Authors: Trisha Grace
“But I told him I wasn’t coming back.”
“He seemed … fairly certain that you would,” he said and shook his head. “When … my mom left, I flushed the alcohol down … the toilet and threw the bottle into … the trash.” He paused and took a breath. “I didn’t want you to see me drunk.”
“Then I’m glad I went back.”
“So am I, even though … you were back for Josh.”
Her eyes narrowed, and she tilted to the side, leaning away from him. “Is that what you really think? That I went back for Josh?”
He’d clearly said something wrong.
Chloe pinched her lips together as her eyes flitted to the side. She opened her mouth to speak, but closed it before she actually said a word.
“I didn’t mean … to upset you.” He took her hand. He shouldn’t be jealous over such an irrelevant detail. What mattered was that she went back, and they were on good terms again. “I’m sorry; that was childish.”
Her features softened. “I’m not angry. I just thought you sounded jealous.”
“And you’re angry that I’m jealous?”
“I’m not angry,” she repeated. “I went back for you. When he told me about his party, I knew something was wrong with you. I didn’t know what had happened, but I knew he was worried about you.”
They gazed into each other’s eyes, neither saying a word.
He got to his feet before his self-control waned and he actually leaned in to kiss her. He wasn’t ready to ruin their holiday. “Let’s get someone to take our photo.”
“Yeah.” She blinked and stood. “Let’s take a photo.”
After five days in Rome, Christopher and Chloe took a train to visit Pompeii.
Though he felt bad about spending Chloe’s money, he had to admit that Rome was incredible.
Chloe seemed to be enjoying herself as well.
“This is so exciting.” Chloe looped her arm around his. “I can’t wait to get in,” she said as they trudged up the small hill toward the entrance to the remains of ancient Pompeii.
Christopher grabbed two bottles of water from one of the small, makeshift shops by the side of the road and paid for them.
“I can’t believe we’re here.” She took the bottle he handed her.
He smiled as he heard those words. She’d said them several times over the past few days.
They leaned forward at the ticket counter.
“
Due biglietti.
”
Chloe’s eyes widened. “Very good.”
After listening to Chloe order all the train and bus tickets over the past few days, he’d figured out what some of the words meant.
“Let’s go!” Chloe widened her steps. “ I can’t wait to explore it.”
They took a couple of photos from the outside before walking up the path lined with wooden planks. Halfway through the path, the wooden planks came to an end and were replaced by large, uneven gray stones that led to the ancient city.
They walked through a passage that had the same Roman arch they had seen everywhere in Rome. The only difference to the arch was the rough cut of the grayish stones, which were the opposite of the smooth and cool marble stones that never failed to amaze him.
Once they stepped out on the other side of the passageway, they stopped and sighed.
Chloe hooked her hand on his arm. “I can’t believe I’m really here with you.”
He cupped his hand over Chloe’s and pulled his arm closer against himself, tugging Chloe along.
The years that he and Chloe spent away from each other disappeared. All the disappointment, with himself and with where his singing career was gravitating toward, forgotten.
It felt as if he’d only been sitting by the river with a seventeen-year-old Chloe yesterday, and they’d set out on this adventure together today. He turned his face toward her and took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of her shampoo, the same one he used at the hotel.
“Come on.” She tugged on his arm before running ahead.
Remnants of houses without roofs and with partial walls lined both sides of the roads.
Chloe slipped her hand from his and ran ahead, hopping onto one of the three round elevated stones lying in the middle of the street. The surface of the stones had all been filed flat. “Let me test you; do you remember what these are for?”
He grinned. “For pedestrians. So when it rains, they … can step on these elevated rocks and … keep their sandals and feet from getting wet.”
“Great memory.”
He held out his hand, and she took it as she hopped down onto the lower pathway. Despite the uneven sizes and shapes of the rocks, the top had all been filed down, resulting in a rather flat and smooth walkway.
“Let’s go.” She grinned brightly and pulled him along.
