'Leon.' I look at Violet and frown since she's bursting through the door with a panicked look on her face. 'Someone's at the gate.'

'It's probably Adriano.' They said that they would get here today. 'It doesn't look like Rafael, Leonardo.'

I lower the papers I was reading and turn to her. 'Who is it then?'

'Some guy on a motorcycle, he's still at the gate.' Motorcycle?

I get up and follow her through the empty hall. Right as I'm about to open the door, Violet grabs my arm and pulls me back. 'He didn't seem like a good guy.'

'Did he come alone?' She nods, her hands still on my arm, and keeps her eyes on mine. 'I don't want you to get hurt, so just be careful okay?'

'I'll be fine, did he say what his name was?' I ask with my hand on the doorknob. 'He just said that he was allowed in and wanted to burn the entire place down if I didn't let him.' Oh...

I open the door and head out, reaching for the gun on my waist.

There's a man on a motorcycle with a helmet on, waiting by the gate. And he does not seem pleased.

'Can I help you?' I ask once I'm close enough for him to hear me.

The man starts chuckling and I roll my eyes while reaching for the gate.

And I put two and two together.

'You have to be fucking kidding me.' Nico mutters, taking off his helmet before staring me down. 'Of course, it's you who won't let me fucking in.'

'If you just said that it was you, we wouldn't be having this problem.'

I open the gate and walk back to the house, watching as Violet keeps her eyes on Nico. 'Who is he?'

'Some idiot who helped with everything, could you take him to a room or something?'

She nods and turns back to the door, patiently waiting for Nico to enter while I head back to my office.

After a few minutes of silence, I hear some commotion coming from down the hall.

'You can't just-' The door opens and I can tell Violet is trying her hardest to keep Nico from storming into my office.

'Are we good?' Nico asks, trying to make sure Violet doesn't push him out of the office. 'Violet, you can go.'

She looks at me as she brushes some loose strands of hair out of her face, and walks out of the room.

'I should be asking you, don't you think?'

Even though he has been messing around, or trying to mess around with Neveah, I am not the one who started this petty war.

'I'm not the- you know what, no. Fuck this.' He reaches for the door. 'Where are the others?'

Nico turns back to me, smiling a little. 'They're stuck in traffic, I slipped past.'

'How far away?' Adriano didn't text me about any of that shit, but they might be busy with everything going on. 'I don't fucking know.'

I want to react, I want to tell him to fuck off and go somewhere else, to lower his fucking tone, to hurt him, but I don't want Neveah to think I'm beating him up out of jealousy.

Vincent told me what game he's trying to play and I won't let him win.

'Alright.' I mutter instead of shoving his shit to the ground, 'Anything else?'

'Yes, actually.' For fuck's sake... 'I know you are thinking about killing me right now, but you and I both know that if you do that, Neveah won't like it.'

I do. And I hate it.

Even if she said they're just friends and that she doesn't want to be with him, I can't help but ignore the way they look at each other.

Especially the way he looks at her.

'What are you trying to do here?' I ask, frowning at him. 'You know what I'm talking about.'

I know exactly what he's trying to do, but I can't let him know that it's working.

'If you know what's best for her, you let her go.' What?

'And let her be with you, right?' He nods, not even trying to deny what he's trying to get out of this. 'She's not-' 'I could help her through what happened.'

Bull... Fucking... Shit...

She doesn't want to be helped. She would've- no she wouldn't. She wouldn't ask for help. She's too stubborn.

'How?' I ask curiously, wondering how he could possibly help her in ways that I couldn't.

Because I want to help her if she'll let me. I just don't know how.

A chuckle erupts from his throat and I roll my eyes. 'You think I would tell you?'

'You want what's best for her, right?' He freezes on the spot, his jaw clenching for a few seconds, his whole body tensing. 'What's that supposed to mean?'

'You know what I'm talking about.'

I can tell he's having a hard time containing his anger, and I honestly wish he would just explode.

That way I could explode as well.

'Listen up, buddy. I don't give a fuck about your feelings for her right now. All I care about is Neveah and what she wants.'

What she wants...

She told me she wanted space. Another break. But she didn't want me to leave and she didn't want me to keep on waiting, but I don't mind waiting.

Honestly.

I just want her to be comfortable enough to be near me, to not fear me when I'm around her.

