I look at the ocean and enjoy the sound of the waves crashing on the side of the boat, taking in the ocean scent filling my nose.
Leya sure is taking her time... Not that I blame her. There's a lot going on in the notebook.
Rio is going to kill me... But I'll deal with that shit later.
I look up at the moon and take another deep breath, wondering how far she is with the notebook.
She must have a million questions. Or maybe not? I don't fucking know anymore.
I just need her to hurry, because we probably need to get back before the sun comes up again. Because maybe, just maybe, Rio won't wake up.
The symbol stopped flashing red, meaning we should be good to get back when she's done.
And after we talked of course, because that's what we'll do as well. We'll talk, stop this stupid fight, and just see how things will go.
I turn to the steps leading down and see her slowly walking up.
She silently takes a seat across from me, staring at the notebook the way Rio stared at her letters.
'We have to talk.' She says when she's finally able to take her eyes off of the book I gave her a couple of hours ago. And I simply nod, before clearing my throat.
I practiced while she was reading.
'I wanted to apologize for everything I said, I shouldn't have said all those mean things and I shouldn't have let you continue to talk while Rio was behind you. It was a very weak move on my behalf and I honestly thought you would've said something else. Also, sorry that I didn't tell you about the whole one-week-thingy, Rio made us shut up about it and I honestly thought he would've told you about it because he said he would and-'
She jumps into my arms and almost throws us both overboard. 'Cataleya!'
'I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have brought up what happened since you're not the one who told me and I shouldn't have forced you to come with me because I wanted to leave, god! I'm so sorry and-' 'We are going to fall if you don't let me go!' I shout, trying to keep us from going down.
She lets go of me and sits back down, placing the book on her lap. 'Let's just forget about everything that happened the past few days, okay?'
I nod and smile at her, happy that we're fine again.
'Is this real?' She holds up the book and looks at me desperately, waiting for answers. I nod again, watching as her eyes start to shine. And it's not because of the moonlight.
It's because of love.
'Okay, so I have something planned.' I say as I head to the little cabinet I filled with snacks and drinks before we left. 'We could either talk about everything that happened first and go back later, or we go back to the boat now so you can talk with Rio and tell him your decision first.'
She nods slowly, letting the fresh air fill her lungs slowly. 'I need more time to think, so we'll talk first.'
I throw a bag of popcorn her way and grab a bottle of Pepsi since the CocaCola was nowhere to be found, and two cups.
'You planned this all out, didn't you?' I shrug and take a seat next to her, pulling her into my arms for a hug.
'Okay, so ask what you want to know and I'll answer as detailed as possible.' I start, filling the two cups with Pepsi.
She takes one of the cups and frowns when she sees the bottle. 'We were out of coke.'
'Alright,' She mumbles as she tries to get comfortable, crossing her legs on the couch we're sitting on, 'how did you and Rio become friends?'
I can't help but chuckle at her confusion and try to come up with a simple answer. But that would be impossible.
'It just happened because we were searching for you, so I guess you could say that you are the reason we became friends.' Now that I think about it, she is the reason we became friends.
'Alright, where did Vincent, Killian, and Nico come from?' I honestly thought she would ask questions about Rio or my sexual assault, anything else but this.
'According to Rio, we needed more people to get you back. We went to Amsterdam to get them and asked them to join us in our search, which they did. Vincent is the hacker, Nikolai is the buff guy, and Killian is a translator.' They all have a purpose.
'And Vincent likes Celine?' I nod and grab some popcorn, before bringing it to my mouth. 'Alright...'
She takes a handful of popcorn herself and leans back, letting everything settle in her head.
'What about...' I turn to her as I take a sip of my glass and almost drop it when I see the look in her eyes. 'Nevermind, we don't have to talk about it if you're not ready.'
'Why did you blame Rio?' I don't want to go into detail just yet, but I want to know why she's blaming him. 'Because he sent you in there alone.'
'He didn't know something like this was going to happen.' I shouldn't have started this conversation. I should've just asked her about how it was for her, instead of asking her that question.
'He didn't rule out the possibility either, Neveah.' 'Neither did I.' I say, making her frown for some reason. 'Yes, because you trusted Rio to handle it for you.'
'A little, but I could've thought about it before going in there. So if you're going to blame him for something that he had no control over, you should blame me as well.'
'Dear God, Neveah! He made you go in there and he knew the risk.' What?
'He didn't make me do anything, he asked me to go and I said yes.' It takes her a few seconds to come up with a reply, but I can tell she didn't know about that part. 'He made it sound like he didn't give you a choice.'
'Well...' I say, grabbing another hand of popcorn, 'He did.'
'I still don't think he should've let you go in there alone.' She stubbornly mutters.
'Cataleya, he didn't know. No one did.'
'But he-' 'He could've thought about it, but so could I. There were a million things that could've happened that night and it was just a fucked up thing that happened, but you can't blame him.' It's not his fault.
It's Johan's and... Mine.
