by A. Marie
Avelina froze as she took in the scene in front of her. A bullet pierced through the air, and despite how fast it must've flown by, it seemed slow in Avelina's eyes.
Adrik had his gun directed at someone. Her eyes focused on the pulling back of his index finger against the trigger. She even caught a glimpse of the gun flinching back as the smallest bullet erupted with such a deadly force.
The crazy part was that Adrik didn't flinch at all. He looked cold and calculating as if he had done it plenty of times before. Avelina didn't know what to fear more—him or the bullet.
"Avelina!" Anastasia shouted.
Once again, it seemed as though it was happening so slowly. Anastasia sounded muffled in the ears of Avelina. She could not figure out why her body would not allow her to turn to look at Anastasia. All she could focus on was Adrik.
Even when her eyes dropped to follow his hand that grasped his side in pain, she couldn't move a muscle. There was blood that trickled all around his fingers like rain drizzling on the windshield.
When Adrik fell to the ground, everything had finally moved at its average pace again. She could hear the guests still chatting amongst themselves. She could feel the panic from Anastasia just radiating off of her.
"Anastasia, get back to the guests. Now!" Valentino shouted.
Avelina peered over at Anastasia while feeling her eyes brimming with tears. Her lungs felt like they were blocking out any sort of oxygen from entering them. She didn't know what was happening.
Anastasia slowly nodded her head at her husband before grasping Avelina's hand into hers.
"You're experiencing an anxiety attack,” Anastasia let out. “Listen, Adrik needs you right now, so I'm going to need you to breathe. Look at me and breathe.”
Avelina tried to focus on something. . . anything. Then, her eyes met Anastasia's and saw the tranquility that she held so effortlessly. A tranquil that Avelina wished she could have within the depths of her own eyes.
Slowly, Avelina's lungs opened up, and she could just feel the air quickly filling them.
"Good, good," Anastasia spoke just before letting go of Avelina's hand.
"Anastasia, please go. I don't want the guests to be alarmed," Valentino told her.
Anastasia quickly nodded her head and gave Avelina a firm hug before returning to the wedding.
Avelina's gaze then shifted back over to Adrik. She quickly bent down beside him and pushed his suit jacket off his body.
Valentino busied himself by talking to someone on the phone in Italian while Avelina tried to tear through the fabric of Adrik's shirt. Sadly, she was far too weak.
"Do you have a knife?" She asked, looking over to Valentino.
He paused on the phone by pressing it between his shoulder and his cheek. He then grabbed the knife from his waistband before handing it over to her. She didn’t bother to question why the groom had a knife tucked away in his waistband at a wedding. Instead, she allowed herself to be grateful.
Avelina used the knife to cut through his shirt. She expected to see a gunshot wound, but instead, saw an injury from a stabbing.
"He was stabbed," Avelina stated. "What happened?"
"I don't just go spilling information, princess. You're gonna have to ask your boyfriend," Valentino chuckled.
She grew a sudden sense of rage as she glared at him. "This is essential information to take care of him properly. Tell me what happened.”
"Feisty," Valentino remarked before dropping down to the lifeless body Adrik had shot only to check his pulse. "We got a call from the guards about something suspicious. One thing led to another. A guy comes and whispers in Adrik's ear just before stabbing him. Another one pops up with a gun where he fires it, but thanks to me—he misses and runs off. Adrik pulled out his gun and shot this guy. You showed up. Now, we are here. Happy now?"
Avelina ignored his question and reached down with the knife. She didn't even hesitate to cut the bottom of her dress. She also made sure to look back over at Adrik to evaluate the wound and make sure nothing else punctured it.
Grabbing the part of her dress that she cut, she held it against his body to maintain pressure against the punctured area.
"Adrik, can you hear me?"
Avelina leaned over him and grabbed his face with her free hand.
"Yes," he spoke, groaning lightly.
The bleeding wasn't too bad. "Okay, good. Hold this right up against— yeah, good job.”
