The devil you begged for

031

ISLA

~•~

Driving myself again felt strange. It had been a long while since I drove and I didn’t feel confident driving but as soon as the engine started and I backed out of Lorenzo’s compound, I felt a bit better.

I couldn’t feel too good because every time I touched the wheel, I was reminded of the last time I drove. Back then, my life was still perfect. I had parents who loved me. I had an annoying but overprotective brother. It was crazy whenever I remembered how they all died overnight. It was even crazier knowing I also would have been dead if I hadn’t run so desperately that night.

As I pulled into the parking lot of my school, I came out of my thoughts. The place was buzzing with its regular chatter, reminding me once again that there was a normal world out there. Not everyone was stuck living with their enemy. Not everyone had their parents’ killer being nice to them.

Just as I was locking my new car, Sophia caught up to me. “Oh my! You’ve got your car back!”

I chuckled at her enthusiasm. “Why do you seem so happy about that?”

“I don’t know. It just seems like you’re slowly becoming yourself again. The past month and a few weeks have been very quiet for you.”

“Really?”

“Yeah, ever since your parents…” she trailed off. “You haven’t been yourself, which I understand why. Honestly…”

“You can say it,” I prompted her when she stopped speaking. Sophia had always been cautious around me since I came back to school after my family’s demise. She tiptoed around me, not wanting to offend me in any way, but I knew she didn’t mean any harm. Hell, she avoided even the littlest harm.

“I thought you sold the car for the funeral, which is why I didn’t ask about it. But it checks out since your family was very rich.” Her voice was soft and her tone was careful. “Anyway, I’m happy you’ve gotten it back.”

I swallowed hard, keeping my expression blank. Funeral. I didn’t have the luxury for that. “No. It’s still mine.”

Her lips pressed like she wanted to say more but she held back. She only nodded and that was it. This time, I didn’t tell her to speak. She could tell the atmosphere had changed but that didn’t stop her from linking her hand in mine as we got ready to go to class.

Then Ryan showed up. Loud as always, already grinning. “Would you look at that,” he nodded toward the car. “Princess finally got her ride back. What happened to your entourage? Don’t tell me they finally realized you don’t need protection when you can just run people over with this thing.”

Sophia rolled her eyes. “Don’t be an idiot.”

Both of them could see it but Sophia never mentioned the black tinted Sedan waiting for me all day long. She never mentioned the several men who accompanied me to and from school. I couldn’t tell if she wasn’t curious or if she just didn’t want to get herself involved in anything shady, whether it had to do with me or not.

Ryan laughed, entertained by himself. “I’m serious. You had like what? About four guys trailing after you every morning.”

I narrowed my eyes. The men barely came out of the sedan. At least, not when I could see. They mostly only opened the door for me and closed it and that only needed to be done by one person. How did Ryan know four men took me to school every day? “How did you know they were four?”

“I guess I’m good at guessing.” He shrugged. “Now that you’re all alone, should I be worried?”

“No,” my tone was flat as we started moving toward the building. “Don’t worry about me.”

He smirked. “Too late. I already am.”

I didn’t respond. I didn’t even look at him. I didn’t know if Lorenzo was still watching me or not but lingering too long around Ryan was going to put him in trouble. I didn’t know how long Lorenzo’s new attitude would last but I didn’t want to gamble with someone’s life while finding out.

The rest of the day passed quietly. When the last class ended, Sophia nudged my arm with a smile. “I’ll see you next week?”

I nodded.

My last stop was at my faculty advisor’s office. Since the big change in my life, I’d missed out on a lot of things and wasn’t on the same page as my team members. I was only tolerated because I was grieving. Since I wasn’t close with any of my team members, I went straight to the advisor so I’d know where to continue from.

The meeting ran for a while but when it ended, I was left feeling a bit relieved. Lorenzo claimed he wanted me to finish school properly. My project was the perfect excuse to leave the house frequently. It made me wonder if he was going to let me leave as much as I liked. If he actually trusted me to move around on my own.

On the drive back, my mind kept racing. With Lorenzo giving me a car, letting me drive alone, and not hovering around me, a part of me wanted to test it. Could I use this chance to escape and get away from him forever?

I gripped the wheel tighter. No. I couldn’t be careless. What if I encountered something worse than kidnapping this time? Maybe I needed to earn his trust in order to run away. I needed to plan properly. I needed to take it step by step. I didn’t want to fail for the second time.

I was certain that if I tried to run on the first day he gave me “freedom”, I’d be caught immediately. He claimed to trust me but I doubted that was the case. I needed to make him let his guard down. I needed his resources to be able to leave him. I needed to make use of his sudden change in attitude. If I betrayed his fake trust so soon, I knew I’d never be free from him.

When I got home, I walked inside to see Lorenzo in the living room as if he’d been waiting for me.

“Why are you late?” He asked without looking up. “Your last class ended at least two hours ago.”

My tongue poked the inside of my cheek. I’d almost forgotten he had my schedule. “I had to talk to a lecturer,” I answered honestly. If I needed his trust, I had to be a bit honest with him.

“Oh,” his gaze finally met mine. “I thought you ran away again.”

My grip tightened on the strap of my bag. The way he said it made it seem like I was some kind of petulant child.

As I stood there, he stood up and left without saying anything else.

I was about to play a dangerous game with Lorenzo but with the way he acted, I wasn’t sure that I could win.