>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O->
"Why do you always have to do that?" Marcella asked Giovanni, questioning his sense of humor.
"What do you mean, Marcella? Men can get breast cancer, too."
Marcella rolled her eyes, done with him.
"I didn't get to pick," Ila explained, answering Marcella's original question. "By the time I got my phone back, Aurelio texted that to Charlotte."
"She believes it," said the doctor.
I fed Ila another spoon, making sure not to spill anything. Even though I was feeding her, I felt as if I was being ignored. She hasn't made eye contact with me and her body was weirdly shifted away.
After swallowing, Ila asked, "Have you told her about Il Bisbigilio?"
"Nope. Have you told your parents?" Dr. Montello asked.
"No, that wouldn't be a good idea," Ila nervously chuckled.
"They'll have a heart attack, I bet, if they figured out you and the leader of Il Bisbiglio are dating." The doctor laughed at the thought.
I sighed, wishing he didn't say that, and looked at Ila. She was looking at her empty bowl, forcing up chuckles.
"He he he," Ila said, uncomfortably. "Anyways, it looks like I'm done with my food. I should go back and rest, I'm pretty exhausted."
"You might want to brush your teeth first," Dr. Montello suggested.
"Woah," Aiden said, sounding shocked, "Are you a dentist too?"
"I'm not."
Aiden was still confused and questioned, "Then, why did you tell her to brush her teeth?"
"For regular hygiene purposes," the doctor explained, sounding confused as to why Aiden would ask the question in the first place.
"Oh, okay. Are you going to brush my teeth for me?"
Dr. Montello frowned, "No."
<-I-L-A-<<<
"There's a bunch of toothbrushes in the bottom cabinet, under the sink, that you can choose from," Quinten yelled from the living room, loud enough for me and Matteo to hear from inside the bathroom.
Matteo crouched down, opened the cabinet that Quinten had described, and pulled out one toothbrush. It was colored black. Matteo added a strip of toothpaste onto the white bristles at the end.
"I-I can brush my teeth by myself," I said, trying to get myself out of the possible awkward situation.
"Please," Matteo smirked, "You barely could feed yourself."
"That was weird enough and now you have to brush my teeth," I complained.
"I can call Giovanni to do it for you," Matteo suggested.
I instantly opened my mouth for him to brush my teeth. Matteo chuckled, placing his hand on my chin to stable me, and began at it. Just like when I go to the dentist, I didn't know where to look. My eyes strayed away to the wall behind him, the mirror, and the paintings that were hung up above the toilet. In my peripheral vision, I could see Matteo staring into my avoiding eyes.
When I thought he was looking, I glanced at him. He caught my gaze and held eye contact. He slowly stopped brushing my teeth and drew the toothbrush out of my mouth. Matteo licked his lips and slowly leaning in forward, shifting his gaze from my eyes to my lips. He closed his eyes and as he got closer I panicked.
The bubbles, created by the toothpaste, grew uncomfortable in my mouth and I turned away from Matteo. He must have felt me moved and halted, opening his eyes. Seeing that I wasn't going to return what he had offered, he pulled back. I attempted to spit out the foam. It almost missed the sink, a few inches from the counter, slowly sliding down to the drain.
>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O->
I could feel the tension between us as I brushed her teeth. At first, I was lost in thought. Looking into her eyes, I was wondering what she was thinking. Why was she avoiding my stare? Why was she trying to avoid me? Suddenly, I realized I was staring at her and that maybe it was making her uncomfortable.
The moment I looked away, she looked at me. I snapped my gaze from her teeth to her eyes. The way she looked vulnerable got me feeling some sort of way. I licked my lips, my throat getting dry. She looked beautiful in front of me and the thought of her trying to distance herself was concerning me at this point. I choose to close the space between us, slowly to give her time to reject it.
At the last second, she turned towards the sink and spit out the toothpaste foam out of her mouth. Turning back at me, Ila tried to explain, "Matteo, I thi-"
"No, It's fine. I got your signal. Talk to me about it when you're ready," I said. I grabbed her right hand, unballing her fist to placed her toothbrush in her hand. "I'll call Marcella for you."
<-I-L-A-<<<
By the time Marcella got to me, I was already washing the bristles of my toothbrush.
"Oh, did you already finish brushing your teeth?" Marcella asked. I nodded. "Sorry I took so long. Dr. Monetello was describing the pills to give you before you go to sleep."
"Okay, should I get a glass of water then?" I asked.
