Crave

Chapter One Eliana (17) I watched the boys from my bedroom window with envy as they played football with their friends in the field below. And here I was. Stuck in my room because my mother believed girls had no need for fun. According to Mama, the only fun girls should have was dressing up and hosting tea parties—activities I only got to enjoy with the maids during their free time. Apparently, I wasn't allowed to have friends either. I hated being a girl. I never got to do the things my brothers did. Take Lorenzo, for example. Besides going to school, he was a member of the archery club and had won countless trophies. Papa always looked so proud whenever he brought one home. "My brave lion," he'd say. "You always know how to make me proud." Then there was Marco. He had held the position of best student in his class for as long as I could remember, and he was also the captain of the senior rugby club. Mika, my youngest brother, had recently landed the lead role in his school's upcoming recital. Mama was so excited that she'd spent the last week trying to choose the perfect outfit for the event. And then there was me. The only daughter of the Rinaldi family. Mama was always telling me how proud I should be to bear the Rinaldi name. But the truth was... I had never felt more trapped. While my brothers went to school every day, I stayed home. My lessons were taught by private tutors, and whenever I asked Mama why I couldn't attend school like everyone else, she'd simply say she didn't want me influenced by "uncultured girls." She always insisted it was for my own good. I sighed and stepped away from the window, fighting the familiar urge to climb through it and run. Instead, I walked toward my bed, intending to continue the romance novel Mika had secretly brought me. Then I heard it. Tap. Tap. Tap. A small sound against the second window beside my bed. It stopped for a moment before starting again. Someone was throwing tiny pebbles at my window. I pulled the blinds aside and looked out the window. That was when I saw him. Antonio Russo. The boy my brothers couldn't stop talking about. I recognized him immediately because Marco had spent the last few weeks telling us how Antonio had saved him after a group of guys had cornered him outside the university. Since then, the two of them had become inseparable, and my brothers invited him over almost every afternoon. Two weeks earlier, Mika had come into my room after school, as he always did. He took my hand and led me to the window with an excited grin. "There he is," he whispered. Marco had his arm slung over Antonio's shoulders while pointing excitedly at something in the clouds. Antonio looked completely confused, and I almost laughed. Then, as if he could feel someone watching him, he turned. Our eyes met. Everything around me seemed to disappear. I couldn't move. Not because he was handsome—although he certainly was—but because of his eyes. They were the most striking shade of blue I had ever seen. Like ice illuminated by sunlight. Like sapphires hidden beneath crystal-clear water. For what felt like forever, neither of us looked away. Then Marco said something to him. When Antonio didn't respond, Marco nudged him, breaking whatever invisible thread had connected us. I stumbled backward from the window, my heart racing wildly in my chest. I sank onto the floor, pressing a hand against my chest as if it could calm the frantic beating of my heart. "El?" Mika rushed over and knelt beside me. "Are you okay?" I forced a smile. "I'm fine. I just need to rest." He studied me for a moment before nodding. "Okay. I'll leave you alone for now." He leaned down and kissed my forehead. "Love you, El. I'll check on you later." "Love you too." He smiled before quietly leaving my room. Mika had always been my favorite brother. Not that I'd ever admit it out loud. Every afternoon after school, he'd sneak into my room to tell me stories about his day. Sometimes he'd even smuggle books inside just to keep me entertained. Leonardo and Marco loved me too, but they were usually busy with school, sports, or their friends. There was only a year between Mika and I. I was seventeen. Mika was eighteen. Marco was twenty. Leonardo was twenty-two. Antonio was twenty. A soft tap against the window pulled me from my thoughts. I looked up. Antonio was standing outside, one hand resting on the windowsill as he motioned for me to open it. I froze. What was he doing here? My room was on the first floor. How on earth had he climbed all the way up? I glanced nervously toward my bedroom door. If Mama found him here, she'd probably lock me away forever. Against my better judgment, I unlatched the window. Antonio gripped the windowsill and pulled himself inside with surprising ease, landing lightly on the wooden floor. The moment his feet touched the floor, he smiled. It was the kind of smile that belonged to someone who feared nothing. I stared at him in disbelief. This was the