The living room area was massive! There was a large fireplace in the middle of the back wall with a fifty-inch television on both sides surrounded by built-in book shelves. Two separate sectional couches sat in front of the televisions and two glass coffee tables occupied the front of each couch.
The house and wall décor throughout the bottom floor was absolutely stunning! I loved the small, yet elegant touches. Always enough, but never overdone. The portraits of all of us and our families once again adorned the walls and bookshelves. Violet, once again, had done a wonderful job.
“Let me show you to your room,” Emilio said as he grabbed my arm and headed up the stairs. Dante was nowhere in sight.
The upstairs held four similar bedrooms each having their own bath. I was overwhelmed when Emilio opened the door to my room. This time Violet had went with black furniture and accented the room. She did an amazing job of matching white, black, and turquoise. It looked nothing like my old bedroom. I loved it.
Emilio told me I was the only one who had three closets. He said I was going to be the one who needed them the most. I would have to agree. Emilio left me there to unpack and settle in.
After I put everything away in its proper place, I was ready to explore the rest of the upstairs before I headed downstairs. Emilio’s room was the one opposite of mine, so we would be sharing a wall. Dante’s room was on the right front. Adjacent to his room was Violet’s. It didn’t surprise me that she had a room of her own here. I hoped that meant she would be visiting a lot or eventually move here.
On her dresser was a card that had “Lily,” written on the front. I smiled as I read the words.
Lily,
You couldn’t have possibly thought I wouldn’t make a place for myself. I hope you love the house. I will see you soon.
Love you,
V.
I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. I wanted to call her right then, but I decided to wait and call tonight to thank her for doing this, again.
I found the guys in the kitchen when I made it back downstairs. Emilio and Dante were deep in conversation when I rounded the corner. They abruptly stopped talking and turned their attention toward me.
“So what do you think?” Emilio asked with a smile.
“I like it a lot.” I smiled back. “You weren’t kidding about the security. I’m impressed. I do feel…comfortable.”
“That’s good,” he said as they both got up from their stools.
“I think I’m going to go work on unpacking my stuff. I will see you both in a little bit,” Dante said, leaving the room.
“Okay,” I said as he headed up the stairs in no time.
“Did he tell you what’s up with him?” I asked Emilio. “He has been acting funny ever since we landed.”
“No.” He shrugged. “He didn’t mention anything about it to me.”
“Hmm,” I sighed. “He has been acting different. After we boarded the plane, I fell asleep, and when I woke up, he was so sad, the worst I have seen him. Ever.” I opened up the refrigerator to get a drink. I was happy to find it fully stocked.
“Maybe he already misses Violet,” Emilio said.
I turned swiftly back around to look at him. A sly smile crossed his face when our eyes met.
“You see it too?” I asked curiously. I thought I was the only one.
“Who hasn’t? I have known for a while now. I think everyone is just waiting for them to make it official.” Emilio smiled at a thought he was having, before his face changed and became more serious. “But I understand why they can’t.”
That statement took me off guard.
“Why can’t they?” I questioned.
“It’s for the same reason you and I can never be together.” He looked at me with those gray eyes that were full of sadness now.
Wait what? Same reason Emilio and I couldn’t be together?
I was confused and a little heartbroken at the same time. Was Violet going to have to endure with Dante what I had to endure with Emilio? I hoped not. I wouldn’t even wish it on my worst enemy.
“And what reason is that?” I asked with enough attitude to knock him out of his own thoughts.
“Oh you know what?” he asked trying to change the subject. “We need to decide on dinner. I will go find out what Dante wants to eat, while you do whatever you do.”
I had to find out what he was hiding. I needed to know because Violet and Dante deserved a happy ending. I would make sure they got it. As for Emilio and me, I promised myself then and there that I wouldn’t let it sway my judgment.
Lily and Lucas, Lily and Lucas I was chanting in my head when Emilio’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Lily, could you please tell Violet thank you once again for helping with everything? I owe her a lot. This place was a mess before she came and helped me out.”
“I will do that.” I grinned at him. He did his cocky smirk back at me, and then vanished up the stairs.
We ended up ordering pizza for dinner that night instead of going out. Dante came down to get his and then headed back up to his room. I knew if I gave him his space he would eventually come and talk to me.
I called Violet after I got out of the shower. She told me how Emilio had come to her for help and she agreed. Then she explained when she was supposedly at her parents’ house, she was really here helping him.
“Well you could have told me,” I complained.
“He wanted to keep it a secret. He didn’t even know if anyone was going to be able to talk you into coming back. He helped out a lot, along with Faith. She gave me a lot of new furniture for a discount. It really helped spruce the place up. As you can tell, it’s a lot bigger than the other house and it obviously needed more décor.”
I asked about Faith and how she was doing. I felt like I hadn’t seen her in forever. Violet said she was doing well and that she demanded that we all hang out and spend more time together. A girl’s night out sounded perfect to me. We would definitely need to do that. I told Violet I would call her soon.
“It may be next week until I can talk again,” I said. “Emilio told me I would be busy this week. We’re going to be working on attack drills.”
