No Strings Attached

CHAPTER 40

"Goodnight Zio," I smile
[uncle]

He kisses my cheek and I walk out of the room, nodding at the two guards before walking back down to the waiting room.

I'm surprised to see Vincenzo sitting on a couch in the waiting room, typing on his phone as he looks up.

He stands up and puts his phone into his pocket before walking over to me. "Ready to go?" he asks.

"You stayed," I say in disbelief.

"Why wouldn't I?" he asks, sounding equally as confused as me.

I shrug, "Just surprised," I say lightly.

"I figured it was the least I could do," he offers, sounding guilty as he looks at me.

"Well we wouldn't be here if it weren't for you," I say dryly, the surprise turning into bitterness as I remember the state in which Everett is in right now.

"Anastasia," he sighs, cutting himself off as if unsure of what else to say.

"This is your fucking fault Vincenzo and you know that," I spit out, trying to hurt him in any way I can. Trying to make him feel even a sliver of the pain I do.

"Anastasia we both know that's not true," he says calmly, "I cannot control Everett's actions, he chose to jump in front of the bullet," he pauses before taking a step closer to me, "Pinning the blame on me isn't going to fix anything. It's not going to make Everett suddenly better, and it's not going to bring you any peace, we both know that,"

"Do you know what it's like Vincenzo?" I ask quietly, my voice trembling.

"Know what what's like?" he asks,

"How it feels to lose a family member this way? To lose two to this kind of violence? And to be on the verge of losing a third?" my voice breaks, "Do you know what that feels like Vincenzo?" my voice is barely a whisper.

"I don't," he says, defeat washing through his eyes,

"So don't tell me to how deal with this, you don't know what it's like," I say, hurriedly wiping away the tears which start falling rapidly down my cheeks.

"I'm sorry," is all he says, coming closer towards me and wrapping his arms around my shoulders.

"What are you doing?" I choke out, my forehead falling to his shoulder as I begin to cry harder.

He doesn't answer, instead, he hugs me tighter, his hand cradling the back of my head as I wrap my arms around his torso.

"I can't lose him too," I sob, unable to come to terms with the thought of losing another family member.

"I know Ana," he whispers, "I won't let him die fiore, I promise,"

I shake my head, "You can't say shit like that," I argue,

"Yes I can, I won't let him die," he says calmly, "The best doctors in the country are treating him right now, I told them if he dies, they die with him,"

"Since when did you care about other people this much?" I ask, trying to make the conversation lighter, not liking how vulnerable I'm being in front of him right now.

"Because he's essentially family now, and I don't let my family die like this," he says bluntly, "And I don't like seeing you this upset with me," he says in a gentler tone.

"How sweet," I say wryly, wiping my nose as Vincenzo laughs softly.

"My room tonight?" he suddenly asks,

"What's happening Vincenzo?" I basically groan,

"I'm trying to comfort you in your time of need," he says dryly, avoiding the real meaning of my question.

"Vincenzo," I say gently,

He shrugs, "I don't wanna think about that right now, so my bedroom tonight or not?"

"Ok," I say quietly, closing my eyes as I allow myself to rest against his body momentarily.

"Should we go now?" he asks softly, rubbing my back as I stand up properly and nod.

I lean against his body as his arm wraps reassuringly around me, drawing me close as we walk back to the elevator.

"You know I'm leaving once we get Leonardo right?" I say tentatively.

"I know," Vincenzo says quietly.

"Ok," I breathe out, ignoring the flip my stomach does.

The elevator doors open and we step into the dreary carpark and make our way to the car.

He unlocks the car and opens the door for me, closing it as I sit down and put my seatbelt on.

This time the silence doesn't crush me, doesn't leave me gasping for breath as we begin the drive back home. The silence is comforting, all that needed to be said already spoken as we sit in a comfortable silence.

The drive seems shorter this time, Vincenzo soon pulling into the garage and stopping the car. He stops the car and I get out, waiting for him before we walk to the front door and Vincenzo unlocks it.

I ignore the guilty feeling in my stomach and let Vincenzo lead me through the front door, his hand resting on the curve of my waist as we walk inside.

We walk up the stairs and down the corridor to his room, waiting for him to push the door open before I walk inside.

I hear the door shut and lock behind me, sighing as I run my hands through my hair. "What's wrong fiore?" Vincenzo murmurs, placing a gentle hand on the small of my back.

"I'm just tired," I say truthfully, skipping over the part about how the ambiguity of our relationship is driving me fucking insane.

Just friends? More than friends? Even friends? The word hate is too strong, making the once enemies title useless. But I wouldn't consider him a friend. So what do I call him? What is he to me? What are we?

He hums in response, "I'm going to get changed, I'll be in bed in a minute," he says, his hand leaving my back as he walks away.

I look down to see I'm wearing one of Dad's old hoodies and a pair of sweats. I walk over to the bed and crawl under the covers, heat spreading over my body.

I take my hoodie off, leaving me in a simple bralette. I sigh and lie down, pulling the covers up and snuggling into the soft mattress.

I look up to see a shirtless Vincenzo walking towards the bed, his sweats hanging dangerously low on his waist.

I hide my growing smirk with the blankets, snapping my eyes to the bed as I see the corners of his lips tilt upwards.

I close my eyes as the bed dips, Vincenzo's arm snaking around me as I'm pulled against his warm body.

The lights are flicked off, leaving us in darkness as he rests his chin on the top of my head, my arm reluctantly curving around his torso.

I rest my head on his bicep and our legs intertwine, a peaceful silence falling between us. Neither of us wish the other a good night, as if both of us are satisfied with what's happening right now, not wanting to think about the next morning or our interactions after that.

It's clear that neither of us considered the consequences of our actions as we did them, over, and over, again.

And for some reason it seems as though both of us are ok with that.

//

sorry for the long wait, i kinda burned out and crashed after school finished so writing was difficult,

i'll try to get the next chapter to you guys soon, and until then, have a good day/night and don't forget to vote!!

Abi <3

merry belated christmas btw :)