Eva
As soon as I saw Alessandro — I felt my heart explode in my chest, every single emotion that had been blocking my veins, pouring out endlessly. And I had no control over my emotions. The tears that were behind my eyelids were too stunned to show; all I could do was stare at him.
He looked battered and bruised. The image of him made every single bone in my body quiver — both with anger and pain.
His eyes were huge. Those warm orbs that I'd craved for weeks were hidden by his swollen, bruised skin. Kiss them away... that's all I wanted to do.
Examine each inch of his body and kiss all the agony away. If only I was able to heal him like that. Alessandro was thrown to the floor and I reached out to catch him, but I failed as my body was too slow and weak to save him in time.
After he'd regained himself, my voice couldn't help but speak out.
His name was on my lips.
On the tip of my tongue after two whole weeks. I had missed the feeling of warmth that I got from speaking of him.
His swollen eyes met mine and I knew that he recognised me. Both of us had heartbeats that were in unison; we were still connected but in the most tragic way.
Our moment was cut short, however, when I saw someone grab Alessandro and drag him to his feet before he could even speak a word to me. I watched agony spread across his face at the impact before the harsh voice of the Devil himself spoke out.
"Happy to see each other?" Antonio mocked with a smirk — holding my love by his tattered clothing. My eyes began to water as I watched Alessandro weakened by the men around him. It hurt even more than I wasn't able to hold him and save him from them...
"What do you want?" I cried meekly up at Antonio. My father was standing beside him with multiple other men surrounding him and myself.
In one swift movement — he grabbed the metallic weapon from his back pocket and pressed it against Alessandro's temple. My heart thundered and I felt the blood in my veins pulsing. Tears poured down my cheeks rapidly and I felt my whole body leap toward, only to be held back by strong arms.
"Please," I begged through my sobbing.
Antonio had no remorse or sympathy. No matter how much I pleaded, I knew that he would never allow mercy to enter his cold heart. The hatred I had for him was beyond words.
"I've wanted to be in this position for so long," Antonio growled with his mouth snarling towards Alessandro. "To be able to murder you with one pull of a trigger..."
My heart was hammering inside my chest and I felt as though my stomach was churning up vomit as I crouched weakly on the floor. Every bone in my body wanted to attack but my head told me that I was far too weak and defenceless.
"Leave him alone-"
"Shut up!" Antonio bellowed as the gun was swiftly darted towards my head.
Alessandro and I both flinched in unison and then I heard Alessandro's croaky voice.
It brought pain to my chest.
"Take me..."
My head shook and I felt warm tears pour from my eyes.
"Please don't hurt her," He breathed heavily. "Just take me. I'm the only one who deserves this... she deserves to live her life."
Antonio smirked and I could have sworn my bones shook in rage. All I wanted to do was punch the amusement off his ugly face and save Alessandro. Hold him in my arms and remind him that I'll fight for him until my last breath.
"Life is cruel, don't you think?" Antonio mocked with the weapon balancing loosely between his fingers. He knew that neither of us had the power to defend ourselves and that simple fact made vomit rise to the back of my throat.
Alessandro and I waited for his next move with both of our hearts hammering in the empty room.
"And it's about to get a lot more cruel," Antonio spoke with a familiar darkness to his tone.
And then suddenly I felt the world cave in beneath my feet.
A gunshot echoed through the hollow room and before I could process anything — I was dragged away by his men. Shock took over my body and I tried to scream but nothing came out. I couldn't see Alessandro through the bulky figures of the men but a part of me accepted that he'd just been killed.
My love had just been murdered infront of my eyes.
My heart felt as though it could leap right out of my chest. Angry tears formed in my eyes and threatened to stream down my cheeks as I was dragged away by the Devils.
It was almost as if my whole love story with Alessandro flashed before my eyes. Every single little moment made tears rush quicker down my cheeks until I could barely see where I was being dragged.
And then I blacked out — my last thoughts being Alessandro.
Rosie
Heartbreak wasn't unfamiliar to me.
It was something that was used to rushing through my veins and causing scars on my delicate heart. Scars that have never seemed to fade — no matter how many years separate my head from the memories. I'd seen things that I was never meant to see, felt emotions that I never thought I'd have to face. And I had lost people that meant the universe to me.
