Chapter 3.1. - Valentina
1758 Words
New York, United States – October 28th, 2020
I move into the apartment the next Wednesday. It’s almost fully furnished, and it makes me excited that I’ll get to decorate it.
There are three rooms: a living room with a couch and a TV, a bedroom with large windows that show the tall trees growing on the street, another room with a desk and a bookcase in it, and a small kitchen.
The place feels strange, new, but I know I’m going to get used to being here in a few days.
Two days after I move in, Isabella arrives in New York. She takes a cab from the airport, because she’s exactly like me when it comes to spending more money on comfortable travelling.
“This is niiiice.” She says, looking around in awe.
We have to get through the living room to get to my bedroom, but the moment she sees it she loves it.
“I love the vibes, it’s so cozy already with the trees and everything.”
She throws her bag on the floor next to the bed and takes off her jacket.
“Now. Let’s talk about my birthday.”
She already talked to Matteo apparently, and it’s going to be held at Redlight, the club where Matteo is the manager. Apparently it belongs to his father, so there’s no reason to worry about police because it’s soundproof.
The guest list is about fifty people (she invited everyone who was in New York from our year), so it shouldn’t get too loud.
“And since it’s Halloween too, I’m going to ask everyone to come dressed according to a theme.”
“What theme?”
“Heroes and villains. Gods & Monsters.” She adds, snickering.
I know she’s in her Lana Del Rey era now, so I smile. “That’s a good idea.”
Her eyes light up. “You like it?”
“Of course! I think I’m going to come as a Goddess.”
“I’ll be Wonder Woman.”
We get into bed after that, each of us on our phones looking for costumes.
New York, United States – October 30th, 2020
It’s the day before the party, and we’re watching reruns of Keeping Up With The Kardashians on E!.
Isabella looks up from her spot on the other end of the couch before she hands me her phone.
“I want to go to this crystal shop today.”
“How do you know it’s open?”
“Pandora told me it would be.”
“You went back to her?”
“Yes, a week ago.”
“And what did she tell you?”
“That I’m in a period of transition, and I need to do what it for my Highest Good.”
“And you’re supposed to do that with a crystal?”
“Yes.”
I give her back her phone. “What crystal?”
“It’s called Moldavite. I’ve been seeing t****k’s of it as well, I’ll take it as a sign.”
“Alright.”
“It’s supposed to change your life so it’s for your best good. There’s this girl who said that as soon as she started wearing it, her house burned down and she moved somewhere where her neighbor ended up being the love of her life.”
I c**k my head at her and she lifts her hands up in defense.
“Hey, I believe it. If you don’t believe in it, just get it and see if it changes anything in your life.”
“That sounds fun. Alright.”
We go to the crystal shop a few blocks away, and even though it looks closed from outside, it’s open when we try the door.
There’s a small woman behind the counter in the corner.
Isabella already knows where she has to go, so I just follow her. She stops in front of a glass case filled with bracelets, rings, and necklaces with the same dark green stone. The cheapest one I can see is $220.
“Why is it so expensive? Everything else around here is way cheaper.”
“The crystals were formed during the impact of a huge meteorite with the Earth.” The woman answers.
We turn to look at her.
“Over 14 million years ago, a meteorite crashed in Germany, and Moldavite was formed at high pressures at temperatures from the sediments in the area where it crashed. Which means, there is a finite amount of it on Earth.”
“Does it really change your life?” I ask her.
“Yes, it does.”
She shows me a giant ring she has on her ring finger on the right hand. “I’ve been wearing it since I was thirty. It’s expensive because it’s very powerful.”
She comes over to open the case for us. “Pick one and hold it in your hand.”
Isabella takes a bracelet, and I take a ring. As I hold the ring in my hand, my forehead starts to tickle and it feels like there’s pressure coming from inside my head. The woman sees my face.
“You need that one.” She tells me, looking satisfied that I felt something when I held it.
“Yes, come on, just get it Vale.”
We both buy our jewelry, and I put it on the ring finger of my right hand, just like the woman had done.
I really hope my apartment doesn’t burn down.
