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"At least let me redress the wound," I pleaded, my concern drawing back to the blood on his shirt that was increasing gradually. "You're going to ruin that shirt."
"I leave in fifteen minutes, so you'd better be quick," he grumbled and went to fetch the first aid kit.
Chapter 4
The day passed by quickly, especially with me being alone. Alessandro was gone for almost the entire day and when he was back, he beelined straight into his room without even checking on me.
Okay. He's not supposed to. I agree. But what if something had happened to me? What if I had done something to cause him harm? Hide a gun...a knife...what if I secretly kept a weird pet? I didn't mind much though. I only heard him come in and peeped out of my room window to be sure it was him and not someone I'd need to take out with the knife I stole from the kitchen.
The entire day was uneventful. I watched all the seasons of 'Money Heist' – a series I had been yearning to watch but was never able to work out the time to - and found time to properly explore the house. It wasn't massive, but the rooms were spacious enough to fit in splotches of exquisiteness. There werethree inner rooms. Mine, Alessandro's, and another one. Both Alessandro's room and the third room were locked, preventing my curiosity from being fully satisfied.
I already sent an email to my workplace, informing them of the tragic event and they sympathized with me and gave me the next three days off. That was grossly unsatisfying, but it'll have to do. I went home to pick a few of my clothes, selecting the ones that made me look least wretched before hurrying back, not wanting to be in the oppressing atmosphere for so long. After playing some of the highest end games on his video game console - a customized PlayStation five - probably wrecking some of his game progress in the ones I was horrible at, I gave up, and went back to my room where I was stuck watching movies all night.
I didn't have many friends. Most of my high schoolmates felt threatened by my height and always put me through hell for it. I was called 'bigfoot' by most girls because I wore size ten and a half and 'Beanpole' by any guy I was taller than (which was a lot). It got so bad, that towards the end of the school year, a lot of my classmates had to ask me for my name to mention me in speeches.
They forgot my real name!
That being said, I didn't have anyone to text or call. Literally no one. Apart from my colleagues at work who had different lives all together and only considered me as an acquaintance, my closest friend was the bartender at the Fauxwood's club. And even he just knew my first name. Nothing more.
I didn't give a second thought about my loneliness. It always had been that way. I was the only child, only Middle Eastern kid in school, and the youngest employee. I never really fit in with any group and I didn't care. Why mope when you can spend time with dice, alcohol, and music?
My three remedies.
I don't need those now. As I lay inside my comfortable pit of fluff, the only thing on my mind was his face. His last look towards me was exasperation.Talk about dying unhappy. As I closed my eyes to allow my subconscious to pull me into the dream world, I already knew what I had planned for the next day.
Morning came brutally fast. Without remorse, my alarm blared incessantly, forcing me out of my comfort. It was set for my work time - six thirty a.m. Yes, I didn't get Sundays off, partly because my religious data permitted it. My off days were Friday and Saturday, Friday being that I'd take time for religious activities - which I never did - and Saturday my casual day off. This was a grail not a lot of staff enjoyed.
I thought I'd sleep in a little, but I figured I'd just make breakfast before that. If that was my contribution to the house, it was a small one. Too small to fuck up. Without even freshening up, I shuffled into the kitchen and began looking through the shelves for what to make. The entire place was fully stocked with food...a blessing and a curse. It took me a whole twenty-five minutes to wrap my head around what to prepare even though breakfast was supposed to be a simple meal.
"Just make toasted sandwiches-" I flew meters into the air and almost screamed my lungs off at the sultry morning baritone that struck the air so suddenly. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to startle you," he said.
"Jesus Christ, Alessandro! I almost had a heart attack!" I croaked, my voice not having fully recovered from the screech. My breath nearly hitched again in my throat when I gave him a glance over. He was shirtless. Not that I hadn't seen him before, but this time was different. My eyes worked now, without being under any form of tension and his body was tightening loose knots in my lower abdomen.
What is happening!?
"Well, you look very appealing too," he jolted me from my drool. "You were bending in that skimpy night dress, and I had a good view of everything that wasn't covered."
My hands instinctively flew to my butt, and I clenched the fabric around them, trying to pull down as much as I could even though they were shielded from his sight. I was relieved that I was wearing underwear and struggled to imagine what I'd have said if he saw me without them.
"Hmmm...braless too," he eyed my tits with a smirk. "Not bad. Not too big, but...like I said, not bad."
"What's wrong with you?" I gave him a puzzled look. His smile widened. "What's wrong, tigre? You can't handle a compliment?"
"Because it's just a compliment," I scoffed. I hugged my body tight, feeling the chill of the air conditioner, making efforts to expose more of my skin. He raised his arms in defense.
"Just a compliment, I swear," he laughed a little, revealing perfect white teeth. "Now, are you making those sandwiches, or do I? You're just going to have to teach me your recipe though. Girls are going to love it!" He shoved me lightly out of the way and began rummaging for the ingredients he thought we needed for the sandwich. It turned out he wasn't a bad chef at all. I only had to replace two spices that he brought out and add thyme to the seasoning combination.
When we were done, we ate the entire thing on the island in the kitchen instead of going to the dining room table because of Alessandro's impatience, but I didn't push it. I'd have used the sauce as a dip for the bread instead of going through the stress of turning it into a sandwich. I was that disorganized.
Alessandro left shortly after, to church as he claimed, and after a proper shower and some light prep, I went over to my planned task for the day. The state morgue.
I didn't stay too long there, because I got the information I needed to know soon enough. After providing valid identification as his daughter, I was told that the state had looked into his records and realizing that he was Muslim, they decided to give him a Muslim burial - which was to bury him almost immediately - along with a mass of others that had passed on around that period. The secretary had to reach into some "Municipal archives" he called it - to give me the location of my father's grave.
"Over a hundred and fifty fresh deaths are reported here every day, you know? If that doesn't unsettle you," he chuckled, "nothing will." He handed me the death certificate and made a photocopy before releasing me.
I thanked him and made my way out of the building, chills running down my spine at the revelation he gave me. One hundred and fifty deaths. That was just for the city of New York. What about the entire region? What about the entire country? I was filled with a sense of humility and gratitude for life thus far and as I headed for my father's grave, I pondered on how much I've taken for granted.
Getting to the cemetery took me a while, but I finally located the exact grave they said my father was. His tombstone was casually set, probably with the cheapest of materials. I wasn't even sure it was actual stone, something like glazed and properly polished wood. I was going to have to change it soon, before termites consumed the entire thing and I'd lose sight of my father forever. Thankfully, with the money Alessandro had given me, I would be able to build the best gravestone in this cemetery if I wanted.
