Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 274 -

*Olivia*

I waited, trembling in the cold hallway, for Giovani to come to the door. I could still feel the after effects of the nightmare as my whole body shivered.

Sweat still clung to my body, freezing against my skin, and I felt like I could collapse at any moment. I wrapped my arms around myself, trying to hold myself together as the silence grew longer and longer.

If I still had the ability, I would've been crying, but it seemed my eyes were all dried up at this point.

I took a shaky breath when there wasn't an answer for what seemed like forever. I raised my hand to knock harder against the wood, the sound echoing down the empty hallway.

Just as I was considering saying fuck it and forcing the door open on my own, I finally heard someone shuffling behind the door.

For a moment, a horrible, irrational sheer terror gripped me.

The memory of my nightmare flashed across my mind-the blame that horrific version of Dahlia had laid on me as she melted away, a corpse, just like I feared.

What if I was still dreaming, and it would only be that horrible version of Dahlia who answered? What if it was she who was waiting on the other side of the door, those soulless eyes staring into me as she shoved blame down my throat? What if that was reality and everything before this was a dream? Was I even still awake?

I swayed on my feet, clasping a hand around my head just as the door opened. I flinched, spotting a pair of long legs and whirled my eyes to the figure.

Relief filled me instantly as I caught sight of deep brown eyes and a handsome face I knew well.

Giovani stood there, covered in his silky robe. He looked surprised to see me, and I didn't blame him.

"Olivia?" he asked and I nearly collapsed into his arms right then and there.

"Can I please sleep with you?" I begged, my voice hoarse and barely above a whisper.

I saw his eyes flicker up and down my form, a look of concern crossing his features before he nodded, opening the door as he stepped aside.

"Of course," he said softly.

I breathed a shaky sigh of relief, stepping into his room. My knees were still trembling, but I refused to collapse. I heard the door close behind me, and I almost wanted to tell him to lock it to keep the nightmares at bay. But you couldn't escape nightmares with a lock.

There was a light touch on my back, and I jumped, whirling onto Giovani with wide, frightened eyes.

"Whoa." He held his hands above him in defense, his eyes turning from concern to downright worry. "What happened?"

I glanced at my feet, one of my socks missing and the other barely hanging on. The image of my nightmare flashed, the blood and rot of Dahlia pressing down on me, and I winced.

But how would I describe that? How would I get my feelings out of my throat without sounding like a petulant child?

"I had a nightmare," I said simply.

Giovani sighed, moving around me as I shuffled on my one bare foot and one socked one.

"Here, take a seat," Giovani pulled out one of the two chairs laying around the room.

"Sure," I mumbled, following him and taking the seat he'd offered.

I stared down at my hands as I heard him moving around, the sound of glasses clinking together. Finally, he handed me a glass with a warm amber liquid inside of it.

I didn't even try to guess what he offered, I just took the drink. It was cold around my already freezing fingers, but I didn't care.

Giovani sighed as he took his seat across from me, the same kind of glass in his hand. I lifted the glass to my lips, taking a sip. It was very smooth but had a very unpleasant aftertaste.

It was alcohol though, so I poured the rest of the drink right down my throat. It burned as it went down and I coughed deeply.

"Careful," Giovani said cautiously, and he pried the empty glass from my hand.

There was silence between us, both of us having nothing to say as I watched him head to the cabinet full of alcohol to refill my glass.

He handed it to me cautiously, and I grabbed it, though I didn't want to drink another drop at the moment.

I glanced down at my hands, my fingernails digging into the skin and picking at it. A bigger hand grabbed my own, surrounding my fingers in warmth as he entwined his own with mine. I glanced up at Giovani, and he stared down at our hands very seriously.

"It's not your fault, you know," he said quietly.

I swallowed uncomfortably, not believing a single word of it.

"Does her family know?" I asked quietly. "Her parents and brothers?"

"Yes," Giovani sighed heavily. "Her brothers are on their way already."

I nodded solemnly and then poured the second drink down my throat. It hurt less than the first time, but I still burst into a coughing fit.

I heard him sigh, but when I glanced back down at my hands, my eyes widened in horror. Red... they were covered in dripping red blood.

A scream tore out of my throat as I scrambled to my feet. The glass dropped to the floor and shattered into pieces.

