Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 285 -

*Olivia*

It was fucking cold.

That was all I could think about as I wrapped my jacket firmer around me. Two empty cans of vodka soda satt on the coffee table as I curled into the living room couch.

I hadn't bothered turning any lights on, not since Giovani had left. I took a swig of my third can of vodka soda as I continued to stare blankly at my phone.

It just sat there on the coffee table. There was no sign of life-no text message, no calls. It was just as empty as the cans of alcohol I had drowned as I waited for anything.

It was just me in this empty house, drinking any rational brain cells out of my body so I didn't think anymore.

I emptied my last can of vodka soda and groaned, throwing my head back onto the couch as I threw the can somewhere on the floor. I'd pick it up later when I wasn't in such a bad mood.

The drinks were only just starting to affect my brain, fuzzying up the logical voices in my mind. I already had half a mind to just run to where they were keeping Dahlia.

But I didn't have the address.

I pouted, throwing my arms over my knees as I tucked them into my chest. Maybe I could bribe one of the guards outside.

I'd spotted them moving past the windows-keeping a close watch so I couldn't leave without them.

Dahlia used to say you could get anything you wanted for a little peek, but I wasn't the kind of girl who could flash her boobs at anyone. Though the longer I sat here, the less the idea seemed crazy. Maybe just a little flash?

I groaned, shaking my head at the thought. No matter how tipsy I was, there was no way in hell I was going to resort to one of Dahlia's brilliant ideas.

A pang shot through my chest as a sad smile crept up on my lips. I missed Dahlia. As crazy as she was, she was my best friend-the closest thing I had to a sister.

I loved her so goddamn much.

I suppressed a sob, hiding my face into my knees before I heard a rumbling sound-a car pulling into the driveway.

I jolted up from my position so fast, I lost my balance and collapsed right back onto the couch. I groaned, getting up easier this time as I raced to the door to meet whoever it was.

It could've been Gabriele for all I cared, and I would've kissed him in sheer joy... though, maybe not literally.

The door swung open, and there stood a handsome face I knew well.

Giovani.

My face split into a relieved smile before It fell in a single second. My blood ran cold, my hands falling to my sides limply as I tried to process what I was seeing.

It was Giovani, but his white shirt was absolutely soaked in blood. There were specks of blood in his hair and across his face. He looked like he'd just stepped out of a horror movie.

He glanced at me with a wary look, the same kind of look my mother had when she told me my pet had died.

"Blood," I stated, wide-eyed in shock.

"It's not mine," Giovani replied in a hurry, then a look of regret crossed his face as I was hit with a feral kind of fear I'd never felt before.

My breath hitched, everything hitting me all at once and my visions blurred as tears poured down my face. All I could do was stand there in complete silence, staring intently at the vision of red.

It was just like my nightmare had come back to haunt me, but this time, it was real.

"D-Dahlia," I stuttered, not even able to utter anything after that as my breath halted in my chest. I couldn't fucking breathe.

"She's alive," Giovani said firmly, taking a tense step closer to me. His hands stayed red through my tears and I choked on a sob, my heart beating rapidly.

"Blood-" I managed to choke out, grasping onto his hands as he reached out for me.

He brushed his fingers under my eyes, wiping away my tears, but it was useless. They just kept falling more and more as I lost control.

"She got shot. She's in the hospital, and they're doing the very best they can," Giovani told me softly, but I had trouble hearing anything.

A loud ringing burst through my ears-drowning out his voice as I fully trembled, feeling sick to my stomach as I kept gasping out for air that wasn't there.

There was no oxygen coming into my lungs. I kept sucking down a breath, but I shook with sobs, my whole chest constricting painfully.

I could hear my own gasping as I tried to get a breath but couldn't grasp it-dancing just on the ends of my fingertips. Giovani's mouth was moving, but I could only hear the loud ringing, with everything else fading away. I collapsed to my knees, holding a hand to my chest as I begged my body to breathe, to stop doing what it was doing.

Was I dying?

For one absurd moment, I thought I was. But Giovani was there, holding me in my arms, rocking softly back and forth. He pressed my hand to his chest, and I felt the thump of his heartbeat under my fingers.

I didn't know how long we sat there, just trying to breathe and regain some semblance of normalcy, but eventually, it was over.

I calmed down as my breath returned to me, and I swore I would never take air for granted again as my heartbeat slowed to match his own.

