by M. D. Melai
“I know you are,” Emilio said as he took her hand. “Just keep trying. She’ll come around, I promise.”
“Thank you Emilio, that really helps,” she said as she leaned in and kissed his cheek.
He smiled in response and lifted her hand up to his mouth and placed one simple kiss on her knuckles.
I dropped my head and looked down at my hands. I rubbed my thumb over my right knuckles. I had felt the softness of his lips on my hand just the other day. That small gesture meant a lot to me. Did it mean the same to Elle? Did Emilio mean it the same way as when he kissed mine?
“Let’s go, I don’t think we need to see anymore,” Violet said swirling my chair around and bringing me out of the thoughts. “Hurry, hurry.” She was literally pushing me toward the door.
“What’s going on?” I said, turning around to face her. I wished I hadn’t. I caught a glimpse of Emilio and Elle pulling apart. They had been kissing.
I pulled away from Violet’s grip and made my way back to the screen. I stared intently at it and then it happened again. Emilio leaned in and kissed Elle, right before my eyes.
My heartbeat sped up as the fire burned through me once again. I had seen them in an intimate setting before, but this time it had led to them kissing.
“What the hell!” I shouted as I pointed to the screen and turned toward Violet.
“I tried to get you out of here before you saw,” she replied.
“I don’t understand. What just happened there? Obviously no one’s watching, otherwise she wouldn’t have blatantly said that she wasn’t me!”
“I know, I heard her! Come on, let’s go upstairs before something gets broken,” she said as she took my arm and pulled me from the room.
I stormed out of the room and heard Violet close and lock the door before she joined me upstairs. She tried to calm me down as much as she could, but I was beyond livid.
How could Emilio do that to me?
He assured me the other night that there was nothing going on between him and Elle, and that it was just a front they had to put up.
I was mad at Emilio and Elle, but mostly I was mad at myself. I let myself feel secure with Emilio again, and he lied to me. He lied to my face. He was Lucas, but different.
This situation was getting out of control. I regretted ever going into that room. At first I had felt so powerful and that I could control anything, but I realized I had no control at all. I felt more trapped than ever before. Even if it was just for a day, I needed to get out of here.
Chapter 6
Over the next week I had refused to talk to Emilio. I was still mad at him for what he had done, and I used my workouts to help expel some of that anger. Lorenzo and Paolo mentioned that I was getting better and that made me want to work even harder.
I didn’t see much of Emilio during the day or at night. Dante and Violet had been my closest companions the last couple of evenings. The one evening Emilio and Elle did join us for dinner was awkward.
Later on that evening, Violet told me that she could just feel the tension rolling off of me. I wasn’t going to say anything to him about it, but I also wasn’t going to allow him to fool me anymore.
I had also avoided the control room for a couple of days, but in the end, I went back there.
I watched as everyone went about their day without me. Violet and Elle were at the office with Dante, and Emilio was at the club. I wished I was there with them. Being in this house was starting to suffocate me.
I somewhat understood why I had to be kept safe, but part of me was starting to slowly break. At home in Toronto I could be doing what I was doing here. Why had they brought me back here to be cooped up and set aside? Everyone was trying their best to include me, but how could they? I was not living the same life they all were.
Sitting in here and watching them all go on about their day was more than I could handle. My presence here was just that, a presence and nothing more.
When everyone arrived home, I was already in bed. I pretended to be asleep whenever someone came down the hall and approached my room. Violet checked on me, and since the door wasn’t locked, Emilio eventually made his way to me too.
I knew it was him before he even sat down on my bed. My body automatically reacted to his presence. It scared me to think he would be able to see how fast my heart was beating.
When I felt his hand touch my face and glide down my cheek, my breathing almost stopped. I felt his breath on my forehead seconds before he kissed it.
“Ti amo più della vito stessa,” he whispered in my ear. I love you more than life itself. “Don’t push me away.” He sat there for a minute or two more before he kissed my forehead again and left me.
My heart sank. How could he say something like that to me when he so passionately kissed Elle a few days before?
I felt numb. My body was overwhelmed and I didn’t know how to feel anymore. Emilio couldn’t play with my emotions like this. He was either all in or I needed to bow out gracefully. That night I quietly cried myself to sleep.
The next morning, I didn’t leave my bed except to go to the restroom a few times. The weight of everything was finally taking its toll on my body and mind. The numbness was starting to wear off and in its place raw emotions were starting to surface again. I convinced myself I was never going to be able to leave this house ever again. I was doomed to stay here and live with the fact Emilio and I had been nothing this entire time. He was a cheater and I was the fool that thought he loved me.
Lucas drifted in and out of my mind, and I realized how much I missed him. If he was here, then he wouldn’t have let them do this to me. He would have at least kept me company and maybe even, knowing him, snuck me out of the house by now. I hated myself in that moment. He had deceived and hurt me, and yet I still thought of him.
Maybe this was my mind’s way of telling me it was time to hear Lucas out like Violet suggested. According to her, he wasn’t a bad guy, but how could he do that to me and still be a good guy? It was too confusing, so maybe I should trust what Violet said and listen to what Lucas had to say.
