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CHAPTEREIGHT
Aurelia
The black skyis alight with thousands of glittering stars and there is no noise around apart from the soft sound of our feet on the boardwalk as I follow Isaac and Luca to the Morrison villa—the place I’m going to live for the next fourteen weeks. Chuck was livid when I called to tell him about the new arrangement, but at least he agreed not to tell Mom about the threat. Neither of us want to have to deal with another one of her emotional breakdowns.
We reach the door and Isaac swipes it with a key card. We all go inside. Bright lights come on automatically and Isaac gives a command for them to dim. The villa is deceptively spacious and has every top-spec appliance I could possibly need. The far wall is made entirely of glass and all I can see beyond it is blackness and sparkles, from the sky and the reflection on the water. A tranquil calm soaks into my skin and I let out the deepest sigh of relief in a long time. A few weeks in this place and I won’t need my therapist or my masseurs ever again.
“This is heavenly,” I breathe out.
Isaac and Luca glance at each other. “It really is,” Luca says. “We’re so lucky to see this every day, but when we see someone else taking the view in for the first time it reminds us just how special it is.”
“It’s not just the view though, it’s the villa, the quiet, it’s everything.”
No one says anything else. Isaac and Luca busy themselves testing cameras and monitors while I press my nose against the glass and breathe. For the first time in forever, I feel like I have space and freedom. It’s ironic because I’m actually being hidden away in a remote part of Florida, a boat being my only true means of escape.
“Ok, I think that’s everything,” Luca announces, facing both Isaac and me as we stand in the shared living area. “I guess I’ll head back to the dorms. Just let me know if you need anything else, Isaac, I’ll bring it over.”
“I got everything, but thanks.”
“Night,” Luca says as he lets himself out, leaving me and Isaac alone.
“Thanks for doing this,” I say to Isaac. He looks up and seems to notice me for the first time since we left the concert hall. Until now, he’s been all business, talking on the phone to organize the shipment of my stuff, shift changes so he can take breaks, new security devices for the villa. He was focused and efficient, and such was his fair, no-bullshit tone, people bent to his will. Even Luca, who I gather is a close friend as well as a colleague, moved quietly around him, checking Isaac had everything he needed, asking if there was anything else he could do to help. Isaac was juggling a ton of balls without barely moving his hands.
Something stirs in my chest, catching my breath. Nerves are a part of my job. Stage fright is a very real thing I’ve had to confront, and continue to confront with the help of my therapist. So, nerves have become second nature and I rarely notice them anymore. But, being alone in a room with a man who commands such attention and respect with very little effort is making me very much aware of them.
“You can retire to bed if you want,” I offer. “You don’t have to stay up for my benefit. I’m just going to look at the stars a while longer, then I’ll go to bed myself.”
“I don’t sleep a lot,” he says. “Perils of the job. Would you like some company?”
I hesitate, then smile. “I’d like some quiet, actually. But company is good too.”
“I can be quiet,” he replies. “Let’s go on the deck.”
He leads the way out through a sliding glass door and pulls back a chair for me to sit. Then he pulls out a second chair but sets it a little away from me. “I won’t crowd you,” he smiles, before sitting.
We sit in silence and at first it’s painfully uncomfortable. It’s human nature to want to fill the space, but I push through it. Once I’m out the other side, I feel like I can breathe more freely than ever before. I’m alone and quiet in my own space, with another person beside me allowing me that freedom. I sneak a look at him out the corner of my eye and he appears to be somewhere else. He’s leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees, looking out at the sea with the slightest of frowns resting on his brow. Every now and then, his eyes flick to the west, and he lets out a shallow breath.
“I really appreciate this,” I whisper, and he whips his head around, bursting out of his trance. “I know you’ve got a life and there was a lot more to your job before I came along and bought all your time. So, I just want you to know, I appreciate it.”
He looks resigned when he answers. “There’s nothing to appreciate. Thisismy job. It was my idea to bring you here, to this villa. I could have left your stepfather’s security to handle everything outside of the Key, but that’s simply not how I like things. I don’t work well with other security teams. I don’t trust anyone else, and this threat demonstrates exactly why I don’t. If I’d been your twenty-four security before this, that threat would have never reached you. You are not safe anywhere but here. As I said, I don’t sleep a lot, but knowing you’re here will make the small amount of sleep I do get a little easier.”
“Why don’t you sleep a lot?”
“I don’t know,” he shrugs, looking down at his feet. “Never did. Even as a kid.”
“Man, I’m envious. I need a lot of sleep. Otherwise I can’t perform, and my voice goes all cranky. And so do I.”
“I find that hard to believe,” he says, smiling.
That weird flutter returns and I realize it’s the third time I’ve felt it this evening. “Just wait ‘til you get to know me,” I laugh. “I’ll ask you again in a couple months.”
We both turn to look out at the sea again, and the silence stretches, more comfortably now.
“Did you like the show?” I look sideways at him. I want him to say yes. I don’t need him to be a fan, or a sudden convert to pop music, but I do want him to have liked what he saw and heard.
When he faces me, his smile is wide. “Are you kidding? It was amazing.”
“Really?” I can feel my face reddening and I’m thankful we’re sitting in darkness.
