48 | With Love, Painter
"Hey grandpa!" I threw my arms around him, engulfing him into a huge bear hug.
I was so used to seeing him all day at work that now I miss him and Liam and...
No, not him.
It had been two weeks since my last day at work. I was slowly getting used to it.
"You missed dinner. Go and eat something." It was ten p.m. and Oliver had returned home just now.
His eyes moved around the room. "Allegra was here?"
"Yes, why?"
"Your room is neat." He raised his brows.
Here I was trying to catch up with him and he was busy assessing the neatness of my room. Just great!
"I'm here with pop- grandpa? Hey!" Alli entered the room with a bowl of popcorn, smiling widely at him.
Honey brown eyes fell over her face, gradually trailing down to her lips until they settled on her flat stomach, the crop top failing to cover it. Alli reddened at his gaze, her grip on the ceramic bowl tightening.
Can't they just fuck already? There's so much tension between them.
"Shall I get lost? The bed is all yours." I grinned teasingly.
They both snapped from their daze looking here and there like kids being caught red handed.
"Stop spewing these stories in you head, Vittoria." Alli scowled, plonking the bowl on the bed and diverted her attention to the laptop, pretening to search for a movie.
It was a movie night with Alli!
"You kiss my brother publicly and then ask me to not form stories. Really? I don't get why you two just make it official."
"That kiss was just-"
"Save it for someone who believes your silly excuses, grandpa." I jumped over there bed, causing some popcorn to spill over as the mattress sprang.
"See? This is how you create mess." Oliver pointed at the fallen popcorn, leaning against the wall.
"Why are you standing there like that? Come join us. We're planning on watching some movie." I got up and pulled him to us, forcing him to sit down next to Alli so that he was sandwiched between us.
"No, I just came to see you. I still have some work pending."
"You work a lot. Stay for a while at least." I rested my head over his shoulder. "I'm not saying that. Alli is saying. Am I right, Alli?" I wiggled my brows.
How I loved teasing them!
"Why don't we talk about you, dear Vittoria? What's going on between you and Harri?" She smirked.
Oh no!
"You know Oliver, how much profit did I make today?" I changed the topic.
"Answer her question, muffin." He stated.
"Just a little less than five hundred thousand dollars. My speculations are getting more accurate every passing day. I think trading stocks is my thing."
"What's going on between you and Harrison?" He repeated.
"I think I should become a proprietary trader. That way I'd be self employed."
"Vittoria Vivienne Andress!" Oliver crossed his arms.
"I think we were friends, Alli." I pouted. "You can't go two against one with me. That's not fair."
"I see the way he looks at you, Vittoria." She giggled, shouldering me.
"And I see the way you look at him, muffin." Oliver smiled.
Hold on... He smiled?
But wait! How do I look at him!
"See, I told you Oliver won't have a problem with it." Alli looked at him.
"It's nothing like that." I mumbled, playing with the pillow cover.
I don't like him. How can I like him? Or anyone else for that matter.
"Don't hold yourself back, Vittoria. If you're feeling things for him, just admit it." Alli said, twiddling with my fingers.
These two have the audacity to say that to me!
"You're afraid to forget Rafael but I think you slowly are. And that's fine considering you two have distanced yourself from each other since the past... I don't know how much... five months or so?" Oliver said.
"You're okay with Harri?" I almost gasped. Wasn't he the one to yell the rules at me, saying I can't be friends with the guards and blah blah and now he's okay with me being in an apparent relationship with one of them?
"I don't care about the rules if the end result is you being happy. I see you happy when you're around him. And come on, he's a nice boy. I like him."
"Brits are usually nice." Alli sassed.
And he usually likes Brits. Maybe even loves a certain one.
"Look we aren't pushing you towards anything. All we mean to say is that don't shut your heart away. Give yourself a chance." Oliver said, caressing my arm.
"I'll think about it."
"Listen to me and just pounce over him. That lad is hot, alright." Alli fanned herself, earning a cute warning glare from Oliver.
"And you know Oliver, he's so sweet." She continued excitedly, not knowing she had held his hand. "Today morning when she was religiously tracking some company's stock price chart, Harri stopped by just to offer her a galss of water because she hadn't drank water since an hour."
Yeah, he's very caring like that.
"He's a gem! And seriously if you don't want him, I'll get him. The guy's famous on the internet as Leonardo DiCaprio's lookalike. I won't miss that."