Because it felt like that for a while now...

But does she want Nico? No. She said she didn't.

'And you think she wants you?'

'Not with you still in the picture.' He says, the words flowing out like venom, as he keeps his eyes on mine. 'So you want to kill me?'

His eyes say yes, but he simply shrugs. 'That depends on you, Leonardo.'

A chill runs down my back while I take in my new enemy, and I vision myself killing him.

I shoot him in the stomach, slowly letting him bleed to death. Or I drown him in the pool, letting his body float around afterward. Or I set him on fire and watch him burn to death.

'Right, as I was trying to say, she can decide for herself who she wants to end up with.' He continues while keeping eye contact with me. 'I agree.'

She should decide who she wants to end up with.

It would hurt like a fucking bitch if she picked him after all of this, but I would understand.

I messed up. I'm the reason all of this shit went down, so I get if she wants to start fresh with him.

But god would I break.

Just the thought of her being with him is making me sick.

'Good.' He answers, still not moving or doing anything else but looking at me.

'Anything else I can help you with, Nico?' I'm tired. And I have to wait for the others to get back. 'No, not real-'

A loud scream echoes through the house and I can hear some glass shatter. What the fuck?

Nico's eyes widen for a second, before he starts frowning at me. 'What the fuck was that?'

'I'm sitting in the same room as you, how the fuck am I supposed to know?' He looks me dead in the eyes, rolling his eyes as he reaches for his gun.

'Did you close the gate?' I ask as I do the same and head to the door, trying to listen to what's going on. 'It doesn't close automatically?'

Fucking hell...

I roll my eyes and open the door, ready to shoot whoever is inside right now. 'I opened it and you didn't think to-'

Something cold touches my skin and I go silent immediately.

When I look over to my right, I notice a guy with a medical-looking mask, pressing a riffle against my temple. 'Shut the fuck up Curzio.'

'Drop the fucking gun!' Another guy shouts, running over to us. He's wearing a clown mask.

'Drop the fucking gun Curzio!' The guy with the riffle repeats, pushing his gun harder against my head. 'Do it!'

I can see his finger around the trigger and wonder how fast I would be if I just- 'Don't even fucking think about it.' He sneers as he shoves his gun against the back of my head.

Everything turns black for a second and when I open my eyes I'm tied to a chair.

'Took you long enough.' The one with the clown mask mutters, pressing a pistol against my chin to make me look up.

I take a quick look around, counting at least five men in the room.

The one with the medical-looking mask, two guys with bandanas, a guy with a puppet face, and the guy with the clown mask.

A sixth guy runs into the room, wearing the same medical mask as the first guy, shaking his head at the one in front of me. 'He's not here boss.' Boss...

So he's the one running this shitshow.

'Where the fuck is the other dude?' He asks, putting more pressure on the pistol underneath my chin.

They didn't find Nico?

'Who are you talking about?' He rolls his eyes and pushes my head back, before taking a step back. 'Don't play dumb with us Curzio.'

I stay silent, making sure to know where everyone is standing in the room.

Two of them are standing somewhere behind me, while the others are all in my vision.

'Tell us where he is, or I swear to god, I'll empty this gun into your fucking head.' The guy with the clown mask sneers, pressing his riffle into my forehead again.

'Do it.' There's no way they would.

Not in this house at least.

'You think I won't fucking do it-' 'Calm yourself CJ.' The boss says, glaring at the CJ.

'Where is the guy you were talking to Curzio?' I have no fucking clue where Nico went, but even if I did, why would I tell them?

I need to tell Adriano to go somewhere else...

'You better talk, Curzio.' The boss says, looking down at me.

I don't recognize his face, or the part of his face that isn't covered, at all.

'Who are you?' I ask instead of answering his stupid question. 'Answer my question first.'

'I'm here alone.' They all chuckle, except the one that came running in last. 'You were talking to someone, were you not?'

'Answer my question first, who are you?' I can tell that CJ is getting impatient, but I couldn't care less.

There's no way I'm giving out more info if they're not going to give me any.

'You have a big mouth for someone being tied to a chair.' CJ says, moving a little closer again.

They tied me to a chair, but not entirely. Just around my chest and arms. But not my legs.

I kick him as hard as I can, tumbling over myself, and listen as he groans out of pain. 'You fucking-'

The others keep him away from me, telling him to calm down while one of them picks me back up and chuckles. 'You're a tough one.'

