Chapter 3
LEONARDO
I’d landed, organised my rental car and was on my way to my best friends’ house.
It had been over a year since I last saw them both. Living on opposite sides of the country will do that.
When we became such a tight-knit crew nearly twenty years earlier, I never would have imagined being so far away from them. I even tried to get a job in the same hospital as Nico once, so I could be closer. Alas, that wasn’t meant to be.
We were a trio of misfits who couldn’t rely on our biological families that were filled with drama, tragedy and regret.
So, we created a family within each other. I talked with them often, both together and individually.
Gabriella remained the same, just an older, more mature version of her former self.
Nico, on the other hand, had changed much over the years, especially the last six months—a subtle shift I noticed before he left for his secondment.
I was glad he was venturing further afield, hoping that would settle his restless nature.
He would be surprised at my arrival, but Gabriella swore me to secrecy, and I had never been able to deny that woman anything.
I cut the engine in their driveway, collected Gabriella’s favourite ice cream and snuck up to the entrance.
Should I go in all guns blazing, or settle for the stealthy sneak attack?
As I approached the front door, there was a strange energy in the air, a particular unnerving stillness that preceded any natural disaster.
That’s when I processed high-pitched screeching.
“Give them back! GIVE THEM BACK!”
It was Gabriella, and it sounded like she was breaking down, her voice filled with deep anguish.
My muscles seized before I bolted through the door to encounter plain carnage. Shattered glass, splattered food and stained furniture. Nothing came away unscathed; the open-plan kitchen and lounge had been destroyed.
But what made my soul scream was finding my two best friends in an altercation.
Nico raised his arms in a poor attempt at protection as Gabriella carelessly laid into him.
I brought my fingers to my mouth and let a loud whistle loose.
Their attention immediately pivoted my way, and by Nico’s contorted face, he was fucking pissed.
“Ah, if it isn’t the man of the hour! Option number one!”
I had no idea what he was talking about, though recognition sparked in Gabriella’s eyes.
“All this time,” she said, her voice torn. “You never moved past it, did you?”
“And neither did you!”
They were speaking in code, a language filled with sorrow and regret.
Then Nico turned back to me. “Well, here she is, friend. She’s all yours.” He grabbed Gabriella’s shoulder and shoved her towards me.
I caught her arm in mine, guiding her upright. “I don’t know what’s happened, but don’t put your fucking hands on her, Nico.”
He cackled, a deranged laugh falling out of his bruised face. “Fucking take her. You’ve always wanted her anyway!”
He was unhinged. I spared a glance at Gabriella, who was staring at her husband with such disdain that she didn’t even notice the bloody footprints her cut feet left behind. Hell, they were both unhinged.
“Are you okay?” I asked Gabriella.
Her eyes softened when they met mine, but I could also see the tornado of emotions churning beneath. She was hurting badly.
“Do you two need a minute?” Nico sneered. “Or do you need help packing for your new life together?”
Alright. I had had about enough of his arrogant, condescending attitude. Where the hell is my best friend?
“What the fuck is going on, Nico?”
“You tell me, Leo. Why are you even here? I didn’t invite you.”
“I came as a surprise. Ella invited me.”
“Of course she did,” he said. But there was something extra in his tone—an underlining accusation.
“What are you insinuating?”
Gabriella cut in. “Don’t, Nico. Haven’t you done enough?”
At her question, his expression twisted into a cruel mask. “What, Gabs? I thought you’d be happy to finally have confirmation that Leo’s been fawning over you since we got together.”
“Are you high?” I asked. “Ella is my friend, as are you.”
“Really? Do friends fuck their best friend’s wives?”
I scoffed. “Stop talking shit. We have never been inappropriate.”
“That’s not what I heard from—oh, let me think—Monica, Erica, Rita and Sandra.” He said each name with a tick of a finger for extra emphasis.
Disbelief and humiliation swept through me as he relayed all my sins out in the open.
His eyes gleamed in triumph as they flicked to Gabriella beside me. “Those are all sex workers, by the way, my dear wife. And guess what they all have in common…”
“Shut the fuck up, Nico. Don’t start something you can’t finish.”
“Oh, but I did—finish, that is. Multiple times. It was a thrill, really. You have particular taste, Leo. Dark hair and green eyes, just like my wife. But let me give you some advice, my friend. You should stick with your whores, ’cause although you always imagined fucking my wife, those women were a lot better than the real thing. ”
I tackled him to the ground, my fists connecting with his body in a repetitive, dull thump. I couldn’t believe the shit he was saying and how he was saying it. He only managed to get that far because my brain had switched into damage control.
Where is my best friend? What happened to my best friend?
Concerned screaming managed to filter through, only because it belonged to her. I was causing Gabriella more fear, and I never wanted to be a source of hurt for her.
Collecting myself, I retreated, standing next to a wavering Gabriella. “Let’s go, Ella.”
She whimpered, “I-I don’t think I can walk.”
Whether it was her injured feet or her overwhelmed mind, it didn’t matter. I’d always protect her.
Leaning forward, I lifted her against my chest. “I’ve got you.”
Nico was bloody and bruised, his expression falling when he really took her in—small, delicate and broken.
“I-I—”
I didn’t let him finish. I just pivoted for the door. Stepping over the shattered glass and the ice cream melting on the foyer floor, I walked past everything.
My heart fractured with each step I took away from my best friend. And I could practically hear Gabriella’s splintering echo alongside my own.
Except mine was quickly internalised, remorse taking an equal claim to my pain.
Because Nico was right.
Gabriella was my first love. She was my only love. And I would pick her above our friendship, above any relationship, above it all.