painted in silence
1134 Words
Chapter 3
The pen shook in her hands, hovering just above the drawing canvas. She hadn’t drawn a single line in over an hour.
The picture in her mind wasn’t imaginary it was real.
Luca.
She didn’t even know if his last name was truly Del Toro or not, yet his face had followed her all the way home.
He wasn’t like other people who came to her studio. He was different. He wasn’t overly curious and carried himself with a sense of familiarity, though she was certain it was the first time she had ever seen him.
He was different so different it felt unreal. There was an air of superiority about him, from the way his footsteps echoed to how his body swayed as he moved.
But that wasn’t the most captivating part. It was the mystery that his silence exuded.
A man who thought deeply before every action.
And when he touched her… she could feel it. Heat. Danger. And an awkward familiarity.
Isabella turned towards the window of her apartment. From her place on the third floor, she could still see the light from her art studio at the end of the block. It looked so normal maybe even innocent.
But she knew better.
Words were going around that her studio was being used as a front for gangs. Still, it wasn’t just a normal meeting place. There was something that didn’t add up and she was determined to find out what.
But first, she needed more information on her crush.
She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply, letting the breath out slowly through her nostrils. Then she picked up her phone.
Luca Del Toro, find out about him.
The message read.
She prayed the results came back good and pressed send.
Placing her phone on the windowsill, she stared out over the city. Below, the world buzzed with lifebcars honking, sirens wailing in the distance, lovers holding hands beneath the moonlight.
Her phone buzzed.
A message came in.
Subject confirmed: Enforcer. Brimain Cartel. Tier 1. Lord Grenzo’s inner circle. Please be cautious.
Her stomach sank. Her fingers curled tightly around the curtain.
An enforcer?
She couldn’t believe it.
Her instincts had been right but this information raised more questions than it answered.
Why was he in her studio?
Why now?
Was he watching the gangs?
Or… was he watching her?
Worry pressed down on her chest. She turned back to the canvas her only form of stress relief.
She picked up a sharpened pencil. Her lines were slow. Deliberate. She wasn’t concentrating.
She was drawing to relieve stress.
This drawing was for remembrance.
The last time she was this drawn to someone, she had lost them to the mafia world.
I won’t allow that to happen again.
She wondered what Luca was doing right now.
The night air stung my skin as I walked out of the enclosed area called the Brimain compound, fenced and secured for only Brimain members.
I was going out for the second time today.
Sleep was not forthcoming.
Lord Grenzo told me to rest up, but after today’s incidents, how could I?
My mind wasn’t here.
It wasn’t on the cartel war about to erupt.
It was on her.
She made me feel so uneasy.
I had no right to drag her into this mess, but she lingered in my thoughts. Whenever I tried to forget her, I was reminded of her as if I had unfinished business with her.
I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t concentrate.
A drive always made me feel better.
I drove.
But my mind still wandered.
I was looking at the road in a haze. I might have shut my eyes for a moment, because suddenly I found myself on the street leading to the studio.
To heck with it.
I might as well just drive up to the studio and see if it’s still open.
I parked two blocks away. It was late, and I didn’t want to startle anyone.
I looked toward the studio.
Lights out.
They were closed. Most of the buildings around the area had their lights off, too, making the street dark.
Only a neon light from the studio faintly illuminated the street.
I saw a bench nearby and sat down.
From where I sat, I noticed an apartment window still lit.
Third floor left wing.
Curtains still open.
A figure bent over a drawing. She hadn’t seen me… but I had seen her.
It was Isabella.
My heart sank in relief.
I watched her.
There was a look in her eyes. A look of fear.
There was something she was afraid of.
And that look, it made me want to do everything I could to protect her.
But I was afraid.
Because I can only protect what I can control… and at this point, I don’t think Isabella Hernandez can be controlled especially not by me.
She had this aura of non-attachment, this emotional detachment that made me wonder what could be wrong.
I watched her for a few more minutes.
It was getting late. I was ready to start the drive back.
Then I heard a buzz coming from my coat pocket.
My burner phone.
I flipped it open, expecting to see Lord Grenzo’s number.
Instead, an unknown number stared back at me.
No one knew this number unless Lord Grenzo had given it away.
It had to be important.
The message read:
She is not who she seems. Be careful, Luca.
I glanced back at Isabella’s window.
She had disappeared maybe just gone to sleep.
But I was shaken by the message.
I couldn’t just sit there. I had to do something.
I got up, moving fast toward my car down the street.
At the end of the block, I saw figures.
Was I being watched?
I regretted parking so far away.
I saw my car in the distance I was so close to it.
Once inside the safety of my car, I texted back:
Who are you, and what do you want with Isabella?
Laying my head on the steering wheel, I struggled to make sense of what just happened.
The best I could do now was rest.
I drove back to the Brimain compound.
As I pulled through the gates, another message came in from the same number:
If she lives, you die. Stay away, Luca.
That made my heart pound harder.
Who was this?
What did they want?
I was more anxious now than before.
Still, I decided to let it go at least for tonight.
I had a mission. I had to be rested for it.
Back in my room, I quietly went through my bedtime routine.
As I lay down, my mind turned over all the crazy things that had happened today.
And slowly, I dozed off.
- Writer
