After almost 1 hour in and out of bars, one of the things that Damiano most wanted at that moment was not to be famous, because a lot of people recognized him and asked for too many pictures. Unfortunately, having given up hope of finding her, he went back to his car, which was parked about 500 meters from the last bar he had passed. And long away, he took the opportunity and went to a pharmacy to buy bandages, ethyl alcohol, and some compresses, because everything he had of first-aid material in his suitcase was already gone.
As he got into the driver's seat of the car, an unpleasant yet familiar feeling began to spread difficulty breathing, tremors, excessive worry, and dizziness. In other words, an anxiety crisis. At that moment, he felt completely groundless. Then came a memory from a few times ago, when he was having his first anxiety crisis in his life, and who was there supporting him was Vic. He was trying to calm down, and all that going through his mind at that moment was that phrase she used to say repeatedly: "Everything it's going to be fine, I promise."
Fifteen minutes had passed, and his heartbeat was getting slower and his hyperventilation was starting to slow down too. After all, everything was fine. A few moments later, Dam was still inside the car, trying to organize his mind, until he received a call from Leo.
"Hi, so, do you have any news from Victoria?" asked Leo.
"I was asking you the same thing," Damiano said, sighing. "I have been in almost all bars, and I haven't seen her in one."
"Wait, a minute, Ethan is telling me he's seeing her from his balcony entering the hotel. She is back, Damia!"
"Wow, what a relief. I'm on my way there."
And off he went, reaching the allowed speed limit and with a super relaxed heartbeat to the hotel. When he got there, he walked quickly to the elevator. The elevator stopped on Vic's floor, and he went there very excited. The bedroom door wasn't locked, which even made sense since he thought Ethan should have been with her. But when he gave his first footprint with his wet Dr. Martens in that room, he saw the opposite.
Yes, Vic was there. But it was in a very different state than he expected.
"Oh, Vic... wait, what happened?"
Looking closely at her, he noticed a few things: her clothes on the floor, the blurry makeup, and stripped bandages over her.
"Vic, can you talk to me?", he asked, repeatedly.
For a while, she couldn't say even a word to him. Fortunately, they could communicate by eye signals.
"Don't forget to blink twice for yes and once for no."
He was asking her some questions, some answered with 2 winks, others with 1 wink, and others just with tears. Just the fact that she can't express her feelings in words left Damiano even more groundless.
"Vic, look me in the eyes," he said, and she glanced. "What have they done to you?"
She responded with tears. When he saw her cry, his heart broke into a thousand pieces. Then, she pulled up her oversized t-shirt. It had a major injury around her chest and black marks.
"They took the tape I had," she said, with a weak voice. "With so much goddamn force.."
As he watched, he saw red marks where she used to put her tape. In a short time, his eyes filled with tears. He didn't know what to say, so he just hugged her and waited until she calmed down
"But who are they?"
That was a question she couldn't answer with 1 blink, 2 blinks, or even a tear.
"You know, I better... go take a shower," said Vic, sighing.
"Can you stand up alone?" he asked, a bit worried.
"Of course, I can."
Now that she put her foot down and tried to take a step, she got a slight faint, but fortunately, Damiano caught her before her body hit the ground.
"Honey, I know you like to play strong, but you know... life isn't about being strong all the time," he said, while he was still holding her in his arms.
"I know, but I was so strong, and now it feels like for anything I feel groundless," she answered, sobbing uncontrollably.
"You're strong, Vic. I mean, you're the strongest person I've ever met. But you're just tired," he said, giving her a little hug and a kiss on her forehead.
Quickly, Dam went to Vic's suitcase to get something that rarely came out of her suitcase: the blood glucose meter. No, she doesn't have diabetes, but since the Il Ballo Della Vita Tour, she started to have hypoglycemia episodes, which is a lack in 'blood sugar' because she simply stopped eating and because of some hormonal problems. When she saw him with that small black case in his hand, her eyes roll back a bit. He knew she didn't like it, but he had to do it.
"Oh shit, Dami I don't want to measure that crap again."
"Vic de Angelis, if you don't want to, I'll make it anyway. It's for your good, okay?"
"Okay..." she said, being forced to accept.
When he held her finger to put the little needle, he noticed that her hand was shaking and extremely sweaty.
"Teddy bear, you've already done these dozens of times," Damiano said while caressing her hand.
"I know, but..."
"Every time feels as if it was the first, right?"
"Exactly..."
When he saw the results, he was surprised at how she hadn't passed out yet. The normal values are between 70 and 100, and she had a 50. Anyway, he was witnessing one of the worst hypoglycemia crises she's ever had. The symptoms were very clear: excessive sweating, dizziness, and drowsiness.
"How much is it?"
"50, Vic 50...." he said, apprehensive. "Do you have any orange juice, honey, or Coke by any chance?"
"I think so, it's on the mini-fridge."
"So, Coke or orange juice?" he asked, holding both options.
"I don't know, whichever has more sugar," she said, in a sleepy voice.
It was difficult for her to drink all the Coke, but after a few minutes, she managed it.
"So, do you feel better now?"
"Fortunately, I feel so much better. Thank you for helping me, Dam," she thanked. Although the tiredness, he could see a shine in her eyes.
"You're welcome, angel. - he said, holding her hand. "But don't you dare to call me Dam again, or do you want me to call you Vicky?"
"No, I don't want to," she said, squeezing his hand and giving the biggest smile she could. "I couldn't ask for a better best friend."
Until that moment, he had been extremely surprised at her, because if he had to through what she was dealing with, he would be downright depressed and powerless to do anything. But she's different, she's so much stronger and more resilient, and she never left anything to affect her, which is why she doesn't like to admit that she's not okay.
"Well, I'll go to try to take a shower."
"Alone?"
"Do you think I usually take a shower with someone? I can do this, trust me."
"Can I stay out here, at least to make sure you're safe?"
"Oh Dami, why you're so protective?"
"It's more like an instinct, you know.... but anyway... see you later."
For the first 15 minutes, he didn't hear anything suspicious, just the sound of the water falling in the bathtub. But suddenly, he felt a huge noise coming from the bathroom, and he immediately thought the worst had happened. His fast heartbeat mixed with that strong adrenaline gave him no time to think about what was more correct to do. So, on impulse, he simply opened that door without asking permission to enter... And amazingly, he was glad he did it.
The moment he got inside, he saw her, lying in the bathtub, super fragile, with something in her hand that looked like a pair of scissors. Just by looking at her, anyone could see that the tiredness in her eyes wasn't just physical, it was also psychological.
"Vic, I, I...." he said, a little disappointed, but not surprised.
"Sorry Damiano, I couldn't..."
"Everything will be alright, I promise," he said, lowering himself to the ground.
"I've always gotten used to getting up from my problems alone, and this time I can't," she said, with her voice mixed with an unstoppable cry.
"Vic, listen to me. When you can't get up alone, I'll get you up, even if it cost me to sacrifice anything. Always."
"Always," she said, pressing her wet body against his black sweater, and getting him a hug.
For some people, it would be romantic, but for them it was different. What they had was something unique, a thing that anyone can't explain in simple words.