Violet quietly giggled when she heard that. She wouldn’t think it was so funny when she has to learn them the next time she comes in. I could surprise her with that one. I made sure I thanked her for all her hard work and I told her how Emilio was forever in her debt for all the wonderful work she did.
In true Violet fashion, she shrugged it off and said it was no big deal and that she would do anything for me. I loved that girl!
I thought about asking her what she thought Emilio meant by our conversation earlier, but that was reserved for a face-to-face conversation. We said our goodbyes, and she reassured me she would see me soon.
I was about to go to sleep when a knock came at my door and Dante emerged into my room.
“Is everything okay?” I asked concerned as he made his way over to my bed.
“I’m really sorry,” he said, “about today.”
Finally! I was glad it only took him a couple of hours. I had made up my mind that if he hadn’t come to me tonight, then I would have to take action in the morning.
“I have been kind of out of it since we got on the plane. I just didn’t think I could handle being here. Roman was my best friend. I didn’t know how to cope with all this shit,” Dante explained.
“Trust me, I understand. But together we can get through anything.” I smiled at him. His attitude immediately changed.
We sat there for what seemed like forever just talking about the new house and how things were going to be different. We made a pact to both be there for each other and not to shut the other one out.
“Can I ask you a question?” I finally asked Dante, and he nodded. I had been debating on whether or not I was going to ask him, but my curiosity was getting the best of me and I had to know the answer. Right now was
the best chance of asking him since we were alone.
“Why is it that Emilio and I can never get back together?” I could tell by the expression on his face he was taken aback by the question.
“I thought you liked Lucas? So why are you worried about you and Emilio?”
That was a good question. Why didn’t I ask him why he and Violet couldn’t be together? I felt like an idiot.
“Will you please just answer the question?” I huffed at him.
“I can’t,” he said with a heavy sadness to his voice. “I'm sorry Lily.”
I was confused. Why couldn’t he tell me? I didn’t understand anyone in my family.
“You could answer it for yourself, if you really thought about it,” he continued.
I raised my eyebrow at him. I didn’t know where to go with that response.
“I don’t understand.”
“The only thing I can say is, think about your job, your life, and where you come from. If you can put all the pieces together, you may be able to figure it out yourself.”
With that he stood up and kissed me on the forehead.
“You’re a smart girl Lily, just sheltered. Goodnight,” he said, and then he was gone.
Why did I even ask? I was more confused now than before. I didn’t understand a single thing he was talking about. What does my job have to do with me and Emilio? How did that affect Violet and Dante? And my life? Where I came from? None of it made sense to me.
I laid there and stared at the ceiling for hours. I kept replaying everything Dante had said. I had to figure it out. I needed to know. I needed closure on my and Emilio’s relationship. It ended so abruptly and without warning and I never received my answer as to why. But, I had a feeling that whatever the answer was, it would either heal or completely break what Emilio and I had. Maybe then I could decide, Lucas or Emilio.
Chapter 18
“Liliana, I’m coming for you and I will find you!”
I was running through the forest once again. The branches were scraping against my arms and legs, and my bare feet were screaming at me to stop. I tripped on a root and face-planted on the ground. I scrambled to get to my feet, but there he was, the masked man, just like the one who attacked me.
“You have no idea how long I have waited for this. They have tried to hide you from me, but they fail each time. This time you will be mine.”
“No, please, no,” I screamed at him. “Don’t do this. I beg you.”
The man knelt down in front of me, grabbed my neck single-handedly, and pulled me up. I couldn’t breathe. My airway was restricted by his grip. I grabbed at his hand thrashing and praying he would let me go. I started gasping for air.
“Are you ready?” he laughed as he glared into my eyes. “Are you ready to finally find out who I am? I’m the one who instructed all of this. Get ready Liliana for the surprise of your life!”
He slowly grabbed his mask and started peeling it off. I could see his neck and then his chin.
***
“Wake up Liliana!” Emilio yelled at me. I awoke with a gasp and jumped straight up. He was standing over me as Dante rushed through the door.
“What the hell man? What did you do to her?” Dante yelled at him.
“Nothing!” Emilio yelled back. “I came in here to wake her up. She was screaming her head off. I’ve been in here for over two minutes! Where have you been?” Emilio asked Dante before turning back to me. I had started hyperventilating.
“Lily, what’s wrong? Are you okay?” Emilio asked. His eyes were full of concern and fear. I reached for my neck as I tried to catch my breath.
“I'm fine,” I breathed out, trying to convince them and myself.
“You’re not fine,” Emilio said taking my hands. “You were screaming Lily. You were screaming ‘no, don’t do this, I beg you’. And when I say screaming, I mean bloodcurdling screams.”
I sat there. My eyes searched the room and their faces. I couldn’t speak. I was still half panicking. I could still feel his hands on my neck, clasping and crushing it.
“I'm fine.” My voice was still shaking with fear. “I just had a bad dream.” Dante had moved to my other side and had wrapped his arm around me.
“Do you want to talk about it?” Dante asked.