first time I'd seen him up close. The freckles scattered lightly across his cheeks were even more noticeable now, and his blue eyes weren't just blue. There were flecks of green hidden within them, like sunlight dancing beneath the surface of the sea. He took a slow step toward me. Then another. Before I realized it, we were standing only inches apart. He reached up carefully, brushing a loose strand of hair away from my face. His fingers barely grazed my skin. "Now I can finally see you," he murmured. His voice was low and smooth, carrying a confidence that made my pulse quicken. I blinked. "What are you doing here?" I asked, folding my arms across my chest. Instead of answering immediately, he studied my face with quiet fascination. "I came to see you." I frowned. "You climbed into my bedroom... just to see me?" A faint smile tugged at the corner of his lips. "I couldn't see your face properly from the ground." I stared at him. Surely he wasn't serious. "So you risked breaking your neck because my hair was in the way?" His smile widened. "It seemed like a reasonable decision." A laugh escaped before I could stop it. "No," I said, shaking my head. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard." "Maybe," he admitted. "But now I know I was right." "About what?" His smile deepened. He held my gaze without the slightest hesitation. "You're even prettier up close." Antonio reached behind his back. "I brought you something." He held out a single white lily. I stared at it in surprise. "How did you know lilies are my favorite flowers?" "I asked Mika." I couldn't help smiling. "He told me you loved them. I wanted to bring you a whole bouquet, but climbing up here with one flower was difficult enough." A laugh escaped my lips. "Well... thank you." His expression softened. "May I?" I looked at him, confused. "May you what?" He gestured toward the flower. "May I put it in your hair?" For a brief moment, I hesitated. Then I nodded. He stepped closer, carefully tucking the lily behind my ear. His fingertips brushed lightly against my hair before he drew his hand away. "There," he said with a satisfied smile. "It suits you." I reached up and gently touched the flower. "No one's ever given me flowers before." His smile faded slightly. "They should have." For a heartbeat, neither of us spoke. The silence wasn't awkward. It was peaceful. I found myself studying him the same way he had been studying me. "You know," I said, "you're very strange." A quiet chuckle escaped him. "I've been told that before." "I mean it," I continued. "You climbed into a girl's bedroom just because you wanted to see her face." "I know." "You don't think that's strange?" "I think it was worth it." Heat rushed to my cheeks. Before I could think of another reply, a voice echoed through the hallway. "Eliana!" Mama. My heart nearly stopped. I looked toward the bedroom door, then back at Antonio. "You have to leave." He didn't move. "Antonio," I whispered urgently. "Please." He finally sighed. "I suppose I should." I hurried him toward the window. "If Mama finds you here, she'll never let me leave this room again." He looked at me with surprising seriousness. "She won't hurt you." His words were calm and certain. "I won't let anyone hurt you." For a second, I believed him. Then he gently lifted my hand and brushed a kiss across my knuckles. "I'll see you again, Eliana." Before I could respond, he climbed onto the windowsill and disappeared into the afternoon sunlight. I rushed to close the window and pulled the curtains shut just as footsteps stopped outside my bedroom door. Taking a deep breath, I opened it. Mama stood there, studying me with narrowed eyes. Mama's eyes swept across my room before settling on me. "What were you doing?" she asked. My pulse was still racing. "I was reading one of the books Maria brought me," I replied, forcing my voice to remain steady. She watched me for another moment before giving a small nod. "Come with me." I blinked. "We need to choose a dress for Mika's recital." For a second, I thought I'd imagined it. "What did you say?" She raised an eyebrow. "I said we're going to pick a dress for the recital." A smile spread across my face before I could stop it. I threw my arms around her. "Thank you, Mama." She wrapped her arms around me, and for a brief moment, I felt like a little girl again. "I'm glad you're happy, malyshka." I closed my eyes. Mama loved me. I had never doubted that. She sheltered me from the world, sometimes to the point that I felt like a prisoner. Yet behind every rule and every locked door, I could always sense something else. Fear. Not fear of me... Fear for me. Whatever secret my parents were hiding, it was big enough to keep me caged for seventeen years. "That's enough," Mama said gently, pulling away. "Let's go and find you something beautiful to wear." "Yes, Mama." As I followed her out of my room, one thought lingered in my mind. I hoped my visitor had made it down safely.