I should've listened to Kai when he told me to get a drink before, I should've never let him lock the door in the first place, I should've never agreed to do anything and let them hire someone else.
'Okay, I'll drop it.' She says, grabbing my hand. I look at our hands and try to smile away the anger I feel inside, because I shouldn't be angry at her.
She just wants to defend me.
'Tell me more about everything that happened with you.' I say as I look at her face again, 'If you want to, of course.'
'You mean with Hunter?' I nod and smile as I playfully push her. 'Unless you want to talk about the amazing sex you and Rio had?'
She shakes her head, her cheeks starting to glow a little, and smiles. 'I forgot how direct you can be when it comes to that type of shit.'
I lean closer, placing my head on her shoulder, settling in a little, still holding onto her hand for dear life.
I feel exactly how Rio does. Afraid that if he takes his eyes off her for one second, she'll disappear again.
'I missed it.' She inhales slowly, before squeezing my hand a little. 'Hunter loved me, in some weird and psychotic way.'
I keep my eyes on the horizon, keeping just enough pressure on her hand, wanting her to know that it's okay to talk about this with me.
'He killed his little cousin, a girl named Jade... She was absolutely adorable and-' she chokes on her words, taking a shaky breath, before squeezing my hand again.
I look up and notice the tears in her eyes. 'He murdered her, Veah...' She mumbles, the emotions getting too much for her, 'And he kept saying that it was her or me and I just wish he would've killed me because now-'
'Don't do that.' I whisper as I pull her into my arms again, feeling her tense for a second, before she leans into me as well. 'Don't ever say that.'
'She was so young.' 'She didn't deserve to die, but neither do you. Okay?' I lean back a little, trying to peek into her eyes. She nods and blinks the tears away, before leaning on my shoulder.
I pull her closer and wrap my arms around her, letting her rest on my shoulder. 'I honestly thought he was nice, you know? Decent at least.'
'Is that why you said all that stuff at the party?' I didn't want to bring it up, but it would make a lot of sense. 'I was so stupid to think that he was a good person, especially knowing that he did all of that to you and-' 'It's okay, you didn't know.'
It hurt like hell when she said that, but I can't blame her for thinking that he was a good person. At least to her.
'I honestly thought you gave up after the ball.' She says, laughing a little. 'I would never.' 'I would understand if you had.'
I grab her face, squeezing her cheeks, as I tilt her face to meet mine again, 'Cataleya Valentina Velez, I will never give up on you.' She smiles at me, 'Understood?'
'Yes ma'am,' She says, trying to pry out of my grip, 'now let go of me!'
I let go of her and pull her in for another hug, something I won't ever be able to get enough of now that she's back.
'Now for the big question.' I groan as I slowly let go of her and get up, 'What do you want to do next?'
If she stays with them after seeing her mom again, I'll leave without her. If she doesn't want to stay, she'll probably stay with her mother and I'll probably stay with her.
'I honestly don't know.' She says, staring at the notebook again, 'It all feels so dreamy for some reason.'
'Maybe you should talk to Rio? See what he has to say now?' I insist, ready to head back again, even though Rio might kill me when we get back. 'I just might.' Yes!
'What about you?' Her question makes my skin crawl for some reason, but all I do is head towards the steering wheel. 'I'm planning on leaving.'
'Why?' She asks as she moves closer to me, taking a seat next to me. 'Because I need time away from all of the mafia shit.'
'So you can stay with me and my family.' She insists, making me smile as I start the boat. 'If you decide to stay with Rio, you know he can't stay with your family for a long time. And if not, I might stay, but I'm planning on going away for a while first.'
'So you'll be back?' I shrug again, quickly glancing over at her as she watches me push a few buttons. 'I don't know, Ley.'
'Well you better, because there's no way you're leaving me.' She chimes, grabbing my hand again. I laugh and steer us in the right direction, hoping they didn't move just yet.
'And about that whole Rio and my family thing, I don't want him near my family.' Oh... Right...
'About that...' She frowns at me, and I awkwardly smile at her, 'Your mom knows Rio already...'
'When did that happen?' I can see the yacht again, almost smiling because of it, and take a deep breath. 'You called me, remember?' She nods, so I continue, 'We went to your mom's place to see if you were there, but you left already.'
'And he went with you?' I nod and hear her mutter something in Spanish. 'At least tell me that nothing bad happened?'
'Rio kind of threatened Theo and your mom did say she didn't want to see him in her house again, but-' 'Dios Mio, Neveah?! Why didn't you start with that!?' I put a smile on my face and try to make sure we don't crash into the yacht as we get closer.
I can see the sun in the distance, wondering where the time went, and secretly praying that the others are still asleep.
'If I'm being honest, I kind of forgot about it.' I chuckle as I stop the motor and push every button Nico told me to, silently thanking him for the quick boat lesson a few nights ago. 'But you should probably-'
'Girls!' Brandon rushes down the stairs, completely out of breath as we climb back onto the yacht. 'What's up?'
'Neveah, get your ass out of here! Rio is-' Before he can even finish his sentence, Rio storms past him.
