Page 36 of Do It For Me

I smile faintly. “You’ll… taste them too.”

“I will, sweetheart. Are you feeling better? What happened?”

I shake my head, even though he can’t see me. “It was… nothing. Thank you.”

He sighs. “Then I guess you should get some sleep—”

“D-don’t… hang up.”

“I won’t.”

I want to keep talking, but I can’t open my mouth.

Or my eyes.

He starts humming a song, and the burning in my chest spreads through my body, leaving tingles in its wake.

I like Dante.

I want him to like me too.

When I wake up, I’m tucked into bed. There’s a water bottle next to me with a little note resting on top. I frown and reach for it.

“I needed to make sure you were okay. Tell me if you need me to come tonight. Our next date is in two weeks, but I’ll come sooner either way.

—The love of your life ;D.”

A faint laugh escapes my lips.

A few minutes later, I walk downstairs for breakfast. My father is already in the kitchen, pressing an ice bag against his left eye. My stomach twists under his gaze.

“What do you want?”

“M-m-my breakfast.”

He tosses the ice bag into the sink. His lip and eyebrow are bleeding, and both his eyes are swollen and bruised.

Did he trip and fall?

When I open the fridge, I find another note that says Lana. I pick it up and read it.

“I bought some ice cream too. It’s in the freezer :D.”

I restrain a smile, biting my lip. Butterflies flutters in my belly.

Mum was right. Dante’s nothing like my father.

Notas:

8. Sogni d’oro: Sweet dreams.

9. Vita mia: My life.

FUCK IT!

Days pass, and I can’t stop smiling.

Every five minutes, I check my phone to see if Dante has replied to my messages. Every night he doesn’t come to my room, he calls and sings me to sleep. Whenever I’m downstairs with Mum or my father, I hide my phone and my excitement, letting it eat me alive until I’m alone and can reply to him.