Cataleya Valentina Velez:
'Neveah, please open the door!' I bang on the big door again, but she doesn't respond. Leon, who just entered the house after ten minutes of lingering outside, walks towards me and sighs deeply.
'Is she in there?' I turn back to the door, totally ignoring him since he's probably the one who caused this. 'Neveah, please!?'
Leonardo shifts behind me but doesn't come any closer at all.
'What happened anyway?' I ask him since Neveah doesn't want to open the door and tell me herself. 'I honestly don't know.' He stammers softly.
I hear the lock on the door open and get pulled into the room. Within seconds the door is closed and locked behind me.
As I turn towards Neveah, I notice the tears streaming down her cheeks and the discomfort in her eyes.
'What happened?' I ask before wrapping her in my arms. Her shoulders tremble as she tries to form a sentence to explain what the fuck is going on, and I rub her back. 'Take it easy...'
We slowly make our way to the bed and sit down, her head still resting on my shoulder as we do. 'Breath Neveah.' I remind her. She's totally freaking out, making me worry about what happened.
I want to know what happened, but she needs to calm down first.
She moves her head from my shoulder to my thighs and screams at them as if I'm a pillow. All I can do is rub her back and tell her that she needs to calm down. She's a real crier, she cries about almost everything, but this time it's different. This time it seems to really hurt.
Neveah takes a shaky, deep breath and slowly turns around, facing the door. 'Are you ready to talk?' She nods, making me smile because she looks like a little kid.
'What happened?' The room goes quiet for a while, as she takes a few deep breaths and sighs deeply.
'I'm the reason his mom died.' She whispers so softly that it's barely audible, even in the totally silent room. 'What?'
She nods and breaks down in tears again. I don't understand what she means, and if I want her to elaborate, she needs to calm down. I try hushing her again by gently rubbing her back and squeezing her hand.
'What do you mean Veah?' She sits up straight and looks at me with tears in her eyes.
'He went looking for me and-' She mumbles, before she gets up and starts pacing around the room, 'People killed his mom.' What?
'But what-' 'He wasn't there to save her, because he was looking for me!' She thunders at me.
She breaks down again, running back to the bed and crying into the soft pillows. 'Oh Veah, it's not your fault!'
'How is it not my fault?' She asks, her voice trembling a little. 'You didn't know this would happen. You can't blame yourself for any of it.' I state, giving her a reassuring smile.
None of what happened is her fault. She didn't know any of this would happen, so how can she blame herself?
'I don't know..' She mumbles before wiping the tears from her cheeks. Someone knocks on the door, and I bet that it's Leon.
'Neveah?' Of course it's him. She looks at me with wide eyes and shakes her head.
The last thing I want is for her to freak out even more. I don't know what he told her exactly, but it seemed to have hurt her more than anything else, making me dislike him a little more than I already did.
'Do you want to talk to him?' She shakes her head and tries to keep her breathing steady. I sigh and nod towards the bathroom, 'Go in there, I'll see what I can do.'
Her lips curl up into a smile and she wraps her arms around me. Quickly hugging me before running into the bathroom.
I've never been good at talking to men, but I'll try if it gives my best friend a little more time to process all of this.
'Neveah!?' 'Can you calm down!' I shout as I open the door. Leon almost falls forward, into the room, since he was leaning against the door.
'Where is she?' he says, straightening his jacket since he looks like a total mess.
For the first time since I've met him, he really looks... Concerned. I never thought I would see any of these men cry, they just didn't seem like types to do so. But here we are. Leonardo's eyes are glossy, red, and puffy, as a single tear flows down his cheek.
'She doesn't want to talk to you right now.' He looks around the room, trying to find any sign of her. If he really wanted to, he knew exactly where to find her. Instead, he looks at me and sighs deeply.
'Please tell her I didn't want to be so blunt with my words. I-' He takes a shaky breath, 'I haven't talked to anyone about it yet, so I panicked.' What did he say exactly?
'I'll tell her.' He nods and turns around, walking out of our room as if nothing happened. Just as I'm about to close the door, he turns back around and smiles at me. 'Oh, and Cataleya?'
