by Lise Gold
Matteo shook his head. “I think we need to have a talk, Rome. You’re forgetting that you’re here because of me, so if you’re rude, there will be consequences.” His bloodshot eyes raked over her, and he pulled her in closer. “If you go spreading rumors about me, you’ll be very, very sorry. Do you hear me?”
Rome felt her heart beat wildly in her chest. She’d never been in a situation like this before, and had always expected to be in control and fighting back if it ever happened. Instead, she was paralyzed by fear and just couldn’t seem to move. His unpleasant alcohol-drenched breath on her face, and his hand making its way down to her behind sent a surge of adrenaline through her, and she realized now was the time to kick him and scream for help. Just as she was about to lift her knee, someone came up behind him and pulled him away by his hair.
“You fucking pig!” a woman’s voice yelled. It all happened so fast that Rome couldn’t work out what was going on at first. “You think this is okay, do you?”
Matteo bent over, grabbing his crotch that was undoubtedly hurting after her knight in shining armor landed a fierce and well-positioned blow. Then the baseball cap wearing figure in dark clothing turned her way, and Rome gasped when she saw that the woman currently pounding him was Nadine. “You just couldn’t help yourself, huh?” She pushed him violently away and Matteo fell to the ground, protecting his face with his hands.
“Stop!” he yelled. “Please stop.”
“I believe that’s what this woman just said to you.” Nadine looked down at him sniveling on the ground. “I’m sick of people like you and Louise who think they can have anything they want as long as they throw enough money around.” She planted her foot on his stomach now, making him yell even louder.
“This is a misunderstanding,” Matteo yelled. “I don’t know who Louise is and I was only walking Rome home.”
Afraid she might actually harm him, Rome tried to stop Nadine and pull her away, but she was saved when a man took hold of her from behind and lifted her up. Nadine sharply elbowed him in the face and continued her rant, only stopping when two waiters from the restaurant came out and dragged her back. She shouted at the waiters, pointing at Matteo who was lying in a fetal position, his hands still covering his forehead. It wasn’t until Rome took Nadine’s face in her hands and forced her to look at her that she calmed down a little. She said something else to the waiters, shook herself out of their grip and then gained her composure, putting a protective arm around Rome. “Let’s get out of here,” she said in a breathless whisper. “You need to go to the police.”
Rome was shaking as she let Nadine guide her away from the scene. She had no idea what might have happened if Nadine hadn’t shown up and thinking of it made her nauseous. She heard Nadine thank someone in Italian and when she looked up, she saw it was the smoking man they’d passed. He gave her a nod, then lit another cigarette and disappeared into a courtyard.
“Thank you,” she said as they stopped in front of Nadine’s scooter. “How did you know where I was? You came out of nowhere.”
“I’ll explain everything later. Let’s get to the police station first.” Nadine cupped Rome’s face with both hands, stoking her thumbs over her cheeks. “Are you okay?” she asked, her expression softening.
“Yeah, I’m okay. Just very shaken.” Rome stopped her when she searched for the key to the chain lock in her pockets. “But so are you. You went crazy back there, and I don’t think you should ride your scooter right now. Can we just walk? Will you come with me?”
“Of course I’ll come with you, I’m your witness.”
Rome looked at Nadine’s hands, lifted one and kissed her knuckles. “You need to put some ice on that. It’s swelling up, and it looks sore.”
“Don’t worry about it, I’m fine.” Nadine took her hand, then changed her mind and put an arm around her instead. She held her close as they walked in the direction of the police station.
28
Nadine took in Rome’s spacious apartment that she’d viewed three weeks ago. It was really nice, now that it looked inhabited, but it needed some personal touches. Not that any of that mattered now; Rome might not want to stay here after what had happened tonight. She passed the bedroom and went into the bathroom, where she ran a bath with some bath salts she’d found in the cabinet.
