Romeo

20| Breakdown

Daniella's entire body was shaking and she tried to calm down, muttering to herself in the small elevator. Everything was a sloppy mess. Now that the shock was wearing off, she was mad at everyone. How could her parents keep something so vital away from her? 

"I can't believe this shit, fucking Romeo and fucking Stefan fucking piece of shit Gerard." Since no one else was in the elevator beside her, she could swear freely. Julian was on the phone but she put him on temporary mute.

Why was he on the phone? Her 'delicate' situation requires twenty-four-hour surveillance of her and Nate. And because her little brother was sleeping, Julian stayed in the car with him. Plus all three of them there at 10 pm would be difficult to explain to Jade.

Julian had crafted a lie for Jade. And Daniella was to pack all her essentials, get back in the car with Julian, and go to an undisclosed location god knows where for god knows how long. 

No matter how hard Julian tried, she decided to stay suspicious of him. Though, she didn't know if he was worried about her well-being or his "job". Now that she knows he's a convincing liar, she didn't have a reason to trust him.

And Romeo, thinking about him made the anger in her chest fade into a dull throb which somehow felt even worse. Lashing out would be so much better but she couldn't bring herself to do so.

She only got to live in her new apartment for one day and now she was leaving.

Ting. The elevator doors slid open and she walked out, looking both ways before exiting, as Julian advised. This was no joking matter, she was an important person with assassins after her after all. Well technically one assassin, the guy she almost slept with last night.

She reached her apartment door and held back more tears. Deep breath in, deep breath out. She slid her keys into the hole and unlocked the door and avoided making any sounds. With any luck, Jade would already be asleep. She stood at the door for a minute waiting for any sounds inside.

"I think she's asleep." She spoke into the phone, cringing at how loud her voice was compared to the silence she was met with. Julian, who was a fast thinker, typed out a simple okay instead of speaking.

As gently as possible, Daniella closed the door behind her, opting not to lock it and cause any more commotion. Right now all she was worried about was not facing Jade. It would be the final straw and confronting her best friend would surely unravel her completely.

Outside her relatively small apartment, she heard the hum of the elevator. The tell-tale sign that it was in use. Even though the chances that the elevator was occupied by Romeo or anyone else out to hurt her was slim, she still held her breath. Suddenly she was hyper-aware of the unlocked door. Instead of moving to lock it, she waited and let the seconds pass. No ding from the elevator, she let go of her breath.  And turned around, and boom; walked straight into the couch, stubbing her pinky toe. She hissed and bent her knee, clutching her toe. Her mouth opened and she let out a silent cry of agony. Still jumping around, she plopped onto the couch and grimaced.

Are you okay?

Julian's text came through and she whispered, "Yeah, stubbed toe." And that was all, they had a safe word in case something was wrong; Shakespeare. Juliet was discussed but that could genuinely be someone's name in a conversation so it was a no-go.

Still squirming in pain, she plopped down on the couch. Her phone slipped out of her hand and landed right beside her. Taking a deep breath, she closed her eyes. The sharp pain was still pulsating through her small toe and she waited for it to pass.

First, her lips curled into a small smile, the smile grew bigger and Daniella bit her lip. If this is what broke her tonight then life is a joke. She couldn't help herself as one giggle left her lips, then another. Her hand automatically clamped down on her mouth so she wouldn't make too much noise. She laughed into a pillow until she couldn't breathe and her stomach hurt.