- A m a r a R u s s o -
Life can truly be boring.
For nearly two weeks, I've been stuck in this damned house, the only living thing keeping me company being Milo. I haven't called or texted Caroline since the last time I saw her, being two weeks ago, on the day we were attacked. She hasn't even reached out to me either, so I'm pretty sure she just needs time to process everything.
I mean, in one night, she found out her sister was the girlfriend of a gang leader and quite badly hurt. A sane person would need time to fully come to terms with it, so I didn't push our talking, even if I was dying to talk to her.
Being cooped up in the house was getting very stuffy, if you know what I mean. Especially if I have no one to talk to.
Salvatore had absolutely refused to let me out of the house until my shoulder had finished healing. This obviously wouldn't happen for the next week or so, but the wound has pretty much closed up by now. So, I was debating if I should go ask Salvatore if I could go out.
Fortunately, they were able to track down the person who hired the assassin. I have no clue what had happened to them, but what I did know was that Salvatore and the twins were gone the entire night, leaving me with Salvestro and Sandeo. I could only guess what happened.
However, this came with its down sides. I haven't gotten to see Theo again, and I was hopeless. I doubted that I would get to see him again any time soon, which was extremely saddening, considering I like him... a lot.
My phone started to ring, and I peeked at the Caller ID.
"Caroline?" I said.
"Hey Amara! I haven't heard from you in forever." Caroline complained, before she turned concerned. "Is your shoulder alright? You haven't talked to me in two weeks."
"Yeah, it's good." I reassured her. "How are you?" I asked tentatively.
Not having any sort of contact with her, I had no idea how she was dealing with everything. I know the situation has passed, but it can be very... memorable. I know that the first time it happened to me, I was and still will be scarred for the rest of my life.
"I'm fine." Caroline answered offhandedly. "Now tell me why you haven't texted me for TWO weeks!"
I did not expect the sudden anger, and did not know what to say. "Uhh, I thought that you needed time to process everything, and that you were angry at me?" I answered. Even I sounded unsure of my own answers.
"Well I wasn't," Caroline retorted. "Until you didn't contact me for two fricking weeks!"
"Uhh, I'm sorry?" I apologized, sounding extremely sheepish. "But you didn't contact me either." I told her.
"Because you didn't call or text me!" Caroline fired back. "Girl, I thought you were pissed at me for not telling you about Nader earlier."
I nearly let out a sigh of exasperation. Wasn't her reason the same reason as mine?
Oh well, trying to tell Caroline she was wrong when she was angry was like trying to convince a starved lion they weren't hungry.
"Look, I'm sorry okay?" I said, trying to placate the girl. If it weren't for me being in the situation, I would be laughing so hard right now. Like, if it were someone else in my shoes and I was a bystander... I would be laughing. I don't know if that's good or not.
Caroline huffed her annoyance, but otherwise accepted my apology. "Fine, but are you free right now? Sandeo is coming over to the base today to meet up with Maroline, and I am planning to go meet up with Nader. I can come over and pick you up if you are free." she offered.
I hummed. "I don't know. Salvatore hasn't allowed me to go outside in ages. I'll ask."
"Damn," Caroline sighed, "I can't wait until you turn eighteen. I swear, everything will be so much easier when you are."
"You got that right." I agreed wholeheartedly.
~
"Where are we meeting up?" I asked Caroline, buckling in my seatbelt with an extra bounce in my actions.
I had managed to persuade Salvatore into letting me out, and I was now in Caroline's car, driving to who knows where.
"Well Nader is bringing his friend with him." Caroline shrugged, "They're near the plaza right now, so we'll go there to meet up."
"You mean the plaza with Pizza Pizza and Real Fruit?" I questioned.
"Yeah, they were getting some pizza for an early dinner. Speaking of that, have you eaten yet?" she asked.
"Lunch? Yes. Dinner? No." I chuckled, "It is way too early."
"Same," she agreed. "But I think I'll grab a bite with them. They're waiting for us."
"Who is this friend though?" I wondered. "Do you know him?"
"Nope, but it'll be okay." Caroline grinned. "Who knows, maybe you'll like him. I'm pretty sure they're best friends."
"You wish for the impossible."
~
"Where are you?" Caroline asked her boyfriend, phone in hand as we walked around the entrance to Pizza Pizza.
Muffled sounds came from the phone, and Caroline hummed a few times in understanding,
"Why are you so far?" she complained.
