The devil you begged for

028

ISLA

~•~

After getting inside my room last night, I crashed immediately.

When I woke up, I realized I was still wearing the clothes that I was kidnapped and ambushed in. I quickly rushed into the bathroom to take a long shower, making sure I scrubbed away the feeling of those men.

I had hated seeing them being shot but the fact that they were dead made me feel better. They had several plans to r**e or sell me, whichever fit their mood the best. If they were still alive, there was a probability they would come back for me since they hated my family so much. The fact that they had watched me for so long was crazy. What would they gain from venting on me?

I shook those thoughts out of my head as the water slid down my body. They were gone. It was over. There was no need to keep thinking about them. I was back in Lorenzo’s house.

Lorenzo. The name echoed in my head.

I’d been so glad to see him. Hell, I’d been hoping he’d come save me. I held on to him so tightly when bullets were flying around. I refused to let him leave me alone when he wanted to. I was vulnerable in front of him.

It disgusted me.

How could I hold on to my family’s killer like that? I’d vowed to hate him, to kill him, yet there I was the previous day asking him not to leave me alone. I felt sick.

Had he successfully brainwashed me?

When I was done with my shower, I instinctively dressed up and went downstairs. Lorenzo liked having everyone together for breakfast. While I was hoping to avoid him, I didn’t want to bring his attention to me. It would be better for me to sit through breakfast and retire to my room after that.

I got to the dining area to see that it was empty. It wasn’t just empty. There were no dishes in sight. Frowning, I looked at the wall clock. It was ten o’clock. I’d missed breakfast already… and Lorenzo didn’t call for me. That was weird.

I walked further into the kitchen to see that Lorenzo was in there. He was sitting on a stool behind the kitchen aisle, typing on his laptop. It was morning but he was already dressed in a white shirt and black slacks. The sleeves of his shirt were rolled up to his forearms and the first two buttons were undone.

He glanced at me upon my arrival. “Good morning.”

I paused, trying to recall if he had ever told me that. I doubt he had. “Good morning,” I responded.

He nodded at the covered plates next to him. “You missed breakfast. Come eat.”

“Uh,” I looked at the distance between him and the food. “I’m not hungry.” I lied, knowing damn well I hadn’t eaten for more than twenty-four hours.

“Sit, Isla. I think we’ve established that you have to eat in my house.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. I knew Lorenzo by now. The less I wanted to do something, the more he’d make me do it. Not in the mood to play games with him, I sat down on the stool beside him and opened the plates. It consisted of toast, eggs, bacon, and fruit.

I picked at the bread silently, stealing a glance at him. He had shut down his laptop and all his focus was on me.

He stood up and I immediately focused on my food, pretending I wasn’t overly aware of his footsteps around the kitchen. I paused when I felt him behind me and when he leaned forward, dropping a glass of orange juice next to my plate, his arm brushed mine.

I instinctively shifted away, my muscles tensing. I’d held on to him so long the previous day that I didn’t want any more form of contact with him.

Instead of pulling away, he tilted his head slightly. I pretended not to see him looking at me. He was too close for comfort.

“Do I make you uncomfortable?”

“Yes,” I answered without thinking.

“Really?” He questioned as he finally pulled back. He sat on his stool again, then turned mine around so I was facing him. My breath hitched. What was this man up to this morning? “It didn’t seem so last night.”

My cheeks heated up, both at the embarrassment of being called out by him and at his implication of something dirtier. “Y-yesterday was an exception.” I stuttered out.

“I’d hope these exceptions happen more often.” He grinned, taking a sip of his orange juice. “Having you hold on to me felt good.”

My eyebrows furrowed. Was Lorenzo flirting with me?

Knowing Lorenzo, he probably wasn’t. He loved teasing and embarrassing me. This was no exception. I knew he wasn’t going to let me forget about yesterday. I turned away from him and stuffed eggs into my mouth, not wanting to respond to him. The more I did, the crazier things he was going to say.

He didn’t take his eyes off me. I could feel the weight of his stare pinning me down as I cleared my plates. It was the first time I was doing so in Lorenzo’s house because it was the first time I was going this long without eating. I was certain Lorenzo knew that too.

Eating his food felt like surrendering to him, but I had no choice. He was a monster but there were worse men out there, who didn’t have the same patience Lorenzo had. I didn’t intend to live with Lorenzo for the rest of my life, but I would stay until I was able to stand on my own, until I was certain I could evade kidnappers and fight against those who wanted me dead out there. For now, I didn’t mind using Lorenzo’s protection.

Lorenzo stood up before I could. He took my empty plates and kept them inside the sink. I wasn’t crazy, right? He was being nice to me today, wasn’t he? “Follow me.”

“W-what? Where?”

“Don’t you want your bag anymore?”

My bag. I’d almost forgotten about it. Without hesitation, I stood up and followed Lorenzo to his office.