Chapter 4.2 - Valentina

"So what should I do?" Vinnie asks, still not understanding what I'm trying to say.

I shrug and watch Matteo do the first line. Before I can answer, Marco buts in. "Have sex with someone else. There are tons of girls who have a crush on you and I think you should have fun for a while. You've been with the same person for years now."

"Plus, Austria in December." Matteo adds and holds out the phone and the rolled-up bill to me. I look down at the phone, wondering whether I should just take it out of his hand and bring it up closer to my nose or if I should just bend down awkwardly in my heels.

Before I can decide though, the phone is brought closer, so I don't have to lift a finger. "Thank you." I tell Matteo and hand the bill over to Vinnie.

The right side of my face goes numb a few minutes later and I tap it with my fingers. "Good shit, right?" Marco asks, nodding.

"Yeah." I smile. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Matteo nodding along.

***

Somehow around ten people end up going to Matteo and Marco's apartment in the city for the after party, including me. Isabella, Raisa, and Sophia are the only other girls here, but we're smoking joints around the kitchen table and discussing lighthearted topics such as how fun the club was, and which boy is the best dancer while the guys loudly talk in the living room.

"So, which one of you is sleeping with Matteo tonight?" Sophia asks, looking between Raisa and me, focusing more on me.

"I guess that would be me?" Raisa says, nervously laughing.

"Fun." Sophia smiles, raising her glass to Raisa.

"Speaking of the devil." Sophia exclaims when Matteo enters the kitchen and walks up to us. I can see now why Matteo was right about Sophia.

"I came for a puff." Matteo says and comes to a halt next to me.

I look at him and take two small puffs before I hand over the joint.

"So whose are you then?" Sophia asks, pointing her wine glass at me.

She loves starting her sentences with 'so'. Also, what kind of question is that? What does it even mean? Am I too drunk?

"Excuse me?" Is the only thing I can think of saying.

"Whose girl are you?" Sophia clarifies, and now all eyes in the kitchen are on me.

"Mine." I tell her, not knowing how to react.

Either the alcohol and drugs are finally getting to my head or this girl in front of me is very overwhelming and underwhelming at the same time.

Matteo snorts as he passes the joint to Raisa. "And whose are you?" he asks her. She blushes and takes a hit.

"Yours." She answers and I look at the walls. She should've told him maybe. Just to watch him squirm. I shake my head but catch myself in time before people can notice.

After Matteo leaves, everyone seems to relax a little and we're back to talking about our student life and where we want to go on vacation next.

My original assessment of Sophia still stands an hour later when we're in the living room listening to music and obviously doing more drugs. She keeps going on about how she can't do coke anymore, but she doesn't need it to stay awake.

I'm sitting by the bar in the corner of the living room next to Isabella, people-watching and idly discussing random shit. For some reason, the exchanges between Matteo and Raisa seem the most interesting to me. Or maybe because it's all happening in front of a huge painting of the woman with a flower head by Dalí.

A tall, thin brunette exits the balcony and walks past the two of them, and Matteo tenses up before turning his head to watch her for a moment. I don't think Raisa notices.

"Who's that?" I ask Isabella.

She snaps out of her thoughts. "Who?"

"The brunette talking to Marco."

"Oh. That's Allison." She rolls her eyes.

"You don't like her?"

Isabella shrugs. "She's Matteo's ex, Allison. I have no idea what she's doing here. Or who even invited her."

I feel like there's more to the story because I've never seen Isabella so close to being angry at someone, but I don't push her. My feet hurt from wearing heels all night and the coke is wearing off. If I start seeing daylight it'll be game over for me.

I place my glass on the bar and turn in my chair to face Isabella.

"I think I'm going to go home."

"You sure?"

I see someone familiar out of the corner of my eye, talking to Marco as well. "Is that my brother?" I ask in disbelief and take a hold of my glass again as I stand up.

I don't hear what Isabella tells me about him being friends with Marco because I'm making my way towards him. It's not really weird seeing him at the same party as me; it's weird seeing him at this type of party.

"Hello, what are you doing here?" I ask, switching to Russian, not giving a fuck whether it's impolite towards Marco or the brunette girl.

"Marco invited me, I was at another party in the city and decided to swing by. You okay?" he asks, switching the subject back to me.

"Fine. But I'm coming home with you." I tell him. Then, smiling, I raise my glass to him and knock it against his. "Cheers." I add, in English. It had never really occurred to me before tonight that I could stay at Adrik's when I'm in the city instead of getting a hotel. Now that he's out of the dorms and into a two bedroom apartment on the Upper East Side, I could, in theory, sleep at his.

"Cheers."

When I join Isabella back at the bar, she looks very amused.

"Do you think he could tell I'm on coke?" I ask her.

"I don't know. He might be higher than you are."

I look back at Adrik, who's looking back and forth between Marco and the brunette as they're talking. His eyes are smaller than usual, and he seems like he's really trying to keep up with their conversation. He is high.

"He's adorable." Isabella laughs and shakes her head before taking a sip from her glass. Then, she nods towards Sophia and Vinnie, talking in hushed tones in the left corner of the room. "She, on the other hand, is annoying." Then, she turns towards Marco and my brother. "And her too."

Judging by the way she slurs her words; I can tell Isabella has had one too many and is starting to become unhinged. Also, I'm not sure why she doesn't like Matteo's ex, since Marco seems to be getting along just fine with her.

"Come to the bathroom?" she whispers to me, trying to get off the highchair. She wobbles on her heels, so I stabilize her by grabbing her arm.

"Yeah, where's the bathroom in this place?"

I let her guide us to the bathroom in the hallway, where she shushes me as soon as we get inside and locks the door. Then she falls to her knees in front of the toilet and dry heaves into it.

"You need to throw up?" I ask, even though it's obvious.

"Uhuh." She says and then proceeds to actually throw up twice.

I get her some water and try to pat her forehead with a cold towel when someone knocks on the door.

"Isabella? Matteo sent me to check on you." Someone says from behind the door.

Isabella lifts her head up and looks at the door. "Bitch." She hisses, before she throws up again.

"I'm fine, Allison. I'm with Valentina."

"You sure?"

"Yes!" I say, at the same time as Isabella.

We wait for a moment before Isabella finally gets up and brushes her knees clean. "Matteo sent me." she says in a high-pitched voice, mimicking an American accent. "Was that his ex?" I ask and help her wash her face.

Isabella nods. "I thought Matteo was done with the bullshit."

----

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