I could feel tears roll down my cheek as I thought about my childhood — Alessandro specifically. We'd always been like brother and sister and I had always loved him with my heart and soul. I'd do anything for him. And I'd always known that he'd do the same for me.
One of Antonio's men had come by the Estate and dropped Eva at the doorstep in the early morning. Her condition was awful; she had bruises and dried blood covering her body and she could barely open her eyes. My heart broke in my chest as soon as I saw how they'd treated her.
He'd left some kind of note from Antonio. I'd read the note over and over again and each time, my heart shattered even more violently than before.
Here is your sweet girl. I decided that I was done with her; I used her and she isn't of any value anymore. My conscience told me that she didn't necessarily deserve to die so I've given her back to you. But Alessandro doesn't deserve to inhale another breath and that's why I've killed him. A gun to the head — if you wanted to know.
Don't fuck with me. I'll fuck so much harder.
- Antonio
I screamed when I read the note for the first time. Screamed and cried for hours. Alessandro was someone that I couldn't imagine living without. He was my best friend — the only person that truly understood me. Like an older brother that I knew would never leave my side.
As I walked down the hallway towards my bedroom, I could feel tears form in my eyes.
And that's when I heard a raspy voice coming from another room. Looking over my shoulder, I saw Oscar standing there with sheepish eyes. He looked concerned and his facial expression wasn't hard and stiff as it usually was. Instead I saw comfort in the way he gazed at me.
"Rosie?"
The huskiness of his voice warmed me up and I needed his arms around me. My body needed his serenity; my heart needed to hear his against my chest.
And I didn't even have to speak. He opened his strong arms and whispered in the sweetest voice. "Come here."
I wrapped my arms around his broad torso and I broke down in his arms.
My sobbing was muffled by his chest. I could feel my breathing becoming heavier and heavier — but then calmed when I felt his warm hands on my back.
"I'm sick of losing people," I cried uncontrollably on his shoulder. His scent was musky and consoling and I pressed my nose against his neck, feeling like paradise was bursting in my chest.
I pulled away from him but his arms kept my body pressed against his — as I looked into his eyes with our faces inches away from one another.
His icy-blue eyes were cold and reminded me of the Winter. They were like windows to his soul; they told me the stories that Oscar hid behind his exterior, the people that he'd loved and lost, the reasons for why he was the way he was.
They were cold but they warmed me.
He warmed me like nobody else ever could.
"Why, Oscar?" I croaked out with my orbs shining through his. "Why do I have to lose everyone that I love?"
He inhaled sharply and then exhaled — his warm breath fanning over my face.
"Life." He whispered with his bushy eyebrows knitted together.
"He can't be dead," I began to feel myself crying once again. "I can't lose him, Oscar, I can't-"
He placed his large hand on the side of my face and his thumb circled my cheek. "Shh," He hushed calmly.
His thumb rubbed my tears away and I locked eyes with him again. I could drown in the oceans that lay in his eyes but I knew that I could never get that close to him.
This was a rare moment of love that radiated from him. I knew that by tomorrow — the comfort will have faded and I'll have to watch him from a distance once again. Breaking my own heart as I replay this moment over and over again in my head.
I sniffled and looked away from him.
"I should go and check up on Eva," I said softly as my eyes cowered away and my body shuffled from his embrace — despite the coldness of the absence of his arms around me.
He didn't speak a word nor did he try and stop me.
But I didn't expect anything more.
Oscar wasn't the kind of person to stop someone as they walked away from him. That was the sad reality of the love I had for him...
I walked towards where Alessandro and Eva shared a bedroom. My heart skipped as I stood in the frame of the doorway and stared at the silhouette on the bed. The tears battling to escape were held back tightly as I slowly walked over to where Eva laid — battered and bruised.
As I got closer — I noticed how she stirred slowly, painful noises coming from her mouth.
"Hey," I immediately whispered, sitting on the edge of the bed and laying my hand on her warm forehead to let her know that I was here.
Eva whimpered and fluttered her eyelashes. Her gorgeous features were hidden by patches of brown and purple. Her lips were swollen and her eyes were slightly puffy — her orbs painfully sorrowful. The way she looked at me with a mix of confusion and desperation made my heart leap in my chest.