And he's furious.
I can barely blink as he pushes me against the wall, all the air leaving my lungs, and try to catch my breath. 'Rio!'
'You fucking bitch.' He snaps, pressing something sharp against my neck. 'Rio, what the actual fuck is wrong with you?!'
I can hear Leya scream in the back, but I don't dare take my eyes off of Rio. 'I just-' 'You took her away before the week was over!'
'I know, but I-' I hold my breath, afraid that he'll cut me if I don't, and try to push him away, but to no avail.
'Rafael!' I hear Celine's voice and beg for them to get him off of me so I can finally breathe. 'Get off of her, you idiot!' He takes his eyes off of me so that he can look at Leya, allowing me to move away from him as far as I can.
And I run back up the stair, ready to lock me in my room until those two talked it out. Just as I make my way through the door, ready to run down the hall, something hits my foot, making me fall onto my knees.
When I look up, I come eye to eye with Rio, who's pressing a knife underneath my chin. 'We had a deal.'
'And I didn't break it.' I reply, feeling my foot hurt like crazy. He threw something hard at it, making it hurt like crazy. 'Where did you take her?'
'Nowhere-' 'Do not lie to me, North.' He presses the knife deeper into my skin, almost cutting me.
'Adriano, what the fuck are you doing?' Rio rolls his eyes, glancing at the person behind me, making my heart race like crazy. 'She took Valentina.'
'Let go of her, right now.' Tiago demands, slowly inching closer. 'I don't take orders from you, Leonardo.' Rio says, before turning back to me. 'You should've never taken her in the first place. Now tell me where you went.'
I don't get his deal. We're back, she's safe, and she's willing to talk, yet he's ready to murder me if I even breathe wrong.
'Rio, if you don't-' 'Take one more step, and I'll end her.' He says, making sure everyone hears his hard words. And they listen.
They all listen.
'Tell me... Where you went.' He says, slowly lowering the knife so I can talk. 'We didn't go anywhere.'
He throws the knife onto the ground, making me wince because the knife skims past my arm, cutting me just a little, and keeps his eyes on me. 'Where did you go-' 'Fucking idiot!'
Leya's holding his own gun against his back, making him roll his eyes as he steps away from me. 'If you don't get out of here right now, I swear to god Rio, I will fucking shoot you!'
He turns around to look at her and takes a deep breath, before stumbling out of here, as if nothing happened. But he's still angry.
'Neveah, are you okay?' Leya drops onto her knees, checking to see if I'm okay. 'Yes, I-' 'You're bleeding.'
I look at the cut and realize that it's a lot deeper than I thought it was. 'Let me get that stitched up, come with me.'
Celine and Leya help me up, acting like I can't do it myself, and I shrug them off. 'Guys, I'm fine. It's just a-' I groan as I take a step, my right ankle hurting like crazy. 'You're not.'
I let Celine and Leya help me down the hall, straight to Celine's room, which is a bit smaller than mine, but she has a little doctor's office attached to her room.
'I am going to kill him.' Leya says as she helps me to one of the chairs. 'He's gone mad, I swear to god.' Celine joins while she searches for the right things.
Brandon enters the room and looks at me with worry in his eyes. 'Are you okay?'
'I'm fine, calm down. He's just angry that I took Leya without his permission.' I honestly thought he would've just shot me.
'What the fuck is going on?' I turn to the door, noticing Nico entering the room. 'Rio stabbed her.'
Nico's eyes widen and he looks at me with concern in his eyes. 'He did what? Are you okay, Veah? Do you need anything?'
'Don't worry, I'm fine. Now can all of you stop overreacting so much, please!'
They all look at me, shocked that I raised my voice. But it worked. They're all silent.
'Can you guys get out and let Celine do her thing?' Their eyes shift from Celine, back to me, and I nod. 'I'll be fine, I promise.'
They all leave and Leya hesitates at the door, but Brandon pulls her away, leaving me alone with Celine.
She needs to talk to Rio anyway.
'What were you thinking?' She asks as she dips a cotton ball in something that smells like alcohol. 'Hold onto the chair for me.'
I do as she says and clench my teeth at the burn of the wound. Fucking asshole...
'I just wanted to talk to Leya.' She rolls her eyes and presses the cotton ball onto the wound again, making it burn like hell. 'Be careful.'
'Don't ever just disappear again, Veah.' She mutters, turning to grab something else, 'We all thought you guys were dead or something.'
'That's a bit dramatic, even for Brandon.' It was supposed to be a joke, but she's not in the mood. 'Okay, fine. I might've made a mistake on the timing, but I didn't see any other op- Celine!'
She wipes the blood away and it burns even worse than the alcohol thing. 'I'm sorry.'
'It's fine.' I say through clenched teeth, holding onto the chair for dear life. 'Okay, turn a bit.'
I do as she says and watch as she grabs a tube of something that looks and smells absolutely disgusting. 'What's that?'
'Glue.' She opens the cap and looks into my eyes. 'Now this might hurt a little.' 'Worse than the cleaning?'
