by Serena Light
"I'd like to be reassigned."
Chapter XXIV: Realization
A new guard had been assigned to Serafina, a man named Alessandro, but known as Everest. He was a man of Salvatore's elite force, a small group of men specialized in certain fields and used for specialized means. They weren't often assigned to be bodyguards, but it seems Serafina was an exception. The first time she had met him, he hand introduced himself formally but then proceeded to surprise her with his words.
"I have been assigned to look after you and not get you coffee, or clean your house, fetch your dry cleanings, and buying your groceries, do not mistake me for your errand boy." He had told her, and Serafina's cheeks flushed lightly at realizing that everyone knew about the way she treated Alessio.
Everest was a hard and unmoving man. Standing over 6 feet, he was large. Not only in height, but in girth as well, he covered her entire doorway and often made her feel utterly tiny and defenseless. He did not speak unless spoken to, but he did not speak as much as bark in a booming voice and she could see he made Theo uncomfortable as well. The larger man was assigned to following her around and glowered over anyone who even glanced at Serafina. Her staff became increasingly terrified, her friends were very reluctant about meeting with her due to the mountain of a man being her shadow, and he never let her out of his sight.
He did not smile, nor laugh, and flirting with him was out of the question.
In simple words, he was no Alessio, and Serafina hated it.
It had nearly been a month since he was gone, and she was almost certain that he would be killed, instead, she learned that he had been reassigned. God knows where, but not with her.
Her day wasn't as entertaining and lively as it once used to be. She didn't find anything to be of much joy to her and even her job – her dream job – felt bleak and...grey. Serafina felt as if though she were working in auto-pilot and often just did things with no conscious thought, coming out of her daze only to discover herself doing something different.
"Laugh a little!" Her friend had nudged her one day over coffee when all the people around her were laughing at something another friend had said; everyone, but Serafina. "You don't laugh anymore, Reena,"
Following her friend's comment, it suddenly struck her that she did, in fact, stop laughing. She stopped smiling, stopped complimenting, even so much so that she stopped talking. Talking less than she used to, that is.
Serafina once awoke gasping and choking on her tears, having had a horrible dream, but not remembering what happened other than she saw an eerily familiar smile in it. She couldn't bring herself to sleep again, not when her bed felt too big and her room too cold, her heart aching in her chest as it made her feel as if though her lungs were giving up on her.
She stood before her dressing table in nothing but a towel wrapped around her body, staring at the short lace burgundy dress on her bed, wondering why and when she had put it out.
"Oh!" It suddenly returned to her. "Gallery exhibition,"
Trying to get her mind out of its fogged state, Serafina got dressed and did her make-up, pulling her hair into a low bun before adorning her long overcoat and gloves, the early December air freezing her to the bone.
Her heels clicked against her wooden porch before the sound got muffled by the snow on the steps and the path leading to her driveway. Theo helped her across, opening the car door for her as she settled down, Everest driving them to her photo gallery.
Stepping into the studio, she took one glance around at the framed and hung photos she had taken over the course of 2 months of various cultures and having a bit of information next to each photograph, the prices under it. Her parents and two brothers came, so did her friends and colleagues. There were numerous businessmen, and every second person smelt of money. Generally, she would have been excited to see the number of people today, but Serafina could manage nothing more than a polite fake smile for her guests, and she couldn't understand why.
She went and greeted the people her assistant told her to meet, and talked a little with them before excusing herself to talk to someone else.
Finally, she stood by one of her pictures of a village in India, talking to four people about it with a glass of champagne in her hand and a small smile on her lips.
"Yes, India was quite the experience," She agreed with one of the women, her gaze drifting across the room. "This particular picture, in fact..." She trailed, catching sight of a tuft of dirty blonde hair.
Serafina's breath hitched in her throat and heart stuttered for a second before beating in overdrive, either from excitement or anxiety, she didn't know. But her feet began walking away from the group and towards the man across the room.