'What is it, Leon?' 'I like you. You're good for Rio.' What? He grins at me, before rushing out the hall. I am too exhausted for all of this and walk towards the bathroom.
'He left.' I wait for the door to open, which takes about a minute or two, and to my surprise, Neveah seems back to normal.
'You okay?' She nods and smiles at me, trying to convince me that everything is alright, but I know her better than that. She just doesn't want to talk about it right now.
'He came to say-' 'Don't tell me.' She sighs, plugging her ears like a little kid. 'I think it's best if I don't know what he said at all.' Whatever...
We walk back to the bed and lay down, staring at the ceiling in total silence.
She takes another deep breath and turns towards me. 'Cataleya, are you really giving up on escaping?'
I lay on my side so that I can face her as well. 'I don't know.' I answer honestly because I don't know.
I don't want to stay here, but I don't want my mother to die. Besides, the Curzio's put a roof over our heads and made sure we have jobs, even if we're practically forced to stay here. And to be honest, it's not that bad. The only problem is Rio himself since he seems to be annoyed twenty-four hours a day.
'I just want to get out of here, as fast as possible.' Neveah groans before getting up and walking to the closet. 'So do I.'
I sit up straight, trying to read her movements as if she's a test subject. I need to know if she really is okay.
Someone knocks on the door again, making us sigh deeply. For a moment Neveah looks at me with wide eyes, afraid that it might be Leon again. But I don't think it's him. He left because she needed space, so I think he'll give her that space until she's ready to try again. Whatever that means...
'Come in.' I blurt out before Neveah could even take a step towards the bathroom. She turns towards me, rolling her eyes, and smiles at the person at the door. It's Manuela.
'Good afternoon ladies. Supper is ready.' She states, providing us with a warm smile again. I smile back and look at Neveah, who simply nods and walks back to the closet.
'I'm going to change into something else, will you be okay?' I nod and follow Manuela towards the dining room.
I stare at the elegant crystal chandelier in the hall again and watch as the crystals sparkle with the last rays of the sun shining through.
'Where is Neveah?' Leon asks as I walk into the dining room. 'She'll be here in a sec.' He nods and looks at the empty plate in front of him.
The big table is fuller than usual, but still not totally crowded yet. Rio is seated at the end of the table, swiping through his phone once again. Next to him, on his left, sits Marco. His lips curl up into a smile when he notices my presence and I smile back, just to be polite. On Rio's other side sits Leon, still staring at his plate. He seems to regret whatever happened with Neveah but doesn't know how to fix it.
The place next to him is empty, probably reserved for Neveah so they can talk out their problems.
Next to the empty chair, maintained for Neveah, sits Celine. She smiles at me, before moving her gaze towards Leon. She doesn't seem pleased with him at all, so I think he told her about what happened.
The chair across from her is empty, so I walk towards that one. Even though the chair next to me, and next to Marco, is also empty, I decide to sit across from Celine. Just so it won't be as awkward. I hope...
Brandon storms into the room and tries to catch his breath. 'Sorry I'm late. I-' He stops and thinks about his next words wisely, 'Had a date.' He mumbles, before taking a seat next to me, filling the empty chair between Marco and me.
'Why is everyone so tense?' Brandon asks looking at all of us. I don't know what he expects, but this is how it usually goes when we have dinner together. The Curzio's either talk Italian and simply act as if we don't exist, or they finish their food and rush out the room, doing whatever they have to do.
The room goes quiet while the servants enter the room, providing us with delicious smelling food. Another asset. The food is exquisite!
'Where is Neveah?' Brandon turns to me and raises his eyebrow. 'She's still in our room, changing.'
He nods and turns to his delicious-looking plate. Today we're eating some type of pasta mixed with chicken. It smells absolutely heavenly, making my mouth water a little.
'Well, can someone go get her?' Marco asks bluntly, a little annoyed that Neveah isn't here yet. 'Why?' Celine asks, looking at him with the same annoyed look she had on Leon.
I think I understand what Brandon meant, everyone seems a little more tense than usual.
'I could go get her?' I stand up, wanting to go get Neveah, but stop when I notice Rio's eyes on me. He finally put away his phone and stares at me, demanding me to sit down.
