LIGHTS IN THE SHADOW

by Rana Demiriz

  I didn’t know who they were. And I sure as hell didn’t know what he has done to anger a Zathef this much.

  Rio’s voice got tense. He wasn’t kidding any more. “Just get out, Julia! Go!”

  “You only have one week. Use it wisely.”

  After that, Julia grinned pleasurably. She was purposefully provoking him. Rio hissed again and leapt forward. Julia quickly matched his movement. I grabbed his shoulders and pulled him back. It felt like trying to move a huge boulder. Actually, I couldn’t even budge him an inch, but he pulled himself back out of courtesy.

  What a gentleman…

  When Julia stopped hissing, Rio’s shoulders slightly eased under my hands. I dropped my hands immediately and reminded myself that he was still a complete stranger.

  Julia turned her back in rage and grabbed her purse from the leather chair. She gave us a last look -Rio and me- and after that, we heard the kitchen door slam shut.

  Rio slowly straightened up and turned to me. He smiled politely and held my hands. His vibrant green eyes were all I could see. For a moment, I thought I was mesmerized, but then I pulled my hands back from him, and I basically threw myself at my sisters, Carmen, and her daughter Rosa. Rio came for me, not Alejandro, but it all comes down to the same thing.

  Rio curled his lips, and then he gave me one of his childish yet charming smiles. He took one step further. The time had stopped, and everybody kept silent. “Hey, come on, ladies, I’m not here to hurt you. Relax a little bit.”

  “Of course,” said Carmen.

  I turned at Carmen. Her eyes were fixated on a single spot. She nodded. I think she was speaking to one of the Zathefs. She lifted her head. “I-I’m s-s-so sorry Mr. Luz, but I can’t be here during your one-week visit.”

  “Why?”

  “I think you already know why.”

  “No, please continue. Nothing should stay hidden anymore.”

  “But sir, as you can see…”

  “Ms. Hearth, stop making excuses. If you’re going to talk, then go on, or leave so I can help the Rileys in peace.” He lifted his head while saying that and looked at me, smiling. It was almost impossible to resist his charms.

  Carmen turned to Lana. “I’ve got to go, sorry.”

  “Why?”

  “You’ll understand when it’s time.”

  More secrets…

  In the meantime, she turned to Rosa, who had been eyeing Rio, and she dragged her out of the house from the back entrance just like Julia did. She gave me a last look as if this was the last time she saw me, and she would want to engrave my image to her memory. Who knows, maybe she was right.

  Rio looked at Sophia, who just got up from the couch. The purple shadows under her eyes were evidence that she fainted shortly before.

  “I’m so sorry, Ms. Riley. I didn’t want to cause you any trouble,” Sophia grinned involuntarily.

  “Oh, don’t even mention it, Mr. Luz. Please call me Sophia.”

  “Sure, Sophia. And you can call me Rio if you please.”

  He turned to us all. He wasn’t watching me anymore, so I kept pretending not to care. “Lovely ladies of the Riley family, you can all call me Rio.”

  Rio wasn’t all that different from the photographs of men she cut from magazines and hung on walls. In fact, with his politeness, smile, and warm eyes, he was way better than them. Rio was an Azurite for sure, but I could swear he was more than that. What was he really?

  “So, what’s on the menu tonight?” Rio asked. Was it evening already?

  “We only have the hamburgers Carmen made,” said Lana.

  “Perfect,” responded Rio.

  There were still glass shards and spilt coffee on the floor from the jar which Sophia broke. When Rio saw that, he looked into Sophia’s eyes apologetically. Sophia seemed mesmerized. I couldn’t blame her for looking into his vibrant green eyes…

  Carmela bent down and started sweeping off the glass shards. I started taking out the plates from the cupboard. Sophia helped me, and we set the table together. While Lana was cooking the hamburger patties, Aida and Rio were talking. I wondered what they were talking about, so I pricked up my ears.

  “I just want to be able to do tricks like my sisters,” said Aida to Rio.

  “Don’t worry; everything will work out over time. You will discover your talent one day, and when that day comes, I will personally train you so that you can be the very best.” He winked at Aida.

