The Intuitives [ENGLISH]

Chapter 24 - DING, DING, DING

Fireflies draw flickering trails around us in the forest night.

Fiore is fast asleep, his platinum hair scattered across his face. You'd expect the textbook image of a sleeping prince. Instead, mouth open, faintly snoring, twisted in a position that makes me uncomfortable just looking at it.

And yet, somehow, he's still beautiful.

I'm lying next to him, unable to sleep. My head's oddly empty, but my body won't rest. Eventually, I slip out of the hammock and put on my shoes. I need to move.

In the kitchen, I grab my T-shirt and my phone. Romina's still peacefully asleep.

Outside, the forest whispers softly—creaks, insect buzz, the rustle of leaves. I turn on my phone's flashlight and step onto a narrow path, crushing dry twigs and dead leaves underfoot.

A while ago, I had sex like never before. Intense, consuming, perfect—the rhythm, the touch, the breathing, all in sync. A flawless collision of beautiful emotions.

And yet right now, I feel absolutely nothing.

I can't stay next to Fiore. I need space to breathe.

A small clearing opens before me. The trees thin out; moonlight filters through the branches. Huge trachyte boulders rise from the ground like giant knuckles covered in moss.

I sit on the flattest one and look up at the sky. A cool breeze carries the damp scent of soil and leaves. I inhale deeply.

"If I could stay like this forever... that would be nice."

I check my phone. 1:40 a.m.
There's also a notification waiting.
I open it—and blink, thinking I must've misread.
It's a message from Enrico, sent a few hours ago.

"Yo! Random check-in. Haven't seen you at the gym since that night at the pub. You okay?"

Am I okay?

No. I'm not okay. My life's a mess.
And my instincts about Fiore were right; yet instead of backing off, I went all in. I did something I knew would hurt—and I did it anyway.

Why?
Why didn't I have the guts to choose what was actually right for me?

My vision blurs.

Why do I feel so damn lonely?
I don't get it. My chest aches, and there's this huge hollow growing inside me.

I stare at the chat with Enrico still open on my screen, and then—DING. He's online.
"Still awake?"

I hesitate. I honestly don't know what to say.

DING.
"Okay, sorry. Don't wanna sound like a stalker 😂 but I had this gut feeling you were... I don't know, not okay. Feel free to tell me to mind my business."

A half–smile slips out, tears and all. Some sixth sense, huh.

DING. Another message—this one longer.

"It's weird to say, but... I've been wanting to text you for a while. Even though we've seen each other at the gym for years, we never really talked. Then, a few weeks ago, something changed. I can't explain it—your energy felt different.
And when you touched my arm at the pub, I got this image. Sounds ridiculous, I know. But I swear I'm not joking. It was like I saw you alone, at night. Sitting there, looking down. I don't know if it was just my imagination or what, but since then, I can't shake the feeling that you need someone to listen."

What the hell is he talking about? An image?
Then it hits me: could he have psychic power,s too?
Fiore mentioned, back at that brunch, that Intuitives could have gifts like precognition and clairvoyance.
Could it be?
Could Enrico be one of them?