I love you

Martina proceeded to Vincenzo’s door after Roberto had entered his room. She lied to him that she was thirsty and wanted to drink some water so she could step out of the room. She knocked on his door calmly and waited for him to open up. “Come in,” he answered from inside the room. Martina opened the door and looked in to see him busy on his laptop. His eyes were fixed on it so much that he didn’t even know who walked in.

“Vincenzo.” She called, and he quickly raised his head and looked at her. “Martina?” He hurriedly stood up and moved his laptop aside. “Hey, what are you doing here?” He stood still, staring at her. The lights in his room were off, so he couldn’t see her face clearly. “Why did you bring up the matter again?” She asked, and he furrowed his brows. “What are you talking about?” He asked. She walked closer to him, and he raised his brows as he watched her approach him.

“The Doctor you talked about. He already forgot about the whole issue, but you brought it up again,” she said, and he heaved a sigh. He sat on the bed again, and turned to look at his laptop. “I was just doing my job, Martina. Why are you affected by this?” He asked, keeping his gaze fixed on his screen. “You know very well this affects me. I used his phone, Vincenzo, and you know this. Roberto can’t know about this,” She responded. “He can’t know because there is no need to talk about it. He will just tell us if he is guilty or not, if he is guilty, why he talked to the police about us. And if he isn’t guilty, we’ll let him go,” He replied, still not looking at her.

“You can’t be so sure, Vincenzo. What if he says something about it to Roberto when he is being questioned?” Martina asked fearfully. “Nothing will happen. You said you didn’t call the cops, right?” He asked, looking at her. She bounced her head, and he spoke up again, “Then you have nothing to worry about. And, Roberto trust you, he won’t hurt you.” His voice was cold and plain, and this got on Martina’s nerves. “What’s wrong with you?” Why are you acting so cold to me? What have I done wrong?” She asked angrily. “I never said you did anything wrong, Martina, and I am not acting cold to you. I’m just busy, trying to concentrate,” He replied, still keeping his eyes fixed on his screen.

Martina stared at his face speechlessly. She knew what was wrong and why he was acting like that. She hated that they didn’t talk like they used to anymore. She missed him, but wasn’t ready to tell it to his face. “Is this how you want it? That we act like strangers?” She asked, and he closed his eyes slowly. He breathed out through his mouth and looked at her. “What do you want me to do, Martina?” He asked. “I want you to be a man! Talk to me! Don’t just ignore!” She threw her hands in the air out of frustration.

“Talk to you about that exactly? I already told you what I have to tell you, Martina…” He stood up from his bed and approached her. She gulped hard as she watched him close the distance between them. “I already said that I love you, Martina. I have always loved you. But what can I do? You are in love with the boss, and he loves you too. There’s nothing I can do about that. For the both of us, I think it’s best I keep my distance,” He said, and she clenched her jaw, staring at him speechlessly.

“You should leave. I have many things to attend to.” He turned to take his leave, but she grabbed his hand and pulled him to herself. She clasped his face with her hand and moved very close to him. In no time, her lips met with his, and she pressed hard against him like her life depended on it. He held her arm and pushed her backwards, causing her to break the kiss. “Martina, what are you doing?” He asked in surprise. “I’m trying to stop confusing myself. I don’t want you far away from me, don’t keep your distance,” She uttered, and he let go of her arm. “I can’t keep pretending to be fine when you two are together, Mr. Roberto can’t know I have these feelings for you. So, I think it’s the best idea, Martina.”

“But…” “No buts, Martina. You belong to the boss, and I have no rights to share you with him. Please, Martina, let it be like this. I am happy he is with you, at least he is gradually turning into a good person. You should stick with him,” He responded, and she swallowed. “You should go back before he notices you are gone for too long. Good night, Martina.” He walked to his bed, and she turned to leave. She said no words as she left his room. When she shut the door behind her, Vincenzo raised his head and looked at the door. He touched his lips with his finger and moved it over them slowly.

“Is staying away and killing my feelings is the best for us, then I’ll do it. Mr. Roberto is now cheerful, I should be happy for him, not trying to ruin his pleasurable moments.” He thoughts to himself, throwing his head backward.

Martina got into the room and met Roberto lying down on the bed, his eyes were closed, and he looked fast asleep. She divulged a faint grin as she walked to the bed, and she climbed on to lay next to him. She picked up his arm and wrapped it around her as she placed her head on his chest. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at her. He moved his right hand to her face and caressed it slowly. “You’re back,” he muttered, and Martina bobbed against his chest. He planted a kiss on her head and closed his eyes again.

“Are you fine now?” He mumbled to her in his sleep, and she raised her head to look at his face. A bright smile cut across her face as she watched him sleep. “I’m fine now, thank you. You should sleep already. We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow,” She uttered, and he nodded, exhaling deeply. “You should sleep too. Good night. I love you,” He mumbled again. He turned his face to the other side and continued his sleep.

The smile on Martina’s face faded away slowly after she heard his last statement. She sighed and placed her head on his chest again. She closed her eyes and fell asleep afterwards.