I don't know exactly what woke me up. It may have been feeling. But all indications were that it was his touch.
Francesco's hand was on my bare thigh. He made small circles on my skin with his finger. It felt like electricity was coming through me again.
With my eyes still closed, I just smiled and enjoyed his presence.
But something tells me he knew I was up. His lips were on my shoulder, leaving a path of kisses.
"Good morning." He whispered in my skin.
"Mhm." I let myself be carried away by the feeling of his lips on my skin.
"How did you sleep?"
"You made sure I didn't get that much of a sleep." I laughed.
"You started it. It's not just my fault."
"Debatable." I said as I turned to my side so I could look at him. "Hi." I smiled and brushed a lock of hair from his face.
"Hey." He said with a smile.
"I like it." I bit my lip.
"What?"
"Waking up next to you."
"Who says it can't be the order of the day? Basically, you've already moved here. You also spend most of the nights in my room anyway."
"I'll think about it." Maybe it's time to do it. We somehow skipped the moving in phase a long time ago, but I wouldn't mind waking up like this every day.
"There's something else you should think about." He seemed slightly nervous.
"You're absolutely right. I'm going to have to convince Lydia and Leo to be a godmother. I've already missed one baptism; I'm not planning to miss another one. I'll have to help choose a name, too. Jake sounds good, doesn't it?" I laughed.
"Marry me."
Excuse me?
Did I hear well?
What the hell...
"No." I laughed.
"No?" He raised an eyebrow, surprised.
"No." I shook my head.
"Sure, don't try to be nice or anything." He snorted and sat down.
"Francesco..."
"I think you said that quite clearly." He interrupted me. "We don't have to talk about this topic anymore." He threw the blanket away and stood up. He gathered his things from the ground and began to dress.
"I didn't mean it that way." I sat down and pulled the blanket a little higher. Not good timing to be naked.
"I think I know what you meant."
"No, Francesco, please. What was I supposed to answer you? Where did such a question come from? You said it like it was nothing." And that is definitely not nothing.
"No, I get it." He said without looking at me.
"Look, there's a lot going on right now ..."
"I said I understood." Those were his last words before he left the room and slammed the door behind him.
What the hell just happened?
*****
"Where do you think you're going?" The passenger door opened, and Leo sat down next to me. "I thought I made it clear I wouldn't let you go alone."
"Sorry." I said honestly. "My head is somewhere else right now."
More precisely, with Francesco, who asked me to marry him in the morning, and I turned him down.
"So, you forgot about me by mistake? Why don't I believe it?" He laughed.
"Put your seatbelt on." I told him.
"Sure boss." He did as I told him, and we left the driveway.
The road was relatively quiet. Thank goodness. I can't imagine Leo's reaction to this morning. I know he prefers Francesco a little more now, but this morning was madness.
"Okay, can you tell me why you're so quiet?" He started and I cursed my own thoughts. I called it.
Yeah, fuck it.
"Francesco asked me to marry him." I said as if it was nothing.
Sure Amira, it's nothing serious at all.
"And?" And? "I assume you said yes. Do you regret it? Having second thoughts?"
"I said no." I frowned.
"Why?"
"What do you mean, why? Are you really okay with that?" I have a hundred desires to stop at the side of the road and have a serious conversation, but I want to have a meeting with Aaron's lawyer as soon as possible.
"Why shouldn't I? He is better than someone I don't like." And since when do you like him? Oh, I know. I've been gone for five years. It must have happened sometime then. "Why did you tell him no?"
"I don't know, okay?" I would throw deadly glances at him if I didn't follow the path. "I just said no."
"Do you love him?"
"You know I do." I like these stupid questions the most.
"Is he the one you think of before you fall asleep and as soon as you wake up?"
"Yes, but ..." He didn't let me finish.
"Do you feel safe with him?"
"Of course, I do, but ..." He interrupted me again.
"So, where's the problem?"
"What do you mean, where's the problem?"
"Why did you tell him no?"
