Anastasia by A. Marie

Anastasia

Iregretted that day in his room more than anything. I hadn’t seen Valentino in a whole week. For the first three days, I decided to sleep in his room and just hope he would show up. He never did. Not even when it was nighttime. It made me wonder if he were with someone else. The thought broke my heart so much that I stopped sleeping in his room and returned to mine.

I had never felt so alone. I couldn’t count how many times I cried and wondered why my life had to be so complicated. No matter what I did, I could not be content. Even when I tried to text Jacob about dog-sitting Max like I was supposed to, I couldn’t get a response.

Deciding that today would be the last day of drowning in a pit of my own sadness, I would get dressed and do something productive. I got up and made my way to the bathroom. I took a shower, brushed my teeth, and did everything else for good personal hygiene.

After I finished, I wrapped a towel around myself and went to my closet. All of my clothes were either short or tight. With a sigh, I put on my trademark pink lingerie before slipping on a pair of shorts and a pink crop top. Then, I slipped on a pair of socks, since it wasn’t like I had any place else to be other than the mansion.

As soon as I finished, the door opened, and Valerio walked in. I couldn’t help but smile as I shuffled over and embraced him in a hug. I hadn’t seen him since Valentino said I was basically suspended from going into the club.

“How you been, Barbie doll?” he asked, a big smile on his face. I pulled away from the hug with a sad smile.

“As good as I can get,” I responded.

“When are you coming back to the club?” he questioned. I could only shrug my shoulders as I thought about how I was going to pay my rent if I weren’t getting paid. There was also the fact that I had to pay the monthly bill to the rehab facility for my mother.

“I’m not sure. I’ve been thinking about finding a job somewhere else. This place is just becoming too personal,” I explained. He nodded his head slowly, a sad look on his face.

“Are you going to keep living here? I’m sure Mr. Romano wouldn’t mind,” he said. I was almost completely sure he would mind. Shaking my head, I gave him one more sad smile.

“No. I’ll probably get an apartment somewhere until my mother gets better,” I answered. He opened his arms once more, leaving me to walk into them. His hugs were always so brotherly, and it made me happy.

“Is he here?” I asked him.

He shook his head. “No. He’s been gone for a few hours now.”

As soon as we pulled away, he opened my bedroom door for me. I gave him one last smile before walking out of my room and down the hall. We said our goodbyes before heading off in different ways

Just then, my phone began to ring. After pressing accept, I held it to my ear and waited for the person on the other line to speak.

“Anastasia?” Jacob questioned. A large breath of relief came through me at the sound of his voice. It had felt like I hadn’t heard from him in so long.

“Jacob, I have missed you so much. What happened?” I asked. He went on to explain how he didn’t want to talk over the phone and how he was outside of the mansion.

My brows pulled together when I headed to the front door. When I saw his car outside, I strolled over to it and got into the passenger seat.

“What’s up?” I wondered.

“Do you know a man by the name of Romano?” I let out a loud sigh, already gaining a feeling of where this conversation was heading. It was something bad, and I knew it. “He threatened me to stay away from you. Are you with that man, Anastasia?”

“No, not technically,” I murmured.

“I’m worried about you. He seems dangerous, and I don’t understand how you can choose a guy like him over me. I would do anything for you, don’t you know that?” I gulped before allowing my eyes to cast down to my lap. It was the conversation I was trying to avoid so I could keep him as my friend.

He was right about one thing. How could I choose a man like Valentino over Jacob, who wasn’t stubborn, and who seemed like he knew how to love a woman. Jacob was more emotionally available than Valentino would ever be, yet Valentino owned my heart.

“Please, just give me a chance. I promise I will treat you the way you deserve to be treated, which will be many times better than that Romano guy ever could,” Jacob let out. I opened my mouth to speak, but before a word could get out, Jacob pressed his lips to mine.

I was shocked. I didn’t know what to say or do without losing our friendship, so I just sat there. There were no shocks or tingles like I got with Valentino, all I felt was lips moving against mine until they weren’t anymore.

Jacob’s car door was harshly jerked open before he was snatched out of his own vehicle. My jaw dropped to see Valentino slamming his fist into Jacob’s face. I hurriedly got out of the car, screaming in protest for Valentino to stop.

He completely ignored me and continued to pummel Jacob’s face. At first, Jacob was fighting back, but he soon looked like a ragdoll as he laid there, accepting his defeat.

I ran over to Valentino and tried my best to push him off Jacob, but he wouldn’t budge. Blood was spilling out of Jacob’s nose and mouth as Valentino beat him to the pulp.

It wasn’t until he stopped that he finally looked at me. His breath was uneven, and his eyes were full of rage. Then, he turned back to look at Jacob, who was coughing up blood.

“Get up and get the hell off my property! If I see you near her again, I won’t hesitate to fucking kill you! Consider this my last warning!” Valentino seethed before grabbing my arm in his firm hold. I looked back at Jacob, worry coursing through me. He was trying to get up, but ended up falling back down to the ground again.

Valentino dragged me into the house where he led me to his bedroom. Even then, he didn’t bother to let go.

“What are you trying to do, huh? Get back at me for not talking to you?” he yelled, fury still evident on his feautures.

I sniffled as I thought about poor Jacob. He shouldn’t have kissed me, but Valentino shouldn’t have hit him. Jacob had done so much for me, and I hated that he got a whiff of my bad luck and ended up beaten for a girl he really liked.

“No, I’m not a child. Jacob called me and said he needed to speak to me, so I went out there and he kissed me, but it’s not like you deserve some explanation. Just because you put some claim on me doesn’t mean I belong to you. I am allowed to do as I please, and you need to respect that just like how I respect it when you decide to do it!” I declared. “You avoided me for a week like a teenager just because I almost said that I loved you. I would’ve understood if you told me you didn’t feel the same way, but you left. That’s what you do—you use me and then you leave. I can’t handle having any more of this drama. I have had enough to last a long time.”

“Why do you assume that I use you?” he questioned, frustration beaming on my face. “I want you in ways that I never wanted anyone else, and I’m not talking about sex. You don’t understand why it’s so hard for me to love you like you want me to love you.”

“Then help me understand,” I insisted.

“I don’t even understand, but I know that I have feelings for you, too, Anastasia. Seeing you with Jacob killed me,” he said, his voice growing softer with each word.

I sighed before wrapping my arms around him. “I’m here, always.”