  “For real? Would you really do that?” Aida squealed.

  “Of course! Just call me and ask for help,” he said charmingly.

  “Thank you. I will do that.” She blushed slightly.

  First, he dazzled all my sisters, and now he was asking Aida to call him whenever she likes. I was about to lose my temper.

  We all sat down and ate our dinner in silence for an hour. It was weird that none of us spoke. During the dinner, we only exchanged meaningful looks. My sisters were continually checking out that distractingly handsome guy who seemed like he was only here by coincidence. I managed to keep my eyes on my plate, but it took a lot of self-control. When the dinner was over, Carmela and Lana helped me clean up the table. Rio and Aida got up from their seats to go to the living room. I looked at Carmela. As she knew me so well, she understood what I meant and followed Rio and Aida to the living room so that they wouldn’t be alone. After all, Rio was still a stranger to us. He could even be a murderer who had been hiding behind his good manners. Lana helped me clear the table. I could see how tired she was. When I finished washing the dishes, I checked my watch. It was nine pm and tomorrow was Sunday. This Friday, the school was going on a break. But considering the recent events, I wasn’t very likely to take a break from anything.

  I went to the living room. Lana, Carmela, and Sophia were watching TV on our big cozy couches. Aida and Rio were sitting in the armchairs by the window, talking. I acted like I didn’t care, so I decided to join the group who had been watching TV. Besides, Rio didn’t even notice that I walked into the room. He was listening to Aida very carefully, asking questions to each other and laughing. Didn’t he come for me? Was his secret mission really to steal my sister’s hearts?

  I tried to focus on the quiz show on TV, which seemed to be a lot of fun. As my mind was on Aida and Rio’s whisperings, it was hard to focus on the screen. Okay! I admit it. I was dying to know what they were talking about.

  “Aida, don’t bother our guest with your questions, okay?” I said.

  They both stopped talking and turned to me. I felt a rush of heat on my cheeks when Rio looked at me.

  Aida was still looking at Rio. But he only had eyes for me. “I’m not bored at all. Your sister is hilarious. Why don’t you join us?” His smile was inviting.

  I was just about to say no, but I couldn’t. I didn’t know why, but I felt obliged to join them. I nodded and pulled up a chair. Aida started talking to Rio again. They were mostly talking about casual stuff, Aida’s friends, her school trips, etcetera.

  When I checked the time, I realized that it was almost one am already. Just then, Lana turned off the TV and looked at us. “We’re gonna get some sleep,” she said.

  “Okay, so where am I going to sleep?” he asked.

  “On the couch, of course,” I said without being able to contain myself. We didn’t have a guestroom. The house had barely enough space for all of us.

  “Heavens, no! We decided that Rio could sleep on Carmela’s bed tonight,” said Lana, walking towards us.

  “What? Why?” I yelled without thinking. I jumped to my feet and faced her.

  “Why do I have to stay in the same room with him?”

  Lana held me by the arm and calmly dragged me out of the room. I could see that she was about to lose her patience. Usually, she would keep her calm, but it had been a very long morning for all of us. As our oldest sister, she had the right to be tired. After she made sure that no one could hear us, she said;

  “Because you’re the reason he is here. Not us. So
you need to put up with him. Now shut up, be a nice girl, and show him where the bathroom is.”

  She was once again playing the mother. Normally, she wouldn’t get mad this easily, so I must have pushed her limits. I nodded as I didn’t have another choice.

  We went back inside. Rio smiled at me, which meant that everything was okay.

  “Good night Rio. See you in the morning,” said Carmela. They all left the room one by one. Rio took a few steps towards me and came by the door. He pointed at the door as if he meant to say ‘ladies first.’ I walked ahead of him and kept acting like I wasn’t impressed with his politeness and charm. While I was climbing the stairs, I felt his gaze behind my back.

  When we went upstairs, I realized that my sisters had already gone to their rooms, closed their door, and left me alone with my fate. I opened the door to my room, which I shared with Carmela, praying that none of the thousands of possible scenarios that crossed my mind would come true.

