Submitting to My Best Friend's Dad by Scarlett Rossi
Chapter 294 -

*Olivia*

I couldn't help myself. I couldn't stop even if I had wanted to. It took an hour of staring up at the ceiling and trying to will myself to sleep before I finally realized I wasn't going to.

I was scared the nightmare would come back and that the sight I didn't want to see would be right behind my eyelids, chasing after me. Would I die this time? Would I be tortured gruesomely before they killed me? I didn't know, and it terrified me.

Maybe that was why I found myself standing outside Giovani's door. Or maybe that was just the excuse I had used.

But when the door opened, and I saw Giovani standing there, as calm and patient as ever, my heart tugged hard enough that I stumbled right into his arms.

I feared for a moment that he might pull away, that the scene earlier truly had pissed him off, but I had nothing to worry about. He wrapped an arm around my waist, and I squeaked before I slapped my hand over my mouth as he lifted me off my feet with one arm.

He pulled me inside, gently setting me on the floor as he shut the door behind me. I heard him breathe a sigh of relief and then turn to me with a blank look on his face.

The anxiety was suffocating me, waiting for him to make a move. I didn't know if he was angry or not, but I was frayed at the ends, quickly coming undone, and he was the only thing that could keep me together.

I fell into his arms, grasping him as tight as I could just in case he wanted to step back and send me back to my cold room where the nightmares lived. I desperately held back the tears, even though I wanted to let them fall.

Slowly, his arms wrapped around me, pulling me close, and all the anxiety and fear vanished like a puff of air in the winter cold. He didn't say a word, just held me, but that was enough.

We stood there for a while, enough that my bare toes began to grow cold, and I shivered in his arms. I was in too much of a hurry to grab my slippers or hoodie, so now I was just standing in his room in a pair of shorts and a very old T-shirt. Some part of me would've been embarrassed, but I was past that. He'd seen me at my worst, so an old T-shirt from a band I'd never even listened to was nothing.

"I'm sorry," I whispered eventually. "I keep having nightmares, and I don't want to sleep alone."

I felt more than heard him sigh, his chest moving up and down with his release of breath, and I savored the moment, his heartbeat thumping loudly in my ears. It felt like a lullaby just for me.

"Okay," he muttered softly, pressing a kiss to the top of my hair. "You can stay with me, but we have to make sure you're back in your room before anyone sees you."

I nodded softly, and Giovani lifted me up in one smooth motion. I curled my legs as he moved me to the bed, laying me down softly as he pulled back. His eyes were soft as they looked at me, and he brushed my hair away from my face, caressing my cold cheek with his warm hand.

"Come on." I tugged at his hand pleadingly, and he chuckled. I scooted further inward as he got into the bed, throwing the covers over both of us. Once he was settled on his back, I curled around his body. Our legs became entangled, and I laid my head on his chest, resting both my hands on his body. It was surprisingly comfortable, and I breathed a sigh of relief as I settled in.

He lifted his right arm around me, curling it along my back as he gently played with the strands of my hair. It was soothing to us both.

Silence fell upon us like stars, and my eyes slowly closed as I relaxed fully into his embrace. I felt like I could finally breathe again, like nothing and no one could touch me when I was here with him. But as always, peace never lasts.

"Do you ever worry about our age difference?" Giovani asked out of the blue.

My eyes snapped open, and I frowned as I processed what he'd said.

Our age difference?

A lightbulb went off in my head, and a sense of dread filled the pit of my stomach. Was this about earlier?

I jerked up into a sitting position as I glanced down at him worriedly. "Is this about Alessandro? Nothing happened, I swear."

I winced at how that sounded. For trying to make myself seem less guilty, it sure made it seem like I was a wife covering up an affair.

"I just meant that I don't know why else you would be worrying about that now," I finished lamely, trying to calm the anxiety bursting in my heart.

What if Alessandro had said something to him, and now he didn't want to be with me? What if-

Before I could think of anything else, Giovani raised an eyebrow at me, an expectant look on his face, and I sighed.

He was right. There was no use in hiding this.

"He tried to kiss me," I admitted, quietly.

That was the wrong to say. I should've hidden it.

Giovani's face turned to stone-complete and utter marble. I wasn't even sure if he was still breathing with how still and firm he was.

I backtracked, panicking a bit now as I threw out, "But I told him no, I promise. I just didn't want you to think I had done something with him, so I didn't say anything. But I should've told you right away. I'm sorry. He didn't say anything, did he?" "Of course not." He shook his head, completely emotionless.

