MATTIA'S POV:
I woke up at around 8:30pm. I really slept through my whole day. The first thing I thought about was Elena. I got out of bed, and looked at my phone. There were plenty of messages but only her name stood out to me.
Elena❤️: I miss you
Without thinking about anything else, I took out one of my hoodies and picked up my car keys.
"'Ma I'm going to stay the night at Elena's" I said as I passed her. She nodded and gave me a container with tacos in it.
"We had some extra, make sure she's okay" she gave me a sad smile. I don't think anyone could relate to how shit how situation was.
"Thanks Mamma" I said, kissed her cheek before heading outside. The icy wind hit me like a ton of bricks and I immediately felt my ears going numb to the coldness. I shivered and quickly got into my car. I turned up the heating and put the hoodie and the food in the passenger seat.
I got to Elena's place and there was another car in the driveway so I had to park on the sidewalk. I hadn't seen it before, I just hoped it wasn't bad news.
I knocked on the door and Ms Hill opened it.
"Mattia!" she smiled at me and welcomed me in.
"You seem happier Ms Hill" I said to her, taking my shoes off and looking upstairs. Elena's door was half open but there was no light on.
"Yes, we've got a lawyer over who's helping us get Hunter back home" she said eagerly. I felt my stomach form knots and gulped.
"And when he's home you'll move, right?" I said quietly, looking at the ground. I heard a sob come from upstairs, and we both looked towards Elena's instantly. I didn't mean to dampen her mood, but she frowned and slowly nodded.
"I'll be in the kitchen if you need me" she said, and I headed upstairs.
"Baby?" I said, turning on a light in Elena's room. She was sat on the floor with her back against the closet. She was hugging her knees to her chest and buried her head between.
"Babyy" I repeated, going over to her. I gently picked her up and carried her to the bed. She sat opposite me and I placed the food on the nightstand and put my hoodie on the bed.
"I-is that for me?" She said, looking at the hoodie. I nodded and a tear slid down her cheek.
"And I thought you liked my hoodies" I said, she smiled as I leaned forward to wipe away her tear.
"I do" she wept "It just makes me think about how one day I won't-"
"Heyy" I pulled her close and let her cry on my shoulder. I knew she was going to bring up how one day she wouldn't see me again, but I wasn't ready to have that conversation just yet.
It was painful to see her like this. All I could do was embrace her, and let her ongoing tears soak through my jumper. I could feel her fists curling up into balls on my lap, not knowing whether she should be angry or just give up hoping altogether. I ran my fingers through her hair, in an attempt to calm her down. Luckily, she stopped crying and looked up at me.
"Let's run away" she said. I looked at her in astonishment, and chuckled to myself. But her expression stayed deadly serious.
"Wait you weren't joking?" I asked, fear suddenly starting to take over me. She shook her head and rested it on my chest.
"If we run away they'll never be able to find us, and then I'll never have to move" she said slowly, formulating this master plan in her mind.
"Elena I don't think that's a good idea" I said, massaging her shoulders.
"Everyone would get worried, and what do we know about living alone?" I said in the calmest way possible.
"We know enough to stay alive" she argued "all we need to do is have food, maybe your car, water, and we can just stay on the run"
"Okay, but petrol is expensive, and when we run out of money, then what?"
She sighed and her shoulders slumped. Defeated.
I pulled her close and rested my head on hers.
"I can't leave New Jersey Mattia, this is my home" she said quietly.
"I know baby, I know" I kissed her head and she wrapped her arms around my waist. I didn't want her to know how worried and upset I was about everything. I'd rather just be there for her, cause she was going through it worse than me.
"Mattia?" she asked after a long silence.
"Yeah?"
"I love you" she said sleepily. I felt my face heating up and the butterflies had appeared back in my stomach. I don't know why, but everytime she said she loved me, I just turned so soft. I'm the biggest simp out here.
"I love you too babygirl" I whispered, gently laying her down and tucking her in the covers. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow, and I got into bed next to her. The numb feeling I had earlier had come back, as I watched her chest slowly rise and fall. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know how to fix the situation, or make it better for her.
I held her hand and sighed. I had a weird feeling that I wasn't doing enough for Elena. And I hated that.
