Someone Else

Chapter 5

I run around the neighborhood in a white sports bra under a grey oversized shirt and black joggers.

My breathing is still steady so push myself to run faster. Faster. Faster.

"You look like you're running from the devil." A deep male voice says.

I almost scream and skid to a stop, the guy stopping next to me. Oh sweet Jesus. "You nearly scared the s**t out of me!" I yelled.

He grins. "Good thing you're wearing black pants."

Is this guy serious?

I size him up. 6'4, male, dark hair, olive skin, blue eyes. Italian and hot. He's arrogant so I don't like him. "You're ridiculous." I said, starting to run back home.

He follows me and I sigh.

"Why are you following me around?" I asked, barely keeping my irritation under wraps.

"You're beautiful." He said. Oh he must love himself.

I glare at the sidewalk and push my legs faster until I feel the burn starting to creep in. He's so tall, he easily keeps up. "Stalking people is a felony in all 50 states."

"I'm just basking in your glow, princess." He said.

Christ, there's no getting rid of this wanker. "So what's your name?" I asked. Might as well be civil.

"Matteo Luciano, at your service." He answered with a grin.

I look at him and frown. "You look very proud of yourself. Why is that?" I asked.

"I have a lot of things to be proud of." He answered, his mood suddenly changing.

When his lopsided grin is gone, he looks like he has a secret he's hiding. A secret that could destroy him. I can see past his façade like peeking through a magnifying glass.

We all have our secrets.

"You're new to this neighborhood." I stated.

His eyebrow arches. "Good guess."

"Luciano, Luciano, Luciano." I mumble. "I know about men like you. The men I should stay away from."

"Is that so?" He said under his breath.

I laugh, he's so easy to manipulate, it's adorable. "How old are you, Matt?"

"Twenty two. And you?"

"Ooh, you're jogging with a seventeen year old, I'm afraid." I teased him. "Where's your house? I'll send over some brownies."

He grins again. I like it when he smiles, he's got very cute dimples. "7710."

"I'm 7700, the name's Amelia Shackler but you have to come up with a nickname for me." I said.

"Princess. Yes, that fits." He said, looking ahead. "And there is your castle."

We're here already? "How about your family comes over for dinner? As a welcome to the neighborhood, I'll cook tonight."

"I'll ask them. Can I have your number?" He asked.

I hand him my phone and he unlocks it and saves his number before calling it. I go home and wave to him as he runs off.

One new friend, Matteo Luciano, the moody mysterious villain to my heroine. I take a quick shower and go to my dad's office where he's reading over some paperwork.

"Hey, dad, some new people moved in ten houses down, can we invite them over for dinner?" I ask him.

"Sure. How many are coming over?"

Damn, I didn't think to ask. "I don't know. I'll bake something and bring it over to count."

"Ingenious." He said.

I pass mom and tell her what I'm planning, she bakes some cookies as well.

"So this Matteo guy, do you like him?" She asked as the trays go into the oven.

I cringe. "I have a boyfriend. Plus, Matt is five years older." I pointed out.

"I meant, is he nice." She said, laughing.

Nice? He disturbed my run and followed me around. "Yeah, he's an angel." I answered.

When the timer goes off I take everything out and let them cool on the kitchen island.

"Should I go along?" She asked, leaning her shoulder against mine. She sounds smug about something.

"I'm going over there to count heads and then I'll report back, they'll be here tonight. What should we make?"

She makes a 'hmm' sound'. "Indian? Or maybe Chinese?"

Maybe I should bring up a Peking duck recipe. "Can you go buy three Peking ducks and a pack of Chinese spices?" I asked.

"Right now?"

"The ducks will take three hours to cook, at least." I answered.

She sighs and gets her key from the ceramic bowl that we keep in the kitchen for some reason and goes down to the garage.

I text her some more things I'll need and I pack everything in a large sheet of cheese cloth in a gift basket I received when the team got second place at the finals.

Yes, the best performance of my life. It left me sore for weeks afterwards. I'm so glad we don't have to go back to practice until two weeks before Junior year starts.

7710, right? Yeah. I walk over, thinking about what I might find. What if it's a family of 10? Three ducks definitely won't be enough. We'll need at least 6.

The Luciano house is just as big as mine and I sigh in relief. Bigger family, bigger house, right?

I ring the doorbell and Matteo answers. "I brought the brownies! And my mom made cookies too!" I said, smiling.

He looks down at something and I follow his gaze...to my bare feet. "Oh." I said, frowning. I'd forgotten shoes.

He grins. "Please come in."

I dust off my feet and step in. His house is pretty neato, more decorated than mine. There are pictures on the walls of foreign places, a family portrait. It seems he has an older brother.

Well crap, we need another duck. Wait... 1,5 is enough for a family of three... Yup, another duck for all these full grown giants.

I quickly text my mom and tell her to bump that up to four and she sends a thumbs up emoji. Crisis averted.

