𝐏𝐡𝐨𝐭𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐩𝐡𝐬 | Lou x Debbie

cinque

• ＰＨＯＴＯＧＲＡＰＨＳ •

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ᴍᴀʏʙᴇ ɪ ʜᴀᴅɴ'ᴛ pictured how this decision would lead me here, sitting at the dining table at a stranger's house, I met not less than 24 hours of my life. I'm a meticulous planner—a future-oriented person when it comes to my life. Yet funny how my fate one day decided to play with my own decisions before I could even scheme everything out. It turns out that not all the time I will be given the control to perceive everything the horizon has for me.

I haven't been able to check my phone for updates since earlier, but I'm glad that the blonde, no matter how she tries to annoy me in every single way, still offered me her charger.

I sat straight, looking at the two women in front of me. The aroma of the freshly cooked gnocchi hung in the air, tantalizing my senses. It was difficult to resist, especially considering we had been subsisting on nothing but instant noodles bought hastily from the convenience store since last night. Lou's Zia Alessia was indeed a good cook.

I can't remember exactly when was the last time someone cooked for me a very special dish. My parents were long gone right before I could even finish college, and well, my brother, he's on the other side of the country—growing his own little family. I'm basically left alone to survive, and that's when I met Calude. I didn't know that the man who once promised to take care of me was going to be the same man who was going to ruin my life.

The sweet voice of the old lady pulled me back to my senses. "Debbie, cara, are you alright?" The elderly woman asked.

"Oh! Sorry, yes. What was it we are talking about again?" I offered my apology, and Zia Alessia could only laugh about it. I looked at Lou, who was seated beside me. She responded with a smirk and a casual shrug of her shoulders.

"I asked how you two met." The smile across the old lady's lips was so proudly showing as she kept redirecting her gaze to me and Lou.

"Oh! I, uhm—how should I say this? It's very complicated." I gave up on forming an explanation, which rewarded me with a deep feminine laugh that resounded in my ears, and I felt a shudder racing down my spine. I ignored it. How should I even begin? That one fateful night, I got fired from my job, decided to seek solace in a drink, and impulsively snapped photos of this blonde pianist. That's why she came to my table and initiated flirting with me, and then the media started ruining the night, and we ran away together, and now, here we are! Che storia dannatamente fantastica!

I waited for Lou to say something, but the blonde didn't even dare speak! I knew she wanted the old lady to get the wrong idea of what we really are, and I wanted to shout at her for being such a bitch.

"We met at a restaurant in Rome." were the words that managed to slip out of my tongue.

"Zia Alessia, my friend here is a good photographer." Lou finally spoke! Glad I knew she could still find her tongue.

"Meravigliosa! I knew Lou always had a good taste for women!" The old lady laughed coquettishly as she raised her hands up in a gesture of applause. I was utterly dumbfounded sitting there, wanting to say that it's not like what she thinks it is, but the genuine joy that crossed her face seemed too precious that I couldn't even try to ruin it.

"Well, my history speaks for itself, doesn't it, Zia?" Lou confidently says. I could feel her intense stare and smirk in my peripheral vision. She's loving this too much!