She shrugs and says, 'You'll be fine.'
I take a deep breath and look away as she moves closer and closer, making my heart race. But when I feel the stinging pain rush through my arm, I wince again, trying to stay still so she can just get this over with.
And once she's done, I look at the cut. She just glued it back together, making me wonder how it even sticks.
'It will dissolve on its own, just keep it dry for a few days, okay?' I nod and try to get up, but she pushes me back in the chair and takes a seat in her own, across from mine, before pulling my right leg onto her lap.
'How about your ankle?' She turns it a little, and even that slight movement feels like a truck is driving over my ankle. 'Stop! It-' 'And this?' She tries to bend it up and down and it hurts even worse than what she tried to do before.
'I see.' She says as she inspects my ankle the way she does with her other patients. 'Okay, let me wrap this up for you to keep it in place.' What?
My heart starts racing at the thought of her trying to move my ankle again, and I would rather walk with a limp for the rest of my life than do that.
'What do you mean?' 'You sprained your ankle so I'm going to wrap it up and hope that it will heal back to normal.' A wave of relief washes over me and I inhale sharply when she puts something cold on my ankle.
'Keep this here for a second.' I lean over, keeping something blue and cold on my ankle while she grabs a few things.
'Leon was worried too, you know?' I keep my eyes on my ankle, hoping that I heard it wrong.
I shouldn't care about his feelings, because I heard what he said, but I do. I hate that I worried him, especially after all the attempts to make amends.
'Neveah?'
'Yes?' She sighs deeply and slowly makes her way back to her chair. 'He told me what happened and he's speculating.' I wondered when that was going to happen...
'Now I'm not trying to force you to tell him what happened in detail, but maybe you should tell him the simplified version of what happened?'
'I can't.' I say as she takes my ankle on her lap again. 'Why not?'
She knows why. She knows exactly why. And she also knows that I hate it when she's trying to get this shit out of me. Especially like this.
'Because I don't want him to hate me more than he already does.' I mutter, trying to look away as she takes the cold stuff off my ankle. 'He doesn't hate you.'
'He should, I'm treating him like shit.' I wince at the sudden movement as she lifts my leg up to place the bandage underneath it. 'Neveah, you went through hell, he'll understand.'
'What if he doesn't?' I ask, looking at her hands on my ankle. 'He will.'
She slowly starts wrapping the bandage around my ankle, trying to do it as perfectly as possible.
'Celine... I couldn't even...' I didn't tell anyone yet, because it wasn't the right time. But since we're alone and talking about this, I don't see why not. 'It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to.'
'We had sex right?' I told her that already. And then she left to talk to Brandon. 'Yes.'
'Well, I couldn't even enjoy it because I-' I choke on my words, the emotions getting the best of me once again. 'All I could think about was his touch and his breathing and his-' 'Neveah...'
She stops wrapping up my ankle and waits for me to look at her, but I can't.
'What if I'll never get over this?' I want to love Tiago, I want to enjoy him, not Johan. But I can't get him out of my head. And it's making me sick to my stomach. 'You will.'
'You keep saying that but... It doesn't feel like it, Celine.'
'You just need time, Veah.' She says, before continuing to wrap the bandage around my ankle. 'How long though? Because it feels like I've been in this cycle for eternity.'
She stays silent and finishes the bandages, before slowly placing my foot on the floor. 'There's nothing wrong with needing more time-' 'It feels wrong though.'
I finally look up, into her eyes, and wonder why she seems so confused. 'I should be able to make love to the man I love, but because of- I can't because of what happened and that's wrong.'
'There's nothing wrong with that.'
'What if I'm broken?' She gets up and kneels down next to me, 'Neveah, you're not broken.' 'Maybe I am.'
'Stop it.' She demands, taking my hands in hers. 'You're not broken and I'm sorry I pushed you, but don't ever think you're broken because of what that psychopath did to you, okay?'
I shrug it off, just like I always do, feeling the weight on my heart again. 'Come on, you need to eat something and maybe you can rest afterward?'
She helps me up and leads me to the dining room, where everyone else is already seated. They all go silent as soon as we enter the room.
'Rio, I'm sorry for taking Leya without talking to you first.' He glares at me and doesn't respond, making me sigh deeply as I grab a piece of bread.
Everyone starts eating, awkwardly talking about stuff that doesn't matter right now, but it helps with everything going through my head.
I notice Leya talking to Tiago and frown. Does she even know?
I mean, he did only tell Rio, so I doubt she does.
'Everything okay, Veah?' Leya asks, making me turn to her. But I meet Tiago's eyes on the way.
'Why are you acting like he's some kind of hero? He handed you to one of the worst people on earth.'
I hate that she's acting as if nothing happened. Like what Tiago did means nothing.
'He is a hero.' she laughs, annoying me a little. 'No, he's not.'
'He saved us from Hunter, that has to count for something. Right?'
I shake my head and look at the others in the room. They're not saying a single word. Not even Tiago.
