Page 14 of Giovanni's Obsession

“I’m sorry you got messed up in this.” She says quietly.

I look over, trying to see her in the dark but not saying anything.

“I guess I should tell you about Scotty.” She sighs.

“It would be helpful.” I answer.

“If I tell you, will you tell me about you? About why you were there in the first place?” She asks.

I think over my words carefully before answering her. There’s quite a bit about my life that I can’t share with anyone. Only my brother understands how that works.

He got lucky when he found his Fiona. But she was born into a life that has its own secrets so she never pushes him for answers that he may not be able to give.

“I’ll tell you whatever I can tell you without lying. There are some things I will never be able to answer.” I say.

She seems to think it over for a few minutes before she says anything else.

“I think I can work with that.” She finally says. “I’m not sure where to start though.”

“The beginning usually works best.” I state and she snorts at me.

“Yeah, I guess it does.” I can hear her eyes roll. “My parents were...are... druggies. They have been since as far back as I can remember.”

She moves around in her seat as if uncomfortable. I’m not sure if it's from her injuries or from her story.

“They weren’t exactly bad parents but they weren’t present either. I should have left them when I turned eighteen but instead, I stayed to take care of them. They’re my parents. I didn’t want to know they were out on the street somewhere.” She shrugs.

“When I was twenty, my dad introduced me to Scotty. He was ten years older than me and really handsome. Or at least I thought so at the time. He took me out on dates and was always super sweet to me. I trusted him. I see that was a mistake now of course.”

I see her wipe her eyes as if tears are there. Not wanting to say anything that will make her stop talking but wanting to comfort her, I reach for her hand. Entangling her fingers with my own.

The feeling is foreign to me as I can’t remember the last time I willingly touched another person to offer comfort. I think I like the feeling though. At least with her.

“It was almost too late before I realized that he purchased me from my parents.” Her admission has my entire body tightening up like a spring ready to break.

“I stayed quiet about it at first because I was always being watched. He’s a rich man so it never dawned on me to ask a lot of questions about all the body guards.

But after finding out about purchasing me, I started to snoop in the files that I found in his office. I even started looking around the grounds more, especially in the places that I was told were off limits to me.

That’s when I found them. The girls. The girls I was unable to save. They all lost their lives because of me.” She sniffles, barely holding back her sobs.

“He did it to teach me a lesson. Told me that if I ever betrayed him, he’d do the same to me. I was so scared. It took me until the night before the wedding to that monster to get away. I can never go back. I won’t!” She squares her shoulders.

Loosening myself up enough so as not to scare her with the rage I feel bubbling just under the surface, I lean closer to her, lifting my hand to her cheek gently.

“I promise, you will never go back and he will never bother you again.” I whisper, trying to hide just how much I want to smash something.

She leans slowly towards me until her lips gently touch my own and I jerk back quickly.

“I’m sorry.” She says, both of us staring at each other. “Thank you for being here with me.” She lies back in her seat, turning towards the door.

I stay quiet, laying back in my own seat. She probably thinks I’m a freak for reacting in such a way.

Her small kiss was just a shock to me. Completely unexpected while not totally unwanted. Although she may be feeling some kind of way towards me right now since I saved her life, she may not still feel that way once she understands who I really am. What I’m capable of doing.

“We’ll talk some more tomorrow.” I whisper across the car but she stays silent.

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