Madness

Chapter 1

~There is no beginning...
there is no end...
there is only becoming~

My forehead leaned against the cold window, scanning the misty landscape and watching the sun covered by black clouds that promised rain. I felt a hand squeeze mine, causing me to turn abruptly toward the figure at my side. The boy smiled at me reassuringly as I stared at him blankly. The older man in the driver's seat glanced through the rearview mirror, immediately making me meet his gaze. After a while, the car stopped in front of a wrought-iron gate that opened and allowed us to enter; we crossed a driveway adorned with hedges that ran the length of the driveway until we reached a huge mansion. The old man stopped the car in front of the stairs, and the boy at my side got out and rushed to gallantly open the door for me, holding out his hand, which I took to help me out, thanking him with a smile. He led me down the stairs and knocked on the heavy ash door. The huge doors opened to reveal a frail woman, her face marked by time and fatigue, who immediately regained her strength when she saw the handsome boy at my side. She reached out to embrace him, and he in turn bent down to embrace her.

"Steve, my son, you have finally come home!"

"Yes, Margaret, I am back!"

"I am glad to see you again! And who is this beautiful girl at your side?"

The older woman turned her attention to me, still showing a beaming smile, which I returned. Steve grabbed my waist and pulled me towards him, I stood still and rigid, looking at him instead, contrite.

"This is Arte, the girl I told you about!"

The lady beamed at us and led us into a huge living room with a roaring fireplace. I sat in a red chair near the fire, which crackled fiercely, the only source of light in the darkened room. Steve sat across from me, staring at me with his almond-shaped eyes. I liked the boy very much, but I found him really too nagging and suffocating, I did not want to have so much breath on my neck, I have always been free and I wanted to continue to be free. I was staring at the fire burning fiercely, watching the red dominate the orange when a distinguished man entered the room.

"Good evening, Steve! Welcome back, son."

Steve jumped to his feet and ran to hug his father.

"Hi Dad! I'm glad to see you again! How have you been?"

"As usual! A few problems with age, but nothing more."

"And how is Steph?"

"All good. Studying and still playing tennis."

"I'm glad things are the way they were before I left."

The man turned his gaze toward me, craning his neck a little as I gave a barely-there smile, crossed my legs, and cupped my cheek between my index and middle fingers. He broke away from his son and walked over to me, his hands behind his back.

"You must be Arte! My son has told me so much about you. It is a pleasure to finally meet you."

He held out his hand and I shook it warmly, trying to smile and look as friendly as possible.

"The pleasure is all mine, Mr...."

"...George! George Diamond!"

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Diamond!"

"No, call me George! Can I call Arte too?"

I nodded my head and the man walked away, the red light dancing on his newly graying hair as he approached the fireplace. He was taller than Steve, maybe even better looking, though he must have been over fifty.

"How did you two meet?"

"She attends the civil law classes I teach at the university."

"Ah, then we have a future lawyer on our hands."

He said smiling as he turned to me.

"If everything goes well."

"Soon! She will be the best among my students."

"Ah! Beautiful and intelligent, a rarity these days."

Said the old man, more to himself than to us, as he stared into the void. After a few moments of silence, he left without turning around.

"I believe you would like to freshen up after such a long journey, Margaret will show you to your room."

I thanked him politely and let the old woman lead me up the stairs. After walking down an endless hallway, we came to a door that the maid implied was my room. As I was about to open it, I heard noises coming from the room not far from mine, which immediately caught my attention.

"What is that?"

The woman did not answer me but stared at the door: in her eyes, I could read fear and apprehension of something I did not yet know. The commotion resumed and she left, leaving me alone. As soon as I entered, I was struck by the size of the room: the huge bed with its golden sheets dominated the center, and matching curtains covered the imposing windows that let no light in; black leather sofas stood in a secluded corner where the heavy black oak wardrobe towered beside it. Without unpacking, I lay down on the mattress, regretting that I had come. I had never wanted to accept his invitation here; I had started seeing Steve almost by accident when Derek had become engaged to someone else. I liked him a little, but I wasn't really hurt by the news of his engagement: maybe because I knew it was just one of many, or maybe because I didn't care enough. It was my fault that he had chosen to commit, I had not shown him the slightest interest, I had ignored him completely, after all, I had expected it. The fact was that I had accepted Steve's invitation to a romantic dinner at a restaurant not far from the university. We had seen each other five or six times, no more than one dinner, but I had already realized that he wanted something more. I had gotten to know him, and although we had not gone out many times, I had known him for almost two years and I knew how much he liked to rush things, too much for me. He had insisted that I come to meet his family, I was so against that, but I finally agreed, more to get him off my back than anything else, and so I took advantage of a break from college to follow him to his hometown. I heard the gossip and bad tongues that had been swirling about me since that day, but I didn't care, I was used to being hated and besides, I hadn't done it for grades, I didn't need to, but out of desperation. Steve was nice, but he was bland, insignificant, and completely different from his father, who exuded confidence and charisma. Even in appearance, they were very different: he was blond with hazel eyes, the old dark-haired man with green eyes. With all these thoughts, I slipped into the shower and let the water run over me. I knew that coming here wouldn't be good, I knew that coming here would bring trouble, what I didn't know was that coming here would destroy me.