Sergio

I dragged her through the water towards the faint inkling of light, she offered no assistance in the journey upwards, but also didn't put up a struggle. The moment we came to the surface she took in a huge gasp of air before beginning to cough and spit up water. I pushed her against the buoy, wedging her body between it and my own to keep her afloat. "What were you thinking? What the fὑck were you thinking?" I screamed at her.

She cried.

Aria Moretti sobbed in a way I had I seriously doubted her capable of ever doing so. I had seen her cry so few times in all the years I had known her I thought it truly impossible for her to come completely apart like this.

"God damn it Ari." I groaned and put my forehead to hers, I let my hands in the air beside her cheeks for several moments. I couldn't decide what to do, if I should be furious with her, if I should grab her by the shoulders and shake her until my arms wouldn't shake anymore, if I should scream at her until my voice grew hoarse, or if I should be supportive in her moment of weakness. Finally, I put my hands to her cheeks. "Ari what were you thinking?" This time I asked it softly.

"You sh-should have let me go-o." She sobbed and I lifted my head away from hers.

"Let you go?"

She nodded vigorously and I wanted to shake her.

"Let you go?" I repeated. "You can't be serious right now, you would have, Ari you were trying to, God damn it. You're supposed to be the strongest person I know!" At this she pushed me away from her and instantly went under the water. I grabbed her by the shirt and pulled her back up. "Stop!" When she came back to the surface she tried to push me again, water splashed around us. "Knock it off." I grabbed her by the shoulders and we both struggled, splashing water, bobbing up and down, fighting against one another. "Enough damn it."

"Leave me alone." She demanded and I politely told her to shut the fὑck up.

After both of us had swallowed enough water to fill a fish tank, and her sobbing had turned to concerning silence, she seemed to finally fizzle out and grew rather dossal as I wedged her between myself and the buoy again, I held onto it with one hand and held the weighted vest with my other. "So help me God is you try this again..." I threatened, she didn't answer. I accepted her silence as a disgruntled yes and took out my pocket knife. I cut this way and that way, not being gentle about jerking her around either as I cut every piece of fabric I could until I rid her of that blasted weighted vest that had sunk her. I was rough with pulling it off of her and tossing it to the side, the switch blade flew from my wet hands with it.

It was my grandfather's blade. A family I no longer belonged too. I didn't go after it.

I pressed myself against Ari, pressing her into the buoy, our wet clothes swaying under water with the tide. I held onto the buoy with both hands now trapping her, wanting nothing more than to yell at her. She refused to meet my eye and I finally decided to get out of the water.

"Hold onto my back. If you let go so help me God Ari-"

"I won't." She muttered meekly. I brought her back to the dock with little other fuss, rather than swim back to shore I stopped and held onto the dock while she climbed up, I climbed up after and flopped onto my back panting.

No one said anything for a long time, I laid on my back grasping for air and she sat on her rear hugging her knees and staring at the water. I gave her sometime to collect herself, and myself some time to calm down before I drowned her myself. She didn't make any attempts to connect and I didn't press her for at least five minutes until I had stopped being so exhausted and groaned with a slap to my forehead. "What were you thinking Ari?"

She turned her head so quickly to face me droplets of water whipped free from her hair. "Why are you here?"

In truth, I had gone looking for her to see if she could help secure a jet for Katherine but in this moment that didn't matter. "Why are you here?" I shot back and sat up. Her pale cheeks turned rosy. "Your brother told me you were here. I came because I know, I know you can't swim, I know you can shoot someone in the jaw but feel too bad for the fish to going fishing, I know boats freak you out, I know you have no God damned reason to be here. Your turn. Why are you here?"

"You should have just left me be."

"You came here to kill yourself."

"You should have let me!"

"God!" I came up to my feet so angry I couldn't bear to sit beside her anymore. I paced back and forth on the docks furiously while she kept her own angry gaze on me. "You know you're a real bitch sometimes Aria."

"So let me drown and don't worry about dealing with that anymore." She spat back.

I let out a frustrated groan and she rose to her feet as well.

"Dante is right. I'm-" She threw her hands in the air. "I don't know, cursed. Everything I do brings death and destruction, everyone I touch winds up dead or missing, he and I, somewhere, somehow, deep inside we are the exact same."

I stopped pacing and faced her again. "You're being stupid. Stop being stupid." I said flatly.

"And you're being naïve! We were raised in the same life style, by the same people, to do the same thing, be the same people. You can't possibly think that he and I are so different!"

"So Alessio and I, we are the same?"

She stopped, stared at me for a moment, and then sat back down. "That's different."

"Oh? Is it now?"

"Yes. It is...you're...you're different. You got away, you said no. This is what I will always be Sergio. No matter what I do or where I go it always comes back to this. I chastise Alessio for the same thing, our only difference being he embraces this part of him while I deny it. In the end, it has us both."

