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He sighs. “You are alive. You are here. Do not try to change either of those things.”
And with that wonderful advice, Elio Rossi leaves me.
I have no idea what to do with this change.
HavingElio in the mansion is worse than being here alone.
I feel like I’m living with a tiger.
When he’s around, the air is different. It’s charged, like before a storm. I know that I’m not the only person who feels it, because the staff move differently around Elio.
For one, people appear out of the woodwork to do his bidding. I had no idea that the estate had a garden staff, for example, until Elio appeared on the scene.
The trees outside have never looked better.
I have a feeling that the entire estate isn’t on the beach, as I had previously thought, but somewhere inland. Florida is a mess of bogs and muggy little spots that no one can find you, and the people that work for families like mine know this very well.
There’s more than one body buried in the belly of a gator, that’s for sure.
It’s been about a week since Elio appeared, and I’ve settled into another routine. Mostly, it involves avoiding Elio, and pretending that I’m invisible.
I’m drifting through the halls like normal when I see Elio and Gia slip into a room. Curious, I look up and down the hall after they softly close the door behind them.
There’s no one else here.
No one to babysit me.
Go find out what they’re doing.
This could be it. This could be my chance to get the information that I need to finally get out of here. I don’t care that I’m in the middle of nowhere… I’ll figure out a way to get out, if I get what I need.
Or I’ll die trying.
My body feels alive and electric in a way that it hasn’t for a while. I still feel the fog that I’ve been operating under, but I can also see something that’s been eluding me for weeks now.
A way out.
I creep up to the office, cautiously looking to see if anyone is in the hall. There’s still no one.
If memory serves, the armed guards should all be outside during this time, and the house staff are doing things that generally keep them out of the hallways. Usually, it’s a quiet time that’s kind of nice.
Now, I’m so grateful at the lack of people around me that I want to jump for joy.
After checking to make sure that I won’t collapse the whole thing in, I press against the door. There’s male voices, one of which sounds small like it’s coming out of a speaker, and Gia.
If I squish myself against the wood as hard as I can, I can almost hear their conversation.
If I press really, really hard, I can definitely hear it.
“…makes no sense,” the tinny voice, which I assumed to be in a speaker said.
“Nico, there’s no other option. I know they’re behind the attack.”
“Elio, listen to what he’s saying,” Gia says in a low voice. It’s more serious than I’ve ever heard here before, and the lack of her usual flippant attitude makes my stomach twist.
I hear Elio’s footsteps and flinch, ready to sprint away from the door. He doesn’t appear, however, so I scooch back over.
Elio’s muttering. I think he’s cursing… in Italian? I’m not nearly fluent enough to know what he’s saying, but it sends a chill down my spine anyway.