“This was no ordinary nightmare,” Emilio added.
“It’s nothing you two, I promise. It was just a dream.”
“What was it about?” Emilio asked.
“It was...,” I sighed. I had given up trying to block it out. It was time to tell them. “It was about someone chasing me. They said they had been waiting for this moment. And that no matter how many times or how far I ran, or moved, they would find me.” Dante’s grip on me got tighter.
“Damn!” Dante yelled toward Emilio. “You told her!”
“It was the only way,” Emilio said defensively, “to convince her to come. It was time to tell her the truth for once.”
“You know you weren’t supposed to tell her that man! Now she’s freaking out!”
“I’m fine Dante,” I spoke loudly. “It was just a dream. It wasn’t real and it isn’t the first time I have had this dream.” I had gone long enough without saying a word about my dream. Maybe it was time to tell them. Maybe it would make it go away.
“What do you mean this isn’t the first time? It’s happened before? When?” Dante asked.
“The dreams started a few weeks before I moved to New Jersey the first time,” I explained. “I probably have had the same dream a good ten to twenty times. Each time is a little different, but still the same.”
“Lily, why haven’t you told anyone before now?” Emilio grabbed my face and looked into my eyes.
“I haven’t had the dream in a while. I thought maybe this time it had passed.”
“Tell us about these dreams. We need to hear it, every detail.” Dante was serious.
So I sat there and told them about each and every dream I had and the difference between each one. When I was done, Emilio and Dante looked at each other and made a silent agreement.
“Tomorrow we move to level two precautions,” Dante announced.
“Agreed,” Emilio responded.
“Level two?” I questioned.
They both assured me it wasn’t a big deal, just an extra step in the security level. Emilio told me I needed to focus on my attack drills and that I needed to start memorizing the different ways to react to each circumstance. They both looked uneasy. I had scared them, and that scared me.
***
I was making a sandwich for lunch one afternoon that week when an “attack” happened. Emilio had sent two employees to trespass onto the property, sounding an alarm throughout the house.
I froze in place for a moment, trying to think about my next move. I had so much information and training the last week, my head was jumbled. A few more seconds and I finally hit the floor. I quickly crawled towards the laundry room and shut the door quietly behind me. I tapped the panel, popped it loose, slipped in behind it, and quietly put it back in place.
Emilio had the house gutted in several places and made safe spaces. Most of the spaces were so small that I could barely fit into them. As soon as I was in, I lifted up the keypad screen protector and punched in my number. Then it scanned my thumb so Emilio would know exactly which place I had chosen and where he could find me.
I sat there for a good ten minutes before the screen went green and a knock came from the panel. I heard our safe words, “Midnight in Paris.”
Emilio had chosen that password because it related to only me and him. Midnight in Paris was the theme of our first school dance together and that was also the same night we shared our first kiss.
Emilio sent me into the living room while he went and let my “attackers” back into the house. The only person in the house who knew exactly where all the safe places were was Emilio, and he wanted to keep it that way. He didn’t trust anyone else to know, not even Dante or Lucas. I
was told to never tell anyone, ever.
When Paolo and Lorenzo walked into the living room ahead of Emilio, I smiled. They had become a constant presence at the house the last week. They looked like body builders and not the pretty ones either, but they were two of the sweetest guys I had ever met. I was definitely a fan of them.
We all sat down and went over everything that had just happened. I got an A plus. Emilio said now the only thing I would be continuing with was my daily self-defense classes. In those sixty minutes, I missed Roman more than ever. He was the one who taught me to throw my first punch when I was sixteen.
We finished our conversation and I finally got back to making my sandwich. I was starving by the time I sat down on the couch with my turkey and swiss with chips. I flipped through the channels, but settled for a movie instead. I had just sat down from putting the movie in the disc player when two hands cupped my eyes and blinded me. I froze in terror until I heard him speak.
“Guess who?” he asked. I hadn’t heard that voice this close to me in what seemed like forever. My heart immediately sped up.
“Hmm, Brad Pitt?” I teased. He lifted his hands from my eyes and jumped over the couch, landing on the empty spot beside me.
“Wrong.” Lucas smiled at me. My breath caught. Oh how I had missed that smile. He was beautiful.
“Damn,” I said as I snapped my fingers and smiled at him.
“I see how you are.”
I laughed out loud at him.
“So what are you doing here, Lucas?”
“They didn’t tell you?” he questioned. “I'm your new bodyguard,” he said and then smiled a mischievous grin, “or escort. I prefer escort, what do you think?”
“Not unless you want to sound like my personal stripper,” I giggled. “And I knew that. I meant like, what are you doing here…now? I thought you didn’t start until next week.”
“I know.” His smile faded and a serious expression crossed his face. “I couldn’t stand waiting one more week to see you. It was killing me knowing you were already here and I couldn’t see you. So, here I am.”
“I'm glad you’re here. I missed you too,” I said as I cupped his face and kissed his lips gently before snuggling into his arms.
“So is umm Emilio here?” he asked trying not to sound too worried.