Throughout the night, noises of clanging and shifting throughout the cabin can be heard - the movement of the storm slowly ceasing. I find it hard to sleep, constantly tossing and turning and worrying. I'm worried for the welfare of my family and that poor man's daughter. The storm seems to have taken down the power lines meaning every attempt at getting a message through to my family fails.

"Hey," Nico's voice sounds when I kick the sheets off of me in frustration. The night was beyond rough and I seem to have only gotten a wink of sleep.

"I can't sleep," I groan. The early hours of the morning are bright and scorn my eyes. "I need to go see my family, make sure everyone is okay," I speak as I stare up at the ceiling.

Nico's hand brushes against my face before he softly grips my chin, forcing me to face him. He presses a sweet kiss against my lips. "I'm sure everything is okay," he reassures me and I feel like I can breathe once more.

Just his presence and his words are enough to calm the metaphorical storm ravaging my mind.

"We should check on..." I trail off as I point my thumb towards the door. Memories from last night flood back and the harshness of the water is enough to cause a chill to run down my spine.

Nico nods his head before standing from the bed. As he crosses the room, his brows furrow as he looks towards the floor. "What..." Nico disappears from my view, beneath the end of the bed, and I'm up in a matter of seconds.

"What is it?" I ask and as I round the bed. Nico is knelt on the floor his head in his hands. I'm beyond confused before I notice the rug pulled back and the missing panel from the floor. The safe that once resided in the space beneath the floorboard is now gone.

The man from last night. He came in here whilst we were asleep and stole the safe. Shit. Nico had put stacks of money into that safe last night, as well as the first ever dollar made at his family's restaurant. Violation floods through my body at the thought of him coming into the bedroom whilst Nico and I were in such a vulnerable state.

I rush into the living room, hoping to find the culprit, even though I'm not entirely sure what I'd do if I were to find the hoaxer. He's not here. All that is left in his wake is the pillow and crumpled blanket.

"Cazzo!" Nico shouts from the bedroom and I make my way back into the space. "He's fucking stole everything! Cazzo di merda! We risked our lives for some fucking-" Nico cuts himself off, his frustration so overwhelming it stops him from forming words.

"He can't have gotten far... if we ask around someone was bound to have spotted him. He would've fled in the middle of the storm. I'm not sure many people would've left their homes and risked their lives last night. He would've stuck out like a-" I attempt to find some solution but Nico cuts me off.

"Just... go home, Heidi," the cold dismissal in his voice sends a chill through me.

"I can help you-" he cuts me off once more.

"Go. Heidi. I don't need your help." The anger rolling off of him can be felt by a ten mile radius.

"I understand you're pissed off but I'm not the one you should be pissed at," I speak quickly as to avoid him cutting me off again.

"This isn't fucking about you, Heidi. I just got my family's whole life savings stolen from me. By some cazzo who pretended his fucking daughter was swept out by the tide. You don't understand. You can't understand because when you leave here, you have your life to go back to, you get to walk away. This is my fucking life, Heidi. So just... go home... please."

The harsh reality of his words cause my eyes to sting with emotion. It's true. I get to go home and back to my normal life. This is his life. This island and the restaurant are his entire being.

Grabbing my shorts from the radiator, I shove them on in a haste. Taking my phone from the nightstand, Nico meets my gaze once more. Rather than the being met with the familial soft blue I'm met with an unreadable stare.

"Um... if you want to talk... you know where to find me," my voice is small and deflated and I hate it. Nico doesn't say anything, just looks at me. "Goodbye, Nico."

I wait a moment longer, waiting to see if he'll say anything. Just say something, I want to scream. But nothing ever comes. Nodding to myself, I turn on my heel and leave the bedroom.

When I'm out of the cabin and the soft clunk of the front door sounds behind me, it feels as though my soul is being crushed. I hate the way this seems so final. I wanted to spend the last few days of this trip in Nico's arms, soaking up the last of the sun and memorising every inch of his face and his body. Instead, it is being spent with Nico giving me the cold shoulder.

I make my way back to Vienna and Terrone's townhouse and relief washes over me when the house seems to look as though it was untouched. Knocking on the door, my mother is the one to open it.

"Oh, thank god!" she cries before encasing me in a hug. I can't help but embrace her. The last twenty-four hours have been hectic to say the least. The hug causes the emotion I'd managed to tamper down, to rise once more. She finally lets me go after what seems like an eternity.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask, my voice betraying me. My mother nods and opens the door wider for me to come in.