He knew Pompeii was well-preserved, and he knew it was a town by itself, but he didn’t think it was that huge. They walked around for hours, listening to the audio guide on Chloe’s phone and taking pictures along the way.
“Let’s take a seat,” he said when they got to an area where the columns that used to line a house had fallen over, leaving short stubble-like columns that now served as a fantastic resting place.
Chloe nodded while he pulled out a bottle of water from his backpack.
“Here.”
She took the water from him and took three gulps before handing it to him. “Thanks.”
“Are you … tired?” he asked.
“A little.” Chloe pointed to the next stubble-like column. “Sit and rest.”
“I’m fine.” He looked around at the large area in front of them. Several tourists stood in what used to be Pompeii’s plaza, the gathering area for its citizens, and posed for photos under the shadow of the surrounding buildings.
There was nothing left on the square except for the gravel that covered the entire area.
He glanced toward the far right, where most of the tourists were pointing their cameras toward, and saw the peak of the volcano that brought about the doom of Pompeii.
Taking a step back, he took a picture of Chloe with the volcano in the background.
“Are you having fun?”
“Of course.”
She grinned and stood. “Let’s continue before the sun sets.” She got up, forgetting that her phone was on her leg. “Ah!” She bent over to grab the phone.
The moment she straightened, Christopher knew something was wrong.
The focus in her eyes faded, and she swayed unsteadily. One of her hands reached toward him while the other went to her temple.
He took a large step toward her and wrapped his arm across her waist, stabling her. “Chloe.”
She leaned her weight against him and took a deep breath. “I’m fine,” she said. “It’s just my head; it’s spinning.”
He sat her down and knelt in front of her, pushing her hair aside.
Her eyes remained closed until he tipped her chin up with his finger. “Chloe, are you all right?”
She nodded and smiled. “I think I got up too quickly.” She rubbed her fingers across her forehead. “I’m fine.”
“Here, drink some water.” He watched her as she took a sip. “Have we been walking too long?” He brushed his thumb against her cheek. “Maybe we should go.”
She cupped her hand over his and pulled his hand from her face. “I’m fine.” She gave his hand a squeeze. “Don’t worry.”
She took a step back from him. “See? I’m all right.”
He narrowed his eyes even as she looped her arm around his. He checked the time and looked around, but there weren’t any shops. All that stood around them were the ruins left behind by the devastating volcano eruption. “We should get you something to eat.”
“I’m fine, Chris.”
“Have you been skipping meals again? You know your blood pressure gets too low.”
“I’ve been with you the past few days, and I’ve been eating more than I usually did in months.” Her lips parted into a grin, but her brows suddenly drew closer.
“What is it? Are you feeling faint again?”
Her lips morphed into a grin again.
“What’s so funny?”
She cupped her hand against his face. “You’re not stuttering.”
He frowned. What was she talking about? Of course he was stuttering; he always did. “You’re … dreaming.”
“No, I wasn’t.” She shook her head and waved it off. “Never mind. Come on.” She tugged on his arm, but he didn’t budge.
He held her by her arms and leaned in. “How are you … feeling?”
She looked him right in his eyes. “I’m fine,” she said slowly.
With his concern fading, he realized how close her face was to his.
He wanted to lean in and close the distance between their lips, but he cleared his throat and stepped back before he did anything stupid. “Let’s go.”
Chloe placed her hands against the opposite sides of the stone wall. “The tower is really tilted,” she shouted over her shoulder at Christopher, raising her voice over the strong wind swooshing down the dark, spiral stairwell.
“Be careful.” Christopher had his hand pressed against the side of the wall he was leaning on.
She laughed and trotted up along with the rest of the group.
When she stepped out from the stairwell, she leaned back against the wall, almost falling back due to the strong winds.
Christopher was right next to her immediately, holding her waist and supporting her weight. “Told you to be careful.”
She held her hair down. “The wind is so strong.”
