DeLuca’s Claim

CHAPTER 4

Valentina’s POV

Today, the walk from the hospital felt longer than usual. By the time I got back home, my feet hurt so badly and my fingers had gone numb from the cold air. I took my keys out of my bag and fumbled with them for a while as my brain refused to co-operate with my movements.

Finally, I opened the door and was able to get in but the cold air hit me at once sending goosebumps along my skin.

“Great” The heater was just sitting there being useless as I rubbed my hands together and stepped into my apartment.

But I felt it as soon as I entered, the air brimming with an energy that only his presence was capable of filling the room with.

Walking further, I stopped because I came face to face with those same eyes, dark blue almost black, that had been haunting my thoughts ever since. They had a way of seeing through me and that was something I didn’t like.

He was sitting on my couch, he looked so out of place as his body took up space in the small living room. Looking relaxed and unbothered, he sat there like this was a normal thing to do and he was already looking at me as if he had been waiting on me.

“Valentina” he said my name so softly that if I wasn’t paying attention, I probably would not have heard him.

“What are you doing here?” I asked, my voice coming out sharper than I intended as I held on to my bag tightly.

He stood up slowly and said “I’m here to talk”

I laughed loudly but it was not one of amusement, “You break into my apartment and you say you want to talk?”

“The door was unlocked” he said it with such a serious expression that if I didn’t know any better I would have actually believed him.

“No, it wasn’t” I said as I looked him in the eyes.

He took in my appearance and I saw a ghost of a smile on his lips but it disappeared as quickly as it came.

As exhausted as I was at the moment, I pulled myself together and told him, “I don’t care what you have to say. Get out!”

For a few minutes, neither of us said anything as we just looked at each other.

“I haven’t said anything yet” he said calmly but there was an edge to it.

“I’m not interested” the curious part of me wanted to know what he had to say but the prideful part of me refused to listen.

“You should be”

“I’m really not” that came out sharper than I intended but I meant every word, “And I don’t care who you are, you don’t just get to walk into my home like you own it and start making demands”

“It’s not a demand. It’s an offer”

“I don’t want it”

He looked at me closely like he was just seeing me for the first time and then he said it, “I know she’s dying”

That hit something deep in me and I hated that he could simply say those words to me and they could crack something in me.

“Don’t” My voice came out smaller than it should have, smaller than I wanted it to.

“You go there every single day” He kept on talking, his voice measured but calm while something in me was breaking.

“Stop. You don’t know anything about me”

“You’re running out of time Valentina”

“I said enough” my voice didn’t sound like my own anymore.

“You don’t get to come in here” I said and I hated how my voice sounded, how I sounded so weak and fragile “And use my mother against me”

“I’m offering you a solution” he still spoke in an even tone which further annoyed me.

“No” I didn’t even think about it, “You’re looking for someone you can control!”

He grew tense as he looked at me like I caught him off guard. He clearly wasn’t expecting me to say what I did.

I held his gaze, “ I don’t belong to anyone”

“We’ll see” He said it like he was so sure of himself.

He reached into his pants pocket and pulled out a black card, placing it on the stool next to him and said, “If you change your mind”

“I won’t” I said in a firm tone

He smirked, “Everyone does eventually”

“Get out!” I snapped

As he left, the door closed behind him barely making a sound and I just stood there still processing the conversation I just had with him. The little space I called a home felt quiet and colder like he had taken whatever little warmth was left with him.

I simply looked at the card with disdain and went about my night routine trying to convince myself I wasn’t thinking about it, what he said and the card he left behind.

Laying down in bed, my mind wandered around. I finally had a chance to save my mom but it was at a cost obviously and what the cost was I didn’t know and I definitely wasn’t ready to find out.

Pulling the thin blankets over me, I drifted off to sleep as I suppressed those thoughts but it wasn’t a peaceful one.

The days after that passed by quickly as I buried myself in work and my visits to the hospital because the moment I stopped to breathe, my thoughts unconsciously went back to him and what was said that night.

While at work, the low buzz of my phone pulled me back as I saw it was an unknown number calling,

“Hello” I muttered softly

“This is the hospital. Am I speaking to Valentina Moretti”

It felt like my heart stopped for a few minutes before I replied,

“Yes”

“You need to come in urgently, we need to discuss your mother’s condition”

“Is she okay?” I asked in a state of panic, this was the first time the hospital ever called me.

“She’s fine, for now”

“I’ll be there soon” I hung up and approached the manager explaining my dilemma to him. He looked skeptical but after a few minutes, he finally let me go.

I didn’t recall packing my bags and making my way down to the hospital, my movements felt stiff.

Finally arriving at the hospital, I went to see my mom and noticed she was sleeping. Quietly, I left the room and went to see the doctor.

I gathered myself in front of the office before I picked up the courage to knock and heard a faint “come in”. As I pushed the doors open, I saw the doctor who asked me to sit and explained my mother’s condition.

“Her condition is critical” he said, “The least we can do for now is to stabilize her but she needs surgery within the next 24hours”

I looked at him as I felt my body tense up, where was I supposed to get the money for the treatment within 24 hours.

“24 hours?” I asked to be sure I heard correctly.

He nodded, “She needs surgery and without payment, we can’t proceed”

“Alright” And I left the office. As I sat in the waiting area I wondered where I would get the money from. I felt tears threatening to roll down my cheeks but I blinked them away.

Every part of me didn’t agree with what I was about to do right now but it needed to be done. My mom was running out of time and I was already out of options.

And so I went home, the card was still where it had been for days now. Putting my pride aside I looked at it for a while as I dialed the number.

On the second ring he answered,

“Valentina” He called out my name with that low voice of his like he had been expecting my call all along.

“I…I accept” My voice did not come out as strong as I wanted it to and it annoyed me to some extent.

“I know”

And just like that, the line went dead making me wonder what I just got myself into.

What will his offer be?