"Yes but you'd first have to let go of Oliver's hand to do that." I pointed at their connected hands.
Alli blushed yet again and Oliver smirked, this time making no attempts to hide his reaction.
"Anyway, I'll get going. Good night to you girls. Don't stay up till very late." He kissed my head and mentally kissed Alli before walking out.
I'm so dying to know what went on between them in the past. They sure have some story but none of them wanted to break it to us.
"So? Which movie is it, dear Vittoria? Titanic?" She teased.
"Shut up, Alli." I hid my face in the pillow.
•••••••
"Bye, Vittoria." Liam took off his glasses, pretending to wipe his tears as he left for work.
"Go, you drama queen. You'll get late again." I chuckled, pushing him out right down the stairs.
"Oh hey, Durex condom guy." He laughed, waving at Harri who was stationed at the main door. These twins kept teasing him ever since he got here.
"Liam!" I scolded, opening his car door for him.
"Thank you, ma'am." He bowed down, slipping inside the car which rolled away in a turtle speed.
He called it safe driving.
I went back in, flashing Harri and the guard opposite to him a warm smile as I entered through the door. I tried not to think about Harri but I failed. And that treacherous grin never left my face ever since I passed by him.
My reverie broke as a sharp sound of Alli drawing in her breath caught my attention. Her hands flew to her agape mouth and her sapphire eyes widened as they fell over a painting on the wall. I doubt she even noticed me before sprinting off to what my guess was Mason's room.
Alright. What was that?
Curious, I reached near the painting. It was Camila's painting but I couldn't get what was so terrifying about it. It's was just a girl playing cello. I don't like to admit it, bit it was beautiful. She was skilled.
Something was wrong.
I followed her up, maintaining a good distance. My guess was right. Throwing a cautious glance around her, she entered Mason's room, locking the door behind her.
What were these two up to? I wasn't having a good feeling about this. I made sure no guard was watching and pressed my ear to the closed door.
"... It's gone, Mase. The one proof we had blew up with my house!"
"We should tell them."
"No bloody one will believe us, Mase."
I listened to the ongoing exchange of words, totally clueless. This for sure was going to lead to some place we won't like.
"Ma'am?" A guard's voice called me from behind, his eyes narrowing at my gesture. This was bad.
The two occupants of that room now knew about the intruder, that being me.
"That bitch is eavesdropping." Alli's enraged footsteps echoed and the door flew open.
Those raging blue eyes instantly softened at my sight. "Oh, it's you. I'm sorry."
I entered the room uninvited before politely ordering the guard to leave the place and locked the door, crossing my arms and setting my eyes at the two.
Mason simply ignored me, placing a fresh canvas on the stand and preparing a pallete with brown, white and black colors.
"Stop it, Mason. I'm not leaving until you two tell me what's going on." I sat down on his bed with crossed legs like a stubborn kid.
Alli glanced at him nervously but he didn't care looking at any of us.
Is he for real?
"Fine. I'll go tell Rafael if you don't feel like talking. He'll take care of the rest." I got up but Alli pushed me down again.
"Will you keep it a secret?"
"She will have to." Mason said nonchalantly, coating the background with beige color.
"Remember we visited Canada for that gold mine company?" Alli whispered. I nodded, gesturing her to go ahead. "We stayed at a hotel where Oliver and I were attacked-"
"I know all that, Alli." I said, getting increase impatient.
"So there in the register, I saw a name that had booked a room one day before we went there. It was in the name of Sebastian Voss."
"What?" My jaw dropped. "Why didn't you tell them about it?"
"Listen to the entire thing first." Mason cringed.
"That handwriting was Camila's." She proclaimed and I went tumbling down the bed.
"What are you saying, Alli! How do you know that?" I asked, immediately getting my answer. "Oh, the painting!" Her reaction made sense now. She saw her name on the painting, identifying her handwriting.
But how, why, who?
"Breaking news. Camila was never kidnapped. She's working with the Visitant." Mason declared the grand news and I so wasn't breathing.
I couldn't explain in words the amount of shock running through my mind. Was he seriously telling me that this entire thing, the very base of the ordeal was for nothing?
"You must have some proof for this, right?"
I knew Camila wasn't as much of a victim as she pretended to be. But I thought she was being an opportunist and taking advantage of the tragedy of her life. But this! I don't even know how to react to this.
"That's what we don't have. I had that paper which was at home which is now burnt down to ashes." Alli huffed.
"Then this is just a theory right? You don't know for sure."
