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“...You really think so?”
“Your father may have tried to poison your garden, Antonella, but he can’t stop spring coming around again.”
I smile at the words. “That’s beautiful,”
“It’s a bastardization of one of my favorite poems by Neruda.”
“You read poetry?”
“I do. I love it. It helps me think in ways that I otherwise wouldn’t.”
I can’t help but find him completely fascinating. With each new turn that comes up, he surprises me more and more.
I sit up slowly and look down at him. “Thank you for believing in me.”
He lifts himself up onto his elbow, shoving a hand into his pocket and pulling out something shiny.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted it, but I had it cleaned and sanitized for you.”
I hold out my hand, surprised to see him place my mother’s wedding band onto it.
“I think you should keep it,” he tells me. “It will mean more if you have it than your family. You deserve to not feel shame anymore, Nella.”
My heart beats hard in my chest, the gesture so sweet along with his words. I move it around in my hand, the familiar glint of gold barely visible in the darkness of my room. I sigh to myself and place it back into his hand.
“Take it for now. It feels too heavy for me to carry.”
He nods, putting it back into his pocket for safekeeping.
“Go to sleep, Nella.”
I nod and sink back down into my bed, grateful for him pulling my covers up to my face and tucking both me and Leo into bed. There is a soft pressure on my forehead, a kiss, before he leans back and lets me sleep.
CHAPTEREIGHTEEN
Iget a call from my informant to meet me at one of our drop locations at a nearby park as soon as the sun is up.
I leave Nella alone in her bed, finally sleeping soundly and hopefully recovering from what happened last night. I hope that she is able to dream of something soothing.
I catch Ava as I’m heading out, giving her a rundown of my plans while also strictly ordering her to make sure Nella eats and is taken care of while I’m gone. I know that I don’t exactly need to lecture her about this, but I feel the need to reiterate it. Especially now with Nella’s mental state being so fragile.
Ava rolls her eyes at me. “Yeah, I got it. Listen, could you give our informant a message for me?”
I raise a brow. “What?”
Ava smirks and winks an eye at me. “‘Hey.’”
I stare at her. What the hell is wrong with her?
“...I’m not going to do that.”
“Just the wink, then.”
“Goodbye, Ava.”
Rolling my eyes, I head out the door before my cousin can disturb me with more of her ridiculous flirting techniques. I didn’t need to know what she got up to while I was away, especially if it meant her flirting around with our informant for her own sheer entertainment while I wasn’t looking.
The thought makes me wrinkle my nose.