"Olivia!" He got to his feet, and I paled, glancing at the glass around my feet and then my hands. They were back to normal-there was no sign of red anywhere. Was I imagining things now? Was I even awake now?

"Here," Giovani took one step and swept my legs out from under me, pulling me into his arms.

I hung onto his body, breathing heavily as he moved away from the broken glass.

He set me gently on the bed, brushing my hair from my face. "Are you hurt?" He glanced down at me, checking over my body, but I only shook my head.

"Stay there. I'll clean it up," he said firmly.

I watched as he left and headed down the hall to get a broom. I stared at where he'd disappeared, dazed and feeling like I was going out of my mind.

He came back, broom and dustpan in hand, and I watched as he methodically cleaned up the glass. Once he was satisfied, he headed back to me with expressionless eyes. "Olivia," he asked, and I flinched despite myself. "What just happened?"

"I'm sorry," I muttered quietly, "I had a-"

"Nightmare?" Giovani finished my words, a frown on his lips. "You need to get some sleep."

"I can't," I said, hoarsely. "Not while she's missing."

"Olivia," he said, grasping both of my hands as he glanced at me pleadingly. "This isn't your fault."

"Yes, it is. If I hadn't left her-" I protested, choking on my words.

"No," He shook his head firmly, squeezing my hand. "This isn't your fault."

"I shouldn't have left her," I hung my head, folding over as I curled into ball. "I could've done something-"

"You would've been kidnapped right along with her," Giovani growled. "How would that help anybody?"

"At least I'd be with her!" I cried, snatching my hand away as I got to my feet. "At least I wouldn't be here just waiting to see if she comes home alive or in a fucking body bag!" "Olivia!" Giovani snapped, grabbing my arms.

But all the thoughts I'd been holding back poured out of me like a broken dam. I sobbed, pushing against his firm chest even though I knew I wasn't strong enough to move him. "It's all my fault! It should've been me!" I screamed, clenching my fists and pounding them on his chest, "I should've-"

"Olivia!"

Giovanni wrapped his arms around me tightly, and I fell limp, feeling horrible and empty inside. But truthfully, I knew there was nothing I could've done. There was no way I could've fought off kidnappers, and I knew Dahlia would've hated me being there with her.

I was so selfish, a horrible best friend who couldn't control her own emotions. But Dahlia... she was always so much stronger than me. I'd been following her around since we were kids, and I felt so lost without her.

"I miss her," I confessed, honestly. "I'm so scared she's hurt and dying, and there's nothing I can fucking do but cry like a baby. I miss her so damn much."

Giovani sighed, holding me close. I laid my head on his shoulder, shuddering as I let him do whatever he wanted with me. I felt like a pumpkin on Halloween, like someone had scooped away everything inside of me and replaced it with a tiny, flickering flame that was slowly fading away... so incredibly fragile.

And that was how Giovani treated me.

"We're going to replace her and bring her home, I promise you that," he swore to me, a dark lit to his voice. "Are you ready to sleep now?"

I nodded solemnly, everything evaporating into his warmth as he cradled me.

Giovani held me for a few minutes but eventually, he swept me off my feet and gently laid me down into the bed. He pulled the comforter over me, and I watched silently as he headed for the light.

The world fell into darkness, but I wasn't worried anymore. I saw him moving, just a shadow, but I trusted that it was him, that he would be here for me no matter what.

Giovani slipped under the covers, and my eyes adjusted to the darkness as he shifted into a comfortable position.

He pulled the comforter over us and wrapped an arm around me, pulling me across the bed until I was flush against him. I could feel every inch of his skin pressed against mine. "I'm sorry," I murmured softly to him.

"Don't be," he muttered quietly. We were so close I felt his hot breath brush against my skin. "I should've known you wouldn't have been okay. I'm sorry I left you alone." "No," I shook my head pitifully. "I shouldn't be having a breakdown like a child. I have to be strong-"

"No."

The firm reply halted any more of my thoughts, and I glanced up at him, confused.

My breath hitched as I saw the deep emotions in his eyes. There was no doubt he cared about me, no doubt that I was special to him... and maybe more. Moonlight passed through the window, illuminating the side of his face.

"Never apologize for your feelings, Olivia," he said so strongly that I could only nod in response.

He smiled, just a tiny lift to the corner of his lips, but it was enough. His eyes slid closed, and I listened to his breathing, his heartbeat under my fingertips. And finally, I felt warm.