CHAPTER THIRTEEN: WINTER
It's in moments like these that I understand why my brother turned to drugs.
Why let your demons trap you when you can smother them with psychedelics?
I roll over onto my side, pulling my knees to my chest. My heart is pounding in my chest and I wish I had something to just take the edge off. Weed, benadryl... something fucking harder.
I take a deep breath, staring at my window. It's early morning and despite what happened yesterday, I managed to sleep last night. The demons from my reality were replaced by the ones in my nightmares.
And now I have to get up and go to a job that I know nothing about. All I know is that it'll be later tonight and Enzo will be the one driving me to Delirium.
Enzo who I couldn't be more disappointed in.
Despite how many times I've reminded myself of who he is since I got here, it hadn't become extremely apparent until yesterday. Until he'd fixed me only an hour after he'd told me not to trust Vito because he'd fixed me if I became a problem.
The fucking irony.
I sit up, flipping the covers off and pulling up my nightgown. My knees are still sore, the cuts lathered in Neosporin I'd found on my dresser after my shower last night. There'd been bandaids as well, but I knew they'd only slide off of the curved surface while I slept so I hadn't bothered with them.
Giovanni is no doubt going to have me dressed in something slutty and revealing so how in the hell am I going to keep these cuts out of his view. Enzo and Maximo had both made it clear that I'd be the one punished if I told what happened.
But am I supposed to lie if he asks?
A sharp knock comes from my door before its swinging open and Enzo is filling the doorway. His gaze is hard as he looks at me, his hands folded in front of him. "Get up, it's time for breakfast," he says.
I think about rebelling, about staying in the bed to prove a point, but after yesterday, I have no doubt that he'd have no problem dragging me out by my curls.
I swing my feet over the edge of the bed, the silk of the gown falling over my legs. This outfit is a little more modest than the usual, the thin spaghetti straps the only revealing part, leaving my shoulders and my upper back out. I slide my feet into my slippers and wordlessly, I follow Enzo out of the room.
I can't help but to survey him, noticing that his body somehow seems to be even tenser than before. He doesn't look at me and when we make it to the bottom of the steps, I'm about to say something just to kill the silence.
That is, until he appears.
Maximo steps into our path at the bottom of the stairs. His hands are tucked into his suit pockets, his hair wild, and his smile ferocious.
"Well hello there, mouse," he says, his eyes trailing over me from head to toe.
I remain frozen, my heart rate spiking in my chest as a lump forms in my throat. His smile widens and I draw in a shaky breath, reaching out to grab onto the railing as my knees go weak.
"Now, do you really want to run away from me after what we shared yesterday?" he asks, stepping on the first step.
I back up and nearly go stumbling, my foot almost missing the step behind me.
"Maximo," Enzo says, his voice low but sharp.
Maximo turns his head to the side slightly, glancing at Enzo. His lips twitch. "Yes, Enzo?"
"Stop." I can't tell whose side Enzo is actually on considering just yesterday he was covering up what Maximo did to me. But I can tell from his voice that he's serious and is at least attempting to get Maximo to back off.
Maximo lets out a short laugh, shaking his head. His eyes are bright but there's an edge of danger that seems to lurk just beneath the surface as he continues to stare Enzo down. "Really? Why would you want me to do that?" he asks, his voice dropping an octave.
Enzo's shoulders tighten and he glances at me briefly. "Stay," he says before finishing the trek down the steps until he's standing a stair above Maximo. Even with him being higher up, it barely brings him to eye level with the taller man.
I bite down on my lip, watching them, prepared to run if it looks like Maximo is going to get around Enzo. I don't care what the punishment may be, I refuse to sit here and let him take charge of my body again, not without at least trying to get away.
Enzo says something too low for me to hear, leaning in closer to Maximo. Maximo peers around Enzo and the grin is no longer on his face, replaced by a bored, unimpressed look. He folds his arms over his chest before returning his gaze to Enzo. His reply is just as low and then he's letting out a humorless laugh that cracks through the air like lightning.
Every hair on my body stands on edge.