Chapter 21

The next day we were up super early again and headed to Rome. Hope woke up not feeling well; she looked like she could faint at any moment. I just had her lay down in the backseat with her head on my lap. I softly ran my fingers through her hair as she slept. She slept the full eight hours at our hotel.

"Just let me carry you up to the room. They have an elevator." She looked annoyed.

"Will you just stop. I'm fine." She completely snapped at me. I've never seen Hope like this ever. She seemed like a completely different person. Once we got into the hotel room, Hope sat down on the bed, letting out an exhausted sigh.

"I'm going to sleep for a while, okay?" She got under the covers and was out within a few minutes. I walked over to her and kissed her forehead.

She woke up around three hours later and found me in our hotel room's living type area. She immediately got on my lap and hugged me.

"I'm so sorry for snapping at you." I just pulled her closer.

"I know. I get irritable when I don't feel good as well; it's understandable. I forgave you as soon as it happened." I could hear her release a sigh of relief. She pulled back to where she could look at me and smiled.

"So it's only four in the evening. What do you want to do?" I went into deep thought.

"Why not keep it light and go to St. Peter's square, then find something to eat. Sound, good?" She just nodded her head frantically while getting off my lap.

"I would prefer to get food first." She threw over her shoulder as she rushed into our room, I'm guessing to change.

It didn't take us long to find somewhere to eat. However, it took Hope a long time to order because she couldn't decide what to eat.

"I can't help it. Everything just looks so good; I'm so hungry." I just laughed. I closed my eyes and pointed randomly at her menu.

"There you go get that." She smiled, and that's exactly what she got. We decided that if we're ever eating anywhere new, we will also just randomly pick a food item off the menu to eat.

St. Peter's square was massive and crowded with people. It was still beautiful, though. I was hoping we would get to see the Pope, but we had no such luck. We had people take so many pictures of both of us. I can't wait to get home and get all this printed off and added to my wall. Our parents are going to love seeing these pictures.

----------

The second day Hope seemed to be fully back to herself. Our flight didn't leave till night, so we had plenty of time to explore beforehand. We started our day off at the Colosseum, next was the Sistine Chapel, and then we finished up at Trevi Fountain. While we were at the fountain, we started to feel a few drops of rain, but it soon turned into a complete downpour. I hurried and called our driver, and he said he would be there in a little bit. Once I got off the phone, I looked over to Hope, and we both started laughing.

"May I have this dance?" She extended her hand out to mine. I grabbed her hand, and she spun me to her.

We danced in the water laughing the whole time. She pulled me closer, and we just rested our foreheads together, slowly rocking back and forth as if we were back in high school at some school dance. I leaned back and looked into her gorgeous, captivating eyes. I didn't realize myself moving forward till my lips touched hers. She was shocked at first but soon returned the kiss. I broke the kiss once we heard a car horn. I looked over and found our driver. I looked at Hope, seeing her smiling widely, which I returned with a smile of my own, but deep inside, I was in turmoil. I did it again. I'm sorry, Maddie.

We arrived at the hotel and immediately got changed into dry clothes. We grabbed our stuff and were off to the airport. I hope, and I didn't really talk on the way to the airport, which was mainly my fault. I was just so caught up in my thoughts and feeling miserable.

"Okay, what's going on? Please talk to me." I sighed and looked over at her.

���You remember the girl's name; I called out that one time during a nightmare?" She nodded her head, yes.

"Maddie." I looked down when she said her name.

"Yeah. Well, I feel like I betrayed her." She laid her hand on mine, and I slightly shifted my hand away.

"Because we kissed, right?" I didn't respond.

"Why do you feel like you betrayed her?" I just looked at her at that moment. I took a deep breath.

"Maddie was more than just my best friend; I was absolutely in love with her. She and I had been dating for five years, when… When she died." Hope grabbed my hand again. This time I didn't reject the touch.

"We were driving home from a party that I made her leave early from. She barely took her eyes off the road for two seconds, and that's when a drunk driver swerved into our lane. She tried to swerve us out of their path, but it was too late; they hit us head-on." I was crying at this point, and Hope just squeezed my hand a little harder.

"I woke up, and it was almost in flashes like in a movie where the person slips in and out of consciousness. My side of the car was slammed into a tree, and her side… It was completely crushed. When I looked over at her, she was covered in blood. I called out to where several times but never heard a response… She never responded.