Hurricane - Book 2

Chapter 9

Alberto walked in, his head down. They were all there, sitting at the dinner table. Eshe was eating her sandwich, seemingly unconcerned. Mattias didn't eat but only sipped on tea while Giulia refastened the bandages around his neck. Alberto's stomach fell with guilt.

He walked up to them, ignoring the food.

"Mattias, I am so sorry." He said, locking eyes with the doctor.

Mattias waved a hand.

"You don't need to apologize. I should have seen the signs. You were not yourself." His voice was terribly cracked.

"I tried to kill you, Mattias. You can't just brush that off." Alberto said seriously. "You could have died."

Mattias laughed, then winced as he clutched his throat.

"It'll take more than that to kill me."

"You're lucky Eshe was so quick to react," Giulia said, refilling his tea.

Eshe looked up, her green eyes finding Alberto.

"Sorry for hitting you." She said.

"No. It's a good thing you did." Alberto said despite the dull throbbing on his head where the iron poker had hit him.

They dropped the subject after that. There was little else to be said. Alberto ate his fill but felt guilty as Mattias sat sipping his tea, his throat too swollen to eat food.

Everyone dispersed. Eshe went outside with a book in hand while Giulia and Luca said they were going to the stables. Mattias retreated to his room, probably to tend to his wounds. Alberto sat at the dinner table alone, not sure what to do with himself.

After picking at his fourth tuna sandwich, he made up his mind and walked to Mattias's room. He had put this off long enough. It was time for answers.

He knocked and a raspy, "Come in." replied.

Alberto opened the door to see Mattias sitting at his desk, in the middle of writing a letter.

"Oh," He sounded surprised. "I was expecting Giulia."

"Why?" Alberto asked, suddenly suspicious.

"She usually likes to add a few words to Massimo when I write to him." He said, gesturing to the paper in front of him.

Mattias had been keeping contact with Massimo on a near-daily basis, receiving updates on the movement of the Visconti family and the state of Portorosso. So far, nothing has changed for the better.

"What can I do for you?" He asked.

"Well," Alberto scratched the back of his head, then recoiled as he hit the lump, "I just wanted to... ask you some questions."

Mattias turned in his chair, listening attentively.

"Last night... I just - I lost control. I don't know what happened." Alberto said, trying to make sense of it all. "When the power went off, I panicked. But I was able to fight past it. I was totally calm in my room until...." He trailed off.

"Until you heard Luca screaming." Mattias finished. Alberto nodded.

Mattias studied him for a moment.

"Did Luca's fears become your own?" He asked. Alberto was shocked at how specific his question was.

"Yes. It felt like I was seeing through his eyes." Alberto admitted.

"How long have you felt this connection with Luca?"

"Since I woke up for the first time." Alberto said, thinking of the rope inside him.