'If he is such a hero, why did he break our promises?' I state, keeping my eyes on Leya.
I notice Tiago's eyes on me and wish that I could simply cut him out of my fucking sight.
'He didn't.' What? I look at Leya, not getting what she's trying to say. 'He kept my promise to protect you. So he didn't.'
'And he broke our promise to never drag you into our shit, so he did.' I groan, wanting to stop talking about this at all.
'I forced him to take me, Neveah. So you can't blame him for listening to me.'
'If you say so.' I mumble, looking at my almost empty plate.
'Something wrong, North?' I look up, straight into Rio's eyes, and nod. 'There is actually.'
'Do you mind sharing it with us, cara?' Tiago chimes, so full of himself that I want to shove something down his throat.
But I'll let him have it. I'll let him feel my anger as much as I can before we get to land.
'You told Rio that you only saved Leya so you could get back with me, so don't go acting all victorious now, Tiago.'
He glares at me while the others continue to eat their food, making this painfully awkward. 'He was being sarcastic, North.'
What the fuck?
It's a wonder Rio is even talking to me after what happened, but I turn to him. 'And you think that's normal?'
Even if it was a joke, this shit is too fucked up to joke about.
'What do you mean, Veah?' Leya asks before taking a sip of her water. 'He's joking about what he did, don't you think that's a bit weird?' Especially after what she had to endure while she was with them.
'Are you fucking kidding me?' Tiago asks, making me look at him again. 'Does it look like I am?'
'Can we please not do this at this time of day, it's barely five in the morning and we're all tired.' Brandon mutters, finishing his plate. 'He's right, you two can sort this out after breakfast.'
And just like that, everyone starts talking about different shit again. Everyone except Tiago and I. Because all we do is stare at each other, throwing daggers with our eyes.
As soon as he's done, he excuses himself and basically rushes out of the room, making everyone look at me.
I turn to Leya and sigh deeply, making her smile. 'Go after him.'
Should I? There's a lot we need to talk about, but I just can't right now. Or maybe... Fuck it.
I get up and stumble after him, trying to catch up. 'Tiago!'
I know he can hear me, he just decides to ignore me again, but my ankle hurts too much for me to go any faster. 'Tiago, stop walking away from me.'
He slowed down at some point because I reach up to him and try to ignore the pain rushing through my leg.
'Where do you think you're going?' I ask, pulling his arm as hard as I can.
If he thinks he can leave, he's terribly wrong.
'God! Just make up your fucking mind, Neveah!' He shouts, pushing me away so that I'm against the wall.
It hurts. Both my back, because of the crash, and my heart, because of his words.
'One minute you want me to fuck you, just for you to resent me with your whole being the other?! You're so indecisive, and it's killing me!' He continues, finally letting out all the built-up anger, 'I'm trying to make up for all that happened, and you just-'
His grip on my wrist tightens and I can't help but hate the fear that's growing in my gut. It's just him...
I blink once, trying to visualize him instead of Johan, but it's impossible. 'Tiago-' 'How many times do I have to apologize to you, Neveah?'
He seems too deep in his head to notice and it's making all of this so much worse.
'Tiago pl-' My heart starts to swell and I can't fill my lungs for my next breath. Shit. 'Talk to me, Veah. Please-'
A soft gasp escapes my mouth and he suddenly stops. Slowly turning back to me. To reality.
'Neveah, I-' 'No. Go on. Tell me how indicisive I am. Tell me how hard I am on you. Tell me how you don't believe me when I tell you I'm leaving!' That's all I heard ever since we got on this ship.
And it's slowly draining me because I can't. I can't give myself to him the way I used to. I wish I could, but I can't.
He lowers his gaze to the ground and takes a deep breath, before turning back to me. 'I didn't mean any of it.'
'You did.' I mumble, fighting the tears forming in my eyes.
It's a waste of energy, but I plan on sleeping for a couple of hours anyway, so I should be fine.
'Neveah...' There it is. The calming sound of his voice makes me shiver whenever I hear it.
But this time it's different.
It makes my skin crawl.
Because every time he touches me, every time he wants to kiss me, I can't stop thinking about the way Johan touched me or the way he tried to- stop. no.
I can't do this. Not with him, please.
'I need to check on Victoria.' I say, trying to brush past him to get to her room.
He pulls me back and locks me in a cage, pressing his hands onto the wall behind me.
'Please don't do this.'
I get why this must be hard for him. I'm not making it easy for him at all. And all of this isn't helping either...
But I can't just fall back to him. Not after all the shit that happened.
And he's right. I am being very indecisive.
That has to stop.
'I made up my mind.' I say, pressing my hands against his hard chest to keep him at a certain distance.
'You did?' He asks, leaning back a bit, allowing me more space.
'We should take a break.'
I push him away and he lets me because he's too shocked at my words.
But what did he expect?
'Another one? Don't you think three months were enough?'
'Apparently not.' I need more time. I need more space.
He has no clue how to respond. Not a single word comes to his mind, I can tell by the look in his eyes.