Giovani didn't say anything. He just kept humming softly as he held me close, soothing me as only he could. I laid my head tiredly on his shoulder, feeling like I had everything taken out of me.

"What happened?" I asked, quietly once we were both calm.

Giovani sighed. "She got shot before we breached the building, most likely a panic move. We got her out of there and to a hospital. She was in surgery when I left. Tallon and Gabriele are there waiting for her." "That's all we can do?"

"Yeah." He tightened his hold on me. "That's all we can do."

"Did anyone else get hurt?" I asked softly, looking up into his eyes worriedly.

"Just the kidnappers," he assured me, brushing my hair away from my face. The minute he did so, however, he stiffened in place.

"Shit. I'm sorry," He gazed down at me pleadingly, looking like he'd committed a great sin. "I got blood on you."

"It's okay," I murmured tiredly, leaning my head on his chest. "We can just take a shower."

"Alright," Giovani agreed, good-naturedly.

Giovani swept me up into his arms, carrying me like a princess as he ascended the staircase. I held onto him, my eyes fluttering open and then closed. I felt exhausted and still a bit drunk from my stint with the vodka soda. But mostly, I felt safe, so warm and safe that I never wanted to leave his arms. I could spend the rest of my life just happily snuggling away into him and never leaving again.

Perhaps, if I wasn't so drugged up with alcohol and the panic attack I'd just had, I might have realized there were warning bells going off in my head. I might have realized that I was falling deeper and deeper, and there were no walls to grab onto, nothing to stop the descent from happening.

But I was already too far gone.

I blinked blearily as Giovani set me on the bathroom counter, stepping away for only a moment to start the shower. I watched him, a warm feeling fluttering in my chest as he stripped out of his bloody clothes.

Once he was nude in front of me, he turned to me and I sent him a silly grin as I raised my arms. He chuckled, first pulling off my hoodie and then my shirt. He unclasped my bra masterfully, and I hopped down from the counter to step out of my shorts and panties.

Giovani kept a hand on my waist as he led me to the shower. The moment I stepped under the hot water, I was in heaven.

I sighed in relief, the tension falling from my body as I leaned backward right into Giovani's chest. I clung to him contently, both of us taking turns as we washed one another.

I made sure to pay extra attention to his face, scrubbing away the red from his hair and cheeks so I would never have to see it again.

He'd looked best in blue or gray or white, not red.

"I like your face," I blurted out as I rubbed my fingers over his cheeks a third time.

"Do you?" He grinned. "I'll have to remember that."

"Yes, yes," I nodded with a grin. "It's so handsome."

He chuckled, prying my hands away from his face so he could grab the shampoo. He rubbed his hands together a few times before gently lacing his fingers through my hair.

I sighed, leaning on him as he washed my hair under the hot water. This was true bliss.

Once we were both squeaky clean, Giovani turned off the water, and I whined a bit childishly as I wrapped my arms around his waist.

He laughed, grabbing my ass as he lifted me up. I clung to him like a koala to a tree, burying my face into his neck.

He smelled like soap, but underneath that was something I distinctly recalled as Giovani. It was just his scent-earthy and woodsy. A scent that made my heart both flutter and feel at peace at the same time. Giovani dumped me onto his bed, and I realized for the first time we were in his room. I looked around wide-eyed, the slight jolt of being dropped waking me from the sleepy haze that had taken over my mind. He placed his hands firmly on the bed next to me, leaning down until our foreheads were just about to touch.

"Now," he said with a serious look, "do you want to sleep or go to the hospital?"

"Hospital!"

Even with no filter, the answer was obvious as it shot out of my mouth.

He smiled, a look of adoration in his eyes as he gazed at me. I blushed as he leaned forward the last few centimeters to kiss me.

It was soft and slow and sweet, the kind of kiss where I knew he was thinking entirely of me.

When he pulled away, he grinned.

"Then we'd better get dressed." He glanced down at my bare breasts between us, and I laughed in response, feeling hopeful for the first time in a long time.

Dahlia was alive. That was enough for now.

It took no time at all to get dressed. Giovani drove us to the hospital, and the minute we entered the waiting room, I spotted Tallon and Gabriele standing against one of the pillars. "Olivia," Tallon's eyes flooded with relief as he spotted, rushing to our side.

"How is she?" I asked worriedly.

He looked awful. He'd obviously borrowed some clothes from the hospital-a pair of scrubs-but I could still see specks of red on his arms and hair.

Gabriele stepped forward behind him. "There's been some news."