𝐑𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐓𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲 𝐓𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞

"That means nothing coming from you, Marco. You've been a killer, meeting me didn't change that in you." My voice was hoarse, stripped from the dehydration and attempted drowning.

"I knew you were awake. You've been sucking in your stomach this entire time." His finger pinched at my fat, causing me to stop sucking in. "Your breathing always picks up a pace when I'm near. Though is it because you're afraid of me.. or is it because you think holding your breath will help you resist your urges?" His nose grazed my skin.

"You scare me, Marco." I admitted. It wasn't what he wanted to hear, the way his grip tightened told me that. "You are dangerous, your temper has been kept under locks but when it breaks free you are a dangerous man. You're mentally ill, incredibly ill. So Ill you've become infatuated with the idea of a relationship that will never happen." Marco rubbed his nose against my skin as if to nuzzle against me like a dog.

"It pains me that you see me that way." I released a breath I didn't even realize I was holding. Part of me expected a large lash out from him, but his voice remained quiet and tender. "What do you want from me? What could I do to make you feel the same feelings I do?" Truthfully?

I did feel something for Marco.

But what I felt would be short lived. It would run out of wood and perish as soon as the cold seasons came. It wasn't a feeling that I could allow myself to take action on. Every moment more that I stayed here was proof enough.

Marco was a risk I wasn't willing to take. He was far too dangerous to try and tame. "What do you want from me Marco." I wanted to be left alone, to be able to sleep this pain off.

"I want the truth. Tell me what is running through your head, Elvira." His fingers grazed over my hip bone, his touch leaving tingles on my skin. "Tell me what I can do to make you feel the same things I do."

"You could start by going to therapy, Marco."

"I'm being serious Elvira." His voice sounded like a growl, low and gravely.

"I'm being serious. You're mentally ill Marco. Being around you is like being surrounded by ten of you. I never know who I'm talking to or how much I can say before you push my head underwater." The room stilled to silence. For a moment I believed him to be asleep due to how quiet he fell.

"And would you get feelings for me if I did?"

A dry laugh escaped my lips. "I'm not a video game idiot. You don't unlock achievements in order to get to the next level. We both know that I want to go home. I want to see my family again and go to my job. You getting the mental help you need will not change that."

     A grunt came from him, his head moving to the space between my shoulder and neck. "If I let you go you'll never come back. The world is too big to take that risk." His breath fanned my skin, the warmth was comforting yet alarming. 

     "So that's just it? I'm never seeing my family again, I'll never step back into my lab?" Could he honestly expect to keep me here for the rest of my life?

     "Maybe one day I can trust you enough." The words gave me hope, but it was a false dream to live up to. The chances of seeing American soil again was slim.

     "Can I at least call my family?" They probably thought I was dead. Unless Dante wasn't lying. Even then how could I be sure Conti told them. I didn't know anything about how the Italian government ran.

     I could sense the hesitation he held, how his arms tensed for a moment before releasing the tension. "Tomorrow."

"Really?" He nodded, his arms tightening around my waist.

"Now sleep, Elvira." It would be nearly impossible for me to with him hovering over me. Or so I Thought, but with the heat radiating off of his body and the warmth from the room it wasn't long before I felt my eyes grow to heavy to keep open. The darkness tugged me in and my body went numb.

———⋆♥︎⋆———

     The cold air woke me from my slumber. Marco was no longer in the bed, instead he sat on the sofa across the room with his attention on his computer. Every piece of medical equipment has disappeared, which I found odd considering I hadn't heard any noises.

     "Buongiorno La Mia Vita." Marcos voice caught my attention, and I turned to look at him "Come hai dormito?" He closed his laptop and stood from the leather cushions.
(Good morning My life. How did you sleep?)

     "I don't speak Italian Marco." I laid back down and pulled the covers over my head.

    Footsteps were heard approaching before two large hands ripped the covers off of my body. "I would teach it to you, but then you'd know what I was saying. That's no fun."

     "Marco!" I tried to sit up, but the pain from my chest caused me to double take.

     "I let you sleep in well into the day already Elvira. You need to eat and get dressed. You wanted to call your family did you not? I've arranged for a live video feed." He moved his hands under my armpits and helped me sit up. I was weary of his hands, especially after having them nearly be the death of me the day prior.

     "Live video feed?" I snickered. "It's called FaceTime."

     "Do you want to talk to them or not?"

     "Yes."

     "Then stop being an ass and get out of bed. I have to prep you for the rules." He turned his back to me and moved across the room. Clearly he no longer saw me as a threat, even though I was.

     "Why do you need to prep me to call my family, Marco? I'm not answering a ransom call I'm speaking to my family." It was likely the FBI would treat the call as though it was a ransom demand. No doubt they'd try and trace it, Marco seemed foolish for even allowing a call to begin with.

     "I'm sure they know where you are to begin with, you were in a hospital in Italy a week ago and I paid the bills." He grabbed his laptop and brought it back to the bed.

     "So why are you prepping me?"

     "You're going to tell them you're here on your own terms." I stared at him blankly. I would be a fool to do so, it would mean that I would never escape.

     "No."

     "Let me finish Elvira." His eyes flashed me a warning, the bed dipping as he sat in front of me. "You'll tell them that you are here on your own terms or I'll start off by killing your partner. Naomi wasn't it?" He wouldn't. "Then we'll have to relocate and you'll never speak to your family again." Typically I would think he was joking. After last night there was no room to make jokes anymore, he was serious.

     "What do you want me to say again?"

↽———⋆♥︎⋆———⇁
This little girl / Cady Groves

What stuffed animal did you have as a child?

Early update because I'm avoiding physics