I can't tell him why, because it's too soon, and that's breaking him even more, but he won't keep asking now.
And he watches as I walk up the steps, towards Victoria's room.
I quickly close the door behind me and take a deep breath, trying not to break down already.
Victoria's still sleeping with Night lying close to her. Good.
So she had no clue we left for a few hours.
I stay by her bed for a few minutes, watching as she dreams of a world where there's no evil. A world where I want to be right now.
After a few minutes, I finally calm down, able to head back downstairs to sleep a few hours myself.
I don't bump into anyone as I make my way back to my room, but I can tell that someone's in my room as I make it to the door. Because it's not closed entirely.
Cataleya, Brandon, Isabelle, Celine, and little baby Leroy are all packed in my room, sitting on the couch and bed. 'There you are.' Brandon chimes, smiling at me.
I try to smile back, but I'm too exhausted. And a little disappointed that Tiago isn't here as well.
But at the same time, it means that he'll finally drop all the questions. Right?
'What are you guys doing here?' I ask as I drop onto the bed, rolling over so I can reach for Leroy who's lying on my bed. 'We just wanted to check on you.'
'Especially after what happened with Leon.' Leya smacks Brandon and turns to me. 'What? I just-' 'We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to, we just want you to know we're here for you.'
I can't help but smile as I pull Leroy onto my chest, watching him closely as he reaches his tiny hand out to my face. 'Thank you, I truly appreciate it.'
'We got you, girl! don't even mention it.' Brandon chimes as he heads over the bed as well.
'Leya, don't you have to talk to Rio?' I ask, peeking over to her, as she stares at me with wide eyes. 'Do I though?'
'Yes.' We all say in unison, making Leroy make the cutest sound in the world.
'You're telling me you finally know how he feels and you haven't spoken to him yet?' Celine asks, meaning Leya told them about the notebook because I certainly didn't. 'I just-' 'Girl, Neveah almost got murdered by him and you're out here avoiding him?'
'Way too dramatic, but besides the part where I almost got murdered, he's right. You can't avoid him for the rest of your life, Leya.' I sit up and sway Leroy a little.
He's absolutely adorable.
'I will have to if I leave, right?' She asks a little uncertain. It's not something she wants, but it's something she'll do if it is necessary. 'Why would you leave?' Isabelle asks, frowning at Leya.
I bet she doesn't know the entire backstory of Rafael Curzio and Cataleya Velez yet, but I know that's about to change.
Because Brandon dramatically clears his throat. 'Am I allowed to explain?' He asks, using a spoiled girl accent.
'If you overdramatize, I will murder you.' Leya sighs, making all of us chuckle. 'Alright,' Brandon straightens his back, dramatically keeping his hand in the air as if it will add to the effects of the story, 'There once was a gorgeous girl named Cataleya Valentina Velez, who turned twenty-one at some point in her life.'
Isabelle nods and keeps her eyes on Brandon, eager to know more.
'Her best friend, another gorgeous girl, Neveah Aurora North, took her to a club that belonged to the famous Rafael Adriano Curzio. Newsflash, Neveah had some history with Rafael's cousin, Leonardo Tiago Curzio.'
'Can you speed this up, I'm ready to head to bed.' Celine groans, making Brandon glare at her. 'Shut up, I'm telling my story!'
'Continue.' Isabelle says, still on the edge of her seat for some reason. 'Okay, so they knew Neveah already, but Cataleya was new for them, right?'
Isabelle nods while Brandon proudly continues to go into all the tiny details about that night.
'There was a shooting and the Curzio's saved the girls, forcing them into a debt they couldn't pay. The Curzio's came up with a great idea for payment, they had to work in the hotels for a while. And they did. There was a lot of tension between the couples, you know, Neveah and Leon, and Rafael and Cataleya. Anyways! At some point, they started fucking.'
He's missing a lot of steps... 'And then, boom, Rafael thought it would be a good idea to cheat on our girl Leya with some bitch named Molly, who was absolutely disgusting by the way, wore my heels without my permission!'
'Brandon...' Celine says, making him take a deep breath, before he turns to Isabelle again. 'So she showed him who's boss and basically ghosted him for a while, until they had to go to Germany to meet up with Hunter Steel-' 'And I already told you about what happened after that.' Cataleya interferes, ready to stop talking about this already.
'So he cheated on you?' Isabelle asks a little concerned. 'Technically he didn't cheat, because we weren't really official.'
'Ley, you guys had a whole ass contract. Don't lie now.' She rolls her eyes at me and shakes her head. 'Yes, and that contract also included neither of us catching feelings.'
'You guys had a whole ass contract?' Isabelle asks in shock, making Leya sigh deeply. 'It's a lot more complicated, but I don't just want to run back to him as if nothing happened.'
'And you don't want to leave either.' I say, filling in the last part for her. Because I can tell she wants to talk it out first.
'So talk to him.' Isabelle says, as if it's nothing. 'That's the thing, I don't know what to tell him yet.'
