"I'm still trying to get over the fact that my baby is getting married! Can you blame me?" Ellise's mum said as they both went through photos of different wedding dresses. "I'm not a baby anymore, mum" Ellise said, chuckling. She shook her head, a smile on her face.
"You'll always be my baby even when you hit ninety"
"Mum!"
There was a knock on the front door of Ellise's childhood home. She opened the door and there stood Anne.
"Hey," she said.
"Come in" Ellise said, giving her a smile. She nodded and walked in, her lips set in a tight line.
"Morning, Mrs Sumners" Anne said and Ellise frowned. Anne had never referred to her mum as "Mrs Sumners". There was something off about her.
"Uh- if you don't mind, I need to talk to Ellie privately" She said to Ellise's mum who nodded slowly.
"Oh, alright. I'll just leave you two to it" she said and ascended the stairs.
"Anne, is anything wrong?" Ellise asked, holding her hands. Anne sighed, her eyes turning glossy as she walked towards the window to stare outside.
"I-I feel guilty because I have not been able to tell you what I did" she said, sniffling.
"What are you talking about, Anne? You're not making any sense" Ellise said.
She heaved a sigh.
"I-I did something to hurt you. I didn't do it because I wanted to. She had me on gun point and forced me to tell..."
Ellise frowned, rubbing her temples.
"Really, I don't understand what you're talking about, Anne" she said.
"The rumors about your fiance that landed him in police custody, it was my fault. A masked lady had me at gunpoint and forced me to tell her everything you told me about how you met him. I didn't know it was going to get that bad. I didn't mean to, I swear. I'm so sorry. Please forgive me" she croaked, tears rolling down her cheeks. Ellise's gaze softened and she placed a hand on her shoulder.
"Why are you telling me all this now? Alexandre is fine now. You were forced. I really don't blame you" Ellise said.
"Forgive me?"
"I forgive you, Anne" she said.
"Thanks" she said, embracing her. "I'm really so sorry" she breathed.
...
Valentino slowly sat up on the bed, pain lancing through his body. His head wasn't faring well either. He slid out of bed, groaning weakly when he made it to his feet. His shirt was gone and his injuries still hurt a lot. Taking slow measured steps, he dragged his limbs into the bathroom. Realizing that he'd not seen Noelle that morning, he left the bathroom in search of her. He couldn't find her. All he saw was a piece of paper on the dinning table.
HEY, VAL.
A smile ghosted over his lips as he stared at the note. He had known her for only three days, yet she had already given him a nickname.
I GUESS YOU MIGHT BE WONDERING WHERE YOUR SHIRT WENT ESPECIALLY SINCE YOU WERE FREEZING YOUR ASS OFF. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT, YOU WERE BURNING UP SO BADLY, I KINDA FREAKED OUT.
Valentino sighed. 'What the hell? She shouldn't have bothered taking care of me in the middle of night when she was supposed to be sleeping' he thought
YOUR FEVER DIDN'T GO DOWN UNTIL THREE A.M. SORRY I WASN'T THERE WHEN YOU WOKE UP. I HAD TO GET TO WORK. HOPEFULLY, I'LL BE BACK BEFORE TEN PM. PLEASE, DON'T DO ANYTHING STUPID. PLEASE, DON'T LEAVE THE HOUSE IN THAT CONDITION YOU'RE IN. I REALLY DON'T WANT YOU TO WORSEN. ANYWAY, YOU HAVE THE HOUSE ALL TO YOURSELF TILL I RETURN. I COOKED, SO HELP YOURSELF. HAVE A GREAT DAY. SEE YOU LATER, MR GRUMPY PANTS.
He did'nt know whether to laugh or cry.
Noelle.... what would he have done without her?
He took his bath and got dressed before laying down on the couch, wrapping the blanket around him as he stared at the TV. It didn't take long for his exhausted mind to shut down, sleep whisking him away.
..
"What did the doctor say?" Alessio asked Xanthis who sighed.
"Apparently, I have a lung infection which is not very serious and can be treated within few months" Xanthis responded and everyone else who was in the sitting room, sighed with relief.
Alicia embraced him.
"That's a relief. I'm glad you'll be okay" she said and he smiled weakly.
"Come in" Dre said when someone pressed the door bell. "Adrian" Alessio said, his gaze resting on his personal agent who'd just walked in.
"Boss"
"Any findings on Valentino yet?" Alessio asked.
"No, not yet. But, I have a lead. He was at Grechen's bar few days ago and the barman said he left with a red haired woman" Adrian responded.
"Are you sure about this?" Dre asked.
"Of course"
Adrian's phone rang and he picked the call. By the time he had finished making the call, he looked at Alessio.
"We have just discovered where he lives"
Alicia's eyes lighted up with hope. "Then, we have to get to him quickly. I know he needs his family. One thing he might not understand is that family is important. What he doesn't know is that despite the things he might've done, we're still his family. I just want my son to return home" Alessio sighed.
