Mattia
I watched as Nuelle looked back at Marissa who could not contain her excitement. She was shouting about how much fun they were going to have together and knowing Marissa, she was going to make good on her promise. My sister was a wild child and she did not care about what anyone had to say about it.
She partied more than Marco and me combined. We did not mind it, because she worked just as hard as she partied and she knew how to take care of herself.
Nuelle smiled at Marissa, but the smile disappeared and her eyebrows pinned together when she looked at me. She looked confused, maybe even a little bit scared.
"You're home early," I smirked at Marco after Nuelle was out of my sight.
He flopped down on the couch in front of me and threw his head back to look at the ceiling. "Yeah," He murmured.
"Anything interesting happen?" Marissa crossed her arms.
"Well, let's just say that Rosie and I—"
"WHAT DID YOU DO?"
"Can you not yell?" He raised his voice at her.
"Okay," I held my hand up at her. "What happened? Rosie is a nice girl, I don't want to have to look for another employee. Not this time, Marco."
"Why do you people just assume that I messed up? Huh?"
I could see Marco getting angry, he moved the palms of his hands up his face before he looked up at us again. "Look, Rosie and I are good. We just realized that we don't want the same thing. That's all." He calmly explained.
Marissa cocked one eyebrow up whilst she turned to me. "And she doesn't mind working with you after all of this?" Her eyes found Marco again.
"No," He breathed out. "We are both adults and we both know that relationships don't always work out."
"Good," She nodded.
"Speaking about relationships. Gia asked about you."
Marissa dramatically rolled her eyes, walking away as fast she could, not wanting to hear the rest of the conversation.
"Of all places, why did you have to go there?"
"She serves good food, but you know that better than anyone else. Don't you?" He smirked at me.
My gaze turned cold, I had enough stress for one day. I did not need anything else to bother me.
"Yeah, why haven't you returned her calls, brother?" He stood up and held his hands behind his back.
"Keep looking at me like that and watch me knock that fuckin' smirk off your face."
He put his hands up, showing me that he was surrendering as he took a few steps backwards before he turned around and jogged up the stairs.
I looked down on my watch and noticed that it was too early to go to bed. Normally I would have been at the office around this time.
I usually stayed at the office until seven sometimes even eight pm before coming back home, but after the meeting I had decided to come home and get straight to talking to Nuelle about father's will. To my surprise, I did not manage to have the conversation I had in mind.
I took a deep breath before I decided to return to my office to finish up some paperwork. On my way there I stopped by the kitchen to get a glass of orange juice.
I was standing with my back against the island to look out of the window as I took small sips from my glass when I heard someone gasp.
I quickly turned around to see Nuelle standing in the door opening. She held her hands in front of her waist as she looked at me with her big, bright eyes.
"You need something?" I asked, breaking the awkward silence in the room.
"Yeah, I'm not tired as yet," She shook her head. "Can I have— tea?" She pointed at the water kettle.
"Yeah," I took the water kettle and filled it with water before putting it back on its stand and turning it on. "Sit then." I motioned towards the bar stool in front of the island.
She pulled it back and climbed on top of it, her fingers intertwined on the marble island.
We were both awkwardly looking at the objects around us until the sound from the water kettle demanded our attention.
"Why were you crying?" I carefully asked as I took a mug from the upper cupboard and filled it with hot water.
"W-what?"
"Black, fruit or green?"
"English Bre— Black. Black, please."
"Milk?"
"No, do you have honey?"
I nodded. I got the bottle of honey from one of the other cupboards. As I was stirring the tea I turned towards her and walked back to the island. I placed the mug in front of her, earning myself a small smile.
"So, why were you crying?" I asked again, this time I intended to stay on the topic until I got an answer.
She nervously gulped before her eyes found mine. The moment she had climbed on top of the chair I could tell that she had cried. The redness in her eyes gave it away.
"It's nothing." She whispered, her eyes glued to the cup of tea.
"Then you'll have no trouble telling me about it."
"It's just," She tucked her lower lip between her teeth, her fingers were lightly tapping against the mug. "My old room— it was like going back in time. Brought back memories." She smiled, but I could tell that it was forced.
I did not know what to say, but I knew that I had to say something. After all, I was the one who decided to sent her away. I was the one to blame for that and I was sure that she did, but I was too proud to apologize. Always have been. This is the very reason why I became a perfectionist. So, I did the next best thing that came to mind.
"Do you want to sleep in one of the other rooms?"
She pressed her lips together and kept quiet for a short while to think about the offer. "No, I don't want to trouble anyone. It's just for a few days anyways so it's okay." She softly said.
I smiled as I lowered my eyes.
"It's no trouble. We have a spare room you could use. Come one." I said, pushing my thoughts aside to think straight.
"My tea—"
"Bring it with you then."
On our way to the stairs we passed Emillio. He gave me a certain look, a look that was laced with worry. I quietly groaned then nodded at him, already knowing that it could not be good news. "Can you get your suitcase out of the room? I'll be with you in a few."
Nuelle nodded before making her way to the stairs.
"And?"
"My excuses for not telling you this earlier, Mattia. I did not want to ruin the moment. Rafael asked about you. He came by the office when I was waiting on Marissa. You had already left for your meeting. I tried to call, but you didn't answer."
My jaw tightened, "What did he want?"
"He didn't say."
"Okay, I'll see what it's about. Where did you go to just now?"
"I dropped Marissa off at—"
"Oh, okay." I cut him off.
I did not want it to look like I was spying on my sister. As much as I would have liked to keep all my loved ones locked up in the house in order to keep them safe, I knew that it was not possible.
Who was I to keep another person from living their life to the fullest? In a healthy manner that is, of course.
I jogged up the stairs and heard someone mumbling. I followed the soft voice and it led me to the hall in the west wing of the house. I crossed my arms as I leaned against the wall.
She was pushing her suitcase, letting out sighs and mumbling under her breath. I could not hear what she was saying, but it was probably a series of curse words. She jumped when she saw me. Her right hand went flying against her heart.
"You actually just passed the room."I pointed at the door of the guest bedroom.
"What? Nooooo." She dramatically voiced as she looked over her shoulder to the room I was pointing at. She slouched her shoulders as she breathed out.
"Come on, I'll help you."
I lifted the suitcase and brought it to the room, pushing the door and holding it open for her to enter.
I watched as she walked around the room, she paid extra attention to the paintings that were hanging on the walls.
She stopped in front of each one to briefly study it before continuing her walk. Her hands grazed the vanity mirror and desk. Her eyes then lowered to the rug before they found their way back to mine.
"Thank you." She smiled, this one was real.
"Have a good night." I returned the smile as I made my way out of the bedroom.
It felt good to be able to do something that made her smile. My father would be proud of me for doing this, I thought to myself.