just tell me the damn truth?
Better yet, what is it that he doesn't want me to know? 🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮🝮
Present
The pink pearl glints from the moonlight shining from my balcony. It reminds me of summer, sweet kisses, and green eyes. Everything me and Val used to be. I hate it. Now knowing the lies that were unknowingly shared between us
Drip.
Drip.
Drip.
Unsaid words splatter from the ceiling to my skin, painting me red with frustration. I want something new. Something that isn't tainted. Sighing, I jump out of bed and place the pearl and the star necklace Val gave me behind my drawer. To move forward, I don't need to forget the past, but I do need to stop it from holding me back.
The lantern from our date sits on my dresser, dim without its usual light. Tapping my finger, I grab the nearest candle and place it between the lanterns. As my room glows with new warmth, I close my eyes. Bask it in. I may not be able to explain my feelings right now, but I do know one thing.