As I step into the house, Nancy is the first to tackle me. Her small arms wrap around my legs and I ruffle her hair before she pushes my hand away. Everyone is soon to swarm and it turns into one big group hug. Our family always was one for the dramatics.

"You got my hormones going crazy. I thought you were dead," Vienna pierces me with a glare and I can't help the small laugh that flutters through me.

"Do we know how much damage was done yet?" I ask Terrone as we move towards the kitchen, a brunch of sorts laid out on the dining table.

Even as Terrone speaks, I can't help my mind trailing off to Nico. I couldn't leave things the way we did. I shouldn't have left, I should've stayed even though he couldn't have made it any clearer that he didn't want me to.

"Well, we don't have time for lounging around. We need to get packing," my father says. I almost didn't register his words at first. Packing?

"Why do we need to pack? We don't leave for another couple days?" I ask, my heart thundering against my chest.

"God, I completely forgot to tell you," my mother speaks and and my ears begin to ring. "Our flights been cancelled because of the storm. The last flight leaves this afternoon. Thank god, Terrone was able to book it so last minute otherwise we would have been stranded..." her voice fades off. My disbelief causes the several voices in the room to dissipate along with hers.

We're leaving. Today. In a matter of hours.

It all seems to haze into one as I run up the stairs and into my bedroom. I grab the suitcase from the wardrobe and raid the drawers for my clothes - shoving them into the case. As soon as I'm sure everything is packed away, I'm rushing back down the stairs.

"I need to go find Nico. When are we leaving?" I call out to whoever can hear me.

"An hour!" several voices shout out and it's like I can't breathe. I'm out of the door and down the rickety stairs before I can even take my next breath.

Memories of Nico and I stumbling up these stairs in a drunken haze, his hand holding mine flood my mind. My breathing comes out in harsh panicked breaths as I make my way through the streets that had become more crowded and through the small alleyways towards the cabin. As soon as the small cabin comes into view it feels like I can breathe once more.

I knock against the wood as time seems to go exceedingly slow. "Nico?" I call out but no one answers. I continue knocking, my knuckles growing more pained. "Nico? I know you don't want to talk to me but please answer the door."

After standing there for a good five minutes, I figure he must have left. I grab my phone to call him but realise I never even got his number. Tucking it back into my pocket, I tug at the roots of my hair in pure frustration. Trying to rack my brain as to where he could be, I figure the best place to try is his home.

My legs begin to tire as I race my way through the streets of Vernazza, determination fuelling my movements. I refuse to leave Italy without seeing Nico, without amending things between us. I need to see him just one more time.

One more glance. One more kiss. One more touch.

The tears are free falling now and I don't remember when they had begun. Nico's house comes into view and I'm knocking once more. Pacing the length of the porch, I pray to the highest heavens for an answer. Peering into the window, the house seems to be vacant - no sign of anyone.

It feels as though the universe has ripped my heart from my chest and squeezed it so thoroughly that it's reduced to mere mush. My throat constricts as I profusely wipe the tears tainting my cheeks. This is not how I wanted this to go. All of my memories of Nico seem to be stained by this one negative interaction, by his cold dismissal and harsh words. I hate it. I want to remember how he made me fall in love with Italy. How he made me realise that surprises really weren't that bad... that I love them even. Maybe this is a surprise. Maybe he's playing with my head and he's hiding, waiting for the right moment. I cling to the shirt I'm wearing, savouring my last tether to Nico.

The restaurant. It's my last hope.

This time I don't run, I don't rush. I won't rush towards the inevitable. It's as though my head knows he won't be here but my heart still believes. My bleeding heart believes that this man I have grown so fond of wouldn't disappear. He wouldn't let me leave without saying goodbye.

The colours seemed to have faded from the houses, the pastels I had once fallen in love with have dulled. Crowds move in a blur and the music filling the streets seems to have simmered down into a depressing symphony.

Emiliano's. The sign makes my heart both race and constrict. Few people seem to be gathered around, looking at the sorry state. The storm seems to have ripped straight through here.

Walking past those that had gathered around, I walk through the ravaged space. Chairs and tables seem to have been tossed and tussled through the wind and raging rain. I make my way to the kitchen out back and wait to be greeted with a soft smile and warm eyes.

"Nico?" my voice breaks as I make my way through the lifeless kitchen. "Nico," it comes out as a mere whisper. We'd always found our way to each other, always had that invisible tie that kept us connected. How could I not find him?

They must've restored the power lines as my phone rang. My mother called to say that I should wrap up my goodbyes as the coach was coming to pick us up. I began to make my way back to the townhouse, my heart heavy and my tears drowning me.

It was too late.