I contemplated that for a few seconds before I pushed that thought away. Even if I did decide to meet with him, I knew it would be difficult to let him back into my life.
Violet came home around lunch time and ate with me. She found me in my room still curled up in bed. I sat up and looked at her with tired eyes.
“Lily, are you okay?” she asked.
“It was a rough night and the morning hasn’t been any better,” I replied.
“Well, why don’t you come downstairs? I brought you your favorite meal from that bakery around the corner from work. It smells pretty delicious.”
“Thanks. I’ll be down in a minute,” I said as I threw the covers off and climbed out of bed.
Violet half smiled at me before she turned and headed back downstairs. I went straight to the bathroom. I thought the least I could do was brush my hair and pull it up out of my face.
When I finally made my way downstairs, Violet had already set the food out on the table.
“What would you like to drink?” she asked as soon as she saw me.
“Soda is fine,” I replied.
I sat down at the table and opened up my to-go box. The smell instantly hit me and I remembered how much I loved that corner bakery. Violet had brought me my favorite from there, a loaded baked potato.
“So, how is work going? Sorry I really haven’t done anything today,” I said.
“It’s going good so far. I’ve been mostly focusing on your father’s new building since the other two are already in process.”
“Good,” I responded. “I haven’t got around to doing the sketches yet.”
“It’s okay,” she assured me. “I haven’t even brought the pictures home for you to do the sketches yet.”
“Right. I forgot.”
We sat in silence for a few more minutes. Talking about work only depressed me even further. Violet had a lot on her plate and t
oday I felt useless.
“There was another reason I wanted to come home for lunch, other than seeing you,” she said before taking a deep breath. “So, you know how I told you the other day that there were going to be more attack drills?” she asked.
I nodded in response. I knew where this was going.
“Dante said this morning that Emilio has set up a drill for today. I’m not sure when it is supposed to happen, but I thought I’d warn you so you wouldn’t be caught off guard.”
“Awesome,” I said sarcastically.
“I’m not sure why he’s even doing it. Maybe it’s a way to get you to talk to him.”
“That doesn’t make any sense,” I replied.
“It’s Emilio. When does he ever make sense?” she retorted.
“Very true,” I agreed. “Thanks for giving me the heads up though.”
“You’re welcome.”
***
The attack drill happened around three o’clock that afternoon. I was in the living room watching a movie when the alarm sounded. As I had done before, I dropped to the ground and crawled. I cleared my mind and tried to focus on where the closest safe zone was. I was halfway to the nearest one when my mind ventured away. I wasn’t in my house anymore.
I was being dragged to the back of the store. His hands firmly wrapped around my ankles and my nails were digging into the carpet as I tried to brace myself against his pull. He was strong and I was losing my grip. Then he flipped me over and I stared straight up at him. The black mask covered his face, except for his eyes and mouth. He was tall and much stronger than I remembered. I scrambled backwards trying to get away from him as fast as I could. He advanced on me and before I knew it, I had backed myself up into a corner. He took a few huge steps and was standing right in front of me. He knelt down and touched my face.
“Lily,” I heard him say right before I closed my eyes and screamed.
“Lily, open your eyes and look at me!” I heard someone yelling. I didn’t want to open my eyes. He was going to kill me. I couldn’t escape him!
“Damn it Lily!” he said. I recognized that voice. It was Emilio’s.
I opened my eyes and saw his worried face inches from mine. He had my wrists in his hands and my entire body was shaking. I took a quick look around the area and noticed that I wasn’t anywhere near the couch I had been by moments ago. My body had reacted to the image and I was now backed up against the wall next to the kitchen. Dante, Violet, and Elle were standing just a few feet behind Emilio.
“Lily, what happened?” Violet asked as Emilio started to help me up off the ground. My body was aching everywhere and I was slow to get up.
“I….I don’t know,” I began. “I heard the alarm go off and then I started to crawl to the nearest safe zone. Then all of a sudden I was being attacked back at the office again.”
“I think you need to lie down and rest for a while,” Emilio said as he took my hands.
I pulled them back immediately.
“I’m fine!” I slightly yelled and then brought my voice down to almost a whisper. “I’m fine. I…I just had a panic attack. It was nothing.”
“That wasn’t nothing,” Dante spoke up. “You screamed bloody murder and backed yourself up into a corner. You really need to go upstairs and rest.” He was worried. It was written all over his face.
“I’m still being haunted by what happened to me, okay? It catches up to me sometimes, and being separated from everyone all day long is starting to be too much for me!” I said before I took one look at Violet. She knew exactly what I meant by that. If things didn’t change soon, I could slip back into a depression, and last time, I barely came out.
“I’ll take her upstairs,” Violet said before walking to my side.
She helped me up the stairs and into our room. Emilio was close behind us.
Once Violet had settled me back into bed and knew I would be okay, she turned to Emilio.
“Can I talk to you?” she asked as she got up off the bed. He had been standing at the door the whole time watching over us. He didn’t even have time to answer her. As she passed him, she grabbed his arm and pulled him further into the hallway, almost out of earshot.
