Chosen (Damiano David & Victoria DeAngelis)

Chapter 32

The next day they had their day off again. That was good because neither Damiano nor Victoria would have been able to perform properly that day. It seemed like now that she knew about IT, he didn't bother to act like he was okay anymore. That was good, obviously...but it also meant that everything was way more serious now. During breakfast he seemed tense, so she was glad when they were back in their room after telling Ethan and Thomas to check the casino out without them. He hadn't talked to her since yesterday before their bath together...it worried her but at the same time she could totally understand him. She didn't know what the best approach would be either. Should she talk to him or wait until he talked to her? Should she ask him questions or leave the topic alone until he was ready to talk about it? Would he ever be ready? When was a good time to talk about horrible things like that? Probably never. And if she tried to talk to him, what would be the best way? Be direct...tiptoe around the subject...or just start and let him lead the conversation? She really didn't know. She wished she had someone to help her or tell her what to do but this was something she had to figure out on her own...by trying. That thought alone was scary. Maybe she would just have to think of a unique method to make it bearable for him.

He was laying on the bed, clutching the blanket and just staring at the wall. She guessed that she would have to give him some time to get used to this new situation, so she would slowly start to build their relationship. Not that they weren't friends anymore or anything...it was just a very different kind of relationship now. She sat down on the bed next to him but he didn't even turn around to look at her. One thing, she had learned in the past two weeks was that it seemed to be easier for him to open up and be close to her at night...when it was dark and they couldn't see each other. That's why they had managed to be there for each other the night before. "Damiano...can you please just look at me? We don't have to talk about anything that happened but please...don't keep quiet.", she spoke calmly but in a pleading way. She needed him to talk to her in order to make it at least a little bit easier for her to get through to him. He didn't. He stayed in the same position and Victoria was almost certain that he was holding back tears. She couldn't even begin to imagine how horrible he must have felt in that moment. Maybe...just maybe if she made the room dark enough, he would talk to her? Maybe that would make it easier for him. That sounded so stupid but it was the only thing she could think of. Still, she decided to wait a little longer. Of course, she didn't expect him to talk about everything immediately but the silence made her go crazy. She also didn't know when it was okay to touch him because now that she had processed everything she had seen, she realized that he was probably extremely sensitive to being touched. But then again, it hadn't seemed like he had a problem with it the past few weeks, so maybe it was okay. "Damiano...please...I know it's hard...I really do, but please...let me at least be there for you...", she begged, almost desperate to hear him speak...but again, she got no response. She wasn't frustrated with him or something...not at all...just extremely helpless. She reluctantly placed her hand on his shoulder, caressing it with her thumb but he didn't react at all, just staying in his curled up position. All she could hear was his breathing which seemed calm...but in a forced way – as if he was holding back his pain. She needed to help him open up a bit...at least enough to make it possible for her to comfort him. So, she got up and did the only thing she could possibly think of: She darkened the room.

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

Sorry, this chapter is a bit more boring but I promise the next two days I will be more active.

I hope you like it anyway and I would love to hear your opinion in the comments. Do you think there might be romantic feelings on one or both sides already? And if so, why do you think that?

As always, thanks for reading :)

- Thalia