23. Matteo
Matteo
ICEHAWKS BITCHES
IRVING
I miss you fuckers
ASHFORD
we literally saw each other at weight training this morning
IRVING
it’s not the same
JOHNSON
I miss the games
IRVING
only 4 weeks to go!!!
JOHNSON
too far away
MATTEO
can’t believe I agree with Johnson for a change
ELLINGTON
fuck me, I only have two weeks in Greece left then
CRAWFORD
how’s it going?
ASHFORD
well he hasn’t called us to bail him out yet so he can’t be having too much fun
ELLINGTON
oh trust me
fun is definitely being had
ELLINGTON
ELLINGTON
dude
why is my mom blowing up my phone that she can’t reach V?
is she okay?
MATTEO
yeah she’s okay. we’re bunkering down, there’s a raging storm
ELLINGTON
weird
is she on her phone?
MATTEO
nah she’s been off it these days
ELLINGTON
so why is she answering my texts but not my mom’s?
hello?
dude come on don’t ignore me
MATTEO
you’ll have to ask Evie
ELLINGTON
I have, she won’t tell me
MATTEO
then that’s your answer
ELLINGTON
loyalty to my sister over me?
weird
MATTEO
you’re just not used to people telling you no
ELLINGTON
correction
I’m not used to women telling me no ;)
MATTEO
making me gag this late at night should be a crime
ELLINGTON
you’re such a prude
I bet you are secretly kinky
MATTEO
what’s weird is that you’re always trying to find out if I’m kinky
you secretly in love with me, C?
“Iwin,” Evie declares for the fifth time tonight.
I duck my head down to see if there are any cards under the coffee table. “Bullshit! You had two cards left!”
Her grin is as smug as her tone. “Yes, and then I placed a card down. You picked up four, again, and I just placed my last card down. So, I win.”
I lean back, placing my arm along the couch. “This is rigged.”
“No, you’re just a sore loser.” Her nose wrinkles. “And bad at playing Uno.”
“I am not a sore loser!”
“Says the one who claims I’ve cheated at every game.”
My brow quirks. “Did you?”
Evie chuckles. “Oh my god, no!”
“Fine, fine, I retract my accusation.”
Folding her arms over her chest, Evie teases, “Then say I’m the best Uno player.”
“Cocky much?”
“Sore loser much?”
Rolling my eyes, just to appease her—anything to appease her—I admit, “You’re great at playing Uno.”
“The best,” she corrects.
Mock bowing, I drawl, “The best.” Then, an idea comes to mind.
Standing from the floor where we’ve been for the last two hours playing Uno, drinking wine, and watching the storm rage around us, I move toward the office nook by the window, opening one of the drawers.
“And to celebrate your winning streak, I have a surprise.”
A slow smile crawls across her face. “Oh?”
I wasn’t sure when to give this to Evie. I can’t even explain why I’ve been holding onto it. At first, it was because I didn’t want the movers breaking it, and then it was like something intuitive told me to wait.
Hiding it behind my back, I slowly make my way back over to the coffee table. Then I hold it out between us, watching as her smile slowly disappears.
“My camera,” she breathes, not moving to grab it from my outstretched hand.
Taking a seat beside her, I’m all too aware of the way her pulse is jumping in her neck, the way her chest is rising and falling a little faster than before.
“I know how much it means to you. I didn’t want it damaged in the move.”
Evie’s swallow is audible, far louder than her whispered, “Thank you.”
Frowning, I thrust it out to her. “Take it.”
Her eyes flick up to mine before darting back down to the camera her skin turning ashen.
“Dove?” I probe.
Shaking herself out of her stupor, her hands slowly reach for it. They’re trembling slightly.
“Should I not have?” I ask cautiously, confused.
We were talking about her photography on our most recent hike. She sounded like she still loved the hobby, but this reaction isn’t of a woman who loves photography. It looks like she’s being dragged to a death sentence.
“No, it’s okay, it’s just…I haven’t seen it in a long time.”
“When was the last time you used it?”
Evie clears her throat. “Eleven months ago.”
“That’s oddly specific.”
“I remember the last time I took film on it.”
“Maybe we could do another hike, a longer one this time. Not tomorrow but the day after?” She’s nodding her head but I’m worried she’s not actually hearing me. “We don’t have to if you don’t want to—”
“No, I’d love to.” She pauses before placing the camera on the coffee table slowly as if it were a bomb. “I think I’ll go out and buy a new camera, though.”
My head rears back. “Why, is it broken?”
“No, I just…want a new one, I suppose.”
“I can buy you—”
Evie’s hand snatches out to squeeze mine gently. “You’ve done more than enough for me, Matteo. It’s okay, I can get myself a new one.” She quickly shrugs. “I wouldn’t mind being the one to pick it out this time.”
“Oh that’s right. This one was a gift, wasn’t it?”
She nods. Lightning illuminates the apartment, and that’s when I see the tears pooling in her eyes.
I thought I was doing the right thing, thought the camera would cheer her up. I never would have given it to her if I knew she was going to retreat.
Sirens blare on the streets below, filling the silence stretching between us.
“Given any more thought to becoming a dispatcher?” I ask, clinging to anything that will pull her away from the darkness swallowing her whole.
“Yes,” she breathes, pushing the camera away and out of sight. “It sounds horrible but I just need…”
“Time?” I offer.
Her gaze lifts to mine as she nods slowly. “Just a few days to allow myself to feel.”
“You’re going through a lot of life changes. It’s okay to take time.”
Leaning back, she offers me a small smile. “I’m done wallowing. I want to move on with my life.”
“You think you’re ready?” I ask.
“I have to be. I’m tired of feeling this way.”
“Well, in the hopes that I don’t overstep…” Again, is what I don’t say, while I head for my desk once more.
Evie clicks her tongue behind me. “More surprises?”
“I seem to be full of them today,” I say dryly.
Clutching the paperwork I printed out, I walk back, steeling myself as I slide it her way, hoping and praying that she doesn’t mentally retreat.
“The dispatcher academy is starting their new batch of recruits in a week. The applications are still open.”
Her blue eyes widen, the worries the camera brought on earlier forgotten as she takes the papers from my grasp and tries to read them by candlelight.
“Maybe while I’m at training tomorrow you can fill it out,” I gently suggest, not wanting her to feel pressured.
I hold my breath. Clasping my hands in my lap, I twiddle with my fingers, trying to stop myself from snatching the papers back and apologizing for overstepping.
But this time, Evie breathes out a sigh of relief.
“Thank you. My god, I feel like I keep saying thank you, but truly, Valenti, thank you.” Before I know what’s happening, her arms are wrapped around my neck and her head is burrowing into my nape.
“Thank you for helping pick up the pieces of my life.”
Blinking down at her, my heart is a jackhammer, pounding, pounding, pounding. I don’t realize I stopped breathing until my lungs start screaming for air.
I slowly wrap my arms around her body, mine melting into her touch, her smell, the feel of her pressed against me.
It’s the most natural thing in the world.
And I never want to let go.
“It’s nothing,” I say roughly.
“It’s not. I don’t know what I would have done without you…so thank you.”
“Anytime.”
Anything for you, my Dove, I want to confess.