I swear, if there is one thing Caroline is good at, it's complaining. You can tell her to do something, and she can literally whine and complain all day long. However, she'll still get the job done, so you can't really say anything.
"You are getting shawarma?" Caroline exclaimed, eyes widening. "Babe, you got an extra large pizza, a box of twenty breaded chicken bites, fries, and coke. You won't be hungry for dinner."
More indistinguishable sounds came from her phone, and Caroline frowned. "No I'm not restricting you. I'm just worried for you. You won't be able to eat dinner if you continue eating..." she trailed off, her brows furrowing in concern. "Wait, you're eating dinner right now?"
She looked at me, and I stared back at her, both of our expressions baffled. It's four in the afternoon, and they are eating dinner?
"You want Amara and me to join this party of yours?" she laughed, "No it's okay. That will be way too awkward. Their girlfriends will be there too? Wait, let's just talk in person. I'll drive there and we can talk later, alright? Send me your address."
She grabbed my arm, leading me back to her car as she spoke with Nader. It was only when we were both situated in the car did she finally decline the call.
"So... what's happening?" I asked immediately when the call ended.
"So the gangs apparently have this party tonight to celebrate the reunion of the two gangs." Caroline informed, "They are eating an early dinner because the party starts at seven, and there won't be food other than small cakes and snacks. Nader asked if we wanted to come, but I said we'll talk about it when we get to the place he's getting his shawarma."
"Oh, a party?" I repeated. "Sounds fun. I don't think I'll be allowed to go though, knowing Salvatore."
Caroline nodded. "That's what I thought too, but we'll talk with Nader and his friend about it. Let's go."
~
"Hey! You finally came!" Nader shouted, waving at us with his friend at the side.
"Well it obviously took a while." Caroline said, giving him a kiss. "I thought you were at the pizza place."
"Yeah, well we decided to come here." shrugged Nader. "Anyways, guys, meet Theodore. Theodore, meet my girlfriend Caroline and Amara."
My eyes widened at the all too familiar face staring at me. Shit, Nader's best friend was Theo.
"Hey, nice to meet you."
"It's great to see who caught this guy's attention," Theo greeted Caroline. "I'm shocked he managed to pull someone as pretty as you with his mediocre looks." he joked, giving Caroline a small hand shake.
Nader grinned, punching Theo on the shoulder. "Yeah right, at least I have a girlfriend. You've been single for who knows how long now." he retorted.
Theo smirked, "Just waiting for the right gal." he told him, before turning to me. "We meet again." Theo nodded with a small smirk on his face.
Nader frowned. "You two know each other?"
"Yeah," Theo replied, the smile on his face widening. "If I recall, we met two weeks ago. It was quite a funny experience actually."
Caroline perked up at this, and she leaned forward. "Tell me," she grinned broadly. "Amara won't ever tell me anything."
"I do!" I protested.
"No you don't!" Caroline retorted hotly.
"Why don't we go get something to eat before we continue talking," Nader suggested out loud, "There are people who need to go in too."
I looked behind me to see at least four people waiting behind us, some of them on their phone while the others had their arms crossed, their feet occasionally tapping the floor.
Seeing this, we all sheepishly agreed.
"Best idea I've ever heard you say, bro." Theo commented, patting him on the back.
"Oh, fuck off."
~
"I don't think I've ever had a shawarma before." I mentioned to Caroline.
We were standing in line inside the store, the guys already gone to save us a spot.
She turned to me, an incredulous expression on her face. "What?"
"I've never had a shawarma before?" I repeated nervously.
"You're shitting me." Caroline said in disbelief. "Out of all things to eat, you've never had a shawarma?"
"Uhhh no?" I answered. "Well I might have, I just don't remember, I think."
Caroline just shook her head in disappointment. "I can't believe it. You've never had one before. Why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"Because the subject never came up." I answered simply with a nonchalant shrug of my shoulders.
"Yeah, I guess." she agreed reluctantly. "Oh well, I guess it's never too late to try it, right?"
"Mhm, now tell me. What's in this wrap? It's a wrap, right? Or something like that?"
"Yeah, so it's kinda, like a wrap I guess." Caroline said. "But the contents inside are very different. There are sauces like hummus and garlic sauce inside, and the meat is like tasty. Like very tasty, compared to the wraps you would regularly eat."
I pointed at the wheel stacked high with meat. "Do they use that?"
"Yep," she nodded her head. "Here look. I'll order first so you can see what they do, and you can let the guys order theirs while you decide on what you want to get."