Rome had been quiet on the way back from the police station, and Nadine hadn’t wanted to drag it all up again by asking more questions. She wished she’d gotten to her sooner, but it had all happened so fast. Angelo had called her when Rome and Matteo left the restaurant. The place was too intimate and small for him to blend in, so he’d waited outside for them to finish. “He’s drunk,” was all he’d said, and that was enough for Nadine to run, rather than walk over from the bar where she was waiting.
“Do you want to take a bath?” She asked, walking over to Rome, who was hunched on the couch, holding the mint tea she’d made for her. She sat down next to her and stroked her back. “Or would you rather just go to bed?”
“No, a bath would be nice. Will you join me?”
“If you want me to.”
Rome leaned back against Nadine, quietly crying. “I’m so angry,” she said between sniffs. “I never thought something like that would happen to me, ever. I don’t know what he would have done if you hadn’t shown up.”
Nadine wrapped her arms around Rome and pulled her closer. “Matteo deserved every bit of pain he got.” She stroked Rome’s hair and kissed the top of her head. “I should have just killed him when I had the chance.”
Rome shook her head. “I should have stopped you sooner. He’s a powerful man with many connections, and he could make your life really hard if he finds out it was you.”
“No, he won’t. If anyone’s life is going to be hard, it’s Matteo’s.” Nadine paused, sensing Rome’s hesitation. “Going to the police was the right thing to do. You might think he can make or break your career right now, but you have rights, and even within the shady system in Italy, people get punished for doing stuff like this.”
“I know.” Rome let out a deep sigh and Nadine could feel her calm down a little. “I just don’t know where to go from here. There’s no handbook that tells you how to deal with powerful perverts who pay your bills. It’s my life’s work we’re talking about here. I can’t just walk away.”
“You don’t have to walk away. He will.”
Rome sat up and turned to her. “The police weren’t very helpful. Why didn’t they just arrest him right away? I mean, who needs proof, you’re my eyewitness.” She huffed. “I can’t believe they asked if there could have been a misunderstanding.”
“I know that doesn’t seem fair, but they have to ask these things, and they will question him tomorrow, hopefully when he’s in the office, or at home with his wife, because people need to know what kind of person he is.” Nadine stroked her hair and kissed her temple. “You need to talk to the HR department, too.”
“I know.” Rome sank back again and closed her eyes at the reassuring caress, grateful for Nadine’s presence. There was nothing sexual about taking a bath with her tonight. It was just warm and comforting, and Rome felt safe with her. “What happened to you? You totally flipped and didn’t even hear me yell. It was like you were so enraged that you had no idea what you were doing.”
Nadine sighed. “I don’t know what came over me. I just wanted to protect you.” Nadine wrapped her arms around Rome. “I’ve never been so angry in my life.”
Despite her blue mood, Rome’s heart filled with something beautiful and warm, something she hadn’t felt since her youth. Nadine cared about her. She’d be in her life in one way or another, and Rome knew that she would let her. Clinging onto Nadine’s arms, she hesitated before she asked the question that had been on her mind for hours. “Who is Louise?”
Nadine rested her chin on Rome’s shoulder and was silent for a moment, remembering what she’d said to Matteo. “Louise is the woman who hired me as her escort yesterday.” She took a
couple of deep breaths, getting worked up again at the memory. Where did all this rage come from? She’d never had a problem with her anger before. “I’ve slept with her a couple of times. As I told you before, I did it because I wanted to, and she didn’t pay me for it. But I guess she’d come to expect it, so she bought me this hideously expensive dress and lured me out to a secluded hotel outside the city…” Nadine’s voice broke as she continued. “It made me feel ashamed and for a moment, I really, really hated myself. She made me hate myself.”
Now it was Rome’s turn to take Nadine in her arms. She shifted and straddled her in the spacious bathtub, wrapped her arms around her and pressed Nadine’s face against her chest. She could feel warm tears trickling down her skin. “What happened?”
