Finding Beauty in the Darkness

“Giovanni, where will you be guiding her?” Huh? Oh, right! The tour guide comment.

“To Italy,” I answer her, since Giovanni has apparently gone mute. He sucks in his bottom lip, as if he’s attempting to hold back a smile.

“Cecilia, this is Aria. She’s my guest. Aria, this is Cecilia—” Great! How nice of him to join in.

“His girlfriend,” Cecilia cuts him off. Oh, shit. His girlfriend? I’ve been sleeping in his bed—mentally undressing him—and he has a girlfriend. I mean, it’s not like anything was going to happen. After what happened with Weston and all those assholes, I have no intention of having sex any time soon, plus there’s the fact that he’s holding me here against my will and I might still have a boyfriend, although it’s been nine months since I’ve seen him. But there’s no harm in looking, right? Especially when it’s looking at that sexy-as-sin man. Shit! I’m doing it again. I can’t be thinking about someone else’s boyfriend like that.

That reminds me…I need to call Antonio. I’m assuming after almost a year of me being gone, he’s no longer my boyfriend, but I should still call him to let him know I’m okay. He and Amber must be worried. I wonder what happened to my dorm room, my classes? Did anyone report me missing?

“Hey, you okay?” Giovanni lifts my chin and rubs his thumb down my cheek. For a brief second, I allow my face to nuzzle his hand, then I remember he has a girlfriend and is holding me captive.

Moving back too quickly, I bump into the railing, hitting my side on the wood. “Oww!” I grab my ribs and close my eyes, trying to will the pain to stop. The throbbing is so severe, I’m nearly brought to my knees.

I feel a pair of hands holding me up and my eyes open. “I’m okay, you can let go of me. I got it.”

Giovanni looks at me confused, but doesn’t let go of me. “I think you should lie down. I can show you downstairs once you’ve rested for a bit.”

I look at Cecilia, and if looks could kill, I’d be six feet under. “I know my way back to the room. I can go myself. I’m sure you have Rome or whoever else following me around anyway.” I wave my arms around. “Stay here with your girlfriend.”

“I’m sure you can, and you’re right, they are around. But I’d rather make sure you get there myself.” Without saying a single word to Cecilia, Giovanni takes my arms and helps me back up the stairs to his room.

“Does Cecilia live here?” I ask once I’m back in his bed.

“Yes.” Giovanni sits on the bed next to me. It’s the first time he hasn’t sat in the chair.

“I can sleep in one of the rooms on the second floor. I feel bad taking over your room. Your girlfriend doesn’t seem too thrilled about it, either. You can just have your guard stand at attention in front of one of those rooms.”

Giovanni lets out a deep breath. “You aren’t sleeping anywhere else but right here, and Cecilia’s not my girlfriend.”

Huh. “Does she know that?”

Giovanni chuckles. “Yes, she does. She just thinks if she tells enough people otherwise, my stance on the topic will change.”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”

Giovanni smirks at me. “Why? You want to apply for the position?”

“What? No! That’s not what I meant.”

“I’m just joking,” he says between fits of laughter. “Plus, you’re like twelve years younger than me.”

“And I’m not even sure if I have a boyfriend,” I add. “Hey! Wait a second. It’s a proven fact, women mature ten years quicker than men. Technically, at thirty-one years old—”

“Thirty-two,” he cuts me off.

“Fine. At thirty-two…” I emphasize the two, rolling my eyes. “…you’re only twenty-two, which means you’re technically only a year older than me since I’ll be twenty-one soon.”

Giovanni’s entire body shakes with laughter. “If women mature ten years quicker, I think that means you’re technically thirty-one, putting you at a year younger than me.”

“Either way, we’re only a year apart.” I shrug.

“This supposed boyfriend of yours…”

“Antonio.”

“Antonio…Were you guys serious?”

“Yeah, I guess. I don’t know. It was mostly just hanging out. It’s hard to take anything too seriously while in college. Do you think I could borrow your phone to call him? And to call my best friend, Amber.”

Giovanni thinks on this for a moment. “Okay, but don’t say anything stupid, Aria, or you won’t be making any more phone calls.” He hands me his phone from his pocket after typing in a code to unlock it.

I first dial Antonio’s number, but it says it’s not a working number. Damn.

“Not in service.”

I dial Amber’s number, and after several rings, I hear her voice. “Hello?”

“Amber?”

“Oh my God! Aria, is that you?”

“Yes, it’s me!” Tears of happiness race down my cheeks.