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I remained calm. I don’t know what the hell happened with the sleeping pills, but she was awake now and there was nothing to be done about it.
“Noemi,” I said, stepping over the man’s body to get to her, “Bambina,” I said more forcefully as she backed away from me the closer I got to her.
“Oh, my God,” she cried out. “What happened?”
She ran back into the bedroom and quickly switched on the bedside lamp. We both blinked in the sudden brightness, but she ran up to me, trying to get past me through the doorway.
“Is he dead?” she asked. “We have to do something. He’s... oh, God, he’s bleeding. Dante? Why are you just standing there? Is he dead? You killed him?”
I wrapped my arms around her, preventing her from getting into the living room.
“You don’t want to see this, baby girl. Now, stop fighting me and listen. Noemi, stop,” I bit out as she continued to struggle in my arms.
“Get some clothes on,” I grated, pushing her further into the room.
“Seriously? That’s your reaction? Dante –”
I went to the closet and threw the first thing I found at her: one of my white dress shirts.
“Put this on,” I barked.
Fuck, I needed a minute. I didn’t have a clue how to handle this. I just needed a fucking minute.
“I know you’re upset,” I tried to placate her as she shrugged into my shirt and started buttoning it. “But you’re going to have to listen to me and do what I ask.”
Tears pooled in her eyes as she struggled with the shirt’s buttons. Her hands shook so badly, she couldn’t keep the buttons in her grasp.
“Fuck,” I growled, stripping the bloody gloves from my hand. I tossed them on the nightstand. Noemi jumped when I pushed her hands out of the way and started doing the buttons for her.
I didn’t know how to help her. I wanted to. I desperately wanted to do or say the right things, the things that would ease her fears and calm her body. But the sociopath that I was, I had no idea what to do for her. I took my time working through the row of white buttons, hoping that my calm exterior would rub off on her. That her breathing would slow down and match mine. That her heart would stop pounding, her eyes would lose their terrified glow, and she would surrender the situation to me and allow me to handle it all.
I leaned forward when I finished the last button. Kissing her forehead gently, I eased my arms back around her tense body.
“I need to clean up,” I said lowly. “I need you to stay calm, Noemi. I need to deal with this and I’m going to need you to remain calm so I can do that.” I tipped her chin up. “Can you do that, baby girl? Can you help me out?”
Apparently, I chose the right approach. Her eyes wide on mine, Noemi nodded quickly.
“Say it,” I reminded her. At that moment, I needed words more than ever.
“I’ll remain calm,” she whispered back. “Just... don’t leave me, Dante. Whatever you have to do, don’t leave me alone with...”
Tears started to fall down her cheeks. I traced the path with my finger. “I’m not going to leave you alone, baby girl. I’ll go into the bathroom. You can come with me, if you’d like.”
Taking her hand, I pulled her behind me as I went into the bathroom. Noemi followed me, standing awkwardly by the glass shower door behind us. She either responded magically to my calming words or she was in shock. I couldn’t tell which.
I turned on the water and grabbed the soap.
“How much of that did you see,bambina?” I asked, my gaze catching her frightened eyes in the mirror. I looked away, scrubbing the blood from my hands. There wasn’t much, just a little that had gotten onto them when I removed the soaked gloves. The black clothes I wore hid the bloody spots that covered me, but I could feel the wetness through the fabric.
“I... I don’t know. Him. I heard a noise. I woke up and I saw him standing in the doorway. One moment he was there, watching me, and the next, you were attacking him. I... I saw what you did to him.”
I nodded, carefully cleaning between my fingers as the pink swirled around the basin. I looked up to her again. “Didn’t you take the pills I gave you?”
Her brow furrowed as if she didn’t understand the question. “One of them. The other... fell on the floor. I couldn’t find it, so...” Her voice trailed off weakly.
I checked my hands, making sure there was no blood left on them, then I dried them carefully on the white towel from the wrack. I ignored Noemi. This part had to be right. There couldn’t even be a trace of blood left on my hands. I couldn’t let the terrified expression on Noemi’s face cause me to lose focus. She started to speak, but I waved a hand for her to be silent. She’d distracted me enough for one night. Her mouth hung open as she stared at me from the doorway.
I finished my ritual. I washed and then dried my hands... again. I pulled my shirt off, followed by my pants, then dropped them and the soiled towels into the shower. I washed my face and torso with a washcloth. Normally, I would have showered right away but there wasn’t time.