“Nothing physical happened, but I left during dinner after she said things to me that made me feel cheap. I’ve never felt like that before.” Nadine lifted her chin and locked her eyes with Rome’s. “I didn’t want to have sex with Louise because I couldn’t stop thinking of you.” She held up a hand. “Don’t get me wrong, I know you prefer to be just friends and I respect that. I thought I wanted that too...”
Rome tilted her head and looked at her intently as she felt her heart racing. “But?”
Nadine shrugged. “But now I’m not so sure anymore.”
Rome nodded slowly as she let Nadine’s words sink in. Even after the horrible night she’d had, she could feel the bond between them, and hearing her say that meant the world to her. Nadine looked beautiful; naked and free of makeup, her hair casually pulled together in a lose top knot, her damp skin shimmering in the dim light of the candles she’d lit. “How did you know where I was? You still haven’t told me.”
“I had you followed.” Nadine swallowed hard. “Please don’t be mad, I just didn’t trust Matteo. I’ve spent years going out with men like him and I just had this feeling about him. I didn’t want you to see me and so I asked my friend Angelo to follow you and let me know where you were.”
“I can’t believe you had someone follow me…” Rome was silent for what seemed like an eternity, and Nadine was worried she’d lost her. Admittedly, she’d gone too far. It was a controlling thing to do, and Rome didn’t seem like a woman who appreciated being checked up on.
“Please say something,” she begged.
“I don’t know what to say.” Rome bit her lip and winced. “You should have told me about Angelo. You can’t do that to me, ever again. Do you understand?”
“I understand.” Nadine nodded.
“But then if you hadn’t…” Rome continued, and Nadine shivered at that thought. “Thank you for caring. You saved me tonight.”
Nadine let out the breath she’d been holding and pulled Rome into a hug. “Please promise me you won’t ever go near that creep again.”
“Of course not. I’ll make sure I don’t have to be in the same room with him, from now on.” Rome kissed her lightly on the lips. She didn’t mean to, it just seemed natural, the way they were sitting, so intimately. “Fuck,” she said, biting her lip as she winced. “I shouldn’t have done that. I…”
“Hey, it’s fine.” Nadine kissed her back and smiled. “Do you want me to stay here tonight?” She wiped her thumbs under Rome’s eyes, removing the mascara stains. “I just want to hold you and make sure you’re okay.”
“Yeah, I’d like that.” Rome didn’t just say it; she felt the need to keep Nadine close deep in her core. Perhaps that thought was even more frightening than what had happened tonight, but she wasn’t in the mind space to psychoanalyze herself right now. “Let’s go to bed,” she whispered.
29
“Hey, wake up.”
Rome opened her eyes and blinked, relieved to see it was Nadine stroking her face, rather than her mother trying to choke her. She felt clammy and wiped her forehead, then realized she was lying in a pool of her own sweat. “Fuck…” She sighed. “I’m sorry, did I wake you?”
“I think you had a nightmare,” Nadine said.
“Yeah, I did.” Rome wanted to wrap her arms around Nadine but was afraid she’d feel her trembling. She hadn’t had the nightmare in years. In fact, she didn’t dream much at all anymore, or at least her dreams weren’t memorable, and she cursed herself for going through the photo albums on Sunday, reawakening sad memories.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
Rome sat up and threw the covers off her. “No. I just need a shower.”
Nadine nodded, and Rome was grateful that she didn’t enquire further. “Want me to make some coffee? It’s five am, so we might as well get up…”
“Thank you, that would be really great.” Rome felt a lump in her throat when she looked at Nadine. She was so kind and caring, so intuitive, and she said all the right things. Not once had she felt trapped in her presence. “Are you sure it’s not too early for you?”
“Not at all.” Nadine got up and shot her a sweet smile. “I like seeing the sun come up.” She pointed to a robe that was hanging from a hook on the door. “Can I borrow that?”
