NINE
1713 Words
I know you are wondering why I hung up, right? As I was speaking to Brandy, I realized or sort of noticed some movement outside the door; it was like Penny was trying to listen to my conversation, and that was a red flag to me.
I am keeping an eye close to her, and I know I am not supposed to judge anyone, but I can’t just help it.
"Thank you, Penny. I will take it from here; you don’t want to wash me, do you?" I ask, gauging her reaction, and she shrugs.
"I have clear instructions from Boss Ricco. You are my responsibility, you know that?"
"Yes, but I am not ten; I am a grown woman with a fully developed body, and I don’t want you looking at my body." Can I have some privacy, please? "I am sure Alessandro wouldn’t mind me showering all by myself, will he?"
"Okay, Miss Anderson, I didn’t mean to offend you; I was just doing my duty, which is to take care of you and make sure that everything is in line before Boss Ricco comes back."
"Fine, I understand. Can you now leave me alone for a moment?" I urge her, and she nods before she walks out of the room and closes the door behind her.
My lower abdomen is still in pain, but that doesn’t deter me from struggling to use the bathroom. I reek of sweat, blood, and exhaustion, so freshening up is my only goal. I drag my tired body to the bathroom and stand in the shower.
I let the warm water hit my back while I scrubbed and massaged my head with my fingers. The feeling of the hot water on my back is relieving. I moan silently at the soothing feeling on my back.
After the shower, I use the extra towel to wipe myself, and when I walk back to the room, I find some clothes on the bed with a note from Alessandro.
I carefully sit on the bed with the note in my hands, and as I read through it, I can’t help but smile at his humorous acts.
Hi, Penny told me you wanted to shower, and I doubt you had any clothes to put on. Forgive my sense of fashion, but I hope that holds for now. I will be back late into the night; don’t wait up for me.
"Well, what I’m I supposed to do with my time?" I ask myself as I try on the clothes, and they all fit perfectly. His girlfriend must be enjoying it; ooh, I forgot he doesn’t do the dating thing, but why would a young, handsome man like him be single?" I ask myself, but since I don’t have anyone to answer my questions, I lay back on the bed and grab a book from the nightstand.
After reading for a couple of minutes, I feel drowsy and end up sleeping. I am woken up by the creaking sound of the door. "Who is there?" I ask sleepily, and Alessandro chuckles.
"Who else could it be?" I am sorry I woke you up, but I was just passing by to check on you. How are you feeling? "Did you have something to eat?"
"Yes, I am okay now. I must have fallen asleep while I was trying to read. "I don’t have a phone, and it is boring as f**k in here with no one to talk to." I respond, but my stomach rumbles.
"You said you had something to eat, but your stomach says differently. Let’s get you something to eat, and maybe we can talk about getting you another phone." He suggests, and I just nod; it is not like I have any options right now anyway.
"I know you are trying to be nice to me and take care of me, but you don’t have to strain; I can fix myself something."
"I know, but right now, you need my help, and don’t lie to me that you had something to eat." I thought I gave Penny clear instructions, but maybe she forgot." He adds to me and helps me to my feet. He supports me as we walk outside, and when we reach the stairs, he suddenly carries me like a baby, and I scream.
"Put me down, Ricco; I can walk by myself." Please." I beg him, and he ignores my pleas, laughing in between.
"You have to get used to this, Riley Anderson." He announces as he places me on the kitchen counter, our hands slightly brushing, and I wish he could just hold me much longer.
"I can help you prepare food; do you know what time it is now?"
"Yes, I am working late at night, so I know what time I came back." You are my visitor, so just sit down and let me serve you."
"Your girlfriend must be one lucky girl."
"I told you I don’t date, not after Brenda broke my heart."
"Okay. So, you dated before you got your heart broken and decided you didn’t want to date again; what did she do?"
"Worse, I don’t like talking about it, but she broke my trust and got me mixed up in a sibling feud."
"You have a brother?"
"Yes, I had a brother, but it is a long story. "Do you like it spicy or just normal?"
"A little spicy is cool. "I have read about your company, but I never thought I would meet you in person one day. I am still trying to come to terms that I am in the same house as you.
"Ha-ha, yeah, most people don’t believe I can be a different version of the normal office guy. Riley, I need to tell you something." He states that a lump forms in my throat.
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, I just want you to know that whatever stories you have heard or read about me from the newspapers and gossip stations are true. "I am not just a billionaire; I am a Mafia lord or a gang leader, as most of the journalists and news reporters have always mentioned." He announces it, and my jaw drops in shock, partially confused, but I am quick to hide it with an edgy smile.
I mean, I have read about him, but I tend to assume what the newsroom says because we all know they are after the gist, rumors, and dramas surrounding a public figure, especially a rich guy like Alessandro, but when he confesses, I am short of words.
"I… I didn’t know about that. But it is a good thing, isn’t it?" I ask obliviously, and he chuckles instead.
"You don’t understand, Riley. I kill people for a living—not entirely that—but in my world, it is all about killing to survive, survival for the fittest, and I never want to involve the people I care about in my world. Once they know or get a glimpse that I have someone I care about, they use them to reach out to me, and I don’t want that to happen. I want your presence here to be as minimal as it can get, but if you feel uncomfortable about staying with me, then I can still rent you an apartment, but I am afraid someone might have seen me saving you and they might hurt you to get to me."
"Wow, this is too much for one person to bear. "I mean, I love it here, but I still can’t come to terms with the fact that you are a mafia lord; you don’t look like one." I add, hoping it is all a joke he is playing, but when he looks up and I see the serious look on his face, I know I just got myself burned, from the frying pan to the direct fire.
"I know and I don’t like sugarcoating things; my life is complicated, but that doesn’t mean I don’t have a soul. I still have a list of people I care about, including you. "Here, try this out and tell me what you think. I got to make an important call. I hope you don’t mind."
"Yeah, sure, it’s your house, your rules. I will just sit here and wait up for you." I reply sarcastically, and he squints his eyes at me and leaves without saying a word.
I don’t know why I thought I was safe at his house, but at least I don’t get bullied and called names just because I lost my mother. I ate the pancakes he made silently and just waited for him to finish up his call.
When he walked back, he had this worried look on his face, but he was quick to cover it up with a plastic smile.
"You should get some sleep; I will be taking you shopping tomorrow myself, and you need enough rest." He suggests, and I nod.
"Yeah, I am feeling sleepy already. Thank you for the pancakes, by the way; they were sweet. I didn’t know you were a good cook."
"I am a good chef, if you ask; I learned it from the best. "My Mexican grandmother; come on, let me help you to your room." He offers to cut short my questions, and I understand he doesn’t want to talk about what happened to his grandmother.
He helps me to my room and tucks me in bed, then walks out without saying anything, but as soon as he reaches the door, he stops in his tracks and turns to look at me.
"Riley, I have one question before I go to sleep. Are you sure the baby you are carrying is not mine? The doctor counted four to five weeks, and I believe that was the time you and I had s*x. I don’t just have unprotected s*x with any girl; I should have been more careful, but I guess we were both carried away. "Just tell me the truth, and I promise I won’t bother you again. I want nothing but the truth." He asks while sternly looking at me as if gauging my facial expressions, and I exhale sharply.
Well, here comes the lie again.
- Writer