'Where is the other guy?' One of them asks again, the one with the puppet mask, 'You were talking to someone and it wasn't your phone.'

'I don't know what you're talking about.' If Nico left me here to die, he'll take Neveah all to himself. Piece of shit...

'He probably ran out to get the others.' One of the bandana guys says. 'What?'

The sixth guy's eyes widen, looking at his companions in fear. 'You mean he went to Rafael Curzio?'

'Calm down Macho, we'll be fine.' Macho... So they're using codenames.

If Nico did go to get back up, they are definitely not going to be fine.

'Listen up Curzio, you're going to tell us where this Downridge deal is taking place, or else you're screwed.' The boss says, moving over to me again.

'Is that so?' I shouldn't be angering these idiots, but I can't help but want to. They're idiots, all of them.

'Yes, so you better watch your mouth.' CJ sneers from a distance, trying to pry his way past his friend. 'Or what?'

'Or we shoot your bitch.' I can hear some muffled whimpers and look at Violet who's being pushed into the room with a cloth in her mouth. 'She's just a worker.'

She's not my bitch or anyone important to me, but I don't want her to die either.

Tears stream down her face as they push her to her knees, right in front of me. 'Tell me where this Downridge deal is, or she pays.'

The boss removes the cloth from her mouth and she inhales sharply, her whole body shaking out of fear.

'Please, tell them... Just tell them! I can't die, please!' If I tell them, they'll try to steal the deal from us, and Adriano is really relying on the income right now.

So I simply look back at the boss and sigh. 'I don't know what you're talking about.'

'Don't fucking mess with us-' A loud explosion on the other side of the house startles all of us and they instantly move to the other side of the room.

Their guns out and ready to shoot at any given moment.

But it stays silent.

'What the fuck was that, Curzio?'

'How the fuck am I supposed to know if I'm right here?' CJ walks over to me and presses his gun into my stomach this time, keeping his eyes on the door behind me.

One of the other guys stays close to Violet, ready to shoot her if anything goes wrong.

'Come out, you sick fuck!' CJ shouts, pressing the gun further into my stomach with each word. 'Calm down.' 'Shut up!'

He pulls out a knife and slightly cuts my arm, just to make me bleed a little.

'I'll cut you into a million pieces and-' He's silenced by a single shot coming from behind me, and stares at me while his hands travel to his wound.

Blood covers his hand when he puts his hands in front of him and it doesn't take long for him to collapse to the floor.

'Fucking hell.' The boss shoots Violet, who drops to the floor as well, and shoves Macho towards the door behind me, 'Go look who it is.' He demands.

I stare at the floor for a second, watching as blood stains the tiles Violet was cleaning earlier.

I didn't know her that well, but she has been sticking with me for the past days that I've been here.

And she certainly didn't deserve this.

Macho slowly disappears into the hall and I can hear more shots being fired, before hearing a loud thud.

When I turn back to the others and await their reaction, I can tell that they're scared.

Because fear slowly fills their eyes, and then their entire bodies.

'Macho?' A groan fills the space behind me and I can hear someone crawling on the ground. 'Please... Help- me.'

'Shoot him!' I lean all the way back, falling back onto the ground, and roll over, hiding behind the couch.

Bullets fly past, left and right, but I can hear them groaning out in pain. Meaning that whoever is shooting is a good shooter.

'We have to get out of here!' Their boss shouts, probably pulling one of his guys with him, while the other continues to shoot. 'Come on!'

The shooting stops and I can hear someone walking in.

'You just had to fall for their trick, didn't you.' Nico says, grinning as he cuts me loose from this stupid chair. 'Thank you.'

Even if he could've just let me die and take Neveah, he didn't.

'Don't thank me yet, we still have to get the fuck out of here.' He mutters, readying his gun for the guys in the hall.

I climb to my feet and look around, staring at the dead bodies in the room.

'How far away are the others?' I ask as I quickly head to the kitchen to grab a gun. 'I don't know.'

I make my way back to the office, hearing them run to the other side of the house, through the front door.

'Where the fuck are you going?' Nico asks, following me into the office.

I stare at the room, wondering if they went through anything, which they didn't.

The window behind the desk is shattered, meaning someone broke in through there.

Or someone escaped.

