As old as time - Charles Leclerc

What is love?

Angelica

TW. Abuse

I looked at Michelle and Charles from the balcony, I always knew that no matter how long they hadn't seen each other there was nothing that could part them.

"Angela, make me some tea" said Léon, I headed to the kitchen and started boiling the water. As I stared at the boiling water inside the kettle I started recalling my childhood memories, growing up in Sicily around my cousins, I was happy for once. I remembered my old life, my old house, my old room. I would kill to go back to it.

I met Léon because his dad sent him to Italy to work for my father, to me he was the handsome stranger that had just moved into our house, I was swooned, by his accent, his scent, and his sweetness towards me. Now that I look back at my younger self I see how blinded I was by him, I shouldn't have fallen for him.

What do you do with a loving feeling
If the loving feeling makes you all alone?
What do you do with a loving feeling
If they only love you when you're all alone?Holding hands under a table
Meeting up in your bedroom
Making love to other people
Telling each other it's all good
Kisses like pink cotton candy
Talking to everyone but me
I'm stayin' on later just in case
You come up and ask to leave with meWhat do you do with a loving feeling
If the loving feeling makes you all alone?
What do you do with a loving feeling
If they only love you when you're all alone?
What do you do with a loving feeling
If the loving feeling makes you all alone?
What do you do with a loving feeling
If they only love you when you're all alone?
You only love me when we're all alone

— ᴬ ᴸᵒᵛⁱⁿᵍ ᶠᵉᵉˡⁱⁿᵍ - ᴹⁱᵗˢᵏⁱ

"Are you done?" his voice pulled me back to reality, "yes, give me a minute". As I placed the tray in front of him on the coffee table I sat, waiting for him to finish, he said "I'm leaving tomorrow for Rome, I have a meeting with some clients there" I nodded, I knew that the meeting with "the clients" was his way of saying that he was going to visit one of his mistresses. I knew he was cheating on me, he also knew that I knew, but that never mattered to him, he always did what he wanted, and I never had an opinion in that.

Michelle caught him the first time when she was 17, she got back from school early that day with Charles and they saw him kissing a girl half his age. What made my heart boil was not that he cheated on me, but the fact that Michelle was the one who saw him do it.

She always hated him, and I don't blame her, If I were her I would've hated him too, but sadly I'm not her.

5 years Ago

Pascale was next to me, holding Michelle who was sobbing and begging me to leave Léon as I was lying on the hospital bed. everything was white around me, the bed sheets, the hospital gown, the floor, and the ceiling. I didn't remember what happened, the only thing I could remember was the sound of the glass chattering and Michelle's screams. "are you stupid? he almost killed you there and you still refuse to leave him, why do you do this" Michelle said as she was holding on to my leg, "please please, I don't want you to die, I love you Mama" she said in Italian.

"I love him, that's why I'm still here. I know he needs me" I told Pascale, she never liked him, but she never got involved because I asked her to, I saw the worry in her eyes every time he hit me, "If he needed you he wouldn't do this to you, this is not love, you know that. I'm not going to argue with you again, because you already know what I'm going to say".

I knew what real love felt like because I've been there, Alberto, the only guy I loved more than anything, even Léon. He was my childhood crush, his striking blue eyes were the only thing I dreamed about for nights, he treated me like a queen, even if it was only in secret. My parents never liked him because of his family, my father and his were business partners once upon a time until things happened and they despised each other. Alberto and I would sneakily run away to our big olive grove and spend time talking about our life, sometimes he would bring his guitar and we would sing our favorite songs.

"What happened to him?" Pascale asked me when I told her about him, "I don't know because he left, he went to study abroad and I never saw him again".

Meantime

I picked up the empty mug and went to wash it, Léon went to drink some water when the phone rang, "Yes?" he answered, I watched Léon's face turn pale as he continued talking on the phone with the caller, He then grabbed his keys and ran outside. I stood there not knowing what had just happened, he came back shouting "Let's go".

Léon was silent the whole ride to the hospital, I was still clueless as to what happened, I followed him as he sprinted towards the front desk, "Where is Henri? Henri Dupont?" I was still trying to process what I had heard, Henri? my son? what happened? The nurse guided us to a room and that's when I saw him. Drenched in blood was my son, my life, my knees got weaker and weaker until I finally broke down on the cold floor crying.