The man smiled.
"Savannah," Aiden whispered, tugging at the hem of her t-shirt as he pointed his finger in the direction of a car that just turned right into the parking lot. The car she recognized from the car race.
Flavio's.
He was driving, however, it was Elio who got out from the passenger seat, heading in her direction. His face flashed with confusion, then he saw the bag in her hand and pain morphed into agony.
"Megan, please take Aiden to the car and wait for me there," Savannah pleaded.
The girl followed her request. Frank, too, realized that she wanted to talk to the man alone. He backed out to his apartment doors, watching from the distance. He wouldn't give them total privacy, though. Because this could go two different ways.
Savannah, as if in a zone, closed the space between her and Elio and hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her and drew her closer, gently rubbing her back. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. She sunk into the warmth of his chest, appreciative of the simple gesture. His touch made her warmer somehow, her future seemed a little less bleak. Even if it was a lie.
He was already wearing different clothes. A hoodie and jeans. She touched his arm slightly, remembering that he was hurt. It must not have been a bad wound since he could move his arm. However, she needed to hear it.
"How is your arm?" she asked.
"It's alright. It'll heal in no time," he said. "Savannah, what are you doing?"
There came the question she feared to answer.
She didn't want to let go because she knew that if she let go she wouldn't be able to hold him again. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do this without you," she whispered.
"Do what?" he pressed, pulling away. He already knew what she was talking about. It was obvious and he wasn't stupid. But he refused to believe it.
Elio shook his head and cupped her rosy cheeks. He was looking into her eyes with such intensity that it physically hurt her. She was overcome with a feeling of pain. Yet, she let him because after that she knew that she wouldn't see him again. Leaning into his touch, she closed her eyes for a little bit, inhaling his scent. It always calmed her down and made her feel safe. It still did, and at once she wanted to change her mind. Risk one more time.
But then she looked at Flavio's car.
"For someone who has little Aiden to worry about, you sure as hell don't think about the danger Elio's brought to your life. Which can increase at any moment."
Those had been Flavio's words.
The ones she knew she had to believe in.
Because he was right.
Rolling dice was no longer an option.
The danger had increased and she was out of moves.
"Savannah think about what you want to do for a second. What you're holding against me."
Pulling back, she had to stay strong. Even if looking at Elio made her feel anything but. She loved the time she’d got to spend with him and would always cherish it. He’d helped her open up to something more than just learning to survive each day. To new emotions and experiences. There was nothing that could possibly even come close to that. She wouldn't forget it. Wouldn't forget him. Because he’d left his marks so deep that no amount of surgeries could ever remove them.
And that was fine. That's what love was after all. Whether it lasted or not. It happened for a reason, and that's what Savannah chose to hold on to.
"I'm not holding anything against you, Elio. I get it. I get it all. You have to stay and do what you did. But I cannot do that."
His eyes hardened as he closed his palms into fists, trying to overcome the anger that was slowly tearing through his walls. "Yes, you are. You think that it's so easy to simply change your life. Turn things around, and you think that I can do the same. Just because you are about to."
Tears welled up in her eyes and she felt dizzy.
"I love you," he said. And he really did. There was no doubt in his mind. No matter how much he didn't want to accept it. That was reality. He needed her. He wanted her. The moment he’d seen her laying on the floor after the explosion he could only think of saving her. Keeping her safe. Because he couldn't be without her.
And she was leaving him for the same reason he wanted her to stay.
"I love you," he repeated.
She burst out crying. The same words were on the tip of her tongue. However, she fought extremely hard not to say them, because it wouldn't make anything easier. Elio said them to make her stay as his last resort, believing that his love was enough.
Savannah knew better.
This was it. This was goodbye.
He brought her closer to his chest, hiding his face in her hair. The tips of his fingers caressed her back while she cried for what was and would never be. It hurt like a bitch and she almost felt all the pieces of her heart that Elio had somehow put back together over such a short period of time, the ones her parents had broken, fall apart once more. Crushing.
It took some time for Savannah to be able to look at him again.
"You cannot leave me, Savannah. I refuse to let you. You're not fucking leaving. Do you understand?"
Anger took over the hurt. His eyes darkened, lips curved in disgust at the thought of what she wanted to do. Because he could see that he didn't change her mind. Or at least not for long enough so she’d decide to stay.
And a fire lit within Savannah, too. Simply to match his.
Because ending it with soft words and a calm approach didn't fucking work.
"Don't you