"Because I don't want to lose him, okay!" I turned towards him.
My chest began to lift quickly, and I forgot we were sitting in the car. Tears welled in my eyes, which made my vision slightly worse.
"Amira watch out." Before I could react, Leo reached for the steering wheel and turned sharply to the right.
We avoided the car that was heading straight for us. But no more roads.
The tires squealed, and there was no longer a road under the wheels, but grass. We came right on a gentle hill, which caused us to start to roll over.
When the car bounced off the ground for the first time, I lost consciousness and didn't come to senses until we were at the bottom of the hill, with the roof down.
I slowly opened my eyes. There was pain in every part of my body. I felt open wounds all over my face. Blood from my face fell on the roof of the car.
The windows were shredded, and the car was crumpled on each side.
Slowly I tried to turn my head to look at Leo.
There was blood on his face. He had minor scratches from the glass on his face. I tried to talk to him, but he didn't answer.
I have to get out of here.
I put one hand on the roof and the other tried to unbuckle the belt.
It's stuck.
I reached for the broken glass from the car window. The only option is to cut the belt.
I carefully ran my hand through the window and my fingertips touched the glass lying on the grass.
But before I could catch it properly, someone's foot appeared on my hand. He approached my hand and forced me to leave the glass alone.
"Easier than I expected." The guy I see for the first time in my life came to me. "Sweet dreams." He said before I saw him holding a gun and he hit me in the head with it.
And again, I found myself unconscious. I think we have a little problem.
*****
"Wake up." I said between my teeth and shook my chair, which was right next to Leo's.
Nothing, again.
I exhaled in frustration and tried to find a way out of this problem.
I woke up about ten minutes ago. It took me five minutes to even recover.
When I opened my eyes, I noticed that Leo was his back to me. We both have our hands behind our backs and our legs firmly attached to the legs of the chair. Someone cared.
I tried to pull my hands out of the tape that held our hands, but it was useless. I only hurt myself. The tape was not damaged even a little.
I also tried to break the legs of the chair, but since it's metal, it's not that easy.
Even if I got out of this chair, I don't know how we got out of the room. There's a metal door and I am no Hulk.
Looks like we're in an old, abandoned factory. I would be shouting for help uselessly. There is definitely no one around.
"Come on." I leaned back and forth. I stumbled upon his stool and heard his hisses in pain. "Finally." I exhaled with relief.
"What the hell?" Leo said still slightly off.
"Are you okay?" Please say yes.
"Places I didn't know I had, hurts. I hope that's enough of an answer for you." I felt he was trying to move.
"I've tried everything. I can't get out of this. Someone made sure we won't have a chance run."
"Who could it be?" Sarcasm was heard in his voice.
"We have to get out of here."
"And how are we supposed to do that? If you don't have a knife hidden somewhere, I doubt it's possible, Amira."
"I promised to stuff one up your ass. I'm regretting I didn't do it before we came here." His comments really help with this situation.
"Ha-ha-ha. Very funny. So, you have something? A ring or something sharp?"
"You know I don't like wearing rings ... wait." I stopped. "My necklace." I looked at my chest, where there was a necklace from Francesco.
Francesco.
Shit.
No. Bad time thinking about him. We have to get out of this first.
"Can you take it off?"
"I'm trying." I touched my chest with my chin, but it wasn't enough. That necklace rolled everywhere, so what I'm going to do is a little unhygienic. But if we get out of this, it will be worth it. I hope.
I reluctantly tried to grab the necklace with my tongue. I finally got the gold chain between my teeth and ripped it from my throat.
"Ouch." I said with a necklace in my mouth.
And what now?
"Are you okay?"
"Mhm."
"Can you get it in your hands? We could then break that tape with that chain. Friction."
Really good idea. It never occurred to me. How do I get that fucking necklace in my hand?
"Try to throw it behind you. I'll try to catch it."
"Great idea." I rolled my eyes, which hurt slightly. "You don't catch it and we're fucked. Leave it to me." I turned my head to the side until the necklace hung behind my shoulder.
