AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I take one step back.
I told this man what drink I liked, and then Nero showed up and ordered that same latte.
They have to know each other.
It can’t be a coincidence that this man is here.
He knows Nero. Nero knows him.
They know each other.
I take another step back, my foot tilting in the high heels.
Ever since that very first night, when Nero walked into my apartment, I always felt him watching. Felt him nearby. And even when I doubted that any of it was real, it comforted me to feel like someone cared. Twisted or not.
But sending someone else to check on me… having this big intimidating man come to my place of work…
Panic and sadness press in on me, making it hard to breathe.
Sending someone else makes it all so different. So bad.
How could he do that?
How could he trick me like that?
It’s so stupid. So freaking stupid that it hurts my feelings. But so few people are nice to me. When this stranger asked what my favorite drink was, it… I don’t know. It was weird, but it was still someone else in this world asking a question about me. Making me feel interesting.
But that was another lie. This man, like everyone else, doesn’t care about me.
A tear breaks loose, slipping down my cheek.
Seeing my emotion, the man slows, and holds his hands up. It’s probably meant to be a disarming gesture, but displaying his large palms like that only reminds me how much stronger he is than me.
How much stronger Arthur is than me.
And Nero…
A sound of sorrow pops out of my mouth.
Why did he have to make me feel so safe?
Why did he have to shatter the illusion I lived in?
I hadn’t realized… I hadn’t realized how unsafe I’d felt for my entire, pathetic existence, until Nero barged into my life. Then he wrapped me in his arms, holding my broken pieces together, and I felt safe.Safe!
I wish I’d never known that feeling.
The man takes a step closer, and I blink, sending a whole cascade of tears tumbling free.
There are a dozen steps between us, but I keep inching back at his approach.
Something about his manner says he’s not just here to ask me to leave.
Which is when it clicks.
Nero is a mobster. And I bet this man is too.
My heart starts to pound even faster as fear surges up to match my sorrow.