'Speak your truth.' Brandon says, smiling at Leya. 'Tell him what's on your mind and heart, tell him how much it hurt and tell him that you won't just go back to him as if nothing happened. Tell him you need him to show you that it won't happen again.'
We all turn to Brandon with a frown and I can't stop laughing at his proud face. 'Since when did you become a relationship expert?'
'Bitch, I've always been good at advice!' He jokes, giving me a little nudge. 'I just need a little more time.'
'Take as long as you need, that piece of shit can wait.' Celine states, getting up from the bed, 'I'm going to bed.'
I hand her Leroy and watch as the others get up as well. 'We'll talk later, okay?' I nod and climb back into bed, ready to doze off for at least ten hours.
When I wake up, the sun is shining brightly into my room, illuminating everything in warm light.
I groan and roll over, looking at the time on my phone. It's almost ten in the morning, meaning I barely slept five hours. Great.
Despite my body hurting like shit from being pushed against the wall twice yesterday, I stumble into the bathroom, quickly brushing my teeth and taking a shower.
I change back into some baggy clothes, not in the mood to dress up today, and head into the hall.
My body operates without cause and I end up in front of Tiago's door, my hand ready to knock.
But I should leave it as it is. I should just go and search for Leya, see if she talked to Rio yet, or better, go talk to Rio and apologize again.
I should- 'Neveah?' My heart stops for a split second and I turn to the voice coming from my right. 'Why are you up so early?' Nico asks, moving even closer
He looks at my arm in the air and stares at the door for a second. 'And why are you just standing there?'
'I honestly don't know.' I answer, wishing that I had an answer to his stupid question. 'Is there something you want to talk to him about?'
'Maybe... I don't know.' Everything is still a bit hazy and I probably should've stayed in bed 'Why are you up so early?'
He smiles at me and crosses his arms. 'Veah...' 'What?' He raises his brows at me, silently trying to get answers out of me. 'Nikolai, I'm telling you, I don't know what I'm doing here.'
'So leave.' He says, slowly moving closer, 'come with me and we'll-' 'Nico!' Killian pops out of nowhere, throwing his arm around Nico's shoulder. 'We should go to Rio, see if he needs our help with that thing.'
Before I can ask what that thing is or before Nico can even protest, Killian pulls him out of the hall, towards the front of the boat.
I turn back to the door and take a deep breath, before knocking on it. I need to get this over with...
It's going to be hard as fuck to get through this, but they are right. I can't keep this from him forever...
'Come in.' He mumbles, making me wonder what he's doing.
I open the door and peek inside, realizing he's working behind his laptop again. As if we're back to normal again.
I step inside and close the door behind me, before turning back to him.
'Are you here to yell at me again?' I stay by the door, ready to walk out again.
It doesn't scare me that he knows that it's me, because he probably figured we would need to talk at some point. 'We need to talk.'
He closes his laptop and turns his chair to face me completely. 'You mean, you'll talk and I'll be forced to listen and stay silent as you walk away.'
'Tiago.' I warn, because if he continues, I'm leaving. Without explaining anything. 'That's how it has been for the past week, Neveah.'
I stay silent and simply look at him one more time, taking him all in. He's gorgeous.
And real.
He's not looking at me like I'm ruined. Or used. Or worthless.
Yet.
Because he will once he knows. I know he will.
'You left in the middle of the fucking night, without saying a word, again,' Shit... He's probably thinking about seven years ago, 'I thought you were gone!'
'I'm here now, right?' He scoffs at my reply and tilts his head a little.
'Rio fucking stabbed you and you wouldn't even let me defend you.' He mutters, looking at the bandages on my arm. 'I don't need you to defend me.'
I put my arm behind my back, making him look into my eyes again.
And I hate it.
Because I don't want it to change. I don't want the look in his eyes to change when he looks at me.
Not with him.
'I know, you made that clear earlier.' He says, keeping his eyes on mine as I take him all in just one last time. 'I wanted to talk to you.'
'Will you let me talk as well?' No. I shrug and stay by the door, eager to walk out instead of telling him.
But I started already.
'I wanted to apologize for how I've been behaving, I clearly misunderstood and I'm sorry.' His eyes widen for a split second before he starts frowning. 'What are you-' 'Just take the apology, please?'
His lips curl up a little and he nods. 'Fine, apology accepted. But that's not why you're here, is it?'
I shake my head, hating that he can read me like this. 'You can tell me, Neveah.'
We both stay silent for a while, looking at each other.
And it feels perfect. Absolutely perfect.
'Neveah?' I close my eyes and take a deep breath, not moving an inch away from the door just in case.
Because if I need air, if I need distance, I'll be able to go. I'll be able to survive.
'A lot happened while you were gone, Tiago.' When I open my eyes, I come eye to eye with Tiago.
Concern and curiosity gleaming through his eyes. One fighting the other, ready to take over.
'And I don't want you to... Look at me differently, even though it's probably impossible and-' 'Neveah...' I stop at the sound of my name, wishing that he won't ever stop saying it again. Wishing that he could never stop looking at me like this.