“Of course.” Rome followed Nadine with her eyes as she crossed the room, in awe of her beautiful, naked body, and just like that, the dream was forgotten. Even last night’s events didn’t weigh on her so heavily anymore, and she felt like she could breathe again. They’d slept naked, wrapped in each other’s arms. Nadine had held her until she fell asleep and although it was strange to have her here in the morning, it was also wonderful.
She jumped under the shower for a quick wash and could smell the coffee as she dried herself off. It was still dark outside but there was a slight shimmer over the skyline, and from the cloudless sky she guessed it would be another beautiful sunny day. Coming from Portland, where sunny days were a gift rather than a given, the morning here felt like a blessing when she opened the curtains. She didn’t bother getting dressed but wrapped herself in a fluffy towel instead as she walked into the living room, where the balcony doors were wide open. Nadine had made herself comfortable out there, her long legs resting on another chair as she sipped her coffee.
Rome poured herself a cup from the pot and sat down next to her.
“Better?” Nadine asked.
“Yeah.” Rome drank her coffee in silence while they watched the city come to life. Something about sitting here as the sun came up made her want to talk, or at least explain why she’d acted so strange over dinner with her investors. “I have extreme detachment issues,” she suddenly said. She could feel her pulse racing at the realization she’d just blurted out something so personal.
If Nadine was surprised by her random statement, she didn’t let it show. “Okay. Can I ask why?”
Rome was quiet as she watched the shadows on the Colosseum and the Forum fade, the old ruins slowly coming into sharp focus as if rising up from the earth. She felt good here, both in her new space and in Nadine’s company, and for the first time in her life, she answered without thinking. “My mother left me when I was twelve.” She locked her eyes with Nadine’s. “She left me and my father for no reason other than that she wanted out of her domestic life. I never saw it coming, neither did my father. She was always fun and caring before that.”
“Jesus, Rome. I’m so sorry you had to go through that.” Nadine’s voice was genuine, but there was no trace of pity, and Rome appreciated that.
“It’s in the past.” She put her cup down, pulled her legs up and hugged her knees. “But it left me a little dysfunctional in the dating department. I don’t trust people, and I generally don’t let anyone get close to me. Frankly, it’s unheard of that you’re here in my space, and that I’m talking to you about this.”
Nadine nodded. “Okay. But you are.”
“I am.” Rome paused. “I trust you and… I like you. And because I’ve never let people in, I’ve never felt jealousy before.” She shrugged. “So, when I saw you with Flavio, I felt hurt, even though that was silly, and I’m sorry that I overreacted.”
“It’s not silly.” Nadine smiled.
“I was jealous when I saw you with that lilac-haired woman too.”
“You were?” Rome felt her lips pull into a smile. “Well, there’s no need.”
“I know.” Nadine paused. “Do you know where your mother is?”
“Yes.” Rome frowned. “I mean, I knew. I haven’t kept track of her lately, but I used to be obsessed with her whereabouts when I was younger. I think I was desperately trying to understand something I couldn’t, or maybe I was looking for excuses to justify why she did what she did. She moved around a lot and made sure to stay under the radar at first but after a while, she stopped covering her tracks and I discovered she’d moved to Nashville and was singing with a band. It was as if she didn’t even care that I would see a picture of her on social media, smiling in a bar somewhere and having fun with her new friends from her new life.”
“So she just started over?” Nadine asked.
“A couple of times. But the other times never involved leaving a child behind. She remarried twice as far as I’m aware, and she left them too.”
“That’s harsh.” Nadine put a hand on Rome’s thigh. “Do you ever feel the desire to see her again?”
Rome shook her head. “Not anymore. I wanted to see her when I was younger but thankfully, my father stopped me. She would have only hurt me again.”
“Yes, that’s likely.” Nadine reached for her hand and laced their fingers together. “Thank you for telling me.”
“I just thought you should know, so you understand why I get scared when I start feeling things, because I do have feelings for you.” Rome could hardly believe how forward she was being, talking about matters she hadn’t even processed herself.