"What are the ducks for?" He asked over my shoulder.

"A big surprise." I said, shoving my phone in my pocket. "Is that your older brother?"

"Yes, he's a bastard though." He said sounding amused. "He's coming too."

I thought as much. "Where are your parents?" I asked.

"They're out buying some random s**t, maybe an island."

I giggle and hand him the basket.

He tries a brownie and smiles. "These are really good."

I snigger. "You should try my weed brownies." I whispered.

He coughs and covers his mouth with his hand. Huh, I guess he doesn't laugh around other people a lot. "Is that on the menu tonight?"

"No, unfortunately. I'm out and the usual supplier is AWOL." I admitted. "Oh well, no weed dessert for any of us."

"You are not what I expected, Princess." He said.

I get that a lot. "Do I look innocent?"

"Very. You're like pop rocks. You look like a sweet pop of flavor but then you explode when pressured and moist."

I cringe when he said the m word and he laughs again. "Show me around then, where's your room?"

"Why are you rushing to get up there?" He asked, his tone suggestive.

"Seventeen year old. I'm curious."

He takes me upstairs and I see four doors on either sides of the stairs. His room is the last door on the left.

Bed in the far right corner, a huge flat screen TV on the wall across the bed, a desk, black swivel chair, walk in closet and bathroom. The walls are bare, everything is super clean, how odd. I wonder where he actually lives, he's obviously just staying here for the summer by the looks of the suitcase on the desk.

"You live in New York?" I asked, snooping through his drawers.

"Yeah." He answered, watching me from the doorway. He's not hiding anything. I find his old highschool books in here and look at his handwriting. Holy s**t, that's really sloppy.

I chuckle and take a pen and fix an equation he did wrong. "It's x to the power of three, not two." I said, showing him.

He grins. "Whoops?"

"Where'd you go to college?" I asked. Rich family, I can guess where.

"Harvard."

And I was right. Then again, I'm rarely ever wrong. "Tell me about yourself, Matt. What movies do you like? What games?"

"Horror movies and I don't have time to play games." He answered, eating another brownie.

How boring. I want to ask what his major was and what he does now, but I'm not particularly interested in that. "What's the family business?" I asked instead.

"Hotel chain, an airline, some clubs."

Oh so he's rich rich. I'm surprised this house isn't three times larger. The Shacklers have a oil mining company. "Show me your brother's room." I said, taking a bite of the brownie he's eating. Ooh, these are really good.

He looks at me curiously, like he's digging into my soul. I strip my facial expressions and blink up at him, waiting.

He mumbles something in Italian and leads me to the room right across from his. It's exactly the same except the drawers are completely empty and there are dirty clothes on the floor. "Oh, a revolver." I said, taking a gun out of the gym bag thrown on the bed. I check the chamber and see it's full.

"You know about guns?" He asked, looking at me with an unreadable expression.

"Not at all." I answered, taking one bullet. "Can I keep this as a souvenir?"

His lips part but he just nods. "Tell me about yourself then."

"I'm Amelia, I love reading and writing, mostly romance. I like war, action and romance movies." I said, tucking the bullet into my pocket. "I'm obsessed with shooter games and designing houses. And I'm an all-star cheerleader with a bunch of medals, taking 3 AP classes. My IQ is 135 and people say I'm weird."

He smiles a real smile, not his usual arrogant grin. "I have to agree with people." He teased.

"There's also that I'm a great people reader."

"Oh, yeah? Read me then."

I grin. "You have a dark secret, Matteo. An all consuming secret that you don't share with anyone. You crave real affection and yet you're completely untrusting of everyone. Especially your brother." I reach up and touch his cheek and he doesn't pull away. I'm right.

He's shocked. His whole body is tense, and his expression has turned dark.

Suddenly I'm pinned against the wall. "Who are you?" He demanded. My heart is racing and color rushes to my cheeks.

"I'm Amelia." I answered, keeping my breathing steady.

"No, I don't think so." He growled. "You have a secret too, don't you? Something in your eyes in calculating, scanning everything around you."

And? "What do you want to know about me, Matt? What do you think I'm hiding?" I hold his gaze and he squeezes my wrists above my head. He wants me to be scared but I'm not.

"Your eyes promise mischief." he mumbled, searching my face for something.

He has nothing, he doesn't even know what to insinuate. I know his family's secret, I know the name Luciano. He's dangerous and I've always been attracted to danger, like a moth to a flame.

My phone rings and I raise an eyebrow. He lets me go and I answer it.

"I got the things! Let's start cooking!" Mom said excitedly.

"Okay, I'll be home soon." I said, hanging up. "Dinner calls."

He is breathing heavily, I'm sure his blood is boiling with rage. It's not smart to taunt the gangster, but I know he won't hurt me, I'm the only one who can see him.

I go downstairs and let him open the door for me. I give him a hug before leaving and I turn back to see him smiling, watching me leave.

He's bipolar probably. That makes both of us then.