'Did you do that?' Nico stares me dead in the eyes, before throwing something at me.

I barely catch it in time and frown when I realize it's my phone.

'What do we do now?' He asks while keeping an eye out for the door. 'We go to the garage, grab a car, and get the fuck out of here.'

He nods and peeks out of the window while I keep my eyes on the door.

There are more people in the house now, at least five new guys. 'We have to get out of here, now.'

He climbs through the window and sneaks over to the right, heading the wrong way.

'The other way.' I sneer as I quickly dial Adriano's number.

He picks up after a few seconds, 'Ciao Leonardo, we're still stuck in traffic and-' They start shooting through the window, almost hitting me.

'Don't come over here, we'll meet somewhere else.'

'Barletta, if they chase you let me know.' He replies before hanging up.

He knows that I have to focus to get out of here alive.

'Are you seriously calling someone right now?' Nico asks, shooting back through the window. 'Shut the fuck up and start moving.'

I sneak my way to the garage and wait for Nico to join, but he doesn't.

And the shooting stopped. Fuck

I look at all the cars and noticed that one is already unlocked, meaning someone has already been in there.

Are you fucking kidding me...

I open the garage door and look at the back door, waiting for him to run in, but he doesn't.

Fucking hell...

I walk over to the back door and grab my gun, aiming in front of me.

A guy is hovering over someone on the floor, while a few other guys are bleeding out behind them.

Nico's on the ground, staring at the man in front of him, awaiting his death.

He's not even trying to escape, basically accepting his faith.

I could head to the garage and drive off, leaving him for dead. But it just feels wrong.

Because he came back for my ass too.

And it's because I take too long to decide, one of the guys on the ground notices me.

'Behind-' I shoot him first and instantly aim at the guy pointing his gun at Nico, feeling something cut through my arm as my bullet cuts through his chest.

He drops to his knees, right on top of Nico.

'You wanted to let me die, didn't you?' Nico asks while he shoves the guy off of him.

I don't answer his question and simply roll my eyes, wondering why he had to bring it up.

Because I could have. But I didn't and that's the only thing that matters right now.

I wait for him to get up and keep my eyes on the window they all came through. 'Get up.'

My shoulder hurts like crazy, but I'm too determined to get out of here first.

'I fucking can't.' He sneers, making me look at him for a second.

He got shot in the leg. Three times.

'Shit.' I help him up and carry him towards the garage, ready to get the fuck out of here.

He groans as I help him in the car, and tries to stop the bleeding, while I get behind the wheel.

There are a bunch of cars blocking our way out of here, but I know we can go through if we have the right momentum.

'You better hold on, Nico.' He mutters something in Russian while I start the car, ready to ram through those idiots waiting in front of the gate.

'We're both going to die.' He says, gritting his teeth. 'Suck it up.'

I accelerate and try to go as fast as I can, driving straight into the car in the middle, grinning when they jump out of the way just in time.

I race out of there, taking a detour to get rid of them first, because they start following us almost instantly.

I lose them in the city, making my way to Barletta instantly.

'I can't-' 'Nico, you better not die on me back there.' He chuckles unamused, keeping his hand on his leg as his blood slowly spills onto the backseats.

'Isn't that exactly what you need, you dumb fuck.' He grunts, glaring at me through the rearview mirror. 'Can you stop with this jealousy shit?'

'Why didn't you just let me die?' I stare back at him for a second, before staring back at the road ahead. 'I didn't feel like it.'

'Don't lie to me.' He says, moving behind me. 'You did it because Neveah would have never forgiven you for it.'

Fucking piece of shit...

I almost hit the breaks and pull him out of the car, but I continue driving down the road and wait for the gates to open.

'You're right.' I say, driving up the driveway leading to the house.

There are four cars parked in front of the house, meaning that the others are already there.

Or it's not them...

'The only reason you're still alive is because of Neveah. And I suggest you stop acting like that's not the only reason you saved me.'

I hop out of the car and watch while they all rush out of the house.

All of them except the one we were just fighting about.

'What the fuck happened?' Adriano asks, staring at me with anger in his eyes. 'They ambushed, Nico needs help.'

'You're bleeding.' Cataleya says, scanning me like Celine used to do at the start of all of this. 'I'm fine, go help him first.'

If he dies, Neveah will probably never forgive me for it.

