𝕆𝕣𝕡𝕙𝕚𝕔

8: 𝕆𝕡𝕚𝕒

𝘖𝘱𝘪𝘢- the ambiguous intensity from looking someone in the eye

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Rose's POV:

Should I like being called his angel? It feels so wrong that I do. I've only known this man for two days and already I've become dependent on his affection. I don't understand, why am I like this?

For the rest of the ride, I sit in a daze with a fierce blush covering my face. I probably look like a tomato. My heart is weirdly racing and I feel funny. It's a strange feeling that I've never felt before. Almost as if butterflies are in my stomach and nothing I do will calm them down. Not even Mozart!

When we pull into the strange bunker filled with cars underneath the building containing Gio's apartment, I stay seated not knowing how to remove the seatbelt Gio insists I wear or how to open the car door.

Thankfully Giovanni does and he's willing to help me. After he politely helps me out of the car, I subconsciously cling to his arm. For whatever reason, this strong man with pretty tattoos gives me comfort.

Together, we enter the building and go into the box thing that takes us to Gio's apartment. It's not nearly as scary as it was earlier today, but it's still a bit nerve-wracking. After a few seconds, the doors to the box open and we step out.

As I walk through his door I find myself awe-struck at the elegance of his place. It matches how I see him perfectly. The color scheme is dark with black being the most prevalent color. I don't like the color black; it makes me feel alone and vulnerable and reminds me of the voices Mama heard. However, Giovanni's apparent love of black brings forth a whole new perspective.

Instead of feeling the anxiety that usually builds up in my body when I'm surrounded by darkness, I feel secure. I feel as though someone might actually understand me and I'm not really alone. I feel that as long as Gio is by my side, everything will be alright. Standing in his doorway, I realize something: perspective matters a whole lot more than I thought.

I tend to assume all people think the way I do. In the little time I've known Giovanni though, he's unintentionally shown me I couldn't be farther from the truth.

"Your apartment is pretty."

"Why thank you, Angelo," he replies and twirls me while I giggle, "and so are you."

Holding my hand, he leads us towards a room next to the bedroom I woke up in this morning. When he opens the door, I'm met with even more black elegant furniture. The walls are lined with tons of books and my fingers itch to grab them off the shelves and read them all.

I only realize I've zoned out when I see a hand waving in front of my face. "Oops," I giggle. Gio smirks and leads me over to his large, neatly organized ebony desk.

"I guess someone likes books..." he says trying to bait me into going on a rant about one of my biggest passions. It works.

"I don't just like books, I LOVE books! They are my life. I saw a quote once by George R. R. Martin, 'A reader lives a thousand lives before he dies. The man who never reads lives only one," and I just think that describes books perfectly. I didn't ever need to go outside my house because I my books did that for me.

"I could safely remain in my comfort zone with Mama while going on all sorts of adventures. I didn't need to explore for myself because the characters in the books I read already did it for me. Books make time travel possible, let the blind see, and give hope to the hopeless. Books change lives."

By the time I've finished my rant, I realize that I've sat down in a chair he must have pulled up next to his. When I look into Giovanni's eyes I see a faint flicker of passion. Neither of us says anything, we just sit there in silence as we stare into each other's eyes.

It's nice having someone I can ramble too and just sit with. I can be myself and he doesn't make me feel ashamed of it. Giovanni gives me hope that the world can be good.

"Gio, are we friends?" I ask, secretly crossing my fingers hoping that he says yes.

"Do you want to be?"

I eagerly nod my head, "Duh!"

He chuckles lightly, "Then yes, we can be friends."

I squeal and lean over to hug Giovanni. "YAYYY!!!"

"Shh Angelo, use inside voices."

"Sorry," I bow my head sheepishly.

"It's alright, you were just excited. Now we have to get serious; it's time to discuss your mother's burial."

I nod my head sadly. I knew this was coming but I don't want to have this discussion. Mama deserves a proper ending though, it's the least I can do for her. I grab Gio's hand for comfort wanting to get this over with and tell him to start.

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Nearly two hours pass before Giovanni closes his laptop and whispers in my ear, "It's all over now. I know that was hard for you but you did so well my angelo."

My flushed face is covered in tears and I'm cradled in his lap. I nod my head and rub my face in Gio's shirt. The smell of his shirt is incredibly comforting and makes me sleepy.

"Don't go to sleep yet baby, we need to get you something to eat for dinner." He stands up making sure he doesn't drop me. My eyes close as he carries me out to what I assume is the kitchen.

"What does the little angelo want?"

"Can we have some noodles?" I ask after yawning.

"Of course."

As Gio prepares the noodles I simply sit at the counter and sleepily watch. I'm kind of glad I went outside. I mean, I'm not happy I almost got raped but in the end, it meant that I got to make a new friend who treats me like we've known each other our entire lives and he calls me his angel.

Maybe the outside world isn't as bad as I thought.

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