❦ 𝐆 𝐈 𝐀 𝐍 𝐍 𝐀 ❦
My phone rings again, with Dominic calling for the fourth time this morning. I press decline and crawl back into bed, feeling a wave of sadness wash over me. Luckily, Mom's not home, so she doesn't have to see me like this.
Suddenly, there's loud banging on my door. I ignore it, thinking Mom has a key. Then, I hear someone entering. I rush to my bedroom door and stop, realizing it's Dominic. I quickly lock my door to keep him out.
"Gianna, what's going on?" he asks, sounding worried. I sit on the floor, not saying anything.
"Please talk to me, Tesero," he urges.
"Why are you here?" I ask, sniffling and trying to stop my tears.
"I've been calling you all day, and you haven't answered. I thought something happened to you. We have dinner with my family today, remember?"
"Oh right. I'm sorry. I forgot about that."
"It's alright, Tesero. Just tell me what's going on, please."
"Marco came to visit me yesterday," I confess, and I hear him take a deep breath.
"What did that guy want?" His anger flares in response.
Last night
"Marco, what are you doing here?" I ask as he barges into my apartment.
"You're a slut, Gianna. I know you're only with him because he's paying you. Is that what you do now? Just stay with the highest bidder?"
"W-what? Who told you that?"
"Don't avoid the question. I'm glad we broke up. I don't want to bring a person like you home to my family. You led me on for two years. I thought you liked me. My friend warned me about you. He told me how you always do this to men. You lead them on, and then when things start to get serious, you back away. At least now I finally know why."
Everything he says feels like a brutal truth. Marco was my first boyfriend, and I've struggled to get serious with anyone. Fear has held me back, afraid they'll leave when I need them most.
Even when I like someone, I can't say yes to dates or anything serious. Does that make me a bad person? I've lost numerous male friends because of this fear, making me scared to have any more male friends.
I'm just not comfortable with the idea of being in love. Maybe a part of me never wanted to fall in love with Marco. I've always been too scared, and now my worst fear is unfolding.
"What, after all this time, you finally have nothing to say?"
"Marco, it's not what you think. I really did like you," I say, hoping he'll understand.
"But you didn't love me," he states, and I don't respond, knowing I can't lie to him.
"Exactly. You're not capable of love," he says before departing, leaving me in tears on the floor of my living room.
He's right. I've tried my best to fall in love, but fear always holds me back.
I'm not willing to risk the possibility of someone I love leaving me. I don't want to.
That's why I always leave them first.
What does it mean if I'm incapable of falling in love?
Present
"And you actually believed him?" Dominic asks, disbelief evident in his voice when I finish telling what happened.
"He's right," I respond.
"Open the door, Tesero," he requests, and this time I comply.
As soon as I open it, Dominic looks at my tear-streaked face and messy hair with worry. He grabs my hand, pulling me into a hug. I hug him back, feeling instantly better. "He's wrong," he whispers.
"You barely know me," I tell him.
"You're wrong, Tesero. Remember that story I told you about the coffee shop?" he asks, and I nod, my face against his chest.
"I actually met you a coffee shop. You don't remember because you were so shy you didn't even look up after you accidentally spilled coffee on me. You started getting a bunch of papers to help me clean up my shirt. You then apologized, saying you were going to be late. I watched from the window as you gave your breakfast to a stranger on the streets. Then about a few weeks later, you helped a stranger on the street when you found him on the floor with multiple bullets in his chest. You saved my life, Tesero. Is that what someone who is incapable of love would do? You are the very definition of love," he tells me, making me pull him closer.
"Thank you, Dominic," I tell him.
He finally lets go, and I pull away reluctantly. He gently grabs my chin, making me look up at him. He gets angrier when he sees how much I've been crying. "Get ready. We're going for a ride," he tells me before going to my living room to make a call. I then go through my closet and find something casual to wear.
When I'm done, Dominic and I head downstairs to his car. He drives in comfortable silence. When I see where we are once we've arrived, I grab his arm. "Wait, Dominic, what are we doing here?"
"I need to have a talk with Marco," he says, saying his name in disgust.
"No. You don't have to do that. It's okay," I try to tell him.
"No, it's not. Come here," he tells me as he takes my hand, and we go upstairs. He knocks on the door, and when he doesn't hear anything, he breaks it down.
"Dominic," I say to him as he walks inside Marco's apartment. As soon as he sees Marco, Marco tries to run, but Dominic runs after him.
"Where the hell are you going?" Dominic asks as he grabs him.
"Look, I don't know what she told you. B-but whatever it was, that bitch is lying," Marco stutters almost every word.
"Did you just call the love of my life a liar and a bitch?" Dominic asks before punching Marco.
"Dominic!"
"Is she lying to you too? Man, I promise you she doesn't love you. She's incapable of love. She will leave you when you need her most."
"First of all, I didn't ask. Second, you're lying. Even for your dumb ass, she stuck with you until she couldn't anymore. It's not her fault you're messed up. Grow up and act like a man. You're blaming her for your problems," Dominic says before pulling away.
I stare in shock as Dominic pulls a gun from the back of his pants. "I'm not a patient man when it comes to those who harm what I cherish, Marco. Apologize to her right now before I put a bullet between your fucking eyes," Dominic tells him as he places the gun to the side of Marco's head.
"I'm s-sorry, Gianna," Marco tells me, sobbing.
"Dominic, please don't hurt him. I don't want you to go to prison because of him. He's not worth it."
"I won't. Not today. But if you hurt her again, I promise to make you regret it. I suggest you stay the fuck away from her. Permanently. You've just made a dangerous enemy. Consider this your only warning. You don't want to test how far I'm willing to go for her happiness," Dominic says as he reluctantly pulls the gun away.
Dominic grabs my hand, pulling me closer to him. "She belongs to me and only me. This is the last time you'll ever make her cry," he says as he puts his gun back where it was. We leave together hand in hand.
As he starts driving his car again, he whispers, "I'll do anything to keep you safe, even if it means breaking the rules."