Please God, I never wanted anything from you. Give this necklace wings.
I let the necklace fall out of my mouth and caught it in my hand.
Thank you, God!
"I got it."
"Thank God." He exhaled hard.
"Could you guide me? I can't see your hands at all." I moved with my chair to get a better turn.
"My fingers are right here." He touched my hands. "Try it like this." He shifted his shoulders a little lower and I felt the tape under my fingers. Bingo.
Somehow, I got the chain over the top of the tape and started pulling once with my right, once with my left hand. Each time I was a little lower and the tape finally broke.
"Finally." He immediately started putting the tape off his feet. "Well, you look awful." He stood in front of me.
"I'll kill you." I said with a serious expression.
I'm sure I look awful, but he doesn't have to remind me. I can feel all the dried blood on my face.
"Okay, okay." He laughed and walked over to me. He used a necklace and untied my hands. "All done."
I ripped the tape off my feet and stood up carefully. "And what now?" I raised an eyebrow.
"Only one door. We don't have much of a choice."
"Really funny Leo. What if someone's at the door. We need something to fight with."
"If they haven't heard us yet, I doubt they hear at all. I'll just open the door and stun whoever is there." He's right. Even a deaf person would hear us. "Stay behind me, all right?" He raised an eyebrow.
"In your dreams." I walked past him and reached carefully for the handle. I opened the door, ready to stun someone, but no one was here. Confused, I looked at Leo, who just shrugged and whispered that they might have left us here.
We wouldn't be so lucky.
I nodded to keep going and somehow, we got out of here.
We walked slowly out of the room and had a view of a hallway full of doors.
"We have more options now." I heard behind me.
"No shit Sherlock." I started walking down the hall, with Leo on my heels. We stopped when we heard the door open right next to us.
Before the man in them could do anything, he lay unconscious on the ground. But he wasn't the same one who stunned me.
"Here." Leo handed me his weapon. "Do you know how to shoot still?"
"Should I try it on you?"
"I take it as a yes." He smiled.
He went through the guy's pockets, where he found a car key. We're too lucky today. I don't like it.
"Let's go before someone comes looking for him." I said.
"Maybe he was the only one here."
"I doubt it. Let's go." We continued on our way and stopped at every corner. It's too quiet here.
"Wait." Leo whispered and caught me. One door opened and the guy that stunned me at the bottom of the hill stood there. He will pay for that. "Hold on." He stopped me when I wanted to shoot him. "He could tell us how many people are here and how to get out."
"Fine." I rolled my eyes. I reached for the keys in my pocket and tossed them in the middle of the hall. The shadow approaching us meant he had run into it.
When he got close enough, I aimed my gun at him. "Hands over your head." He tried to reach for his gun, but Leo jumped on him and grabbed his hands. He rolled them behind his back and pushed him face down on the wall.
"Talk."
"I won't tell you shit."
I walked over to them and picked up his knife from behind his belt. I put it on his face. "Talk."
"No." He said through gritted teeth.
"Okay." I lifted my shoulders and slightly damaged his face with the blade.
"Fine stop! Jared and I are the only ones in the building!" He growled.
A man who stands by his word as I see.
"Who hired you?"
"Some old guy. Please put that knife away from my face."
"I can't believe this piece of shit kidnapped me." I shook my head. "Unbelievable." I whispered.
I pulled the knife away from his face and Leo immediately stunned him. His body fell to the ground beside our feet. Only then did I realize that we had forgotten to ask how to get out of here. I think Leo remembered too late as well. We both looked at each other stupidly.
"We really are out of practice." He spoke.
"Undoubtedly." I bent over the gun from the unconscious guy and threw it at Leo. "I hope you don't shoot me."
"I promise nothing." He winked at me. Idiot.
Side by side we got to the main room, where we saw a daylight through the open door.
We're out.
I took Leo's hand and started running with him.
We were a few feet from the door when I heard applause behind us. "Amazing show." A familiar voice echoed in my ears.