"Sounds good."
"Great, cause we are about to order." She laughed. "Can you get the guys for me? Or call them? I have no idea what they want."
"I don't have their phone number." I told her with a pointed look.
Caroline frowned. "Damn, okay. I'll give you my phone, and just search through my contacts. The guy named 'babe' is Nader, obviously." she giggled. "Just call them and tell them to tell Nader to come order for the two of them. It'll be easier."
With those words, Caroline passed me her phone as she got out her wallet and went up to the clerk to order her food.
Punching in the passcode to her phone, I scrolled through her contact list until I found the one I wanted, which was obviously titled, 'babe'.
"Hey babe." Nader immediately greeted upon answering the phone.
"Uh, it's Amara."
"Oh, um, hi Amara. Is there a problem up there?" Nader asked. His tone immediately went from sweet and affectionate to cool and composed. Wow.
"No, Caroline just wanted me to ask you guys what you wanted to order." I relayed.
"Oh, I'll just have a chicken shawarma. I want shredded lettuce, pickles, and the regular sauces inside. I'll ask Theo what he wants. Give me a second." Nader answered, and muffled voices came out of the phone. "He says he wants the same as me with tomatoes and turnips."
"Yeah okay, I'll tell Caroline." I assured him. "Anything else?"
"Nope."
"Kay," The phone was soon hung up by me as Caroline came back over.
"That order's mine." she said, pointing at a nearby person making a wrap-like substance.
I watched intently as the person put different sauces on top of the... tortilla, I think, spreading it with the spoon. Then they grabbed some shredded lettuce, putting mounds of it on it before adding other vegetables such as tomatoes and pickles. The guy topped it off by going to the meat spinner thing, grabbing a dangerous looking knife and cutting pieces of meat off of the spinner.
By the time he was wrapping the shawarma, it looked close to explosion.
"That's... a lot." I commented, giving Caroline a side glance. "Are you sure you can finish?"
"Probably not." she shrugged. "But I'm greedy, and can always finish it later tonight when I get hungry again."
I grinned at her nonchalant attitude. "I sometimes- no, not sometimes. I literally always wonder how you became my friend."
"You mean how you became my friend. Not the other way around." she corrected me. "Remember? You were the one who stuck to me like glue."
"Mhm," I nodded sarcastically. "Right, of course."
Caroline shoved my shoulder. "Oh, shut it. Now tell me what the boys want."
~
"Thanks babe," Nader said gratefully, taking the tray of food from Caroline's hand while Theo took my tray too, setting it onto the table.
"No problem," Caroline dismissed, giving him a kiss and sitting down.
Nader was quick to claim the spot right in front of her, the two of them immediately falling into a comfortable conversation about whatever couples talk about during meal time.
Theo tapped my shoulder. "This feels like a horrible third wheeling for the both of us." he grimaced. Both of us were still standing awkwardly to the side, which just shows how... left out we were.
"You have no idea."I whispered back to him, watching the couple talk to each other like we weren't right next to them. "I think we've disappeared from existence in their eyes."
"Probably," he agreed. "Most likely, actually. But whatever, let's just sit and eat. We can talk while they do all the lovey-dovey shit. We shall not participate in that madness."
I chuckled, silently agreeing with him as I sat in the open seat next to Caroline. Theo sat opposite of me, and we both grabbed our own food, unwrapping it and taking a bite.
"So, how are you doing?" he asked, looking pointedly at my shoulder.
"It's alright," I answered with a shrug. "It was a flesh wound, so it's supposed to fully heal in two more weeks."
"I guess you're considered lucky, then." he commented. "Not many bullet wounds take only four weeks to recover."
"The person didn't really catch me, so I guess." I agreed. "They had very poor aim as well, if they were aiming for my head."
"Can you shoot?" he questioned.
"Yeah," I nodded.
"You like it?"
"It's fun to a certain point." I admitted. "But, I prefer knife throwing to shooting. I find more comfort in them, I guess."
"We're different then. I much prefer the feeling of a gun." he told me, taking a bite of his food. "It's easier to handle."
The fact that we were talking about guns and knives out in the open like it was a topic for a casual conversation should be alarming. Only if you weren't part of my world though.
"Really?" I asked, shocked. "It's harder to aim with a gun, I think. The force makes the bullet fire in the wrong direction sometimes."
He gave a noncommittal shrug of his shoulders. "Not really. It's harder to throw knives around."
I grinned. "Then I guess we're different."