"It was. But now it's confirmed." Mason said, drawing some vertical lines in black.
"How? Who confirmed it?"
"Camila herself."
I officially lost it.
"One more thing that will blow your mind away." Alli did the boom gesture. "That bitch keeps throwing herself at Mason. She's got hots for your brother."
I'm gonna throw up now.
"Isn't she in love with Rafael?" I squeaked.
"Yes, but she's also heavily attracted to him."
"Eww, no! Masey? A big no! I know she's gorgeous and all that but no! Don't let yourself-"
"Save your breath, kiddo. She disgusts me. She thinks she can lure me into her trap so that I stop going after her neck." His jaw twisted in annoyance.
"We need to warn them, you guys. She knows the Visitant. Do you realize what that means?"
"You think they'll believe us? I'm sorry but have you forgotten what happened with the slap-that-bitch incident?" Alli sighed, settling down next to me.
I don't believe I'm even saying this in my head, but they're right. Camila played the victim so convincingly. Even I couldn't detect it for four months!
She knew their weakness which sadly happened to be their love for her. And she used it against him.
It was all staged. Her apparent kidnapping. The attack in Canada. The Visitant just giving her back.
Even fuck seems to be such a small word to describe all of it.
And it didn't end there.
Mase and Alli told me about a third party— a yet another unknown entity trying to play their cards in Esztar.
The Covert Visitant— probably the man who saved us in France.
Questions swarmed my mind and answers seemed too far away. None of this made sense. The more I thought about it, the more it got complicated.
So I stopped thinking altogether.
"Here we go!" Mason beamed, his instant masterpiece ready before him. It had some weird patterns between those vertical black lines which made no sense to me.
"What is this, Mase?" Alli neared the painting, trying hard to understand it.
"This is my gift to my admirer. What say, kiddo? Will Camila like it?" He smirked.
There has to be a a meaning to it. Especially if he planned on giving it to Camila.
"Can I?" I asked for permission to hold it.
"Go ahead." He challenged.
I held it up again the light near the window. Nothing happened. I upturned it. Still nothing. He sat back, seeing me struggle to decrypt it.
Then it clicked.
The pattern were strictly between those lines. They're weren't just any patterns. They were words.
The mystery in those patterns reminded me of Harry's tattoo. I pushed that image out of my head, focusing back on the task.
I turned the painting ninety degrees and the vertical lines became horizontal. Then it all made sense.
It was a replica of that page from the register— a way to convey Camila that he knew about it.
"Amazing!" Alli whispered in awe.
The words written were in cursive, that too not easily detectable especially the painting was held straight.
"The game just got more interesting." He grinned.
•••••••
Morning turned into night and I still couldn't get over all the revelations they threw my way.
Harri's form became faintly visible to me on the other side of the grand marble fountain at the centre of the garden. He was busy inspecting two wooden cartons that arrived ten minutte back. It was a standard procedure before any outside stuff entered the house.
"Hey!" I strolled across the garden to reach up to him near the high iron gates.
"Oh, hi Vittoria!" He graced me with his smile, checking the contents of the box filled with some art supplies.
"Didn't you apply for a day shift? Why are you still here?"
"This is my last job for the day."
"Oh," I stepped closer but he stretched his arm out, asking me to back away from the box.
"Please stay away until it's certified safe." He requested.
"Okay, okay." I raised my hand up, stepping back. "Is this much distance enough?" I went back furthermore. "This much perhaps?" I giggled.
"That shall do." He chuckled, sliding the box aside, satisfied about it being safe.
"This uniform looks good on you." I pointed at the all black uniform. I couldn't help but gawk at his biceps peeking out from the tight half sleeved tee.
"Thank you." He scratched his neck sheepishly. "Um.. Can I ask you something, Vittoria?"
The wind blew, disheveling his dirty blonde hair which he quickly tried settling neatly by running his fingers through them like I did to mine.
"Yes?"
"Can I... Can I take you out on a date tomorrow?" He blurted out, looking around anxiously.
My breath hitched and my heart beated a little faster. The question was, much like my huge smile, very unexpected.
Stop smiling like an idiot, Vittoria!
"As in a friendly date?" I bit my lip to keep that grin from getting wider.
He pinched the bridge of his nose, those pretty eyes pitching down to the ground for a split second before locking with mine with a massive confidence.
"No, Vittoria." He shook his head. "Not a friendly date."
Author: Happy New Year!!