The exit of the stairway was too small for both of them to fit through, but Christopher kept his hand on her waist while she stepped through it. He remained next to her, his arm across her waist, as they strolled around the top of the leaning tower.
She turned her face toward him and said, “It didn’t look that slanted from below.”
“What?” He bowed his head lower just as she tipped her head back to speak into his ear.
Instead of his ears, her lips ended up on his cheek.
She stepped back. “I’m sorry.”
His hand remained around her waist, preventing her from moving away. “The wind is strong. I don’t want to you to fall.”
She pointed at the wired fence that circled the edge of the leaning tower. “I seriously doubt I can.” She didn’t dare to go too near to the edge, though. She could feel the force of the wind pushing her against her will. In the short amount of time she had been standing out on the roof, the wind had already taken over her sense of control several times.
He gave her a non-committed shrug.
She broke into a small smile and reached up to rub at the shiny lip imprint on his cheek. “You have a little shimmer on your cheek. But don’t worry, it brightens up your face.”
“Really? Maybe I should get that shimmer on the other side as well.”
Her condition gave her a better understanding of what people were saying. She could often see their real feelings behind their words, but with Christopher, she seemed to be getting it all wrong.
His pinkish words hinted at a flirtatious nature, but his actions over the past few days said otherwise. They were close; they had always been before the eight years apart, but she thought there was more.
It was only her imagination, of course.
The trip to Italy brought them back to where they’d left off—as great friends. That was all.
“Sure.” She reached into her bag and took out her lip gloss. “Here you go.”
He took the lip gloss and tapped it against her nose before dropping it back into her bag.
She licked her lips and went along when he tugged her toward one of the giant bells covered with patches of green corrosion.
There was the proof that she was wrong and was being silly over an accidental kiss.
Christopher clearly wasn’t interested in kissing her again.
There had been several times when she thought he would, but he always moved away.
She needed to stop dreaming.
Whatever feelings she thought they shared were all in her head.
He might have been interested in kissing her eight years ago, but he definitely wasn’t interested now.
Chloe stepped out of the train station and smiled as she heard the swooshing of water from the canal and the groaning of engines from the motor boats. “Venice,” she said as a UPS boat carrying stacks of parcels went by.
She looped her arm around Christopher’s. The whole trip with Christopher had been fun. It was as if they hadn’t been away from each other for eight years, and she didn’t want it to end.
Childish dreams of leaving everything behind to travel the world with Christopher resurfaced.
They used to talk about traveling together, about seeing all the wonderful places in Europe. They were childish dreams, and she was no longer a child.
Still, as much as she enjoyed being in Venice, she couldn’t ignore the undeniable sense of dread that had been growing on her.
This was the last city they would be visiting together.
Christopher hadn’t talked about leaving.
Well, actually, she hadn’t asked him about it.
He had planned and booked their flight to Milan; he’d probably booked his ticket back as well. She hadn’t asked, and she didn’t want to. She couldn’t bear thinking about it.
She sighed softly, but quickly forced a smile when she noticed he was looking at her. “Do we need to take the boat?”
“No, we can walk … there,” he said. “Just let me … get my bearings.” He adjusted the map in his hands and looked around at where they were standing.
“Do you need help?”
Chloe and Christopher looked up and saw a couple who appeared to be in their late twenties.
The man wore a slightly oversized white jacket and a pair of faded jeans while the lady wore a brown leather jacket with matching boots and a dark pair of jeans.
“It’s al—”
“Which hotel are you staying at?” The man moved and stood next to Christopher, looking at the map.
“Where are you from? America? Are you on your honeymoon?” the woman asked. Despite the sweetness in her voice, the dull red bubble surrounded by a cloud of gray gave Chloe a sense of disquiet.
“From America,” Chloe said and looked over at Christopher, who was listening attentively to what the man was saying to him.
“Are you on your honeymoon? The two of you look good together.”
“No, we’re—”