"It shouldn't be surprising," he countered. "We were both taught differently by different people."
"Yeah, well, my lessons came from my brothers." I offered, waiting for him to reply with his 'mentor'.
"My older sister," he finally said. "Not alive anymore, but yeah. She loved guns, and I guess I kind of picked up on it when she died."
"Oh," I murmured softly, not knowing what to say. "I'm sorry for your loss."
"It's alright," he laughed, waving it off. "It's been years. I'm over it now."
But I knew he wasn't from the laugh he just gave off, not even counting the look he had on his face. It was the same look I had at times, and I knew and was able to detect it like the back of my hand. He wasn't over it yet, still in the process of healing through whatever traumatic thing he experienced.
I didn't push it though, letting him brush the topic of conversation over. We weren't close, and he owed me no explanation. In time, if we were to get close, he'll tell me on his own. It's what I would have hoped for if I were in his shoes. I have been in his shoes.
"Well, at least you get to keep her close to you, with your love for bullets and all that." I attempted to comfort him. It wasn't the best, to say the least.
"Yeah..." he muttered, and to make it less awkward, I decided to continue eating my food. "Anyways, will you join the party tonight?"
I shook my head. "Most likely no."
"Damn, why not?" Theo questioned. "Everyone is going to be there, including your brothers and the twin assassins."
"The twin assassins?" I repeated, raising a questioning brow. "You mean Samantha and Elena?"
"Same thing," he replied offhandedly. "Yeah, those two and your brothers are coming. You sure you can't? We can hangout the entire night."
"Uhh, I'm not sure then." I grimaced, not quite agreeing just yet. "I can ask, but I have no idea."
Do I want to? Definitely. Do I think I'll be allowed to go? My hopes aren't high, but I now do think my brothers will be more lenient since they will be present as well.
"Alright, no pressure though." Theo chuckled. "The party starts at seven, so your brothers will probably arrive at like six thirty, maybe a bit later. I'm surprised you probably aren't going to go, to be honest."
"I'm guessing it's probably because there will be alcohol." I answered, "They are overprotective, to say the least, and they don't want me to consume alcohol in parties. They think it's unsafe."
"I mean, they aren't wrong." Theo admitted. "Whenever alcohol, parties, and gangs are involved... There usually isn't a good outcome."
"Never been to one, so I wouldn't know." I replied. "Is it bad?"
Theo cocked his head to the side. "Well... people do get drunk, and we do do some stupid shit..."
"That makes me not want to go." I giggled. "You probably shouldn't have told me that."
"Well, it's better to tell you sooner rather than later." he shrugged, "And when are you going to ask?"
"I don't know, probably when I get home?" It sounded like I was questioning myself. I was.
"Okay, do tell me what they say." he said. "My-"
"Theo! We have to go soon." Nader's voice interrupted Theo, and we both turned to see Nader and Caroline staring at us.
"We do?"
"Yeah," Nader nodded. "And I'm pretty sure Amara and Caroline have to go soon too."
By the time we were out, I had exchanged phone numbers with both Nader and Theo. Caroline had a smirk on her face the entire time, both of her eyebrows wiggling up and down. I just shook my head and rolled my eyes at her ridiculousness, but even I had a light shade of pink on my cheeks.
"So, you going to the party?" Caroline asked me. "I'll go if you go."
"I want to, but I got to convince my brothers." I sighed.
"You can even talk to Theo the entire night if you go," she continued, giving me a knowing smirk.
"Oh, shut it." I said with an exasperated breath.
"You know you want to," she teased.
I didn't disagree.
***
IT'S OUT! AND I FINISHED! Feel proud my friends, lmfao.
Anyway, I probably won't be on Wattpad for the next few hours. I'm going to be working on the school work which I have been procrastinating on, and after that, some more work. So, if I don't reply to any of your comments, please forgive me. I'll get back to you as soon as I can do so.
Also, I just noticed I have horrible grammar when I made author notes... I use acronyms and I like to go on tangents. Oopsies. Hopefully you guys don't get bored reading my rants. That would be embarrassing on my part 😂
Hopefully, you guys enjoyed this insightful chapter towards Amara's future love life. Do except some more tiny adventures between her and Theo. Or maybe another future lover. Or she'll stay single. Who knows, I'm not spoiling the fun for you guys.
Have an amazing rest of your day guys, whether it be midmorning or midnight for you. Remember to stay safe!
~ CRAZY40429 💋
QotC: Have you ever dropped a friend? Why?
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