'I will never-' 'Don't say that, because you will.' The curiosity fades away, creating an empty hole left in his eyes for fear. No...
'I lost a baby.' I start, forcing myself to look at the ground. I can feel his eyes on me, begging me to look at him, but I can't. And I know that it will only get worse. 'What do you mean?'
Fucking hell... 'I was pregnant when I was with Hunter and I lost our child, Tiago.'
He moves around, probably getting up from his chair, and I stumble back, keeping my eyes on the ground.
I can see his shoes in my vision and make sure to watch him move around, just in case he tries to get too close.
'Neveah, I-' 'There's more.' I want to get this over with. I want to do it all now. Just like ripping off a bandaid. The faster you do it, the better it will be.
'I got raped.' It's like all the air leaves the room.
Total silence. No response, no movement, no breathing. But I know he's looking at me. I can feel it.
'You... got rap-' 'Yes. And that's why I've been avoiding you. I can't bear to be near you because I feel used and-' He drops to his knees, making me look at him, but he's staring at the floor.
'Tiago, please get up.' I can't touch him. I just can't. Please...
'Why... Did I... We had sex?' He slowly looks up or at least tries to. But it's like his body is locking up. As if it hurts him to even look at me. No. 'Did I frighten you?'
I want to tell him he didn't. I want to tell him that he could never scare me, but he did.
'Tiago, please don't.' He takes a shaky breath and forces his head up so he has to look at me.
And as soon as our eyes meet, as soon as I see the tears threatening to escape his eyes, as soon as he looks at me like I'm shattered, hurt, broken, I choke.
All the air leaves my lungs and I almost drop down in front of him, grasping onto the door to keep me from falling.
'Neveah, I'm so sorry.' He starts, trying to pull himself together to help me through this. But it's impossible. 'I should've known, I should've-' 'There's nothing you could've done... I should've told you.'
He gets back up, shaking his head as he mutters something under his breath.
'No, I should've noticed something- I- I-' he turns away and takes a few deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. 'God, I'm so stupid! Why- Neveah, I'm so sorry. I-'
It's a wonder I'm not crying yet, but I want to stop this. I want to hug and kiss him. I want to tell him that everything will be fine and that we'll make it through this, but right now, all of that seems impossible.
'I'm so sorry, Neveah.' He repeats time and time again. 'Tiago... stop.'
'I should've noticed, don't you think? I mean- you- I didn't even notice?' He sounds angry. But not at me. He's angry at himself and I hate it. 'Stop, please just stop.'
He looks at me and takes a deep breath, with tears rolling down his face. Every tear cuts through me like a knife, hurting worse than Rio stabbing me earlier.
'I'm sorry.' He whispers as he keeps his distance. 'Why are you apologizing, it's not your fault, okay?'
He shakes his head and looks at the ground again. 'I wasn't here to protect you.' What?
'Maybe if I was around, something-' 'Don't you fucking dare.' I say, my voice breaking with every word.
'None of this is your fault.' He shakes his head again, slowly lifting his gaze to meet mine again.
And I honestly wish he would've kept his eyes on the ground.
Because he looks broken. And in pain. And miserable.
'I'm the reason Leya was gone, I'm the reason we needed to search for her in the first place, so how is this not my fault?'
'It's not your fault.' I felt like that before, but not anymore. Not like this. 'Please, don't ever say that again.'
He stares at the ground again, painfully silent for at least five minutes.
And I hate all of this. I should be able to touch him, I should be able to hug him, I should be able to kiss him, I should be able to have sex with him. All without thinking of the man that messed me up entirely.
But it's impossible. Even with the man I love.
'I'm sorry Neveah.' He repeats, making my heart shatter into a billion pieces. 'I'm so sorry.'
'I need time.' I say as he looks back into my eyes, like I'm broken, 'and space.'
He nods and nods and nods, making me wonder if his neck is hurting already. 'I need space away from all of this, from everyone and everything.'
He nods again, not saying a word.
'So after everything is set, I'm leaving.' I wait for him to nod, but he doesn't. 'I don't want you to go.' He admits, hating himself for even saying it out loud, 'Rio could hire the best therapist in the world and you could-''I'm not going to a therapist.'
I can't. I just can't.
I absolutely hate therapists.
And I know I told Brandon and Celine I would, but I just can't. Not yet.
'Neveah you-' 'Now that you know, there's no need for you to beg me anymore, goodbye.' I head out the door before he will lecture me about going to a therapist, and run to my room.
Let's just hope he'll drop it...
----
A/N: LEETTTSSS GOOOOOOO
So Rio hurt Veah? And Leya still didn't talk to Rio about his feelings? What will happen to them? I mean, it is the last day after all...
I hope you guys are happy that they're back together again and will stop complaining about the wait and all of that shit! <3
THANK YOU GUYS SO MUCH FOR ALL THE LOVE AND SUPPORT! I TRULY APPRECIATE ALL OF IT!
I wish you the best day/night and I hope to see you in the next chapter!!!