As Adrik held the dress against his skin, she walked over to the other person. Avelina was already aware that Valentino checked him to make sure he was dead, but she needed the reassurance.
She bent down to check the man's pulse, but as her finger reached for his neck—she noticed a tattoo. More importantly, the tattoo. The same blackbird tattoo that belonged to the man who killed her parents.
She shook the memory away and pressed down to find a pulse. When she didn't feel anything, she cocked her hand back and then slapped the man. Adrik lifted his head to find the source of the sound while Valentino looked over at her.
"Did you just slap him?" Valentino asked, very much intrigued.
She stood up and dusted her dress off, though there was no point in dusting it off because the dress was ruined. There was a small spot of blood along with dirt around her knee area. Plus, she cut the bottom, leaving the once elegant dress to look like a Halloween costume.
"Well, he's dead. He couldn’t feel it.”
"That's gangster," Valentino remarked, “my men should be arriving shortly to take care of my buddy Adrik here. Go back to the party; we will take care of him."
"I'm not just going to leave him.”
Valentino gave her a pointed look before shrugging his shoulders and placing his phone back on his ear. When she heard him delivering a string of Italian words, she realized he was talking on the phone again.
"Go back to the party. I appreciate your help, but your services are no longer needed, Miss Santos," Adrik said, leaving his words to punch her right in the gut.
She didn't notice the way Valentino's head snapped over to them at the mention of her name. A confused expression dawned on his face, but he quickly sobered up after listening to the idiot on the phone, trying to figure out where they were.
"Wow," Avelina let out in disbelief.
"It is what you wanted, right?"
Her shoulders fell as she gazed into his silver eyes, which used to be her sun that seeped through on a rainy day. Even with the droplets of water falling from the sky, she could look up into those silver eyes as if the rain didn't exist at all.
"It's your job. You did it, so leave,” Adrik commanded.
Letting out a sigh, she turned around and began to make her way back to the party.
Due to the dark lights, no one noticed any changes in her appearance. Her makeup probably looked a mess, and her dress a disaster. She was thankful for the darkness that helped hide it all.
Anastasia spotted the girl immediately and walked over to her. Bella made sure to follow right behind her—curiosity as clear as day on her face.
"Avelina, are you okay?" Anastasia asked the moment she caught up to her.
Avelina felt the need to break down and cry, but she had always been strong, especially in front of others. So, instead, she plastered a fake smile onto her face and nodded her head.
"Adrik is fine. Your husband and some men took care of him," Avelina smiled.
The girls both nodded their heads. Bella was the first to notice the red stain on the dress and all the rips that ruined the once beautiful gown.
"Come with me. I brought an extra dress just in case because my son still doesn't know how to keep his food in his mouth," Bella chuckled.
Avelina followed behind Bella as Bella latched onto her arm and dragged her through the party. They walked inside of some building and into a room. Bella then grabbed the dress from a rack.
"Here. You can change in the restroom, and I'll be waiting out here for you to come back.”
/> Avelina smiled in response before she nodded her head.
She took the dress into the adjoining bathroom and locked the door behind her. The second she was inside of the restroom, Avelina made sure to turn on the water from the sink just to drown out any noises she was preparing herself to make.
Her eyes found her own in the mirror while Adrik's words replayed themselves in her head.
It is your job. You did it, so leave.
Tears were falling from her eyes as she held onto her mouth to keep from making any loud sobs. The grip she had on the countertop had begun to turn her knuckles white.
Avelina’s mind was racing a mile a minute. She couldn't believe she just saw Adrik, someone she cared so much about, with so much blood around him and a face full of hate.
Her thoughts were also replaying the gun Adrik had in his hand. Aside from nursing, she never would've guessed she'd see someone die in front of her like it was nothing. Adrik shot a man, and she never had ever witnessed someone's death in that way before, aside from her grandmother.