  CHAPTER 7

  I opened the door. I turned to Rio, wondering what his reaction would be. He was examining the room with his head up and grinning. He got inside and closed the door behind us.

  I was acting as formal as possible. I was trying really hard to keep a blank face, but I couldn’t help myself and blush. Suddenly I was very aware of the fact that I have never stayed alone in a room with a guy before.

  “So this is where you sleep,” I said, pointing towards the single bed of Carmen. Even to me, my voice sounded like a guardian who was showing an inmate where his cell was.

  “All right.” He said, still annoyingly charming.

  “Do you have pajamas?” I asked with the same formal tone.

  “If what I have can be considered as pajamas, then yes,” he smiled again. I gulped and tried to hide the fact that his smile could make the butterflies in your stomach flutter. I didn’t answer. I walked to my large wardrobe. The moment I opened one of the beige doors, my velvet pants, and my purple jumper fell on the floor. And on top of them, there were my pantie. What did you expect? I live with my four sisters.

  I was trying to stuff my panties back into the wardrobe when I felt I blushed again. At last, I managed to stuff everything back in and turned to look at Rio. My wardrobe door was still open with all of its messiness. Rio was sitting on his bed with his right hand clenched like a fist. He was biting his fist, not to laugh. When I stared at him, he coughed and tried to conceal his laughing.

  I searched for my pajamas, but then I realized I had nothing but nighties. All of them were short except the one that I wore this morning. I was embarrassed, but who would have guessed that I was going to spend the night in the same room with a guy tonight? Well, I certainly didn’t, or I would have at least borrowed something more appropriate, like flannel pajamas.

  At least my nighty didn’t have lace on anywhere or slits. Well, it was a little low-cut. I tried not to care about it. I was planning to stay under the blanket the whole night.

  I took the nighty and the matching robe from the drawer from where I tucked them in after the morning shower. I pushed back my drawer and closed my jam-packed wardrobe.

  When I turned my back, Rio was looking at the stuff which I hardly ever use on the dressing table. He picked up a little box that I had no idea about and read the label behind it. He made a sour face and put the box back. He tilted his head.

  “Why do you use all those stuff? You don’t need any of it. You’re already so beautiful.”

  I didn’t know how to react or what to say. All I could do was to stare at Rio's face blankly. I could feel the heat rushing to my cheeks. And then I settled on the most appropriate thing there was to say. “Thank you.”

  We glanced at each other for a while. He noticed the nighty I was holding. “Do you want me to get out?”

  “No, it’s not necessary. I can dress in the bathroom. You make yourself comfortable.”

  “Okay, then,” he said.

  “Okay,” I said.

  He grinned.

  “Okay, fine then,” I said once again like an idiot.

  “Mia, go get dressed.” He couldn’t choke down his laughter as he said that, so I burst out laughing too. What else could I do? We could only laugh at such an awkward situation. I passed by Rio and opened the bathroom door between my chortles, and then I closed it behind me. I took a deep breath and tried to get used to the situation I was in. I hesitated for a moment. Should I have locked the door and show him that I didn't trust him or do the opposite and show him that I believed him? I couldn’t take any risks. There was a strange man in my room, and he was going to sleep in there. It was like the most organized camera prank ever.

  I put on my nighty right away. Of course, I also put on my black robe and tightened my waistband to cover my neckline. Maybe I was paranoid, but it was the right thing to do then. Even though I felt like I’ve known Rio for years, I didn’t.

  The moment I opened the locked bathroom and barged in, I saw Rio, who was taking his shirt off. I looked down immediately.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry,” I said and rushed back to the bathroom. I heard Rio’s voice inside.

  “Mia, I was already dressed. Come on in.”

  I opened the door and looked at him. He was topless. His athletic and muscled body was bare to the eyes. He was looking like one of those topless male models on a magazine cover. But of course, he was wearing sweat pants. Black. I struggled to keep my eyes off of his body and look at his eyes. “This is how you dress for bed?”

  “Well, I sleep like this, Mia. I hope it doesn’t bother you.”

  “No, of course not. Why would it bother me?”

