Page 90 of The Diávolos: Part One
We spend the rest of the day vegging in the apartment and, eventually, the girls summon Daniel to come keep us company, too. Nicole called him to tell him I was in town, and my ears practically shattered when he screamed on the speaker. “I’m coming over right now!” he yelled.
The doorbell rings about an hour later, and Daniel immediately picks me up and spins me around.
“I missed you too, D-bag,” I tease. He suddenly drops me, and my ass hits the floor. “Ow!”
“That’s for calling me a douche,” Daniel says proudly.
“That’s what you are, so I don’t know why you’re so surprised,” Nicole intervenes, rolling her eyes.
“Roll your eyes at me one more time and see what I stick up your ass to make you permanently cross-eyed,” Daniel retorts with a smirk. Nicole crosses her arms and glares at him, spitting darts out of her eyeballs.
“I see you both haven’t missed a beat since I’ve been gone,” I interject.
“You have no idea. It’s gotten worse since you left. Turns out, I can’t tame these beasts on my own,” Amanda says, a sigh escaping her mouth as she shakes her head.
We spend the evening eating so much popcorn that my clothes will probably still smell like butter in a week. By the end of the night, we’re all ready for bed, and I beg Daniel to stay over. The girls have a guest bedroom with a double bed. I don’t feel like sleeping alone tonight.
My thoughts go to Nikki and wonder if she would be okay with Danny staying over. Amanda couldn’t care less, but I wanted to make sure Nicole would be fine with it, considering their history. I don’t know what has been going on between them since I’ve been gone, so I don’t want to cross any boundaries. When I ask her, she grunts out ayesand walks into the bathroom without adding anything else, in typical Nikki fashion.
* * *
A little over a week later,I’m still in Antium, trying hard to distract myself from what happened with Evan. But the shock and hurt haven’t lessened, and my nightmares still plague me at night. I’ve tried to come up with a plan of action, ways to cope, and how to deal with the new information I learned, but it’s to no avail. What bothers me the most is figuring out the holes still present in my childhood memories.
I wake up in a tangled web of limbs and an arm splayed across my stomach. Daniel is lying on his back, his body twisted to the side, and his mouth wide open, letting out little snores. I giggle as I remove his arm and stretch my body. After updating him on my life’s adventures the first day I got back, he’s stayed over every night. He refuses to let me sleep alone. I’ve tried to reason with him. I could sleep with Amanda or Nicole, but he put his foot down.Stubborn ass. I know he missed me, but I think it’s just an excuse to be closer to Nikki. I told her to take him away from me and she laughed in my face, claiming he’s my problem now.Bitch.
I get out of bed and leave Daniel there as I sneak out to go to the bathroom. It’s late enough in the morning that the girls could be awake, but early enough to be left alone to ponder my thoughts a bit longer.
After relieving myself, I make my way to the kitchen and sit at the island while I wait for the coffee to brew. I reach into one of the cupboards and pull out my pink Antium U mug. It’s been several weeks since my disappearance, and the girls haven’t forgotten about me. All the little items I'd left around their place are still here, and my heart swells at the thought.
I spot my phone in the far corner of the dining room, resting in a trinket bowl. I stare at it for a moment and debate turning it on. I haven’t checked it since I got here. I needed time to justbe. And it was much needed. The girls and I caught up, went to our favorite restaurants, took a walk in Hasting Park, and went shopping. I missed being normal. But a small part of me worries I’ve been too reckless. What if someone finds out I’m back and tries to take me again? I’m not sure I'd be so lucky the second time around.
I grab it off the mantle and press the power button. The screen lights up with hundreds of notifications. I scroll through them and see many missed texts from Evan freaking out, the messages getting angrier as the days went on. But they suddenly stopped two days ago. A prickly sensation races up my spine. I have a bad feeling about this. I keep scrolling and see that Aria reached out, asking about my whereabouts, and Gianis informed me that Evan paid him a visit.Shit.
I finish my coffee just as Nikki walks out of her room. She rubs her eyes sleepily, while making her way to the kitchen counter to pour herself a cup.
“How did you sleep, babe?” she asks.
“Pretty well, given the ‘situation’ still sprawled out on the bed,” I say with a teasing smile. She snorts.
Nikki walks over to me and wraps her arms around my shoulders, and I lean my head on her side. Amanda strolls out of her bedroom minutes later and joins us for breakfast, while Danny still sleeps his life away. As we’re cutting veggies to make omelets, we hear a loud bang on the front door. We all jump in unison. Amanda lets out a squeak, almost dropping the carton of eggs in her hands, and Nikki clutches her chest. The knife I was using to cut the tomatoes flies out of my grasp and onto the floor.
My heart almost comes out of my mouth as we all stare at each other. Danny hears the commotion and comes stumbling out of the room in his boxers. “What the hell is going on?” he asks, his face still riddled with sleep marks.
The person at the front door continues to bang on it. Daniel cracks it open, careful to hide us from the person’s view.
“Can I help you?” he asks the stranger, his voice sounding half asleep, half weary.
“I need to speak to her. Now,” the man responds, his tone full of ice and fire.
The color drains from my face as I recognize the voice. Nicole and Amanda stare at me in disbelief, instantly understanding who it is.
He found me.
“You’re everywhere except right here and it hurts.”
– Rupi Kaur
Someone better fucking open this door before I break it down. My skin is hot from the fury I can’t keep at bay. I’ve barely slept a minute since Angelica ran away nine days ago. Now that I’m finally here, I can’t wait another minute to see her. I’m not sure whether to yell at her for leaving me high and dry or devour her mouth because of how much I’ve missed her. A part of me left with her that morning, and I need it back. I needherback.