The way her grandma passed away was tragic.
She had come home from school to see her grandmother in a chair. At first, little Avelina believed she was sleeping. When she shook her grandmother, and no sound escaped her—she freaked out. Her mind tried to grasp what was happening. Then, she saw the empty pill bottle by her grandmother's corpse.
Her grandma often talked about what life was like for her. How she wished she had someone to care for her the way she cared for everyone else. She spoke as if she were tired of being the one who did the protecting, and she wanted to be the one who had the protection.
Avelina sat there by her grandmother and waited for her to wake up. She sat there for days and sang her granny her favorite songs because her grandmother always loved to hear her grandbaby’s sweet little voice.
"Like a caterpillar to a butterfly," she would sing.
It was a song her grandmother had created with the passion she had for the ukulele. Her grandma always had this love for music, and she dreamt that the world would know her name. All too fast, time moved too quickly, and her dreams became only that, dreams.
Avelina looked into her own eyes through the reflection of the mirror. Her mind had this pitiful war. When her heart slashed, her thoughts would shoot.
Harshly, she wiped away her tears and took a deep breath. Her mascara had gotten slightly smeared, but she managed to fix it with her finger by just simply wiping it off. She then took off her dress and put on the one Bella had given her.
After turning off the water faucet, she stepped out of the restroom.
A bright smile carried itself so naturally on her face as if the tears never rooted themselves within the soil of her skin.
"It looks better on you than it does on me," Bella spoke out enviously.
Avelina glanced down at the black dress. It was a lot shorter than the one she previously wore. She played with the bottom of the fabric that only reached about mid-thigh, which wasn't her favorite aspect, but she was grateful for the dress.
"I'm sure you look gorgeous in it. I mean, look at you!" Avelina exclaimed.
Bella's hand came over her mouth as if she hadn't ever heard someone say something nice about her before. "Hearing a compliment from someone as beautiful as you makes me want to cry.”
Avelina let out a soft chuckle as she raised her hand that gripped the gold dress. "What do I do with this?"
Bella grabbed a bag from somewhere in the room and held it open for Avelina to put the dress in.
"Alright, let's head back," Bella said before sitting the bag down in the corner of the room.
Avelina nodded her head as she followed Bella out of the room and back to the party. No one was aware of what happened behind the scenes; the party was still in full swing.
Bella and Avelina traveled back to the table where they sat down.
"You know, I heard you crying in the restroom. I'm sorry for being intrusive, and you honestly don't even have to answer, but what has you so down?"
Avelina looked down at her hands that sat in her lap, feeling the need to cry again. She hated it when she already felt torn apart, and there was that one person who managed to try and help pick up the broken pieces.
As she glanced over at Bella, she began to wonder what it was like to confide in someone. Avelina's lips had always provided a strong barrier that stopped words from seeping out that revealed far too much about herself.
"I'm just confused.”
"Is it about you seeing your boyfriend shoot someone? Anastasia told me about it. Sorry, again, you don't have to answer. You can ignore me if you want. Everyone does it all the time," Bella stated with an innocent smile playing out on her lips.
For some reason, her words left Avelina to laugh harder than she had laughed in a while. It was such a sad statement, but Bella didn't seem bothered by it at all.
"What?" Bella laughed. "I’m being honest."
"It's not that he shot someone. In all honesty, I only witnessed self-defense. I'm more confused about how I'm supposed to feel," Avelina said.
"Oh, I see. Well, you do realize that you shouldn't go based on what you are supposed to feel. You can't think about feelings. You just feel them.”
Avelina watched Bella as she grabbed a champagne glass from off the table and began to drink it.
"But I'm scared that if I admit those feelings, then I'm accepting them. And it's wrong to accept them because I could ruin everything I worked so hard for. I got a nursing degree, and I've been a care provider ever since I started college. It’s my chance to emerge into something beautiful. Now, I'm questioning if I should give that all up for a man who deserves the world. He's so honest and has the greatest heart and says the most beautiful words without speaking at all. I mean, a caregiver falling in love with her patient is wrong. My degree, my name, and my reputation would be tarnished forever. And just like that, my dream is gone. How do I choose between that?" Avelina asked.
