ELENA'S POV:
Vic pulled me outside the diner as the paramedics ran inside. The cold air hit me like a brick wall.
"He's gonna be okay" Vic kept saying, but her voice was weaker than usual, as she tried to find the words to make this all better. But she couldn't. None of us could. I wanted to go and sit by Mattia's side, and hold his hand. I just wanted to be with him and tell him everything was going to be fine. I wiped my eyes as I saw Mrs Polibio's car arrive. She frantically got out the car and rushed over to me. I stood up, and without saying anything else, Camila pulled me into a hug.
"Everything's going to be okay baby" she said, stroking my hair. She held Vic close too and I sobbed onto her shirt, clutching onto her tightly. The paramedics called her in, and she reluctantly let go of us.
"Elena you need to stay strong for him, okay?" she wiped my eyes and kissed my head, before heading inside to see what was going on. Camila was a strong woman, and it took a lot to break her. That's what I loved most about her.
Vic and I waited patiently on the curb for everyone inside to finish up. They'd been with Mattia for at least 40 minutes now, and with each minute that had passed, my anxiety had increased. I was looking up at the stars when I heard the doors opening. My head whipped round, but much to my disappointment it was only a family. Although, I recognised one of them. He bowed his head when he saw me and walked a little quicker, but I stood up to try and make out who it was.
"Jackson?" I squinted in the darkness and observed his features. Sunken cheekbones, and a sharp jawline. It was definitely him. He stopped and turned to face me slowly.
"Oh hey" he said nervously. He signalled for the other people to go to the car, but he stayed put.
"What the fuck are you doing here?"
I took a step towards him, but he looked past me and into the diner.
"Woah easy, I just came to visit some cousins, that's all" he raised his hands in surrender as a smirk appeared on his face. I folded my arms over my chest and shook my head at him.
"How fucking convenient" I sneered. He tilted his head at me in confusion.
"I don't know what you're talking about, but you might wanna go check on your boyfriend"
I didn't mean to hit him as hard as I did. But the way he spoke to me, it was almost as if he were mocking me. As if he was trying to take advantage of something. Next thing I knew, my hand connected with his cheek, leaving a red mark on his skin.
"What the fuck is wrong with you Elena?" he shouted, holding his cheek in agony.
"If you have anything to do with Mattia passing out I swear I'll-"
"You'll what? Huh? Hit me again?" he cut me off, taking a step closer. Jackson was taller than me, almost the same height as Mattia. The only difference was that when Jackson stood over me, I felt vulnerable, weak.
I tried to say something but I couldn't find the words, causing him to laugh under his breath.
"That's what I thought, see you in school" he winked, before turning around and walking towards the car. I watched him walk away into the darkness, and felt Vic rest her hand on my shoulder. I turned around to her and she looked shocked after seeing my encounter with Jackson.
"Who was that?" she asked, taking my hand which was shaking violently. I knew I'd have to tell them all about Jackson at some point, I just didn't know how.
"Can I tell you later?" I lowered my voice as we approached the diner again. She nodded and I looked inside. Mattia was lying with his eyes wide open, with a needle in the back of his hand which was connected to a long tube. Camila had tears streaks running along her foundation as she ran her hand through his hair. The boys came outside to join Vic and I, they all looked equally as upset.
How could one night turn so awfully wrong?
-
They were placing the stretcher Mattia was on into the ambulance, and Camila was walking back to her car. I took my opportunity and walked over to the paramedics.
"Can I go with him?" I asked one of them. She was tall and had pretty blue eyes, along with short blonde hair. She smiled kindly and opened the door for me to go inside. I thanked her and carefully lifted myself up into the ambulance. I walked over to Mattia who had an oxygen mask on his face. His eyes were closed and had red circles around them. I took a seat opposite him and felt my eyes heating up.
You need to stay strong for him
I heard Camila's voice in my head and I blinked back my tears. It hurt because I'd never seen him this vulnerable, and I still didn't know what was going on with him. The sirens went off as the ambulance started moving and Mattia's eyes snapped open.
"Baby it's okay, you're okay" I said, leaning forward and taking his hand in mine. He looked over at me and his eyes softened, and slowly followed up with tears. He held onto my hand tighter and I carefully wiped away his tears.
"Don't cry amor, you'll set me off" I smiled at him through my own tears escaping my eyes. He raised his shaky hand to his mask and lifted it off his face.
"N-no Mattia you need that" I said quickly, trying to place it back on him but he swatted my hand away.
"Babe don't" he said, placing it next to him on the bed. His breathing was heavy and he looked up at me.
"What's happening Mattia?" I said, allowing a tear to fall onto his shirt. He reached up and placed his palm on my cheek. He opened his mouth to speak and kept his eyes locked on mine.
"I guess I really can't live without you Elena"
