THIRD PERSONSarah woke slowly, the morning light slipping through the curtains, soft and quiet. Marco’s arm was draped across her waist, his chest warm against her back. She didn’t move right away. Just stayed there, breathing him in. His body was relaxed, heavier than usual, like he was finally getting real sleep.“Still alive?” she mumbled.Marco grunted behind her. “Barely. You tried to drown me last night.”She smiled, eyes still shut. “You pushed me in first.”He shifted, pulling her closer. “Self-defense.”She laughed, soft. “You call that self-defense? I saw the way you were smiling. You liked it.”Marco pressed his lips to the back of her shoulder. “I liked seeing you laugh.”Sarah rolled over slowly to face him. His eyes were half-open now, soft, no edge to them. She ran a hand through his hair, fingers brushing along his temple.“You look peaceful,” she said.He didn’t answer at first. Just looked at her. Really looked. Then he said, “Yeah… it’s been a while.”Something in
SARAHI hadn’t seen Marco all day. It was starting to feel strange.The sun had already climbed halfway through the sky by the time I got up. I stretched slow, my limbs still heavy from sleep. His side of the bed was cold. Pillows untouched.I sat up, rubbing my eyes. “Where the hell did you go?” I mumbled.No note. No call. Just silence. But I didn’t panic. Not yet.I got dressed and stepped out of the room. The hallway was quiet, faint sounds of sweeping and dishes clinking came from downstairs. The air smelled like lemon cleaner and something warm—bread maybe.I found the maid in the living room, dusting the shelves. I moved beside her, grabbing a rag from the table.She looked up, startled. “Miss, you don’t have to do that. Please.”I waved her off. “I want to. I’m not just gonna sit around like a ghost.”She hesitated. “Mr. De Luca would not like—”“Marco’s not here,” I said. “And I’m not made of glass.”She didn’t argue again.We moved through the house in quiet rhythm. Dusting,
ANGELOI woke up with sweat on my chest and blood in my mouth.The fan above was dead. The air was heavy, full of mildew, smoke, and piss. My shirt stuck to me, soaked from another night of tossing around on this rat-ass mattress. My ribs felt like someone had jammed glass inside me. My eye was still shut halfway, purple and puffed. Lip cracked open again when I sat up.Two days. That’s how long it’s been since that prick laid hands on me.Marco fucking De Luca.He didn’t just beat me—he humiliated me. In front of everyone.I reached over for the pack of smokes, pulled one out with shaky fingers, and lit it with my busted lighter. My hand trembled from the pain but I didn’t care. Took a deep drag, then pushed off the bed, feet hitting the tile with a loud slap.Everything in my body screamed. From my jaw to my back. But I stood anyway. Dragged myself to the small balcony.The door creaked like it hadn’t been opened in years. Outside, Naples smacked me in the face with its heat. Sweat
SARAHI woke up to sunlight in my face and an empty spot next to me. Sheets still warm, but he was gone. My arm reached over by instinct, brushing the space where Marco should’ve been. Nothing. I blinked, yawned, then dragged myself out of bed. My body felt heavy, like it had been through a fight too—not that I had, but between all those drinks and the rush of the night before, I might as well have. My head still had a quiet throb behind the eyes.I shuffled across the room, barefoot, dragging a blanket off my shoulders like a cape. I followed the faint sound of wind brushing through the trees outside, pulled open the balcony doors, and stepped into the morning.There he was.Shirtless. Legs kicked out, sitting on the edge of the chair like the weight of the world was in his shoulders. Cold pack resting on his knuckles, water glass half full beside him. His jaw looked tight. Eyes on the garden but not really seeing it.“Please tell me you didn’t crack a bone trying to look cool,” I sa
THIRD PERSON It was past midnight. The backroom of a rundown bar off the Amalfi coast sat dead quiet. The main lights were off, just a bare bulb hanging over the table where three men sat like ghosts. Blood stained Angelo’s white button-down. His nose was stuffed with gauze, and his left eye was swollen shut. Enzo had his wrist wrapped in an old t-shirt, twisted tight into a splint with two knives and duct tape. Stefano sat sideways in his chair, holding his ribs with both arms like he was afraid they’d fall apart. The silence wasn’t peaceful—it was heavy. Humid with shame, reeking of sweat, liquor, and dried blood. No one made eye contact.Enzo finally broke. “You believe that shit? One guy. One old fuckin’ guy.”Stefano grunted. “Didn’t even pull heat. Just walked in with his hands and made us look like amateurs.”Angelo’s knuckles hit the table. Not hard enough to break it, but enough to rattle the ashtray. “In front of everyone,” he hissed. “People we grew up with. Guys who know
MARCOI saw her wrist in his hand, and that was it.The music, the laughter, the chatter, it all faded like someone dropped a curtain over the night. Just her, and him, and that grip he had no right to have. My chest tightened, but I didn’t rush. I didn’t need to. I moved through the crowd one step at a time, my eyes locked on him, my hands calm at my sides. People made way like they felt something coming. Maybe they did.He didn’t even flinch when he saw me. No hesitation. Just that smug little grin plastered on his face like he was untouchable. He had no idea. His eyes flicked between me and Sarah, sizing us up like we were just another couple he could mess with.“You lost, old man?” he said, chuckling like this was some joke to him. “This your girl?”He was still holding her. Like she belonged to him. Like she didn’t just step out of hell with me standing right behind her.I didn’t say a word.I stepped in closer, right beside Sarah. She looked at me, her mouth pressed into a tight