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MARIA

I felt my head begin to spin as the words began to consume me inside. The pounding of my heart won't stop but I couldn't let his words mess with my head.

Kitten

I was reminded of Jorge. A chill ran down my spine at the thought of it being him. It couldn't be him, could it?

I realised Leonardo was coming back, I couldn't let this trip be ruined by some pathetic messages. I wanted to continue my night with him without his concerns.

Fighting to keep in the attack that was threatening to break free, I made myself breath as calmly as I could, pushing away every single thought of worry and fear brewing within me. There was no way I was about to lose it right there and then. I couldn't let Leonardo find out - not yet, not then. I had to push through the night at least.

"Ria."

"Huh?" I quickly said, snapping out of my trance. I smiled at him for reassurance before I sipped some more of the juice. I immediately put my hand back on my lap, trying my best to stop it from shaking so much.

"Sorry for leaving like that. I might have to go back earlier than expected. Not tonight, just. . .there's things that I need to deal with," Leonardo honestly told me. It was fine. He hadn't noticed. I had managed to suppress my anxiety successfully.

I gave him a smile, nodding. "Okay," I brightly answered, struggling sit still and act calm. My eyes were darting all over the place. I suddenly felt extremely exposed and unsafe. What if the stalker was watching? I forced myself to believe I was fine and that I had read nothing. That night as for me and Leonardo. Nothing else to bother us. I couldn't succumb to fear. "Nothing is wrong, right?" Anything was possible in the mafia.

A small smile came onto his face with a nod. "I'm always fine. Just business." That was what he had left it as. Leonardo never wanted me involved in the darker side of his life. I knew it without having to ask. He wanted to protect me; the less I knew the better. But it meant he was holding a lot of things on his own. I wondered how long he'd been living like that; without a shoulder to lean on.

He was admiring the view of the festival before us. I slowly inhaled once more before finding a way to keep my mind off things. "Amorino {little love}, if you could be someone - someone completely different to who you are and have a completely different career, what would you choose?" His head turned at the sound of my nickname for him.

His hazel eyes bore into mine, an attentive and endearing look on his handsome face. He seemed surprised by my sudden question. Leonardo hummed for a moment before responding, "I think I would've become a vet."

"A vet?" I repeated with a smile, imagining him working in a clinic. Leonardo always had an interest in animals, he could be more caring towards them than humans. 'They deserve the kindness more than we do ourselves' is what he had once said to me.

"You'd be the hottest vet. All kinds of animals and women would come to see you." He rolled his eyes with a grumpy look, though his cheeks had become more red.

"I need to go back and see my dog," Leonardo mumbled, "he doesn't do so well in other people's houses. He misses me." I raised an eyebrow with a soft chuckle. Bear seemed more than content at Vincenzo's.

"And how would you live?" I curiously asked, resting my head against my fist as I gazed at him intently. Leonardo's eyes softened. "Maybe. .maybe I would've kept on studying. I would've just kept my head down, gotten a degree I personally chose, had a normal circle of friends, go through normal life milestones and experiences everyone else had. . ." He trailed off before lightly scoffing. "It never would've been possible."

"I wonder what it'd be like. .for us to be normal," I murmured thoughtfully, contemplating on an alternative life for us.

Leonardo finished his drink, his eyes flickering to the stalls not too far away from us. "I still think you would've done something creative or artistic." I tilted my head a little as I thought about it. "Hmm. .I think you're right," I responded inquisitively. I sipped some more before adding, "probably not ballet. .maybe writing. . ."

Leonardo nodded in agreement. "That would've been you."

I laughed a little before revealing in Italian, "I did tell her that once. . 'Mamma, I don't want to dance. .I want to make stories!' It's safe to say I didn't own a single book or pen after that."

He shook his head, a knowing smile coming onto his face. "It's easy for us to laugh about these things now but, we lost every part of our dreams during our youth." Leonardo's poetic like tone struck me. We were both stuck in dangerous lives full of guns, violence and abuse without a choice. Neither of us had experienced a life of normality and peace. Had I have been born to a different family, would I have been happier? Would I have been me?

"If our circumstances weren't like they are now, would we have met?" I surprised myself for unexpectedly blurting out my thoughts.

His eyes twinkled as his smile extended. "I'm sure one way or another you would've found me. Maybe not on a roof ready to drop down but somewhere a lot more common." I let out a laugh as he stood, his hand reaching out for me.

Leonardo's large hand gently lifted me up from my seat. "Come on," Leo said with that delectable look on his irresistible face. I hesitated, holding onto his hand tighter so he turned and looked at me, expectant at what I wanted to say.

"Leo, did you. ." I swallowed, pausing as I couldn't finish. His eyes softened and looked welcoming enough for me to continue. "Did you regret that kiss. .that morning?" I needed to know, my heart was pounding and the kiss we had shared that day was still running in the back of my mind. I had to know how he felt about it for my own sake.

He briefly looked away as though he was thinking about it before soon answering, "no. No, I didn't." I was sure my heart had fluttered in my chest. He cleared his throat and averted his eyes, seemingly awkward.

"Come on," he repeated, looking everywhere but my direction, "Let's see where else the night takes us." I lifted myself upwards and kissed his cheek in endearment which surprised him. He blinked a few times as his ears grew redder. I smiled and held onto his hand as we walked out.