I stopped just outside the door and turned around. I got a good look at Anthony, who stood alone in the middle of the factory.
My blood began to boil in my veins as I looked at him. He's taken so much from me. My whole life. And he still walks around as if nothing happened. He walks across the earth's surface. But it won't be long.
"I guessed it would take you both longer. I underestimated you."
"You do that often." I started walking back to him.
It's time to end it all.
I aimed the gun at gun, stopping when I was about five meters away. He did the same.
"Father and daughter aiming at each other. Family reunion?"
"You're not my father. You never were. You have to deserve to be called like that. You killed my mother and you're responsible for Leo's."
"And I'm proud of that." My jaw tightened. "They were both useless. They didn't bring anything useful to the world except the children. That's pretty debatable, too." He said with a smile.
I felt Leo's presence not so far from me. I didn't want anyone to see me like this again. Kill. But it must be done. I won't rest until he's alive. My mother will not have peace.
"You deserve to rot in hell."
"If you hate me so much, why haven't you shot me yet?" He frowned.
"I want to enjoy this moment." The moment you finally disappear from my life. Our lives.
"It's always been your biggest mistake. You've been waiting too long."
His finger dropped to the trigger and fired. At the same time, a bullet also flew from the head of the gun I was holding.
I hit him right in the chest. It threw him off and he fell to the ground.
His bullet missed me. Fool.
I walked over to him and bent over. I kicked his gun from his hand so that he cannot use it again.
His blue shirt was covered in blood, which was also in his mouth.
"You missed." I smiled.
"Did I?" He said with a smile.
What?
"Amira." I heard Leo's voice.
I turned my head in his direction. At that moment, I knew what Anthony meant.
He uncovered his stomach with his hand, from which blood flowed at a rapid pace.
"No." I ran to him and caught him before he fell. "Leo." Tears welled up in my eyes.
I slowly laid his head on the ground and put my hand on the wound, trying to stop the bleeding.
"No, no, no." Blood is leaking too fast.
This can't be happening.
"Amira, it's fine." His voice broke.
"You'll be fine. You'll be fine. Just stay with me." I brushed my hair from my face. His blood on my hands was already on my face.
"Tell Lydia ...."
"No!" I shouted. "You'll tell her yourself." I said through the tears that began to flow rapidly down my cheeks. "I'll get you out of here." I tried to wipe the tears from my face as I pushed on his wound.
"Lydia and Em are the best thing that ever happened to me." He started.
"No. Please. Stay with me." I sobbed.
"If it had never been for you...I would never have met them." His face began to fade. "I love them as much as I love you. You are all my family."
"Please." I felt the salty taste of my own tears on my lips. "Don't leave me. Please."
"Take care of them for me."
"No. No. No. Please. This is my fault. It's my fault."
"It's not." He said with a smile. "I've deceived death once, it has come for me now. None of this is your fault."
My heart began to fall apart. Every memory, every second spent with Leo took place in my head. From the moment we met as children, through the way he always helped me, through the moments I will never forget.
"Promise me something." I shook my head slowly. "Whatever happens, don't leave your family." A tear ran down his cheek. "Promise me."
"I promise." I said in a strained voice.
"Tell them," his eyes slowly began to close, and life faded from his body, "that I love them."
"I will."
No, please don't leave me.
"Thank you for everything, Amira. Thank you." His eyes closed as his head fell to the side.
His chest stopped rising and his heart stopped beating.
He is gone.
"No, no, no." I tried to wake him. "Wake up! Wake up!" I shook his slowly cooling body. "Please." I whispered. "Please." I rested my forehead on his body. "It wasn't supposed to be you." I let the tears fall on his face. "Come back." I begged.
I felt a heavy feeling in my chest. The scream that wanted to go to the surface and yet I felt a stone in my throat that I had swallowed hard and screamed from my full lungs.
Pain was all that I felt.
Endless pain.
He is gone. Leo is gone.
*****
And just like that *poof* Leo is gone.
No sorry, bad time for joking. :/