𝐏𝐞𝐜𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐢

05 | It Hurts Like Hell

When they came back from the club they told us everything that happened, from Messiah being there and finding out that Adrian was dead — the spy that Ivan and Alec sent.

Valentina and Nate went there with Andrè to talk to Adrian and find out any updates he may have, they weren't expecting Milos and Messiah to be there.

When they arrived back Nate and Andrè looked worried and Valentina looked hurt, that idiot I call my best friend hurt his girl.

I know he wouldn't be doing any of this without reason, there has to be something Galen is holding over him. He wouldn't willingly do any of this, I've known him for a long time. I trust him.

But when it comes to Valentina, he's hurting her without realizing it. Now I'm having to pick up the fucking pieces and it makes me so mad, when he returns he's going to hear it from me.

"Where is she?" Her oldest brother Luciano asks, walking into the living area.

"She bolted upstairs ignoring everyone," Nate whispers, frowning at the ground.

"And we're certain that Messiah was using her?" Luc asks, baffled by the idea.

"He kept her preoccupied whilst Milos did the job. Look I'm sure he wanted to see her as well but they were working and we were in the way." Andrè states.

"Well that's one of our spies out of the picture, I'll notify Ivan and Alec and let them know," Luc says, sighing.

He leaves the room, now it's just me, Nate, and Andrè here. No one says anything, we're all lost in our thoughts when we hear an ear-piercing scream come from upstairs.

Nate jerks up and starts to run towards Val's room with Andrè and I following behind, when we get to her door it's locked. Nate begins to knock on it hard and call out to her, we can hear her soft cries and some things breaking.

Nate glances at me over his shoulder, a single tear falling. I gently move him out of the way and try to break down the door, the commotion causing everyone to gather around her room.

Her brothers are there now pleading for her to open the door but no response, I can see everyone is worried. Still trying to break down the door, I give it one more good kick — finally breaking through.

We all stand at the threshold and see her room is trashed, there are things everywhere. I walk in and try to find her, looking around everywhere we come up short.

"Where is she?" Dom booms, jaw clenched and his hands in fists his knuckles turning white.

We all look to Nate since he knows her the best and he frowns, looking down lost in thought. We all watch as his eyes widen and he tells us he knows where she is, he leaves the room and I follow.

He leads us towards the kitchen back door and he peers through the window, we see Valentina laying in the flower beds. He goes to grab the door handle but I place a hand on him, halting him.

"I'll go," I whisper.

I see Nate look back at her conflicted, he hesitantly agrees and moves out of the way for me. I quietly open the back door, trying not to let her hear me.

I walk over to where she is and see her eyes closed and her face is tear-streaked, I hover over her. She looks so peaceful but I know she isn't, she's probably at a war inside her head.

I lay beside her and look up to the stars in the sky, I lay here not saying a word. I hear music, glancing at her I see she has her AirPods in. Something I learned about her is she likes to listen to music all the time, it helps her cope.

I gently remove one from her ear and put in mine, it's a sad song and I recognize it immediately since she's been playing it a lot recently, Hurts Like Hell by Fleurie.

「  A/N — The song is above, play whilst reading the rest of the chapter. 」

We sit in silence but I hear sniffles come from her, I feel something cold on my hand. I realize it's her hand and she's reaching out for mine, I lace my fingers with hers and she squeezes my hand.

Her hand is so cold right now, I run my thumb over the back of her small hand to try and warm it up a bit. She was there for me when I broke down, I'm going to be here for her now.

"Do you think he's trying to hurt me on purpose?" She whispers, breaking the silence.

"No, I don't," I answer.

"He was acting like he wasn't even taken, he could have come back with us but he walked away Fe. He walked away from me, why?"

"I don't think he had a choice Valentina, he's not the enemy though Galen is. It might sound twisted but he could be doing all this for you." I reason.

Glancing at her, I see her eyes flutter open. She gazes at the stars, she sighs and rolls to her side looking at me but not letting go of my hand. I roll on my side doing the same, not letting go.

"I know, my head is all fucked up right now. I feel like this is karma for all the shit I've done, the people I've killed or hurt." She murmurs.

My free hand reaches over and I wipe her fallen tear, "why would you say that?" I whisper back.

"I was finally happy, I can never be happy. My happiness always gets taken away from me and he was my happiness, that's why I say that Fe."

"When this is all over, you'll be happy again Valentina. Don't let your inner demons consume you, trust me I know what that's like."

"What was it like? Losing someone you love?"

I sigh, closing my eyes for a second picturing my family's faces. I open them and roll back over onto my back looking up to the stars again.

"It hurts like hell," I mumble.