And I know I'll be fine.

'Get him out of the car.' Celine says, making Vincent and Killian help her drag Nico back into the house. 'He lost a lot of blood.'

Instead of helping him, Celine pulls me back to the door.

Adriano asks me a bunch of questions about what happened and I answer every question I can, while Celine drags me to a medical room at the main house.

Marco and Adriano disappear, while the others all help Nico to another room.

'Stay here, and don't act all tough.' Celine says before heading out of the room again.

I stay on the table she pushed me on and sigh deeply, suddenly feeling the pain rush through my arm.

Nico is groaning in the other room, probably getting operated on first since he's not going to make it if they don't.

The door opens and I look at the girls walking in. 'Celine told me to do it, so don't freak out.'

Cataleya and Isabelle walk into the room, carrying a piece of paper.

'What do you mean?' I ask, frowning at them. 'She said she was going to be busy with Nico for a while and told us to stitch you up.'

'She has to be joking.' There's no way she would actually let them stitch me up.

'Well, she's not. So suck it up.' Cataleya chimes as they go around the room to grab a bunch of stuff. 'You don't trust me?'

'I do, little one, but you are not a doctor.' She rolls her eyes while she stares at the list Elle gave her. 'I just have to clean the wound and stitch you up.'

'Isabelle!' Killian shouts from down the hall, making her sigh deeply. 'Go, I got this.' Leya says, basically shoving Isabelle out of the room.

'Congratulations on the engagement, little one.' I chime, smiling when I see the ring on her finger. 'It kind of sucked that you weren't there, but thank you.'

I nod and smile at her, hoping that she won't hate me for it. 'There was a lot of shit that had to be done, but I'm sorry.'

'It's alright. As long as you stop lying about why you weren't there.'

I almost chuckle at her tone and look into her eyes. She's not joking around.

'What happened to your lip?' I ask as she moves over to me. She has a little cut on her lip and a bruise on her arm. 'We got into a fight last night, it was nothing too bad.'

'Is-''Neveah is fine, she's just tired so she's sleeping right now. Rio wanted to wake her up and stress her out even more, but I told him not to.' She says, moving back to the list on the desk.

She grabs the last essentials and searches for the right bottles. 'Adriano wasn't around to help?'

'No, but he did go after them.' She holds up a bottle, staring at it in the light, 'I think he killed them, to be honest, but I'm not sure.' Good...

She turns back to me and takes a deep breath, 'Let's get this over with.'

I watch as she moves closer, reading everything off the list one more time before she grabs some cotton balls and a bottle.

'Take off your clothes.' She says, waiting for me to do so. I grin at her and shake my head while I unbutton my shirt. 'Don't look at me like that, you idiot.'

'You could've said it differently and you know it.' I joke, pulling my shirt over the wound, wincing a little. 'That's what you get.'

She starts carefully cleaning the wound, glancing at my face every two seconds to see if I'm okay. But it burns like hell.

'Are you almost done with that?' I ask, clenching my teeth together. 'She told me to clean it thoroughly, so just bear with me here.'

I try to stay silent as she continues to clean the wound, staring at it as if it might get worse by the second. 'How did it happen?'

'They were holding Nico at gunpoint and one of the guys saw me before I could shoot him.'

She stops and stares at me for a second, before throwing the cotton ball away and reaching for something else.

'Did something happen between you two?' She curiously asks while she pulls the thread through the needle. 'Why would something have happened between us?'

She rolls her eyes before taking a deep breath, basically making sure we're both ready for what's about to go down.

'You both want the same girl, my best friend by the way, and it's clear that you two are not on good terms.' She says as she leans in, slowly moving the needle over to my shoulder, 'Now don't move.'

I inhale sharply as she punctures my skin, having a hard time sitting still. 'Sorry.' She mutters, as she pulls the thread through my skin.

She does it the exact way Elle always does, just a little slower. 'I could've let him die.' I say, making her stop for a second.

I try to stay as silent as possible and watch as she pulls the needle through my skin again. 'Sorry.' She repeats with every sound I make, 'I'm so sorry.'

'It's fine, little one.' I groan, trying to calm down before I start losing it. 'Why didn't you let him die then?'

I frown at her, wondering if she wanted me to let him die or not. 'Wouldn't have been the smartest thing to do.'