"Let's just hope" Alicia said.
....
By the time Valentino awoke from his slumber, he felt even more tired. His stomach growled and he willed himself to have some food. Unfortunately, an hour later, he was in the bathroom, puking his guts out. With everything crashing down on him, he was not surprised that he was feeling this sick. He rinsed his mouth and cleared off the whole mess, hoping that Noelle wouldn't notice how he had suffered series of nausea bouts for more than half an hour. Shakily, he made it back to the sitting room. He was not one to watch movies but, with him being so bored, he had to. The TV show wasn't as bad as he'd thought and he ended up watching it until he heard the front door open. Noelle walked in, carrying several bags of groceries. He really wanted to help her carry those, but his bones felt like jelly.
"Hey" she said, squatting in front of him.
"Red head"
She smiled, holding his hand."You stayed" she whispered.
"I had to"
She grinned, reaching out to place a hand on his forehead.
"Your fever is reducing. You look very tired and hungry" she said. "I'm not hungry" he said, exasperated.
"No, you have to get something in your stomach" she said, turning to head over to the kitchen. He grimaced.
"I don't want to eat" he said, wincing at how weak his voice sounded.
She halted and slowly turned to look at him
"You threw up, didn't you?" She asked, squinting at him
"Yeah...but it wasn't..."
"For how long did you throw up?" She asked.
"I don't know?.."
She frowned.
"Okay, uh..
half an hour or more than" he sighed.
"That's it. You'll going to the hospital tomorrow" she said.
"Come on, Noelle. It's not a big deal" he said.
She sighed.
"It is a big deal. You'll recover faster when you go to the hospital. I like the way you called me 'Noelle' " she said, winking at him. His eyes widened and he lowered his head. Was she... hitting on him?
"Is someone blushing?" She said in a sing song tone as she dropped down beside him, shoving pizza into her mouth.
"No, what makes you think that?" He snapped.
She shrugged.
"Just saying"
"You eat like a starved tiger" he said to her.
She laughed.
"Of course I do! Mum always teased me about it. I don't know why, but I do have a heck of an appetite" she replied, her mouth stuffed up. He couldn't help but laugh at how funny she looked. His phone rang and he sat up to pick the call, his palms becoming sweaty when he realized that it was Baron. "I have to take this call" he said and walked towards the bathroom.
"Hello, little protège"
Val swallowed hard.
"W-What do you want?" He stammered.
"I gave you a head start for a reason, but it looks like you aren't good in the hide and seek area. I will find you soon enough. I know you left the bar with a red head. Be careful, you will ruin her life. You're nothing but a failure, disgrace and badluck"
Val swallowed hard, nerves acting up. "There's nothing good about you. Why don't you do the world a favor and end it all? You know that's what you deserve. You hurt your brothers, tried to tear them apart, made them hate you. The guilt won't go away. It'll eat you away"
Val believed that he was right.
Alexandre had warned him of this. He'd told him that he wouldn't be able to escape the guilt and self hatred.
But, he'd gone ahead and hurt him. He'd listened to Barron instead, and had followed his orders. Valentino was afraid that he was going to hurt Noelle too.
"Go ahead, do it. Pathetic excuse for a human"
The line went dead. Valentino leaned against the wall of the bathroom, staring at the sink.
Then, the voices came bringing with them, negative thoughts. He grabbed the blade from the sink, bitter tears blurring his vision.
He didn't want to give Barron the satisfaction of winning. But, he thought about the fact that Barron would kill him either way.
Biting back a sob, he brought the blade to his wrist and began to cut. The pain was intense and he was bleeding heavily, but he felt that it was worth it. This way, he wouldn't continue to be Barron's bitch.
He collapsed to the cold floor, his breathing strained as blood flowed out of the deep cuts he'd inflicted on himself. He closed his eyes, sinking into unconciousness.
...
Noelle was getting more anxious when Valentino didn't return to the sitting room. Unable to bear it any longer, she made her way to the bathroom. She knocked, but got no response. Her heart started to thud madly in her chest. Taking a deep breath, she pushed the door open. The sight of Valentino lying on the floor in the pool of his own blood, face deathly pale, had her screaming blood murder. She let out a cry as she went on her knees beside him, wrapping his slit wrist with piece of clothes which she'd torn from her T-shirt. She dialed 911, trying not to panic so much.
"Hello, this is an emergency unit. What is the nature of your emergency?"
"My f-friend just attempted suicide. He needs help!" She cried.
"Try to stay calm while we locate you. Is your friend still breathing?"
"Barely" she croaked.
"Perform a CPR. We're on our way"
The line went dead.
The siren of an ambulance just outside her house few minutes later, had her rushing to the door after she'd carried out the CPR.
With tears in her eyes, she got into the ambulance and watched as Valentino was being attended to. What would have happened if she hadn't found him when she had?