My love is A WHAT ???

Claustrophobic

Another knock on the door woke me. Half-asleep, I opened it and jolted — it was that girl. I couldn’t run anywhere; I kept stepping back, back, back. The girl smiled, then pulled out a gun, aimed at me, and—bang.

I woke up drenched in sweat — it was only a dream, just a nightmare. I got up and drank some water. When I checked my phone, there were countless messages. Luis — Luis was my ex — had done such disgusting things that I don’t know how I put up with him even for that one month. I’d met him at university and decided to give him a chance because he’d been chasing me the whole semester. But everyone knew nothing would come of it. I wouldn’t give him anything, so he couldn’t get what he so desperately wanted. I wanted to break up and be done with it, but he still wouldn’t leave me alone, so I ignored him.

My phone rang. When I saw my best friend’s name I answered happily.

“— My fairy, I missed you so much, it’s been ages since we talked.”

“— Sofia, I missed you too, terribly. I wish you were here.”

“— I think about that all the time, but what can you do — sadly we haven’t seen each other in so long. Still, it’s nice to talk like this. Tell me, what’s going on with you?”

“— I don’t know, Sof. The place is beautiful but at the same time kind of boring.”

“— How can a place be boring?”

(I couldn’t tell her it wasn’t boring — it felt like a slaughterhouse here.)

“— Yeah, maybe I’m exaggerating.”

Sofia and I talked for forty minutes. When we said goodbye I thought about how to hide so nobody would notice me. I put on a black hoodie, pulled up the hood, and wore black pants. I walked the whole way with my head down.

When I met my parents they scolded me: why are you dressed like that in this heat? But I preferred to be overheated rather than be seen — or worse, killed. A waiter came over, and I couldn’t believe my eyes — it was the guy from the secret garden. He was the waiter. When he saw me he gave a sarcastic smile. I frowned at myself — was this for real? Was I being filmed for some series and didn’t know it?

⸻

I tried not to notice, but it kept bothering me—he kept staring at me, and even when I looked back, he wouldn’t stop. But despite all that, I wasn’t afraid of him. I never thought he could be one of them. He was way too handsome to be a killer. I laughed at my own thoughts, when suddenly my mom snapped me out of them and looked at me with sad eyes.

“Sweetheart, I left my phone in my room. Please, could you go upstairs and bring it to me?”

My mom’s room was on the 50th floor. Above it were two more floors that, as far as I knew, could only be accessed with a special card. My legs were shaking as I got into the elevator and pressed the button for the 50th. I was fidgeting with the rubber band on my wrist, trying not to panic. I closed my eyes and started breathing heavily. The doors were about to close when suddenly someone waved their hand, and they opened again.

Valerio stepped in—the guy from the garden. He pressed 46.

Oh, great. Now I had to ride with this handsome, arrogant i***t. As if everything else wasn’t enough, this just topped it off. I crossed my arms and pulled my hood over my head, when suddenly Valerio’s face appeared way too close to mine—almost nose to nose.

“What the hell do you want?” I snapped.

“Are you hiding from me?”

Why on earth would I be hiding from him? Why would he even think that?

“Yeah, sure, I’m hiding from you. I saw the way you brutally murdered that lemon in your cocktail, and I got scared.”

Valerio burst out laughing and leaned against the wall.

“Well, if not me, then who are you hiding from? What’s with that huge hoodie?”

How did he know I was hiding? Clearly, the hoodie was drawing even more attention. I needed to come up with something else. I leaned back against the elevator wall too and looked him in the face.

“I’m afraid of elevators, you i***t. Isn’t it obvious?”

“Sorry, but how exactly does covering yourself with a hood help with that?”

Suddenly, the elevator jolted. My heart started pounding twice as fast. I closed my eyes, trying to breathe, but the darkness was closing in on me when suddenly a large figure pressed against me. He put his hand on my face and, in a calm voice, said:

“Just breathe with me. In through your nose, out through your mouth.”

I breathed with Valerio, and honestly—it helped a little. When the elevator finally dinged and opened at the 45th floor, I quickly stepped out.

“I’ll take the stairs up to my mom’s floor,” I told him.

I went up the stairs, grabbed the phone from the room, and when I came back, the elevator doors were open. Valerio was holding down the button, waiting for me.

“I just didn’t want you to be scared,” he said. “I was going down anyway, so I thought I’d wait.”

I smiled. I love it when people look out for each other.

“Thanks, Valerio.”

He smiled back. I frowned, confused, and asked why he was laughing.

“You remembered my name.”

I laughed too. He was a complete i***t—but somehow, I liked him.

The elevator doors opened, and this time, I wasn’t afraid. I gave my mom her phone, smiled at her, and after dinner, went upstairs to my room. I lay down on the bed, planning to go for a massage at the spa later, but I fell asleep instead.