'Neveah would be yours.' She says, tensing a little. 'She would also hate me because she cares about him too.'

She nods and pulls the needle through my skin one more time. 'Sorry.'

I chuckle and wait while she finishes the stitches before she grabs another cotton ball. 'It's not that I want you to kill him, but it just... I don't know. I just thought you would- to get Neveah back and all.'

'She doesn't want me back, little one.' She rolls her eyes and doesn't give me a heads up this time, as she drags the cotton ball over my wound. 'She never said she didn't.'

'She never said she did either.' I groan, looking at the ceiling while she slowly drags the cotton ball up and down my shoulder again and again.

'So what? You're just giving up?' She asks curiously, throwing everything in the trash once she's done.

I don't want to, but I feel like I should.

Maybe that's the best.

I can't be selfish and make her love me again. I mean, I can barely be around her without having my heart shatter into a billion pieces.

'What if he can give her what she needs?' I ask, desperately needing answers since my mind is spinning out again. 'You can give her what she needs too.'

'It doesn't feel like it, little one.' She stubbornly shakes her head at me and frowns, 'You guys are still in love, just give her time.'

'I will, it's just... What if time is not enough?' Her frown disappears and I can see the worry in her eyes. 'What do you mean?'

'Maybe she should be with Nico, take her mind off of everything, and just-' I choke on my words, feeling pain rush through my entire body as if I've been shot all over again. 'Just what, Leon?'

I don't want to say it. I truly don't, because I don't want it to become reality.

I don't want her with Nico or anyone else, I want her with me. But I also want her to be happy. And right now, I'm not the one making her happy.

I'm doing the exact opposite.

'Live...' I breathe, hoping that she heard so that I wouldn't have to repeat myself. 'Leon, she lives with you around.'

I shake my head and hop off the table, 'She used to, but not anymore, little one.'

'So you're just giving her over to Nico now?' I shrug and head to the door, tailed by the girl that just stitched me up without having any medical record whatsoever. 'I'll let her decide.'

The door next to ours opens and Elle rushes out, frowning at us.

I can hear Nico groaning in the background and wonder how he's doing, trying to see if he's going to make it or not. 'He's stable, just needs rest.'

Elle stares at the stitches and nods approvingly, pulling me down so she can inspect them from up close. 'Nice job, Ley.' She chimes at the girl behind me, before she glares back at me, 'You're an idiot, you know that right?'

There are a billion things she could be talking about, but I truly don't care about any of them right now.

I just want to go to bed and sleep for a while.

'Can I please go to bed?' I ask instead of responding to a thing she just said. 'No, we are going to-' 'Of course.' Leya answers instead, pulling Elle over to her side.

'But I thought you said we would-' 'You can go to your house and sleep.' Leya states, fighting the urge to cover Elle's mouth, 'Right, Celine?'

The two of them stare at each other for a while, before turning to me. 'I'll bring by some pills later, take them before you go to bed, okay?'

'Fine with me.' I say as I head over to the front door. It's starting to get dark outside and I can already feel myself doze off and sleep for a long time.

When I finally make it to my house, I decide to change into something more comfortable, sweats and a simple grey shirt.

I lay on the bed, patiently waiting for Elle to bring me those pills I have to take, and stare at the ceiling.

I start counting in my head, trying to keep myself awake while I wait.

The door opens a little and I keep facing the ceiling as I hear someone shuffle inside. 'What took you so long?'

'What the fuck is going on?' I sit up when I hear Veah's voice instead of Elle's, and groan at the sudden movement, 'You got shot?'

She strides over to me, throwing the pills and a water bottle on the bed, before staring at me, waiting for me to explain.

'It's nothing.' I mutter as I reach for the pills.

I quickly take three, ready for them to take the pain away already.

'Tiago, what happened?' She asks worried as if I might die any moment now. 'I'm fine, everything's fine cara. Please don't worry about me.'

Her eyes widen a bit when I call her cara again, but I didn't mean to do that. It just happened.

'You should check up on Nico, he's at the main house.' I say as I wait for her to move again.

But she doesn't. She simply stares at me, taking me all in.

'Neveah?' She takes a deep breath before she shakes her head. 'I want to check up on you first.'

'Why?' She frowns as she takes a step forward, almost in arm reach. 'Why would I not?'

'You care about him too.' I say as she takes the last step forward, looking down on me as I stay on the bed.

