La Rosa Gialla

Chapter 11

OK, so I'm writing this the day after the Lewis Hamilton/Ferrari announcement and I'm really curious about what you lovely people think about it. To be honest I still don't know how to feel 😀. So feel free to share your opinions, this is a safe space 😊

❤ -B. 

January 2024

I spent the rest of the evening casually serving guests and thoroughly ignoring Aunt Francesca. Fortunately, I didn't have to avoid Charlie, as he was constantly surrounded by the invited men, who bombarded him with questions about the new season of Formula 1. But he didn't seem particularly bothered by it. He willingly told them everything he thought fit to let out into the world.

"At least someone is having fun," Luca tossed towards Charles as he carried a pile of dirty plates into the kitchen. I grabbed a few used glasses, held the door for him and disappeared from the dining room with him. "He's here as a guest, not as an attendant," I shrugged and Luca frowned at me. "I'd also like to be here as a guest one day," he muttered and started putting the plates in the dishwasher. "What did I interrupt before? What did you and Charles talk about?" he asked as he finally closed the dishwasher and leaned his back against the counter. "I have no idea what you're talking about," I shook my head, looking for anything to occupy myself with. "You know very well what I'm talking about," he smirked and looked deep into my eyes. "I thought you had it closed and you didn't feel anything for him."

"Of course not. Why should I have feelings for him?"

"Adri," he sighed, walking towards me and forcing me to look at him. "If you still like him, then..." "I don't, okay? I don't feel anything for him at all," I cut him off and frowned. He looked at me like only Luca can. He is my brother, he knows me better than anyone. "I just wanted to tell you not to complicate things unnecessarily," he smiled, patted my shoulder and disappeared through the door.

So that I don't complicate things unnecessarily? Not to complicate what? I haven't seen him in years. I've erased him from my heart and I need a lot more than him being willing to help out at a family party for me to let him back in. I can't afford another disappointment. And I certainly can't afford to lose him again.

"What a day," Dad exhaled tiredly when the door closed behind the last guest. Coincidentally, it was Aunt Francesca, who managed to slip a piece of paper with a phone number into my hand before leaving. I smiled at her and crumpled the leaf into a miniature ball. Goodbye Giuseppe.

"Can I spend the night here?" Charles asked sheepishly as we cleared away the last of the dishes, blew out the last of the candles, and turned off the last of the restaurant's lights. "Of course," Dad smiled at him. "Do you want to prepare the room or is the couch good enough for you?"

"Your couch is quite comfortable. Thanks Davide," he replied and our eyes met for a second. Fortunately, no one noticed anything weird about his answer. Alessandra said goodbye and went to meet Elio who was already sleeping and after a while dad followed her. Luca fetched a blanket and a pillow from somewhere and threw both at Charles. Then he announced, "Buona notte," and disappeared too.

"Are you tired yet?" Charles asked as I just stood there in silence for a few minutes staring at the white wall. "What?" I asked and Charles smirked.

"I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie," I knew he hadn't asked that before, but I still looked at the clock, which read just before midnight, and finally nodded. "Do you have any preferences?" I asked him after I switched on the Netflix. "Not at all," he grumbled and made himself comfortable on the couch. I clicked on the first movie in the most watched section and hoped it wasn't complete bullshit. It was bullshit, so I didn't even realize I started to fall asleep.

I woke up completely sore with a stranger's hand around my waist. My neck was stiff and my left arm was dead, as I had probably been lying on it all night. It was already light outside the windows and the clock on the wall showed almost nine. I felt Charles's breath on the back of my neck and his hand on my waist moved a little and squeezed me tighter. God, what am I getting myself into again? Before I could untangle myself from the duvet and get up from the couch, Luca appeared in the room. It took him a moment to notice me, but then he just raised one eyebrow and gave me a thumbs up. I rolled my eyes, took Charles' arm off of me and got to my feet. I pointedly looked at my brother to keep quiet and motioned for him to go to the kitchen, where I immediately followed him.

"We just fell asleep watching a movie, nothing more," I stated before Luca could speak first. "I didn't say anything at all," he protested.

"You didn't say it, but you thought it."

"I don't think anything anymore. I don't think at all that you are still crazy about him and are just prolonging your suffering unnecessarily. I don't think anything like that at all."

"I'm not crazy about him!" I shouted in a whisper and Luca turned on the coffee maker in the meantime. "Alessandra and I just think you two really need to talk," he said. "Did you talk to Alessandra about it?" I was horrified.

"She's my wife! And I didn't have to tell her anything, she can see it too."

"But I'm seriously not in love with him," I moaned and pulled out two small cappuccino cups from the top cabinet.