Chosen (Damiano David & Victoria DeAngelis)

Chapter 11

It was dark in his room but she didn't turn the lights on. She still wasn't quite sure if it was okay to just walk in without him knowing but soon she would find out just how important it was. "Damiano?", she asked quietly, feeling guilty for coming in like that. She got no answer but soon enough she noticed that music was coming from the bathroom. Maybe she should leave...if he was in the bathroom he was probably just taking a shower. "Don't be stupid...the water isn't running.", she thought to herself...but maybe he was just about to come out and what would he think if he saw her? That would be embarrassing...yeah, she should just go back. "Listen to your feelings, Vic...better risk it being nothing than regretting it afterwards.", the voice of her mom repeated in her head. She was right...she just knew something wasn't okay. She took a deep breath and entered the bathroom without thinking about it again.

Her heart stopped for a moment. "Damiano!", she exclaimed as she saw him sitting on the floor, blood on his arms. "What are you doing?!", she was yelling, her voice was shaky and her heart was beating way too fast. He looked shocked...lost...horrified even...but so was she. She was frozen, couldn't do anything. "No...no...that's not real...tell me that's not real, Damiano...", she demanded, overwhelmed by all sorts of emotions. She felt angry...at him for not telling her and at herself for not noticing...she felt helpless...not knowing what to do or how to help and she felt heartbroken, seeing her best friend covered in blood from wounds he had inflicted on himself. She wanted to turn around and just leave...never talk to him again and forget what she had just seen. He was dead silent, staring at her, his teary hazel/brown eyes filled with disbelief...and she was just staring back at him, only now realizing that tears were covering her own cheeks. She slowly stepped towards him, her legs all shaky from the shock...she felt like she was about to collapse. She had to hold on to the sink while kneeling down next to him because if she hadn't she probably would've fallen. She couldn't look into his eyes...she didn't know what to do but for some reason her body seemed to react naturally as if she knew what she had to do...it was like her mind and body weren't connected anymore. She felt lost but she reacted subconsciously, pulling him into her arms. He stiffened for a second but once she started really holding onto him, he also did the same. And all of a sudden it didn't feel weird to hug him anymore...it felt natural and it was probably as much comforting for her as it was for him.

They just stayed like that for a while until she had managed to calm herself down a bit from the initial shock. He was still holding onto her, probably crying but she couldn't tell. She knew her reaction hadn't been great at all. Why the fuck would you tell someone to tell me it's not real after that? That was stupid and probably the last thing he needed to hear right now. It was important to show him that she was there for him and that he could fully trust her. She pulled away a bit, finally being able to look at him properly. She was still a bit shaky herself when she gently brushed some strands of hair out of his face: "I'm sorry...I promise, I'm not judging you...", she forced herself to smile a little but it was harder than she had thought it would be. He looked so broken and embarrassed, still not saying a single word...who could blame him? She wasn't experienced with self harm or wounds like that in general but she had enough common sense to know that she needed to take care of that. "I...I'm gonna have a look, okay? I...uhm...I won't do anything you're not comfortable with...", she tried to sound assuring but she really just sounded helpless. If she was completely honest, she didn't even want to look. She didn't want to see what he had done to himself. One thing was crystal clear now though: She would have to help him, no matter what. She would have to look out for him more and make sure he would be able to get better. It was her responsibility now.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Hey ;)

I apologize if I got his eye color wrong...in some pictures they look brown in some they look hazel, so I really don't know.

Let me know what you think about this chapter...is it too predictable?

Thanks for reading.

- Thalia