"Excuse me," She murmured dismissively, handing her glass to one of the men before following after the person she had seen.
Pushing past and squeezing between people, Serafina's heart felt like it would jump out of her chest when she neared him. A laugh bubbling in her throat to see the familiar physique again, a smile forming across her lips as she was only a few feet away from her. She heard someone call out to her distantly, but she couldn't be sure, her mind and body just focusing on the man before her.
The smile across her face grew even more as she touched his shoulder, the man turning around at the feel only for her heart to shatter.
His eyes were too dark and his forehead too big, the man had too much of a sharp and long nose with thin lips, his complexion too pale to be Alessio.
"Yes?" He asked politely.
"Oh I-" Serafina stammered, taking a step away from him, her heart feeling like a withering flower in the wintertime with her chest squeezing painfully, the fingers on her hand felt numb and tears blurred her eyes at the realization of this man not having been Alessio.
Why would he come? She gave him no reason to.
"I'm sorry, I thought you were someone else," Serafina managed to choke out with a shaky breath.
The tears blurred her vision as she tried to get away from here, from everyone. The interior was filled with an uproar of sounds, all of them feeling overwhelming to her, it was hot and suffocating.
Pushing people aside, Serafina found herself gasping for breath as the tears streamed down. Stumbling out the glass doors, she wheezed for air, her breath fogging up as she stood clutching her knees, trying to regain her bearings with everything spinning around her.
She tried so hard to be strong, she told herself she would not cry, and she even swore it. But now, as the cold December air prickled at her bare arms and legs, her lungs felt like they were being filled with cement and a truck had run her over, her heart quivered and she couldn't keep the promise, she couldn't keep the oath.
A choked sob escaped past her maroon lips, Serafina sitting down on the sidewalk, her knees pulled to her chest with everything being too much. Her head was pounding and she couldn't get enough air, she knew she was freezing but she couldn't care as the tears streamed down her face.
The sudden warmth of her coat had her gaze shoot up, her heart still hoping for it to be Alessio, but deflated when she saw it was just her parents and brothers looking at her in concern.
"Mom-" She choked out like a little girl who had gotten hurt, reaching out for her mother as she kneeled on the pavement, pulling her daughter close as Serafina cried into her shoulder.
The heartache could be described as a wolf eating at her chest, tearing its way to the fragile organ. Threatening to devour her, eat her whole and leave nothing but scraps behind. Or Serafina could describe her heartache as a glove of ice, encasing her heart like a cage keeps a tropical bird. Her heart longed to fly again, to stretch its wings and soar, and see the vast possibilities of life laid out before her. But it stayed locked up in its frozen prison, afraid to pick the lock or try to break the bars. Maybe it could even be described as red-hot coal placed in her chest, it glowed and burnt her at the same time, throbbing and torturing her in all her waking hours and there was no relief to be found.
A fresh to
rrent of tears sprung forth as she realized her Alessio become a silhouette as if he walked from a photograph and left behind blackness. There is an ache that comes and goes, always returning in quiet moments. She wanted so much to keep him close, to talk and laugh like they once did and Serafina knew that his absence is her own fault. But that didn't stop her from seeing Alessio everywhere she went - in the things they both loved - in nature, in music, in silly things. Even though he is gone, his aura remains, beautiful and strong, making the pain all the worse, keeping the feelings so raw.
Alessio had connected to a part of her others never felt. He saw a part of her soul she never wanted to let out of the bag. He touched her and saw her reaction, beautiful and raw. For those moments she was more real than the blood in his veins, and Serafina felt him like the beating of her heart. The bond they forged was still molten when Serafina forced him to pull away, too nascent to resist her urge to hide when things became difficult. Now her world had become blacker than it ever was before, darker due to his absence, loneliness crippling her every thought. Her lungs struggled for breath against ribs of stone and her feet have lost their wanderlust. Before Serafina met Alessio, her heart was soft, with him it became strong and vibrant, but now, without him, it was simply broken.
