IseeEnzointhe distance and pedal harder. He’s standing by our secret hide-out, a treehouse right by the olive grove.
The wheel of my bike hits a stone, and I go tumbling to the ground. My knee is scraped, and tears are streaming down my cheeks.
Enzo is at my side in an instant, taking my hands in his, inspecting my wounds like it’s life or death. He’s always so protective of me.
He dabs my knee with a tissue from his pocket then kisses it.
“There, all better.” He smiles at me and my stomach flips. Ilove his smile. He has these dimples that pop out making him look so adorable.
The festival is in full swing in the village piazza. Lanterns are strung between buildings, and a band plays upbeat music.
I’m standing at the edge of the square trying not to be noticed as everyone else dances, but of course Enzo is having none of it.
He runs up, grinning, and takes my hand.
“Come one, Izzy! You can’t just stand there.”
“I can’t dance,” I protest even though he’s already pulling me into the crowd.
He spins me around, him with rhythm, me awkwardly following along. We both laugh as I trip over and he catches me, steadying me with his hands.
“You have two left feet,” he jabs, continuing to sway to the music.
His green eyes soften as they look down at me. He’s so tall, even though he’s only twelve, I have to crane my neck to look at him.
For a moment it feels like we’re the only two people in the world.
We sit on our blanket under the night sky. The hill overlooks the town below. My head rests on his shoulder as we gaze out into the horizon.
“Are you happy?” I ask Enzo.
“I’m always happy when I’m with you, Piccola3.”
“Stop calling me that!” I cry, jabbing him in the side.
“Not my fault you’re tiny.” He laughs, catching my hands and holding them above my head as he tickles me.
We’re both laughing hard, and tears fall down my cheeks.
“Stop! Stop!” I shriek.
He stops and peers down at me, his head just above mine. My heartbeat picks up the longer he looks at me. Sometime in the last year, I stopped seeing him as just my friend.
He leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek. “I love you, Iz,” he says as he pulls back and tucks me back into his side.
“I love you too, Tesoro.”
My dream fades out and pain takes over.
I want to go back. To be back with Enzo, when life was good and I had my best friend at my side.
Why am I in pain?
“Iz?”Who is speaking?
“Izzy!” It sounds like—
I blink a few times, clearing my sight. Warm green eyes stare at me and for a moment I think I must still be dreaming.
