"You break in the school again, idiot? Never mind, what’s up with your sisters?”
“What do you mean?”
“They’re being sketchy with their phones and lots of whispering between them. What do they plan to do to me on this trip?”
“Not you this time. I gave them a job.”
“Uh-oh, what happened?”
“What makes you think something happened?”
“Bruh, you didn’t say you gave them something to do; you said you gave them a job. Who or what are the Russo triplets about to destroy?”
“Victoria!”
“Huh? What did she do now?”
“She put glue in Gianna’s hair.”
“She, what? What the hell kind of diabolical shit is that?”
He touched his own hair like someone was after his shit. “What did you do to her?”
“Nothing yet.”
“That mad, huh! So, I’m guessing Gianna’s the one your family is hiding in your room. Anna and Rosa damn near broke me in half when I tried walking in there when I got here.”
“Yeah, I’m keeping her here for a while. Get that stupid look off your face.”
“I didn’t say anything. Go take care of your girl. I’m gonna get some sleep. Night-night.” He made kissing sounds as I walked out of the room. I walked down the hallway and crept into my now dark room, where I could see the outline of her body beneath the covers. Being as quiet as I could, I walked over and stood next to the bed, looking down at her sleeping form. So that’s how she sleeps. You can tell a lot from a person’s body language. Gianna sleeps like she’s on guard. Even in sleep, she has no rest. What the fuck kind of life has she led until now? I know there’re disgusting people in the world who prey on the weak, but I’ve been locked away in my own head for so long I never really noticed what’s going on outside my little bubble. Never cared to anyway.
Nothing in life happens without reason. There’s a purpose for everything. I wish I knew what her coming into my life at this particular point in time meant. For now, all I know is the strong sense of protectiveness, this need to place myself between her and whatever hell she’s endured until now. It’s too late to step back; I’ve already shown my hand, confronted her enemies.
If I back out now, her situation would no doubt get worst. So, I’m going to ride this thing out for as long as I’m needed. I reached out to touch her cheek but pulled my hand back just in time. I didn’t linger there next to the bed because seeing her this vulnerable was fucking with my insides.
I headed to the sitting room where I could see and hear her if she called out in the night, but after half an hour of tossing and turning, I gave up and picked up my headphones. The strains of Huo Zun’s calming tones flowed through the earpiece, soothing the rough edges.
My eyes flew open in an instant, though when instead of the beautiful fall foliage I usually imagine when listening to his Beauty Is A Dream, I saw Gianna dancing to the graceful melody. My eyes went to the bed where she laid fast asleep, and I rubbed my chest where a dull ache began.
Obviously, this isn’t going to work. I pulled off the headphones and headed for my desk, hoping the light from the computer didn’t wake her. I spent the next few hours looking for information and checking on her each time she sighed in her sleep. “Shh!” She cried out in her sleep, and I left my chair to climb into bed with her.
Until that point, until my gently brushing her cheek didn’t work, and I ended up sliding down beside her to take her in my arms, I think I was doing a pretty good job of keeping myself somewhat detached from her. With my strength of will that has never been broken, I was sure that there was no way for her to get under my guard. Female entanglements are not part of my plan.
But as soon as her tiny frame folded into mine as if looking for comfort and she rested her cheek on my chest, something stirred in me came alive. I wanted to jump right back out of bed, to get as far away from whatever this was as I could, but I was afraid to wake her. At least she’d settled down, but when I tried to ease out from under her a little while later, she refused to budge.
Okay, I’ll stay here until you settle down. It’s the last thought I had before closing my eyes in sleep. I became aware again when I felt the sunlight on my face and a weight on my chest. I didn’t open my eyes right away but used my senses to gauge the situation before gradually opening them.