I bit my bottom lip, wondering whether he was mad or not. I was beginning to figure out that though he was an expert at hiding his emotions, Giovani wasn't inhuman. He had tells just like anyone else. From the way he clenched his jaw, still and motionless, this was anger-I was pretty sure.

"Are you sure?" I asked uncertainly.

"I just wanted to know if the age difference bothered you or not, nothing else," he said impassively.

I frowned, gazing at him for a minute before I shook my head. "It doesn't."

"Okay," he said simply.

I laid back down into his arms. He was still tense, and it was a bit uncomfortable, but eventually, I found a spot I liked. I relaxed, my eyes drifting off, when I heard yet another out-of-the-blue question come out of his mouth. "So, are you interested in Alessandro now?"

"I knew it!" I glared at him, cranky now as I sat up in bed and crossed my arms. "You are upset!"

"No, I'm not," Giovani said insistently, sitting up as well. He stared me down like I was being a petulant child, and I threw my hands in the air, ready to scream.

I just wanted to sleep, to get a good night's rest for once, and now he was acting like... like-

I paused, swerving my gaze back to him as I pondered the thought.

He was acting like a jealous boyfriend.

"Are you jealous?" I frowned. "Is that what this is about?"

His nostrils flared as his icy stare turned to a glare, and he snapped, "Of course not! Jealous? Of him? Why would I ever be jealous of him?"

I flinched back, a little hurt at how adamantly he denied it. I saw his face soften, and he reached out to me, but I was angry.

I hated this. I never should've come here.

"Olivia-"

He called me back, grasping my wrist, but I pulled away from him, crossing my arms angrily as I stood my ground.

"I'm not bothered by the age difference, even if you obviously are. I'm not interested in Alessandro, so I turned him down. And I'm not okay with being treated like this for something I didn't even do!" I threw my hands up, ready to storm back to my room.

Nightmares be damned, I wasn't going to deal with a man-child who couldn't admit his own feelings all night. Be jealous, fine... but don't take out your frustration on me.

I deserved better than that.

"Wait, Olivia-"

I heard him clammering after me, and I had just reached the doorknob when his arms wrapped around me. I stubbornly tried to throw him off, but there was no way I was strong enough.

He firmly pulled me into his chest as I huffed, bristling unhappily.

"I'm sorry, Olivia. You're right." He sighed, burying his head into my shoulder.

I refused to touch him back, just kept limp in his arms as I stared out the window.

The moonlight was particularly nice tonight.

"Please, I didn't mean to snap at you," he said softly, holding me like I was everything.

I shut my eyes tightly, trying not to give in, but I was always soft. When Tallon broke my favorite doll or when Dahlia spilled water right over my finished school project, I had never been able to stay angry. It passed just as quickly as it had come. My mom said I inherited it from my dad, but I had no way of knowing that for sure.

I sighed, already feeling the backbone I had developed soften into a pile of marshmallows. I wanted to be angry, but I just couldn't.

"Olivia? Carino, say something," he pleaded, desperation evident in his voice as he held me like I was going to vanish before his eyes. Slowly, I lifted my hands and wrapped them around my back. "That wasn't cool," I muttered.

"I know. I'm so sorry," Giovani chuckled into my shoulder. "I'm supposed to be the older one here, but I was acting like a child. You were right, I was jealous. Alessandro, he... he said something, and I got upset. But I didn't have any right to interrogate you like that."

I gently pulled back, just enough that he wouldn't have to let me go, and I grasped both of his cheeks, pouting as our eyes connected intimately.

"I shouldn't have hidden Alessandro almost kissing me either. I was confused, and I was thinking about protecting his feelings, but I didn't take into account how it would make you feel. I'm sorry, too," I frowned.

He smiled, relieved, and leaned in. His lips were right there for the taking, but I gently held my palm to his lips, preventing the kiss.

I felt his lips tip downward, confusion in his eyes as I smiled sadly at him.

"I'm not mad, but I think I should go back to my room now," I told him softly.

His eyes widened and then I felt him slump, his disappointment obvious even to me.

"I'll see you tomorrow," I giggled and removed my hand so I could press a quick kiss to his lips. This time, when I pulled away from his arms, he let me go.

I sent him one last smile before I shut the door. The sight of his sad eyes was the last thing I saw.