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Chapter 17: Where it all begins
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Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 17.1. - Matteo
“Not really.”Matteo can’t lie and tell him that the description matches no one ever. He thinks about that time after Vinnie’s birthday, when he stayed up until the next evening with Valentina.Just because they enjoyed being around each other. When he didn’t have to check his phone or thinks of ways to entertain himself to avoid awkwardness.She was interesting and she talked about things he’s never talked about with anyone else before. He could be himself around her, and sex wasn’t even on his mind that night, nor on that day when he ended up in bed with Ariana.But she’s also insanely attractive. Not only hot, but beautiful too. And smart.Sure, he’d like to have sex with her, it would probably be enjoyable. And if it never happened, fine. Maybe.“Are you even listening?”“Not really.”“Are you high?”“Aren’t you?”Vinnie laughs at that.Matteo still doesn’t know how to bring up Valentina. They always talk about everything they do, especially when it comes to girls.“Is something g
Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 17.2. - Matteo
“Paulo thought it ended after she ratted him out at your New Year’s Eve party.”The way he uses the verb ‘ratted’ makes Matteo feel sick.“So? He likes her, I guess.”“Has he tried to contact her?”“I think so.”“And did she answer?”“Shouldn’t you already know this is you have a cell tower? Vinnie is right next door.”Matteo suddenly realizes that his father can also probably see everything on his phone.“Don’t worry, we don’t track the phones of our family. Nor the Barone family. I am asking you sincerely.”“I don’t think she replied, no.”“So, it’s obvious she won’t be coming back to him. Get him to stop trying.”“I can’t tell him what to do, and I also don’t want to tell him what to do.”His father looks at his face, as if to check whether Matteo means it or not. He does.“How do you know who Sofia is? And why isn’t Paulo talking to me directly like he usually does?” Matteo asks.“I know her because Paulo told me what happened. And I told you.”“Fine.”“So you’ll talk to Vinnie?”
Games We Play - Awakening Prologue
Prologue Sicily, Italy 2021 – winter The party is starting to get out of hand, as expected. It’s only been two hours since the first guests arrived, and yet people are already talking too loud and gesturing way too much while doing so. No one's violent yet, there are no guns in sight, and I can see familiar faces, which is usually a good enough sign for me to believe the party will be safe. And I know he’s here. He must be. Does he think I’m here? Why do I even care? I grab a glass of champagne from a tray held out by a waiter as I enter the foyer. The giant room overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, giving everyone in the room a view of the cliffs and its waters below. It’s already dark, but the moon stands high above the water and the city below should be lit up in an hour. As I browse the room a second time, I realize that all the familiar faces are just familiar and that’s it. I can’t spot one person here I would be able to hold a conversation with, let alone for anoth
Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 1: Awareness
Palermo, Sicily, Italy 2019 - summerThe phone on the wall in Matteo's room rings around 11am, waking him up from his dreamless sleep. It's his father."Come see me in my office please." Is all he says before hanging up. He sounds serious, like he needs to talk business. Not business in a figurative sense, as in, talk about some shit Matteo pulled, but in the literal sense: business.Matteo started noticing that his father wasn't really a restaurant "manager" when he was around eight years old. One night, after having stayed up past bedtime downstairs in his father's pizzeria, he saw a man coming in with a gun in his hand. He pointed it at one of his father's friends behind the counter, before shooting him point blank.The man didn't even clock Matteo hiding under a table in the corner; he just turned around and left. When his father found him bawling his eyes out as he came in from the back, he told him to stop crying and that it would be taken care of.Matteo didn't know what that m
Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 1.1 - Matteo
Enrique doesn't rip them off, and the total comes out to 10.1kg, which is good enough for Matteo. They let the guy leave through the back because people are already starting to fill up the driveway. He can see familiar people from the window overlooking the driveway. He sees Vinnie climb out of the car with Eddie, their sister and two other girls he doesn't recognize. The one in the red catches his eye first, before he looks at her friend and recognizes Aleksi's sister, Raisa. They only had sex at the end of the school year, before Matteo flew to Palermo for the summer and she did god knows what (Matteo doesn't really text any girls because most of the time it feels like a waste of time). Only when he doesn't have anything to entertain himself with is when he opens messages. Aleksi is not with them though, which means Matteo will just have to wait a little bit longer. A text comes through from the pilot, saying that they've just departed from Capo d'Orlando. He descends down the sta
Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 1.2 - Matteo
"Valentina." Matteo says, drawing out the "i"."And you?"He raises his eyebrows. "Matteo."Valentina nods in acknowledgement and looks around. "Is this where you live?"Ariana looks at Matteo questioningly, like she wants to see how he'll react."Yes." Matteo answers and takes the plate back once it's done the rounds. Just then, Aleksi comes into view. His eyes fall on Valentina and he freezes."Alex? I thought you weren't coming tonight." Valentina says, as if they've known each other forever. The way she speaks and accentuates her sentences make her sound like she's either from Russia, Poland, or somewhere is Eastern Europe. Maybe Romania.Matteo makes eye contact with Aleksi, who looks like his mother has just caught him dealing drugs."I invited him; thought he'd change his mind." Matteo interjects and then stands up to walk over to him. He holds the plate up to his chin. "Would you like a line?"Aleksi looks at Valentina, as if to ask for permission, which annoys Matteo even mor
Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 2: White lines and G&Ts
ValentinaCapo d'Orlando, Sicily, Italy 2019 - summerThe sun is starting to burn me alive, and I've only been exposed to it for less than an hour. I stretch my arms out in front of me to inspect whether I've reached the amount of tan that I've been trying to achieve for the past six weeks since we came to Italy."Put your hat on." My mother motions from her lounge chair, too engrossed in her book to even look up at me. See just sees me moving and feels the need to say something.I look down at my bucket hat. "It makes my head heat up even more." This makes her put the book down and throw me an annoyed look. I envy her for how relaxed she looks in her bikini. She also looks kind of poetic, sitting alone on our private beach sipping a Martini - only having to worry about how the book is going to end.She tilts her head and looks at me over the sunglasses. "Then go hang out with your friends. Where are they? Where's your brother?"I squint my eyes at her. "Smooth, mom. Trying to g
Games We Play - Awakening Chapter 2.1 - Valentina
The clock over the mirror shows it's already been three hours since I got into the tub. There's just something about taking a bath while looking out at the sea and reading a book that makes me want to do it forever.I take the last drag of my cigarette and stub it in the ashtray next to the tub. I place the book beside it on the small table before I groan and hoist myself out of the tub.As I step out of the bathroom and into my bedroom in my bathrobe and a towel turban on my head, I hear my father's laughter echoing from downstairs. The other male voice I hear is the chef, who probably just finished for the day.I blow dry my hair as fast as I can before I quickly comb through it and rush out of my room towards the stairs. I need
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