We passed stalls we'd seen before, familiar genial faces and striking pieces for street art. The feeling of heading back home was becoming more apparent.

I sighed, starting to feel the exhaustion from earlier in to seep in once again. I was about to call it a day until our focus was pulled onto the sound of desperate shouts coming from down the street.

My eyebrows furrowed as I registered that everyone was running towards a certain direction. My feet went to move me forwards but a strong hand held mine in place. I turned and met Leo's eyes sternly telling me to stay.

"What if someone's hurt?" I worriedly said, tugging my hand a little from his grip. I recognised the commotion wasn't a good thing, there seemed to be problem not too far away.

"You're not a doctor. We need to head back," Leonardo pointed out seriously, about to turn until I escaped from his hand and completely ignored him, making my way towards the danger, something he was completely against.

The loud voices grew stronger the closer I got. Once I had turned the corner, I was faced with an immense, suffocating heat that blew right against me. When I managed to open my eyes, they widened greatly at the sight of the great fire engulfing the food truck before me.

Frantic legs scrambled around, arms picking up buckets of water to splash what seemed to be an oil related fire. The orange and red flames swarmed the entire truck that was surrounded by people, shocked and frightened at the magnitude of the blast before us.

My jaw dropped at the sight, my eyes unable to stop staring at what was before me. There didn't seem to be anyone inside, but the flames were increasingly growing out of control. The intense sound of the fires trucks coming was apparent.

My eyes darted between the fire and a woman growing closer to what seemed to be her food truck. "No!" She kept wailing, "I have lost everything!" The older woman was in clear distraught, her hands on top of her head, tears running down her cheeks. She had lost her livelihood, shouting in inaudible Greek.

As she became increasingly closer towards the truck, my legs instinctively moved forwards to hold her back. I didn't realise I was unconsciously doing so. The closer she got, my heart skipped a beat, terrified for her capability to jump in to salvage what she could.

As a man held her back, Leonardo's hand unexpectedly slipped into mine and pulled me backwards so I was facing him. My eyes met his desperate ones, "Maria, it's not safe - we're leaving." I could see the change in his demeanor at that point, the flames had caught my entire attention. I frowned and objected, "But Leo-"

He didn't let me finish, leading me away from the fire quicker than my feet could take me. My heart was throbbing fast in my chest, shocked by what I had seen.

We made it into a short alley were Leonardo let go of my hand and his head hung low with his back against the wall. I was barely looking at him properly.

"You - You can't just walk into a scene of a fire and expect - expect to somehow become a hero. ." I was about to object again until he breathlessly continued, "what if. . .what if. . .wha. ."

My eyebrows knotted together at the sound of his breathlessness. I took a few steps closer and tilted my head to see his face better. "Leo, what's wrong?" I asked seriously, my eyes wide as he heaved and heaved.

He struggled to keep standing, falling down to his knees as he fought for breath. "Leo!" I matched down to his level, kneeling on the cold ground and holding onto his strong shoulders to keep him from falling towards as he kept attempting to haul in more breath.

His eyes grew droopy, unable to focus on me as I kept calling his name. Uncertainty and panic filled me as I tried to bring him back to me. Leonardo looked as though he was being choked, his hand shaking against his chest as he groaned and trembled uncontrollably. His other hand held onto my wrist tightly as though to save him. He was incoherent, his deep breaths masking the words desperate to come out.

"Leo, look at me - look at me! It's okay, one, two, three. . .stay with me, one, two, three. . ."

I wanted to cry but I couldn't. I forced the tears down as I focused on him, bringing down his panic. It was hard for me to see him like that. I questioned if that was why Iris used to cry whenever I had a panic attack. Was it that she also couldn't handle the sight of me like that? His pain broke my heart.

I cupped his red hot face, lifting his head so he'd stop looking behind me at the commotion. "Mi amore, one, two three. .say it with me. One, two, three." I kept my voice as calm as I could, thinking about what usually pulled me away from the trance of fear.

"You said you liked my eyes so look at me," I said softly, moving his head a little in my hands so he'd focus, his terror-filled eyes finally locking with mine. "That's right, carissimo (dearest)," I gently encouraged, caressing his cheek with my thumb. "One, two, three. You can say it with me."

"One. ." His shaky breath tried before his breaths began to speed up again, his eyes squeezing closed as he tried to compose himself, air fighting against him. A quiet whimper of frustration came from him, tears escaping his eyes.

"It's just you and me here, you're safe, I'm your shield." I swallowed down the pain building my voice. "Count with me, Leonardo. One. . .two. . .three."

"One. . .two. . ."

"One, two, three."

"One. . .two. .three. One, two. .three. . .One, two, three. ."

I pulled him to me, my arms holding onto him tightly as I held him, closing my eyes tight to fight off the tears.

"You did it, Leo, it's okay. I'm so sorry for making you go through that."

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~ Author's Note ~

The flames seemed to have triggered Leonardo's painful memories.

How will he manage following a reminder of the past? Will Leonardo ever be able to overcome his fears?

And was Maria right to try step in to help at the festival?

Who sent that text message? Should Maria have told Leonardo about it?

Thoughts on this chapter?

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