ELENA

I decided to call Rogerio. With the way things were going, it was evident that I couldn’t go back to Milan right away, and staying in contact with him was the only way I could make sure things hadn’t been blown out of proportion.

But I knew I couldn’t show how I was really feeling. It was important to maintain a nonchalant facade and hope he said something that would give me a hint or let me know what was going on.

He picked up on the first ring, but the background noise was too much, so I hung up and decided to call back after a few minutes....