"Hey, Serafina," Her mother soothed, her voice laced with love and her eyes shining with concern when she pulled her head away. "What's the matter, baby? Why are you crying?"
"The exhibition is going great!" Arsenio proclaimed, assuming her to be crying due to that. "You have nothing to worry about."
"Yeah! Nothing to worry about," Marco echoed in confirmation.
"Is it Paolo?" Her father asked her gently, Serafina shaking her head and sobbing. "Do you miss Salvatore?"
Again, she shook her head.
"Then what's wrong, sweetheart?" Her mother asked.
"I had something..." She choked out between her tears, hiccupping. "And it was beautiful...and I lost it. I gave it up; I forced him away because I got scared,"
"I want him back...I want things to be like they were...but he hates me now. He hates me, mom, he hates me."
Chapter XXV: Once upon a time…
Click.
Click.
Click.
The sound of the laptop’s mouse clicking infiltrated the living room, the sun shining through the open curtains as a gentle breeze caused the leaves outside to flutter in a dance. The living room was beautiful with light wooden flooring, and rich brown leather sofas forming an open square, facing the wall with the flat screen T.V, a low lying wooden coffee table in the center.
On that coffee table sat a laptop with Serafina on the couch, clicking away at the mouse and engrossed in the work on her screen, selecting different modes and editing the picture uploaded. Sighing, she rubbed a hand through her hair, contemplating what to do with the image.
The person behind her suddenly sat up from their lying position, looking over her shoulder and at the screen. Murmuring something incomprehensible, he put his forehead against her shoulder, Serafina chuckling at his antics before ruffling the tuft of dirty blonde hair on his head.
"You've been working on the same image for the past 2 hours!" He groaned. "Stop working,"
"Hey, I have to get this done if I want the exhibition to happen on time,"
"Who needs punctuality?"
"Last I recall, that was your motto: punctuality, dedication and-"
"-Loyalty," He finished for her. "Smartass,"
"Hey, I got a great ass,"
"Hmm..." He hummed, a devious smirk forming on his lips as he wrapped an arm around her waist, leaning towards her neck and placing a kiss on the skin. "Not to forget the great body,"
"I know, cupcake, you just can't keep your hands off me, can you?" She smirked, still focused on the screen.
"Never," Alessio relented, placing tender kisses across the back of her neck. "You're my weakness," He admitted as she gasped at his hands snaking under her shirt.
"No. Later." Serafina voiced sternly, pulling his hands out from beneath her clothes. "I have work to get done."
He groaned in response, falling back onto the sofa with an arm over his eyes. Rolling her eyes in exasperation, Serafina saved her work before continuing with another one. Inhaling deeply, Alessio looked up at her, a smirk forming on his lips as he braced himself on his elbows.
"How did that saying go?" He trailed in thought. "As long as you're in my house, you follow my rules? Is that it?"
Sighing, Serafina let her head fall, a small smile making its way across her lips at his words before turning to look at him from over her shoulder.
"And what rule would you have me follow?"
"Since I'm bored, you stop working."
Chuckling at his antics, she closed the lid of her laptop, looking back at him to see if he was satisfied, but given the expecting look he had, she groaned before pushing the laptop to the side so that it was out of reach.
"Happy?"
"Very," He grinned resulting in a laugh from Serafina.
"What should I do next?"
Alessio hummed in thought, watching the devious grin across her lips as she slipped her hands under his shirt, forcing it to ride up as she hovered over him.
"Something like this maybe?" She whispered centimeters away from his lips as she dragged her nails down his chest and stomach.
"Ah, you and your lust," He laughed, pulling her hands out from under his shirt to place a kiss on her knuckles. "My house, my rules, and I say you get to experience how lovely small sweet gestures are."
"Uh-huh," She raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. "And what would that be?"
"Come here," Alessio pulled her forward, forcing a squeal out of her as she collapsed on his chest and laughing when he wrapped his arms around her holding her to him, placing a kiss on the top of her head.
