𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞 (𝐌å𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧)

Chapter 23

What do you
think of the story
so far? Let me know :)

Pay attention, I hope that you listen
'Cause I let my guard down
Right now I'm completely defenseless
(One Direction - If I could fly)

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Victoria's POV

After the call I was happy to know that Coraline was where we thought she would be.
Yet, I was quite confused as to why Damiano never told me about his and Iris' friendship.
Whenever he told me about his childhood, he only ever mentioned Coraline.

"So, good news. I called Iris and she said she met Cora today. So yes, she's in Paris" I explained as I sat down in the couch in the small but cozy living room.
"Oh thank god. I thought something happened to her" Damiano said relieved but I still wanted to know about his relationship with Iris.

"Yeah, but Damiano, you know Iris too. Why didn't you call her? And why have you never told me about her?" I asked. Damiano seemingly got nervous and started fiddling with his fingers.
"Umm...It's just.." He rambled quietly and I sighed.
"Coraline and I have always been friends. But I wasn't her only best friend. Growing up, she was very close with Iris as well.  We were a trio, at least until she moved away. That was when Cora and I basically became inseparable. They wrote each other letters every now and then but eventually it stopped. To be honest, I used to be very jealous of Iris. I thought she was taking away my best friend" Damiano explained and took a deep breath as if he was about to cry.

I gently rubbed his arm to let him know it was okay. He took another deep breath and continued.
"Then, one day, I met her again right before you brought her over to meet us. The jealousy never really went away and so we had a pretty messy argument. I said things I never should've said. She said some pretty hurtful things to me as well but I definitely crossed the line when I told her to never mention Coraline again. Not to you, not to anyone we both knew. I also demanded that if she ever saw her, she'd act as if she didn't know her. That's why you probably didn't know that Iris and Cora are friends. But as if that wasn't enough, I promised myself that, from that day on, I would treat her like a complete stranger" He continued and a couple of tears started to fall down his now slightly red face.

I didn't know whether  to be angry at him for doing this to my friend, or to feel sorry for him because he lost his two childhood friends.
The room was silent for a few moments until I gathered the courage to finally say something.
"I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit mad at you for hiding all of this from me for so long. But I also understand that it must be hard losing both of your closest friends. I think we both should leave this alone for a day or two and then come back to it with clear minds, okay?" I suggested and he agreed with me.

We got up from the couch and made our ways into our respective bedrooms.
As I was about to drift off to sleep, I heard a slight knock on the hardwood door.
I rubbed my eyes and slowly got up to open it.
"Are you okay?" I asked concerned when I noticed how red and puffy Damiano's face was.
"It's just...I can't do this" He said, almost whispered.
"Can't do what?" I replied.
"I can't not go and see Cora. I need to know that she's okay and I can only do that by seeing her in person" He explained and let out a light sob.
"Damiano, I don't think this is the only thing bothering you right now. What's really wrong?" I asked and that's when he completely broke down.