Page 107 of Stuck Behind Her

Whatever I do, I’m hurting someone. Including myself.

Chapter 67 – Diciotto

Lorenzo

Knock knock.

I wake up, startled by the knocking on the door. Who the hell is that? I rub my eyes and sit up on my bed. I run a hand through my hair, then grab my phone. Eight a.m. Who’s awake at this time? I look around, and notice Elias is already out of this bed, awake. He unlocks the door, opening it to see who’s there.

“IT’S CHRISTMAS!” Ellie’s voice fills the halls and room in excitement, startling me again. I notice her jumping at the door. Christmas. Oh yeah. It’s Christmas Day today. I forgot how loud a child can be on this day.

“Don’t have to scream,” I say, still trying to wake up.

Ellie stops jumping, frowning now. “You guys are lazy. Come on, we’re opening presents,” she says, before running back to the room. Elias leaves the room following her. Did I really have that much energy in the morning when I was younger?

I get up and get ready, so that I don’t look dead, then follow after them into the room in front of us. All of them are sitting in the living room, each with some type of wrapped gift. All except Val. I look to the place under the tree, and see that Ellie and Elaina haven’t waited, and are unwrapping their presents already.

Violet then walks in from her room, all dressed and ready. She probably woke up before Ellie, just to get ready. She’s hosting the entire event, so she has to be. She notices me and walks closer. “Hey Enzo. Sorry if you were asleep. I tried stopping Ellie, but she didn’t listen,” she apologizes, her mouth twitching upward as she talks.

“Don’t worry about it. I needed to wake up anyway,” I tell her.

“I have to go to venue in a bit for soundchecks before the concert, Aurora agreed to keep Ellie with her, and Mrs. Brooks is going to be with them, so it’s free for you if you want to go out,” she explains.

I nod my head. She stops for a second, before her face softens a bit. “You should open your gift. It took me some time to plan it out, but I feel you’ll like it,” she tells me, a hint of happiness in her voice.

I know I will. She could get me the most useless and worthless thing on earth, and I’d love it regardless. It would be one of the most valuable things I own.

I smile at her before walking to the tree. I look around it, at first finding nothing with my name on it, not that there’s much left. I then find an envelope marked with my name. I pick it up, then move toward the couch. The envelope flips in my hand, as I search for any clues as to what’s inside. It’s a plain white envelope, my name written in bold letters in the middle.

I peel it open, taking out two pieces of paper. I open the first one and see a bunch of words and small signs written all over both sides. I look through it. It’s a lyric sheet. This is one of the songs she’s singing in today’s concert. Why is she giving me this?

I then spot a small sentence in the top corner, written in a neater writing than everything else.Dedicated to Lorenzo Russo.Me. She wrote this song for me. I put the paper on my lap,opening the second one. This one’s a small note, written clearly on the page.

I feel my face warm up, and I’m sure there’s a smile taking over it. She wrote a song for me. She was going to send it to Portland. Even though my eyes tear up, I manage to stop them. I look up to see her talking to Aurora. She notices me, and her face lights up before turning back to continue with Aurora.

She’s beautiful. On the inside and outside. She is everything. No wonder Elias likes her. Who wouldn’t? What’s not to like about her?

But it wouldn’t work, between her and I. I know that, I always have. I’m glad she doesn’t like me, it makes this easier. It wouldn’t work even if she did like me. It would just hurt her. Even more than it will now. I’m just glad I got to spend the last couple of months with her as her friend, even after she figured out everything. I came here as a surprise for her, anyway. As her friend. And I want to leave as her friend as well. That’s the least I ask for.

Chapter 68 – Diciassette

Val

Lorenzo and I walk through some small streets, without me knowing our destination. He suggested him and I go out to some café today, since he wasn’t able to get me anything. He told me he loved his gift, although I know he deserves more. More than a written song. More than I can give.

“So, where are we going?” I ask him. The street is small, without cars, so I’m able to roam more freely without getting caught.

“Well, it’s night, so it was hard, but I found a place that sells pancakes at this time,” he answers. This makes me beam, a grin tugging on my face. He knows me so well.

We get to the café, sitting down outside and each ordering a small sweet. Pancakes for me, of course. My second addiction, next to iced coffee. I love pancakes, they’re my favorite food. Lorenzo gets a piece of cheesecake.

I cut a piece from the plate and place it in my mouth, savoring the sweet flavor. Maple syrup. It’s the best thing to put with your pancakes. Not chocolate or sugar or cinnamon, syrup. Lorenzo looks at me, laughing.

“You didn’t tell me. Was the concert good?” I ask him when I swallow the food.

“It was great, Vi. Like all of your concerts,” he replies, taking the last piece of his cake. “And the song was amazing. I loved it,” he adds. I’m glad. I don’t know what I would have done if he didn’t like it. Write another one, probably. “How many more concerts do you have here?” he adds.

“Two. I have one on Friday, and then a second in January. They’re in different venues.” I explain. It’s not too big of a residency, only three concerts. But it’s the winter break, so I get to prolong my stay.

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