AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That feels so much better.
“Antonella Ambrosino.”
I jump, startled at the sound of a man’s voice greeting me inside of the women's restroom.
I look over to where the doorway leading out to the restaurant is, spotting a man I don’t recognize standing there. I back up a little, feeling my back come in contact with the wall behind me.
He’s tall, almost as tall as Killian. Filling up the entire space of the entryway with his broad shoulders. He’s dressed like a stereotypical tourist, complete with the ‘I Heart Chicago’ t-shirt and printed boardshorts.
A tourist?
“I have a message for you from your father.”
I feel my blood run cold.
He pulls out a small black velvet box from the pocket of his board shorts and sets it on the counter. He gives me an expectant look, nodding down to the box while folding his hands together in front of him.
My heart pounds. Slowly, I step away from the wall and grab it with shaking hands.
“Um… thank you.”
He doesn’t say anything more to me. Simply turns right around and heads out the same door he’d followed me through. I take in a slow breath and look down at the box. There is a small card taped to the front of it that reads: ‘come home to mommy’.
I quickly head back out to our table.
I’m scared of what I’ll find inside of it. Would it be a threatening letter or a declaration to never come home? Both options bring tears to my eyes.
When I collapse back into my chair, Killian immediately grabs my hand. “Nella? What’s wrong?”
I set the box down on the table between us. “M-My father… sent this.”
“What?” Killian stands and looks around the restaurant, his fist clutching the napkin he’d had in his lap.
“He’s not here… He had someone give it to me when I was in the bathroom.”
Killian looks back to me, bending over the table. “Who?” he says.
I shake my head. Even if he were to gather every man up in the city in order to do a line-up, I doubt I’d be able to pick the man out. He had looked too generic to stand out. Exactly how my father liked it.
“Look at the card, Killian.”
He glances down at it, his eyes running over the words a few times.
“You don’t need to open it.”
He reaches out his hand to take it off the table, but I grab his wrist, preventing his fingers from grazing over the lid. “No.”
“Let me open it, then. You don’t need to see what’s inside of it.”
I shake my head and grab the box with my other hand, sliding it over to my side. The words on the front haunt me. Has my father gotten my mother to send me something threatening in his stead?
The pit of anxiety in my stomach tells me,no, that this is much worse than a simple threatening message.
“Nella,” Killian says gently, pulling a new chair out beside me. He sits, knocking his knees against mine while putting a hand on my shoulder. “You don’t need to do this.”
I ignore him. I need to know what’s in there.
I pull the card off of it, seeing a small ribbon wrapped around it from underneath. My fingers shakily pull at it, unraveling it from around the square with a simple tug that takes barely any effort.