It's hard for me to not touch her, but I promised I would give her space and time to... Get used to me again.

'I care about you more.' She says, making my heart swell and hurt at the same time.

It makes me feel good to know that she cares about me more than she cares about Nico, but it hurts because he might be her way out of all this.

'I didn't think you would still be here.' I state honestly.

I didn't expect her to be here. She would either be staying with Leya's family or traveling to a different country.

She was not supposed to be here right now.

I follow her movements back to the door and sigh deeply.

'Tiago, I-' 'Don't.' I warn, watching as a piece of her soul shatters at my words.

I've been waiting for months for her to tell me how much she loves me, but I can't hear it anymore. I don't want to.

Because it's hurting her to even say it.

'I'm sorry.' She whispers as she leans against the wall, right next to the door.

She's ready to run out any moment. And I'm waiting for her to do so.

I'm waiting for her to run and never turn back again, hoping that she doesn't have to suffer anymore.

'Stop apologizing, cara, please.' Her eyes lock with mine again and I hate it.

I hate that she can't stand to look at me, I hate that she's in pain, I hate that I made sure she can never look at me again without that pain.

I hate all of it.

'What are you doing here, Neveah?' I hate my voice.

I sound like a complete dick right now, but I don't get why she's here.

'I thought you wanted to talk?' She mumbles, frowning a little. 'About what?'

'About us.' A tear starts to form in my heart and I can't help but straighten my back at the pain shooting through me.

'What about us?' I can tell that she's having a hard time containing herself right now, but I just want her to leave at this point. Because it's too much for one night.

'Tiago what the fuck is going on with you?' She asks. 'Nothing is wrong, Neveah. I'm just tired.'

She nods and keeps her eyes on me for a while, not saying a thing. I catch a glimpse of something I haven't seen in a while.

Regret.

She regrets something and I genuinely wonder what it is. Is it talking to me? Is it coming over here to check up on me? Is it loving me?

'Fine, I'll let you sleep.' She whispers, turning to the door.

Her hand is on the doorknob and my heart starts racing, making me stand up for some reason. 'Veah, wait.'

Am I selfish for wanting her to stay?

Probably.

Do I care right now?

No.

I just want to pull her into my arms and kiss her all over. I want to erase everything from her mind and just live in the moment with her.

But it's impossible.

So I have to limit myself to this. To her being annoyed with me, hating me for the most idiotic reasons.

Jealousy.

'Maybe you should give Nico a chance.' Her eyes flash with regret and pain and... hatred. 'Why would you say that?'

She turns back to me, removing her hand from the door.

'Because I know he wants to be with you.' I admit as I drop back onto the bed, feeling the tear in my heart only grow with each word.

She takes a step forward and shakes her head. 'I don't care.'

'Neveah-' 'Why are you doing this?' She asks, taking another step forward.

I look at the ground and sigh deeply, hearing her take another step. 'Tiago?'

There are a million reasons why I should do this, but not one of them sits right with me.

I want to keep her close, I want to hold her and kiss her and tell her how much I love her. I want to never let her go again, but that would be selfish.

And I can't be selfish.

Not after everything that happened to her.

'Tiago, don't do this.' She whispers, kneeling in front of me.

I look up and realize that she's at her lowest, begging me to try. 'Please don't push me away.'

'Neveah-' She shakes her head and places her hands on mine, shaking as she does. 'I'll be fine, we- we kissed when you left, we even hugged, please don't push me away.'

I grab her hands and stare at them. They're shaking. She's shaking. But I can't let go of her hands.

The hands I want to hold forever, the hands I want to kiss until she tells me to stop.

'Neveah, I can't.' My heart breaks with every second that passes by, but she pulls her hands away and takes a shaky breath.

'Tiago... You didn't do anything.'

'Please get out.' I keep my gaze on the ground, waiting for her to move, but she stays put. 'Just go.'

A few seconds pass before she starts moving, the door slamming shut when she finally leaves.

Talk to Nico... Please...

----

A/N: Short chapter! I KNOW! So it's clear Leya is team Tiago right... And so is Celine... And Brandon...

Will Neveah end with Nico or Tiago?

I hope you guys liked this chapter, don't forget to vote and comment on what you liked best! (it keeps me motivated)

Have a good day/night and I hope to see you in the next chapter!!!