I heard them talking quietly for a moment before Emilio’s voice rose above hers.
“No! That’s not an option!”
“Emilio!” Violet screamed back at him. “I’m not asking you! I’m telling you! If you don’t get her out of this house soon, then it’s not going to be good.”
“No!”
“YES! Did you not see her? Have you not been paying attention? Or has your head been so far up Elle’s ass you haven’t even bothered to acknowledge how miserable she is?”
“Are you saying I don’t care about Lily?”
“Yes, that is exactly what I’m saying! All you’ve done is spend one night with her, and I told you not to go through with the attack drill today! I knew she wasn’t up for it when I saw her at lunch, but you did it anyway! You’ve been too busy making out with Elle at work these days you haven’t even tried to focus on Lily!”
“How did you know about me and Elle?” he asked.
“It doesn’t matter how I know, but thank you for confirming it. You didn’t even try and deny it either.” Violet was clearly on a roll.
It was hard to hear their conversation and the fact that he didn’t deny Violet’s accusation.
“You—” Emilio began, but Violet cut him off.
“Don’t you me! You need to listen to me! I know her better than you! I know she needs to get out of this house! If you don’t help me disguise her and get her out of here, then so help me I will take a baseball bat and beat you into the next century! Do you understand me?”
“Fine! I will do it, but don’t you ever…EVER say I don’t care about her again! You know I love Lily!”
“You sure have a funny way of showing it with your lips locked to Elle’s all the time.”
I would have given anything to see the look on Emilio’s face during their heated conversation. I didn’t have much time to think about it before my door flew open and then slammed behind Violet. She was definitely upset, but I was proud of her. Violet was cute and loveable, but when someone makes her mad, they had better watch out, because she will take them down.
“He is such a dick, you know that?” she mumbled under her breath as she threw herself in bed beside me.
I laughed hysterically over that sentence. I didn’t know if it was because I thought it was completely and utterly true, or if it was the way she said it, but whatever the reason, it made me feel, for a moment, not so bad.
***
It didn’t take Violet long to come up with a suitable plan for Emilio to allow me to get out of the house. My father had acquired a duplex that needed much care. Violet had been putting it off, because she was uncertain what to do. She kept saying she wished I could go with her, and now we had an excuse.
I would go with Violet in disguise, and while we were out for the day, I would be the client who was interested in the duplex. Dante would be accompanying us while Emilio stayed with Elle, drawing the attention away from us.
Emilio called my father, and after two days, they had planned my entire day out. They knew exactly where we were going and what we would be doing. Paolo and Lorenzo had been instructed to be close at all times.
The thought of getting out of the house for a day and actually doing some work made the days go by faster than normal. I was hoping if this outing went well, then maybe I would be able to go out more.
When the alarm went off Monday morning, I hadn’t slept most of the night. I was too nervous and excited at the same time. A makeup artist was coming, so there was no need to ready myself for the day.
Everyone was in the kitchen when I walked downstairs. Violet, Elle, and Dante were all sitting at the bar, deep in conversation. Their backs were to me, and Emilio was on the opposite side of the bar facing my direction. I guess my movements caught his attention, because he looked
up shortly and smiled as soon as he noticed it was me.
He turned and reached up into the cabinet for a bowl and then set it down in front of me the moment I took a seat beside Dante.
“Good morning,” I said as Emilio poured my favorite cereal and then added some milk to my bowl.
“Good morning,” they all replied.
Breakfast conversation was polite and mostly about the day. And before I knew it, I was sitting in front of my vanity with a girl named Chelsea feverishly working on me. I already knew I was not going to be happy with my new nose. It looked terrible, way too big for my preference. It was the only main feature she could change without having to add a complete mask to my face.
The next thing we did was put in brown contacts. I didn’t look so bad with brown eyes. She had ordered in a beautiful honey color. If I wasn’t so attached to my green eyes, then I wouldn’t mind putting in those every day.
“Before we go any further,” Chelsea said with a smile, “I need you to put on a tank top so I can make sure your neck matches your face when I start putting on the base.”
I quickly changed and began to watch her as she started air brushing my makeup on. I went from a sun kissed olive skin to light ivory fair skin. It was amazing to sit there and watch the process. I couldn’t even tell that my nose wasn’t my nose anymore. There were no lines and the color of the skin looked realistic. I was amazed to say the least.
The rest of the process was fairly simple. The makeup was a simple mix of pinks and light browns. Chelsea pulled my hair up into a hair net and made sure no strand was showing or falling out. Then she placed a long blonde wig on my head and secured it before styling it into big curls.
Emilio walked in just as Chelsea finished the last curl. I could see his reflection in the mirror.
“You look…different,” he finally spoke up while he studied me.
“Thanks,” I said shortly.
“Good job, Chelsea,” he said still looking at me. “If I hadn’t known who she was, then I wouldn’t be able to tell. You hid the scars too. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome, Mr. Amante.” Chelsea smiled and began cleaning up all her supplies.