(The first part of this chapter takes place slightly before the previous chapter. Enjoy! xx)
"MR CAVIGLIA CAN see you now," the nurse says and I nod in thanks.
She leaves the door slightly ajar and I brace myself for seeing him.
"Leon, I can see that you are there."
I curse under my breath and enter the room. Christian sat up as I entered. I held my breath as I looked at him. It was horrifying to see him like this, to see somebody I admired in this position.
"How are you feeling?" I asked cautiously.
"Not as bad as I could be, all things considered." he said. "Actually, I need to talk to you."
My eyes widen and I hesitantly sit down next to him. It was scary to hear that from your ex-girlfriend's father, even if we were on good terms.
"This is about my daughter."
I knew it.
"I think it is about time you finally decide what you want. You made some mistakes and she also made some, but it's about time the two of you move past it. The two of you have been great friends and I believe that it is time the two of you try and recover some of that.
"She is happy, there is no doubt about that. She was free in Italy because it was a new life. I realise now that it was because she was free from all of her mistakes. She ran away from her past, but she was happy. She and Tomas have a good relationship. They are safe and comfortable. They are both secure in the relationship, and it is something she needed.
"But you and her were different. I can't say I always approved of the two of you, in fact I never did. You seemed like you would be a terrible influence on her, but I knew that the two of you were happy. No father would jeopardise his daughter's happiness. This is why I think the two of you should fix your relationship.
"You two were happy. Happier than she is now. You never forget your first love, and you were her first love. You will always be her epic love, and a love like that is hard to move on from. I'm not saying you are going to have to be with her, the two of you still need to make your own choices.
"But if you asked me, I would have liked to see the two of you back together. But I just want the two of you to be happy, even if not together. There is nothing that can stand in the way of true love. If the two of you are meant to be together, it will happen. But Leon, you have to get out there and seize the day. You have to earn her trust back and you have to get her back if that's what you want. Leon, it's up to you to fight for her and win her back."
"I love her. But I can't do anything. Not now, at least, but thank you," I say in a flustered rush and he chuckles.
Before I can say anything, Francesca walks into the room. I jump up and walk out of the room without a word. I could feel my cheeks get hot as I remembered our conversation. I bump into Ludmila as I exit the room.
"I bought him a teddy bear. He's never liked flowers." She takes a deep breath.
"He's going to be okay," I say, more to convince myself than her.
We wait outside for ten minutes when suddenly the nurses rush in. Ludmila and I jump up from our seats and squeeze each other's hands. Ludmila starts hyperventilating next to me when she starts to hear the sound of sobs.
Tomas brings Francesca outside and lets her cry as he holds her. Ludmila starts crying in my chest and I stroke her back soothingly. We watch a doctor cover his body and that is when Francesca runs away. My thoughts stray to Francesca and the fact that nobody has followed her. She and her father were close and, even though she would say she wants to be alone, she needs a shoulder to cry on.
"Are you thinking of following her?" Ludmila says, wiping her tears from her face.
"Should I? Can I?" I ask, still stroking her back absentmindedly.
"It's Leon, right?" I turn around and see Tomas. I nod and he steps forward.
"I think you should go after Francesca. You and Christian were pretty close and I think you can help her through this," said Tomas.
"I can't believe I'm actually going to agree to this. You know my thoughts which I will not say aloud, but I think that this is best. You were there for her during the divorce which was the second hardest thing she went through. Well other than, well..." she trails off and Tomas scratches the back of his neck nervously.
"Her father just passed away. She needs somebody and I think that somebody is you."
I knew where to find her. Essentially, it was a very a simple place to find her. It was not hidden and it was not much of a secret. But it was not a place that people often thought of because it was hardly ever mentioned, but in the end it held a lot of meaning to her.
It was the attic in her house. She and her father used to build forts up there because her mother hated it when they upset the couches and the pillows. They even invited Ludmila and I over a few times, and we would sometimes break it because we would fight to get into the fort first and the 'doorway' could not handle our pushing and shoving.
I get to her house and rush to the attic. It appears that there was a fort of boxes that was still standing. I crawl through the doorway and find Francesca sitting in a ball.
"Cesca."
Yep! Things are kind of starting to happen. Have I mentioned that this is a slow burn? Like, I've planned each chapter and well...slow.
This was a bit weirdly written, but hey. It's done.
Hopefully the wait for this chapter was not too bad. I'm trying.
Thanks for reading 🙈 Sorry for any errors 💚
~Lexy 😈