Bella let out a loud sigh. Her mind was trying to find an answer. She was happy that Avelina let it all out because Bella knew how good it felt to exhale all the negativity life throws at times.
When a waiter walked by, Avelina made sure to grab the glass from his tray. She hated alcohol with a passion, but she needed something to relax her a bit.
" I know I don't know you much, but you seem like a sweet person. Sadly, you can't always be sweet. You need to think about what would be best for you. Not those people in Brazil and not the man you speak of, but you," Bella spoke
"Thank you.”
“You know, I overheard my husband and his brother, Valentino, talking about you. They mentioned your brother and something about a suicide not actually being a suicide,” Bella spoke, her eyes pulling together in confusion. “I don’t know— maybe I just heard wrong.”
“I don’t have a brother.”
Bella opened her mouth to tell her more, but the tattooed man from earlier had returned.
"Avelina, right?" The tatted man asked.
Avelina slowly nodded her head before looking over at Bella.
"Nice to meet you. I’m Vincenzo Rossi,” he introduced before pointing to a guy with light hair. “This is Valerio.”
Valerio gave a brief nod to Avelina just as Vincenzo continued speaking, "he's been instructed to take you home. I'm sorry for the way events have played out today. Hopefully, one day, we will all meet again under better circumstances."
"Bella, let's go," Vincenzo vocalized.
Bella stood up from where she sat. Just as Avelina was about to tell her goodbye, Bella wrapped her arms around Avelina's frame.
"Bye, Avelina. Don't forget to take time out and to think about you," Bella said, smiling brightly before grabbing onto Vincenzo's hand lovingly.
"It was lovely meeting you, Bella!" Avelina shouted at her departing figure.
"You ready?" Valerio asked.
Avelina let out a sigh, not ready to see Adrik once more. However, she did wa
nt to check on him and make sure he was okay.
"Ready."
CHAPTER ELEVEN
Care for Desire
“It was very nice meeting you, Valerio," Avelina stated as she stepped out of the car.
Valerio made sure to close the door behind her before delivering a smile that showed off his pearly white teeth. "Same to you. Goodnight, Miss Santos."
Avelina began to walk up to the mansion. There was a guard outside that she never seen perched there before. He gave her a curt nod as he opened the door and allowed her inside. She presumed that Adrik might have upgraded his security due to the breach of his safety.
The first thing she did from the moment she entered the house was head straight to Adrik's room. Worry had occupied her thoughts the entire time she rode back from the wedding. She wanted to be sure that Adrik was feeling okay.
When she made it to his door, Avelina could not help but sigh. With a balled-up fist, she lightly tapped her knuckles against the wood quite a few times.
After a few seconds, she could hear a faint groaning. The sound left her to frown. When tumbling could be heard on the other side of the door, Avelina could no longer brush aside her concern as she found herself barging into the room.
The tumbling she had heard must've resulted from Adrik falling. It pained her to see him on the ground with his hand holding his side where that man had stabbed him. Avelina quickly placed herself at his side, with her eyes instinctively flashing to the source of his pain.
He looked over at her before his eyes fell on the dress she wore. "You changed."
"Yes, the other dress was ruined.”
Adrik's wound was covered up with gauze, but the bleeding was almost seeping through the bandage. Her finger grazed it lightly.
"Black clothing is not a good look for you," Adrik told her. She watched him as he allowed his hand to hover above her bare cleavage. "However, I do like this part."
"Let me help you up," she spoke softly, completely ignoring his words.
Avelina placed his arm around her shoulders and helped him stand. It made things difficult because he was far too heavy and far too tall. Avelina always considered herself a tall girl, but she was nothing compared to Adrik.