"I already got you one before coming here. It's in your room."
"Thank," I said. I was truly grateful. I didn't want to walk back into the kitchen and possibly risk running into Matteo.
Marcella and I walked into the room I was currently staying in. On the bedside table, as Marcella said, was a tall glass of water. I got on the bed and Marcella searched the drawers of the desk by the door. After a few minutes of scrummaging, Marcella walked to me with three bottles of pills.
"I'm pretty sure he said these ones," Marcella said. She held the bottles in front of me to look over.
"They seem about right," I confirmed.
Marcella opened the bottles and took out a pill each. With her help, I manage to down the medication. Almost instantly, I felt the drowsiness. Even though I was really tired, I wanted to talk to Marcella. I wanted to get it off my chest for I couldn't hold it in any longer.
"Marcella?"
"Yes?" She came back to my side after putting away the bottles back into the drawers she got it from.
"I want to talk about what happened."
"About?"
"Stollo," I said, swallowing.
"Matteo said you didn't want to talk about it," Marcella told me.
"I didn't, not with him."
"And why is that?' She asked, playing around with the blanket that covered me.
"I don't want to tell him yet about how I want to leave Il Bisbiglio."
Marcella stopped tucking me in. "Ila-"
"Marcella," I was quick to cut her off, trying to make her understand, "What happened to me in that basement was the most terrifying, painful, and horrible thing I have ever been through. I've been trying to space out so I don't have to think about it. I was so scared. That all happened because of me being in the Mafia. I took this part thinking that I was in no way was going to get harmed. I was just going to be a doctor. I wasn't selling drugs or trading weaponry. In the end, I was the one who got caught." I paused, waiting for Marcella to say something. She didn't and I continued. "I want out. I want to go back to my normal life."
"I'm sorry, Ila," Marcella said.
"It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault but mine. I shouldn't have joined the mafia. I knew I was cut out for it from the beginning. I don't want to make the mistake of staying in the mafia, Marcella."
"You'll have to talk to Matteo about it."
"I'm scared, honestly," I admitted. "I truly feel something for him. He is nice in his own way and treats me well during the small times we were together. Although, I never know what he's thinking and can never predict how he's going to react."
"I think he'll understand," Marcella assured.
>>>-M-A-T-T-E-O->
"I don't understand," I said. I got up from the seat I was sitting in, placed by Ila's bed, and walked away only to circle back. "Exactly what do you mean when you say you want out?"
"Matteo, can you please sit down and listen to me?" Ila asked.
I sighed and sat down, leaning all the way back. Earlier this morning, I came into Ila's room to give her her breakfast. Before even taking a bite into the pancakes that Dr. Montello made, Ila told me she wanted out.
"I mean that I don't want to be apart of the mafia anymore," she explained, staring at the plate in front of her. The pancakes that were once warm went cold.
"Look at me, Ila," I said. She slowly turned her face toward me and looked into my eyes. "Why? Why do you want to go right after I barely got you back?"
"Because of this mafia, I experienced fear as I've never had before. That goes along with suffering and desperation. I was beaten by Stollo and his men in the basement while being almost naked, Matteo. They wanted information and answers I didn't have. I've never been so badly hurt. The worse thing that came out of it was I murdered someone. Matteo, I killed someone. My mentality can't take that and while I'm surrounded by people who are in the mafia, my conscious is eating itself as it's being reminded." Ila shook as she spoke, tears spilling down her face.
"Ila-," I reached out for her. Before I could wrap my arms around her, she stopped me.
"Don't touch me, Matteo," Ila said, sternly.
I moved closer to her. I positioned myself where she wouldn't be able to look away from my eyes. Both of my hands were placed by each of her sides, supporting me from falling over due to my weight as I leaned over to meet Ila's eye-level in her sitting position.
"Ila, staying with Il Bisbiglio right now would result in you being more protected than ever. We didn't catch Stollo when we rescued you. He's out there, pissed. He's not done with us. He still wants his revenge."
I looked at her as she scanned my face. When she blinked, fresh tears escaped her eyes. Shifting my weight to my right arm, I lifted my left to wipe her tears away. Ila turned her face away from me, dodging my touch.
"I'm sorry, Matteo," Ila said, " I don't know how that's my problem."
<~>
Is this chapter long enough? I'm sorry you guys didn't like the last chapter. I'll work harder. Goodnight, guys. Remember 8~10 hours of sleep is recommended :)