"That's a load. You said no too. You turned away the Genovese family too Aria. You walked away from Alessio and all of this too."

"I left Alessio and nothing else. I've never escaped, taken a break. It is always with me. Everything I touch turns to shit. I don't want this anymore, I don't want to be a source of destruction and terror I just want it to stop. How did Dante even know I was here?"

"Don't know. Probably a tracker." I sat down beside her and let my feet dangle off the edge of the dock.

"Everyone I care about dies Sergio, every casual friend I make vanishes, every relationship or love interest, everything, gone. All I do is hurt people."

"Or you have a psychotic brother who follows your tail no matter what country you're in who is so determined to isolate you he has no qualms with killing anyone you speak to in hopes it will turn you to him again. The only reason Dante let that abusive little shit Ricco alone was because he was in the game, he kept you close to home, kept you in Dante's reach. He followed Dante's command like a lost little pup. The further you get from Dante the crazier he gets. Your only curse is being your brother's anchor."

"Regardless of how or why the center of all this destruction is still me. I can't escape it, and I can't escape Dante. I'm tired, and I'm alone Sergio."

"My God, have you always been this selfish?"

She turned to glare at me.

"What about me?" She opened her mouth to respond but this time I yelled it. "What about me? Huh? You want to leave Alessio, and Dante, and everyone else behind fine, but what. About. Me."

"Sergio I-"

"You're all I have." I yelled and stood up. "And you don't give a damn about that."

She didn't look angry, or broken or lost anymore, she looked guilty. The bitch had not for one second even considered me.

"You think I don't understand being alone? You think I don't understand this curse as you call it? You were the only person I could count on, my whole life and now you just want to abandon me too? Fine! Go! Here I'll go with you so you can make an attempt on my life, everyone else does too before they go why shouldn't you."

She came to her feet and followed me as I stormed off the deck and onto land again. "Sergio wait, I'm sorry, you know I love you I just, everything Dante said, he gets into my head sometimes-"

"Fὑck off."

She grabbed the corner of my shirt and I stopped and turned around to push her away from me. "You and Alessio, oh my God I can't stand you guys. You've known each other all your lives, you've loved each other all your lives, blah blah blah."

"Stop it! Yes Alessio and I have known each other our whole lives and yes it's hard to see him, and I was angry he didn't tell me but he and I are long since over what does that have to do with anything today I was just-"

"I love you too!" I yelled and she shrank back. "I've known you since I was an infant too, I've watched you grow up too, I owe my life to you, you're the only consistency I've ever had and you tried to leave me too. Do you have any idea how that makes me feel? Do you have any idea how angry I am with you? I just want to-" I held my hands out as though I was gripping her shoulders. Instead of finishing my sentence I dropped my hands and turned back around. As I walked back to the car I paused to pick up my shoes, I'd stepped out of them as I was running towards the water, as I'd seen her let go of the buoy and go under, trying to let go of her life, leaving me.

She cut in front of me quickly and when I tried to push past her she shoved me backwards. "Don't make me put you in a choke hold. Stop, talk to me Sergio, you're my best friend-"

"I don't want to be your best friend Aria. You're not that dense, please tell me you're not that dense."

"I'm not." She admitted.

"You've been looking out for me for so long, you saved my life when I left, and every year since. You're the only one who didn't just accept that Ugo had killed me, you're the only one who cared enough to take me in knowing Ugo wasn't finished with me, I fὑcking love you, okay? And I'm sorry, I wish I didn't, because I know it will always be Alessio, and I will always be the first love's little brother, or the best friend, some kid you take care of but I'm not a kid-"

I was cut off by her finger to my lip. "You had me at shὑt the fuck up back in the water." She admitted and wrapped her arms around my neck. Instinctively my arms circled around her waist and pulled her closer. "I do, love you. But this curse-"

"You're not cursed Aria. Your brother is killing, or having people killed to keep you isolated, to keep you his."

"Even if that's true, he doesn't see you as a threat, he looks out for you even. Sergio I don't want to rock the boat, I can't put you in danger." She gently touched a bruise along my cheek. "God knows you've seen enough of it. You and I can't be together."

"Unlike my brother, I am not stupid enough to let you go Ari." I said and kissed her again.

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Updating because the last chapter was so shorttttt.

I'm sorry there will be oneeee more chapter in some one else's POV before we get back to Kate or Alessio.

I know there are a few people who ship Kate and Sergio but I've tried to subtly, or maybe not so subtly, lead to Sergio and Aria this whole story, for those of you who may read Hazel Skies you'll get more of the whole Aria saving his life, why she is so important to him story etc. And also the story of Sergio and his decision to leave period. Hurrah! I implore you all to vote and comment and be patient as I make an attempt to hold an update to actually stick to a schedule here :D

Chapter dedication to @youreaditfromme for the song suggestion!