"Rosie..." Her voice was hushed and croaky.
"I'm here," I consoled with my lip quivering. Seeing her in such a state made my whole body become tense with anger for whoever harmed her. "How are you feeling?"
"Achy."
I nodded and my thumb circled her cheek lightly.
"Have you got any water?"
There was a glass of water that I'd placed on the coffee-table for when she woke up. I grabbed the glass and Eva attempted to sit up in bed — her mouth moving towards the glass as I helped her take a few gulps. After she was satisfied, she wiped her mouth and I put the glass back on the table.
"Do you know where he is?" Eva asked the question I had dreaded since I received the news. Her eyes told me that she was expecting the worse and my heart told me that I could never have the nerve to speak the truth.
I'd surely break down for good.
"Eva..." I felt tears form in my eyes, and I knew Eva could see them.
Her shaky hands lay on mine and I looked up into her beautiful orbs. Even through the bruises — her light shone bright.
"What do you know? Please," Her voice was quivering and laced with desperation. "Please speak the truth..."
I sniffled and exhaled. Her throat bobbed in one single gulp before the words left my mouth. "Antonio dropped you off with a note... he's dead."
Time froze. And then realisation filled her orbs and her face grew pale — even through the bruises and wounds on her face, her pale complexion could be seen.
"They... They shot him. Right before me."
Her voice was shocked and traumatised. Memories flooded her brain; I could see them reflecting in her wide eyes. My hands quivered as they held hers. The sorrow in her face reflected onto mine and unshed tears battled behind our eyelids.
"He can't be gone..." Eva croaked out as her head fell into her hands.
Watching her sobbing defencelessly was heartbreaking. My arms wrapped around her petite frame and I sobbed onto her shoulder — our tears soaking the bedsheets below us.
"Rosie," Her head swiftly darted upwards and I wiped my face, meeting her eyes. Rosy-cheeked, her voice came out through sobs. "Tell me that he's still breathing... please tell me that he's coming back... I can't lose him-"
I wrapped her in another embrace and felt tears drop on my shoulder. We cried for what seemed like hours before someone entered the room.
Eva and I pulled away and looked towards whoever stood there.
It was Leah.
Her dark hair was pinned back in a ponytail and her eyebrows were knitted together. Sympathy radiated from her appearance as her footsteps cautiously moved towards us on the bed.
"Are you two alright?" Her kind voice inquired with concern.
Eva shuffled over to Leah. They looked at one another before Eva completely broke down in her arms. Leah exhaled heavily and wrapped Eva up in her warm embrace — knowing exactly why she was crying. Her eyebrows were knitted together tightly and I could tell that she was trying not to cry for Eva.
"Oh, Eva," Leah whispered with her hands rubbing Eva on her back. "You've been through Hell and back..."
The bitterness of the truth was cold. Eva was the kindest of anyone I had ever met. Her light was bright and her presence was calm. The last person that deserved darkness was her.
But somehow everything negative that the world had to offer, was thrown her way. Even when she was young — Hell found a way into her aura.
Her mother murdered by her own father, thrown on the streets, treated like an animal by Antonio and then thrown back to the wolves... finally found the man of her dreams, and then she's had him torn away from her.
Why must the most beautiful of people experience such pain?
Eva wiped her face but kept her arms around Leah. Searching for her safe haven in those that she had left.
"I'll never be able to love again..." Eva cried, quietly but loud enough for Leah and I to hear her painful words.
"He loved you more than anything in the world, Eva," I told her with my hand rubbing her leg comfortingly.
"And I'll love him until my very last breath..."
Leah and I stayed with Eva for hours. Her crying continued and her pleading broke both of our hearts. No matter how many times we tried to make her forget about him... her shattered heart still revolved around him. He never left her head... never left her damaged, tainted thoughts.
~
A short chapter — I know.
The next one will be longer I promise. How do you guys feel about this? My heart is currently trying to repair itself...
Eva without Alessandro is pointless. He brought out the light inside of her broken heart and now darkness is slowly making its way back into her. And watching her break again, piece-by-piece, makes my heart ache.
Until next time :(