"Now what?" Serafina placed her chin on his chest as he looked down at her with misty green eyes holding nothing but adoration in them, his smile gently creeping into her heart.
"Now just breathe and relax," He combed his fingers through her hair as she rested her ear over his chest. Both of them silent as the only sound that reverberated through Serafina being that of the thumping of his heart. With her fingers, she tapped out the rhythm of his heartbeat on his shoulder, a chuckle escaping Alessio at her actions. A soft smile overcame her features and closed her eyes, allowing the beating in his chest to lull her to sleep.
She awoke alone on the couch, a pillow under her head and a blanket covering her body and the sun setting out the window. Drowsily she kneeled on the leather, rubbing at her eyes, she glanced up to see Alessio standing in the open concept kitchen with his back towards her as he was fussing over a pot.
Stumbling out from beneath the blanket, she pattered across the floor and wrapped her arms around his waist, resting her head between his shoulder blades.
"Good morning, sunshine," He chuckled, turning in her arms to place a kiss on her forehead. "How'd you sleep?"
"I slept well," She yawned. "I had no idea I was so tired."
"I know,"
"What are you doing?" Serafina peeked around him to see what he was cooking.
"Well, mademoiselle. I have prepared a three-course meal for you consisting of a traditional pasta salad for appetizer, creamy lemon parmesan chicken piccata with cheesy garlic bread for the main course along with a glass of Chianti wine, and of course, not to forget the chocolate Amaretto cake for dessert," Alessio whipped the kitchen cloth in the air before leaning down to place a quick peck on her forehead. "Your favorites."
"Oh my, my, my," Serafina purred. "Someone seems to be in the mood for a reward tonight,"
"I need no reward as long as I see you smiling," Alessio grinned, cupping her face into his hands as she was taken aback by his words. "That is all the reward I need,"
Serafina chuckled, placing a kiss against his palm before smiling up at him, a dreamy look overcoming his eyes as he sighed at the sight. Leaning down he placed a gen
tle peck against her lips, pulling back when she wanted to kiss him harder.
"Have you never felt the affections of softness?" He asked her, caressing her cheek with the back of his hand. "Things needn't always be hard and rough and demanding, they can be soft and gentle and coaxing."
Serafina stared at him in surprise, not understanding where all of this was coming from, but she couldn't deny that she liked the way it warmed her heart liked she'd warm her fingers with the burning of a hearth in the wintertime.
"Go on, finish your work and I'll call you when food is served," Alessio placed a kiss on the tip of her nose, pulling away from her to continue cooking.
Standing beside him a moment, Serafina shook her head with a soft smile before walking back to the lounge and started up her laptop, resuming the image she had been working on and glancing at him every once in a while.
An hour later, Alessio told her to freshen up before dinner, saying he was just setting the table so she might want to wash up before that. Returning with her hair tied in a messy bun atop her head, smiling to see the appetizers set on the table.
Pulling a chair out for her, he helped her settle down before they both dug in, chatting light-heartedly over the appetizer and simply savoring the heavenly taste of the main course. Serafina was hardly able to contain a moan at the creamy zesty taste, enjoying it with the creamy garlic bread and wine. And finally, they both giggled and chuckled as they tried feeding each other the cake, pulling back just before the other person could bite.
It felt utterly romantic and Serafina couldn't keep the smile off her face as he gathered the dishes and put them in the dishwasher. Turning around, Alessio was surprised to find her mere inches away from him, looking up before getting on her tiptoes to see if she would be his height. Chuckling at her, Alessio grasped her sides before lifting her into the air as she held onto his shoulder, squealing and giggling as she looked down at him.
She stared at his beautiful green eyes, the ones that were so vibrant and seemed to shine in the morning light, little specks of brown dotting the iris and turning into a thin ring of gold around the pupil. Like always, she found immense adoration and gentleness reflected in his eyes, as well as in the way he spoke to her, or touched her, or looked at her, even in the way he spoke about her.