Page 344 of Valentino

I stop on the spot, and as if it’s the straw that breaks the camel’s back he spins back toward me. “Now!” he cries, the veins are sticking out of his forehead and I’ve never seen him so unhinged.

“Okay.” I shuffle up the stairs to escape his wrath.

Jeez….

I turn on the shower, undress and get under the water. I go over the last twenty-four hours and my God, so much has happened. But scarily enough, I don’t feel upset, or happy, or any kind of emotion.

If anything, I’m just numb.

Detached.

Is this what shock feels like?

The bathroom door flies open and Valentino appears, he rushes around and begins to open and slam shut the vanity drawers.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

He keeps going, almost panicked, until he finds whatever he’s looking for, he steps into the shower fully dressed.

What’s happening right now?

He pours soap onto a scrubbing brush and begins to wash me top to toe.

It’s like he’s manic, fully dressed under the water, scrubbing and washing at double speed. All over my hands and up my arms.

The bristles on the scrubbing brush sting and burn as he rubs me raw.

I stand still, unsure what to say or do…or what the hell is going through his mind right now. He moves to my torso, scrubbing so hard that it’s hurting, I’m red and raw and almost bleeding when I realize what’s going on here.

He’s trying to wash him off me.

The trauma this man has been through at the hands of a beloved friend.

Someone he trusted.

My eyes well at the thought, my poor man.

“Val.”

His nostrils flare as he bends and scrubs my legs, he’s on his knees now, washing my legs with such vigor that he almost knocks me off my feet, I grip his shoulders for balance. He scrubs and scrubs, eyes focused on his task…until I can’t take it any longer.

“Babe.” I put my hand over the scrubbing brush to still him. “Val.”

His gaze stays fixed on my legs, unable to look me in the eye.

“He never touched me, I promise you.”

He eventually stands, his hands are clenched at his sides.

“I kissed him only to distract him.”

“You’re going to regret this, Anna,” he murmurs. “You’ve done something that you’ll regret forever…. Because of me.”

“No Val.” I take him into my arms. “This was not a snap decision, I knew exactly what I was doing. I had this plan in my head for years, but never had to put it into action. It’s the reason I hid the SIM card all those years ago, but I couldn’t tell you back then why because I didn’t even understand it myself.”

His eyes hold mine as he listens.

“But everything changed yesterday when he hurt Franco.” My eyes fill with tears as I shake my head. “That was the final straw. In that moment, I knew for certain that it was only a matter of time before he came for you, or me, and that while ever he was alive we would always be looking over our shoulder.”