New York, United States – October 31st, 2020
I dress up as the Roman Goddess of the Moon, Luna. I wanted to be Artemis, but the costume didn’t arrive on time, so I had to improvise. I didn’t have that many clothes in New York yet, but I did have a long white ruffled dress that clung to all of the right places of my body.
Top it off with some sparkly makeup and my moon earrings, it’s not even half bad. Isabella’s costume arrived two hours ago, and she looks incredible as Wonder Woman.
Everyone is already there, based on Matteo’s texts to Isabella.
“She’s always annoying when it comes to punctuality, ugh.” She tells me when we pile into the Uber.
Going from Lower West Side to the Upper West Side takes over thirty minutes, but we’re finally inside an hour after the party was supposed to start.
You can’t hear anything from outside, which is great and also safe from police intervention.
I love seeing everyone dressed as superheroes or villains; especially when there are so many couple costumes that unwillingly matched. Raisa is Superwoman and Eddie is Superman, Ariana is Harley Quinn and Pia’s boyfriend is the Joker (that one’s on them, tbh, because she came dressed as Bloom from Winx Club), and Isaac is Batman while Aurora’s Catwoman.
I recognize the guy Matteo was working with at the charity gala.
“Who is that guy?”
“Luca? Oh, his uncle died and he used to work for Lorenzo so he asked to be transferred here to get a break from Sicily. He works with Matteo now.”
“Lorenzo?”
“Matteo’s dad.”
We both look towards Luca.
“How come you invited him?”
“Matteo asked if he could come and I said yes.”
“What is he dressed as?”
“I think he’s Hawkeye from The Avengers. That would explain the arrows he’s carrying on his back. Should we go say hello?”
I look at her. “Why would we say hello?”
“They’re coming over, don’t look.”
They hug and wish her happy birthday.
“Do you want your gift now or later?” Matteo asks her, wiggling his eyebrows suggestively.
Isabella looks around the room. “Now. What are you even supposed to be dressed as?”
We all look at his black suit, and the black shirt underneath.
“I’m Lucifer.”
“From the TV Show?” Isabella asks, obviously unimpressed.
“Exactly.”
“Devil in disguise.” I say and he nods, eyes crinkling.
“It’s pathetic.” Isabella concludes.
“Do you want your gift or not?” Matteo huffs in response.
The four of us find ourselves in the staff room, where Isabella and I go and sit on the couch. The boys follow us over to the seating area, and Matteo takes care of the drugs while Luca turns to me.
“I’m Luca DeCosta.”
“We’ve met before.” I say, but I extend my hand, nonetheless.
Why does his name sound familiar?
“We didn’t officially meet then, nor in the lobby.”
Right, I completely forgot that we met in the lobby when I left the room to go buy cigarettes.
“Wait, did you say DeCosta?”
Luca nods.
“Did you know Romeo? He used to help us take care of our house in Sicily.”
Something in his face changes. He’s Romeo’s nephew, and I feel sad for him.
“Yes, he was my uncle.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.”
I feel the urge to ask him if he knows what happened, but I know that it’s not the right moment.
“Which house is that?” he asks me.
I can see Matteo paying attention to our conversation with the corner of my eye.
“It’s in Capo d’Orlando.”
“That’s where he was when he died. Were you with him?”
“Um-“ there’s no point in lying. “Yes.”
His eyes are filled with hope. “Did you see what happened?”
“He was shot.”
“From where?”
A feeling of incoming danger settles in the pit of my stomach.
“It was from across the room above the stage.”
The whole conversation feels dark.
“Why? Do you want to avenge his death?” I try to lighten the mood, hoping he gets the superhero pun. Matteo nervously laughs at my joke, but Luca doesn’t seem to get it because he looks serious.
“I was joking.” I explain.
“Of course you were.”
“Who goes first?” Matteo interrupts us, holding up the plate.
“The birthday girl, of course.” Isabella says, like it’s self-explanatory.
It kind of is.
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I really like the next part, and I already wrote it wow! So I will be posting tomorrow instead of Sunday :D
- Writer