'Brandon, can you get Miss North.' His voice is deep and full of authority. I sigh and sit back down as Brandon rushes back out the room until the sound of his steps fades away.
The room goes completely silent again, making me stare at the steaming food on my plate.
My own thoughts scare me a little. These men kidnapped us and here I am. Seated at the same table, in the same room, eating with them as if nothing happened. I shouldn't let this go so easily, but I don't see how we could ever get out of here.
Maybe... I look at everyone, who's simply waiting for Brandon to get back with Neveah, and take a deep breath.
My next mission is to get them to trust me. I need to act like I'm on their side. Maybe, just maybe, they might let us go outside on our own. Without supervision. If we can make it out, we'll be able to run. Or maybe we could try to run when everyone is asleep, just like Neveah did last time.
'You okay Cataleya?' Celine's voice startles me a little, pulling me away from my thought, and I smile at her. 'Yeah.'
Brandon and Celine are nice people, they're good people. Rio ruined them by making them join whatever he does. He ruined them for his own good because he needed a doctor and a- Whatever it is he needs Brandon for.
Even Marco is a genuinely nice person, I think. He didn't ask too many questions and tried to keep us in a good mood today. I just don't trust any of it.
They're all way too nice for this lifestyle. All except the idiot seated at the end of the table.
His hazel eyes are still attached to me. Even though he's seated at the end of the table, I could feel his aura beaming off of him. He's thinking about what could possibly go around in my head, trying to read me like an open book. Except I'm not. I'm not an open book, especially with these people.
'She doesn't want to come to dinner.' I turn towards Brandon, who takes a seat next to me again. What?
'Why not?' Rio inquires even though he probably already knows why. 'I could-' 'No. You are staying seated, Miss Velez.' He hisses my way, before pouring himself a glass of white wine. There he goes again... Drinking...
'Manuela!' Rio orders and the elderly woman rushes into the room. 'Yes, master?' She bows down a little, as if he's some kind of king, and smiles widely at him.
'Go bring Miss North her plate. Tell her to behave like an adult next time.' He sighs, before snapping his finger.
'Why are you so rude?' I ask bluntly, immediately regretting every decision I ever made leading up to this point. His eyes pierce through me, flashes of annoyance flicker through his eyes.
'Buon appetito.' He says, still looking at me directly. 'Buon appetito.' the others say in unison before they start consuming.
I slowly grab my fork and prick some pasta on it, taking a deep breath to fill my senses with the delicious smell once more.
As we eat in total silence, my thoughts roam around again, looking at everyone else who seems to enjoy the silence.
Neveah left me, and I understand why, but we need to talk about that. If we want to get out of here together we have to stick together.
'So tell me,' Rio states, before sipping on his wine again, 'How did work go today, Miss Velez?'
Everyone turns to me as I try to finish the remaining food in my mouth. 'It was fine.'
He grins and turns his face towards Leon, who simply rolls his eyes. 'Define fine for me, Miss Velez.'
If it wasn't for the fact that he wouldn't hesitate to kill me if I tried, I would've hit him. I would've thrown everything I could find his way and stab him multiple times. He keeps calling me Miss Velez and it's annoying.
'Well.' I sit up straight, looking directly at Rio. For once I don't care how scary he is. I want him to stop bullying me for no reason. If he dislikes me that much, why keep us?.
'We've been interning for two weeks in Italy, which means we were already capable of other things than au bar.' I state in the best french accent I can come up with. His lips curl up into a grin and he places his fork next to his plate, before looking at me again.
'Is that so?' I nod, pricking my fork into another piece of pasta and bringing it to my mouth. 'It is.'
He nods gracefully and looks at his cousin, who still seems a little down by the fact that Neveah is avoiding him. Did he tell Rio about what happened?
It's obvious he told Celine since she's ready to kill him the second he says something that doesn't phase her at all, and maybe even Marco. He seems to be on Leon's side, whatever that means.
'And also.' I don't know where all of this confidence is coming from at this moment, but I need to be careful, 'I need to talk to my mother. I don't want her to get worried.'