  I was going to start blabbering again, so I shut my mouth. I stood there and stared at him for a little while. He lowered his eyes and checked out my nighty. At first, he looked at me from head to toe then he went back to sit on Carmela’s bed without caring. I went back to my dressing table and reached for my hair comb. In the meantime, I was checking Rio from the mirror. He was busy examining the room. I turned to look at my reflection. As I lifted my arm, my robe’s sleeves rolled back, and that left Carmen’s bandage naked to the eye. I didn’t care and kept combing my hair. Suddenly he was standing behind me. I didn’t hear him coming. I slightly winced. “You have lovely hair.”

  “Thank you.” I don’t remember if I ever got this many compliments from a man. A sharp pain in my arm ruined the moment. I made a sour face.

  “Mia, are you okay?”

  “Yes, I guess,” I said and showed him my bandaged arm, which he hadn’t noticed all morning.

  “What happened?”

  “Carmen attacked me.”

  His face got serious. “You’re saying this like it’s a normal thing.”

  “Yeah, because it wasn’t really Carmen who attacked me.”

  He looked at me with surprised eyes.

  “It’s a little complicated,” I said.

  “Try me.”

  “I think it was actually Alejandro who attacked me. While Carmen was talking to Zathefs, he got involved and took control of her mind.”

  His eyes shone with anger for a moment. But then suddenly, his face became unreadable again like the calm seas. He didn’t comment. I attempted to comb my hair with my bandaged hand, but it was just too painful. He got that from my face. “Stop, Mia. You’re going to re-open the wound. Do you really have to comb your hair?”

  “Yes, I took a shower today. If I don’t comb my hair now, it’s going to be much worse in the morning.”

  “Then can I help you?”

  Just when I was about to decline his offer, I felt a strange sensation coming from the door. Some sort of tingling, like someone, was listening to us. At first, I got frightened, but then I sighed with relief when my talent guided me. I got up at once and ignoring Rio’s surprised face, and I went to open the door. The moment I opened it, Sophia crashed on the floor, and Aida followed her next. So my talent could be useful sometimes.

  “Traitors!” I yelled. “Were you eavesdropping?�
� I added.

  “No! I was just passing by, and Sophia pushed me, so I smashed to your door!” said Aida. She got up and saw Rio -topless- standing with all his grace.

  “Okay, then. We should leave Sophia,” she said, giggling uncontrollably. Rio smiled her back. Sophia got up too and checked to see what Aida was giggling for, and then she saw Rio and smiled too.

  “Yeah, I agree. We should go. Come on.”

  She cleared her throat. “Good night Rio, I hope you’ll sleep well.”

  Rio winked. “I’m sure I will.”

  Sophia flirtatiously smiled and turned her eyes to me. She lowered her mouth to my ears. “Sleep well too, Mia,” She was still giggling. “If you can.”

  Just when I was about to protest, Aida grabbed Sophia by the arm, and they left the room, closing the door behind them. I turned back and sat on my dressing table. Rio appeared behind me again.

  “Don’t mind them, Rio. They’re just a bit too curious, but they’re not always like that.”

  “No problem,” he said, and then he repeated his question saying, “Do you want me to comb your hair?” He started combing my hair without waiting for me to answer. And I had to admit that for a guy, he was surprisingly good at it. I couldn’t help but wonder where he learned to comb a woman’s hair that well.

  “Thanks, Rio, I think that’s enough,” I said, a little embarrassed. He put down the comb on the dressing table and went back to sit on his bed again.

  “Can we turn off the lights now?” I asked. It was my only chance to escape. Besides, I was exhausted.

  “Yeah, let’s go to sleep. You must be really tired.”

  “Yes, I am. I had the craziest day of my life since…” My voice weakened. He nodded. “How do you know it?” I asked suspiciously.

  “I know everything, Mia. Would I be here if I didn’t?”

  “That’s right. Speaking of your mission, why are you really here?”

  “To save you all,” he said heroically.

  “And how are you going to do that exactly?”

  “I know many important things. That’s why they tried to stop me from reaching you. I’m going to try to explain as much as possible in a week, but I’m afraid you’re the only person I can trust in.”