From London to Rome

Chapter 22

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Luca

"So, did you have fun tonight?" I really want Skylar to like my friends. They have such an important role in my life, so them getting along with Skylar is a huge deal to me. Although I will have to kick their asses for how they treated Skylar when we just arrived.

"Yes, I did. Your friends are really nice. Although they freaked me out a little in the beginning." I'm so going to kick their asses. I wish I could forget about it but I cannot believe how rude my friends were to her. Especially Ashton. I know he wants to keep his bad-boy image up, but he had no reason to be rude. Luckily, Julian and Finn got along with Skylar pretty great after they got over the initial shock. I think they were highly impressed with her knowledge of football.

"About that... Do we need to talk about what happened earlier? It seemed pretty serious."

"Maybe we do. It's never a good moment to talk about something like this." I know we have to talk about it someday, sooner rather than later. It's just that I hate seeing Skylar as broken as she looks right now. I want to hurt everyone who made her feel the way she does right now. I want to break their bones so they hurt as much as they hurt her.

"I don't really know what's the best way to say it, so I'll just start at the beginning. All through high school I was bullied. Nothing physical, just being excluded, called names, stuff like that. I have never been self-confident, but after years of being told you're not worthy, I was as insecure as it can get. I've never had any friends. Until last summer. My family and I went to Greece and Abby was there as well. She is a year older than me, but I had seen her around the high school before she graduated. We really connected that summer and we've been best friends ever since. She taught me how to be more confident and let go of my insecurities."

The way Skylar talks about her past causes a lump to form in my throat. I knew she was hurt, but hearing this breaks my heart. I know my feeling sorry won't help her, but I wish I could have been there for her. I feel the need to protect her from everything. It's a feeling I've never had before. Of course, I've always protected Adrina the best I could, but with Skylar it's different. With Adrina, it's a brotherly instinct while with Skylar it's something else. I don't know how to explain it, but the feeling is so intense it scares me.

"I've grown a lot this past year, but some of the insecurities still remain. Especially when I meet new people I can get very anxious. I barely had any anxiety attacks the past year, but sometimes I can't control them. I think with exams coming up and meeting your friends, it all got a little too much."

I don't know how to respond. It doesn't happen often, but I'm at a loss for words. It's all so intense and I don't want to say the wrong thing. I hate that meeting my friends made her this nervous. I hate that she felt this way because I insisted on her meeting my friends.

"If I had known you felt this way I wouldn't have pushed you to meet them this soon."

"No, it's okay now. I had to meet them someday and I ended up having a good time. I decided to stop avoiding things because they are scary. And you already helped me by only letting me meet three of your friends. Although I don't think Ashton likes me very much."

"Nah, don't worry about him. He's always looking out for me, our friends have had some... unpleasant experiences with girls, so he always is a little cautious when it comes to introducing someone new to our group. And his ego was very much hurt when you showed to have a better judgement of football than he does. But he'll recover."

It's adorable how she worries about Ashton liking her. To be honest, I would have been worried if Ashton had liked her right away. That would have meant he wanted to hit on her, and no way I'm losing this girl.

We talk about how her dad and brother got her hooked on football ever since she was a little girl. I imagine a young Skylar running on a football field chasing a ball. A smile creeps onto my face.

"In high school, I was actually the school journal reporter for all football games. I was always taking pictures and writing little reports."

"Do you have any pictures on your phone? I'd love to see them."

She shows me a few and they are really good. She tells me she made all of them with her phone and I'm seriously impressed with her skills.

It's already getting late, but talking to Skylar makes me want to stay up all night. We've made ourselves comfortable on Skylar's bed a long time ago. I love feeling Skylar so close to me. I have an arm around her shoulder and her head is resting on my chest. Whenever I'm near her, my heart races uncontrollably. I wonder if she can feel it beating through my body.

"So, what's something you'd like to learn?" She looks up at me with those beautiful eyes. I can get lost in those eyes. They are not only coloured like an ocean; I can also drown in them just like an ocean.

"What I want to learn? I've always wanted to know how to play the piano. We have one at home and I always thought it was a shame that I didn't know how to play."

"Really? I know how to play the piano! I taught Hailey how to play, so maybe I can teach you." Her eyes are full of excitement and she's practically jumping on the bed. For me, every reason to spend more time with her is a good one. Especially if it allows me to sit super close to her. Sign me up.

After she gets over her excitement, she crawls back into the bed. She snuggles in next to me, placing her head on my chest again. We don't say much, but I'm not bothered by it at all. I love listening to how our breathing gets in sync. When Skylar's breathing gets calmer, I know she fell asleep. I don't want to wake her by leaving and honestly, I love having her so close to me too much to even think about leaving.