Rio nods, not really saying anything, before taking another bite. He points his fork towards Leon, who looks up and nods at me, showing me one of the softest smiles ever, 'I'll handle it.'
The rest of the meal goes by in silence. Celine and I talk about little things from time to time, but nothing special.
As soon as Rio is done with his plate, he excuses himself and rushes out of the room, totally glued to his phone like a teenage girl again.
Since everyone gets up and decides to leave when they're done eating, I do too. I make my way back to our room and look at Neveah, who is laying on the bed, enjoying her last bite.
'What was that?' I ask, a little annoyed that she left me alone with them. 'I'm sorry, I just couldn't face him right now.'
I sigh, walking towards the closet so I can grab my pajama. 'You could've asked me to stay with you, you know?'
'I know, and I'm so sorry!' She exclaims, walking my way and smiling at me. Neveah already showered. I notice because her hair is still damp and she's wearing the same shirt from the first night we slept with the Curzio's.
I raise an eyebrow at her and sigh deeply. 'Why are you wearing Leon's shirt?'
She runs back to the bed and jumps underneath the dark gray duvet as if I didn't say anything at all.
'I'm going to take a shower.' 'Hurry up! I'm tired!' She exclaims before dropping her upper body onto the soft pillows. I smile to myself and take a quick shower.
When I'm done, I climb into the bed next to Neveah and smile at her. 'Next time, at least tell me when you're staying in here.' She nods and wraps her arms around me, hugging me oh so tightly. 'I will.'
'Goodnight Cataleya.' 'Goodnight Veah.' I turn the other way, close my eyes, and drift off into a deep sleep.
The next morning I wake up, early like always, and stretch my arms a little. For the first time, I notice that Neveah is also waking up around the same time.
'What did you do to Neveah and how can I keep you?' I joke, making her laugh and throw a pillow at me in defense. I smile and get out of bed, making my way to the closet again.
'I really don't want to work today..' She groans before falling back onto the bed. I ignore her tantrum and change into black jeans and a light brown top, brush my teeth, and put my hair into a tight ponytail.
'Maybe we'll get to do something different today, come on!' I walk back into the bedroom to see her buried underneath the sheets again. 'Neveah!'
I try pulling the sheets off of her, but she wrapped it around her body, making it so much harder than necessary.
'I don't want to!' She groans louder than before. 'Rio will kill you!' 'Just tell him I'm sick!' I stop and sigh deeply. There is no way she's coming out of this stupid bed.
'Fine! But if he finds out we're both dead!' She chuckles, even though that was not my intention. I'm serious. Rio will kill us if he finds out that Neveah isn't actually sick. 'And also, if something happens to me, I'll forever blame you.'
'Nothing will happen to you!' She shouts before I make my way to the kitchen, to grab something light to eat. I'm not in the mood to sit in the dining room all by myself, so I just grab an apple and roam around the halls a little.
I didn't really have time to look around the house because of everything that happened, so I didn't have time to notice its beauty.
It seems like the Curzio's really like marble. The entire floor of the entrance hall is made out of marble. It looks like it has just been polished and reflects the crystal chandelier on the ceiling. The thing I really like about this house is the big windows. They reach the ceiling, which is at least nineteen feet high, letting in as much sunshine as possible.
I enter another hall with all kinds of different paintings on the walls. One, in particular, seizes my total concentration. It's a house upon a hill with the true beauty of the wilderness surrounding it.
'Little girl! Rio has been looking for you.' Leon screams at me from the other side of the hall. He quickly walks my way and smiles at me. 'Where is Neveah?' 'She's sick.' I lie, trying to sound as convincing as possible.
A flash of worry beams through his eyes and I feel sorry for lying to him. 'She'll be fine.'
He nods and takes a deep breath before smiling at me again. 'You should head to the main hall, Rio doesn't like to wait.'
I sigh and follow him back to the main hall. Rio is wearing another black suit again. His broad shoulders are scary enough to make my heart race like crazy. This man is definitely one of the most handsome men on the earth, but his personality is demolishing any chance of anything ever happening between us. Not that either of us wants anything to happen.
He slowly turns around, facing me, and looks at his silver watch wrapped around his left wrist. We've been with the Curzio's for a week, seven fucking days, and this is the first time I notice the tattoo on his left hand.
The words Omerta and Curzio, both written in different fonds, written letter by letter, with behind it a serpent slithering down from his arm.
'It's ten past eight Miss Velez.' He looks up at me and raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow, 'Where is Miss North?'
'She's sick.' Leon and I say in unison. Rio ignores his cousin and steps closer to me. 'Is she really?' I look up, trying not to break under his stare, 'Or is she being childish again?'
'She's sick.' I repeat, hoping that Leon will save me from this interrogation. I step to the side, trying to look at Leon for help, but he's not there anymore. Where did he go?
Rio steps back and sighs deeply. 'Why do you keep lying Miss Velez?' 'I am not-' Without letting me finish, he paces towards the hall where our room is. I run behind him, barely able to keep up with him and grab his arm.
He simply yanks it away and bursts through the doors. 'Get out of bed now!' He demands, not giving a single shit about Neveah who was about to fall asleep again. 'Rio!'
'What-' He walks towards her side of the bed and pulls her from underneath the sheets. 'You are not going to act like a little child and miss your second day at work, Miss North.' Rio's voice is loud and full of authority, yet Neveah tries to break free.
His grip on her wrist looks super painful, but she still doesn't hesitate to try to get back to bed. 'I'm sick!'
Rio looks at her and rolls his eyes dramatically. She doesn't look sick at all and we all know she isn't actually sick.
'Just let me stay in today-' 'Dress yourself before I will.' Rio finally lets go of her arm and steps back, straightening his coat a little. They look at each other like tigers, ready to attack. 'Neveah I think-'
She looks my way and steps back on the bed, folding her arms in front of her, before staring at Rio again. 'Miss North, I swear-' 'You'll what?'
It seems as if the confidence I had yesterday, spilled onto Neveah. Yesterday Rio didn't respond to any of my responses, but today he seems to have time. Today he doesn't seem to be in the mood.
Rio takes a deep breath, trying to keep his straight face, but he fails miserably. It's obvious he's about to explode any second now.
'Get your ass out of bed and get dressed, now.' He orders, yet Neveah doesn't move a single muscle. I watch as Rio's jaw twitches and step back a little. Neveah, please...
Within seconds Rio has a gun pointed at me, his fingers bound around the trigger, eager to pull.
Neveah jumps off the bed and takes a step our way. I simply stare into Rio's eyes, watching whatever goes through his head as I start to panic. He's not actually going to shoot me, is he?
'I promised Leonardo that I wouldn't hurt you, but I never said anything about her.' He looks towards Neveah, who's breathing like crazy. 'So like I said, Miss North. Get your ass out of bed and get dressed. Now.'
She runs to the closet, not looking away from the gun pointed at me. I don't dare move, since he might pull the trigger if I do.
As soon as she has her clothes in her hand she rushes back to the bed. 'Lower the gun and I'll get changed.' She demands, her voice trembling from fear.
Rio simply chuckles and shakes his head. 'You're in no position to negotiate, Miss North.'
They stare at each other for a while. His focus isn't on me, so I try to step away from him. Well, actually from the gun he's pointing in my direction, and get just out of his reach.
He notices and repositions himself, pointing the gun at me again. 'Change-' A phone rings, Rio's phone to be exact. He grabs his phone from his pocket and sighs deeply. 'Grab your shit, you can change at the hotel.'
Neveah nods, grabbing all the necessities and we both rush after him since he's already walking towards the door.
For the first time, he doesn't pick up immediately. Only when we get into the car, he grabs his phone again and looks at us through the rearview mirror. His eyes said enough, we need to shut the fuck up.
'Hola? Qué pasa?' Of-fucking-course. The beautiful bastard can speak Spanish! I look at Neveah, who tries to cover her legs as much as possible. I feel sick to my stomach, thinking about the man who's driving us to our jobs. I'm in a car with someone who didn't hesitate to put a gun against my head just two seconds ago.
'Que se refiere?' He has a fluent accent, making me wonder what other languages he can speak. 'Como paso?' What happened with what? He sounds annoyed and rolls his eyes before tightening his grip around the wheel.