Break All Ties

Chapter Six

Three years ago, there was no denying that I was a different person. I was younger and lost. But I didn't have to change. I didn't have to be completely different to not be the same. I was older now, and I'd learnt more.

That didn't mean that I couldn't grab the bull by the horns. It didn't mean I had to deal with everyone else's shit either. I could speak up and stand my ground without being worse off for it.

Arguing with Assante and speaking my mind had been refreshing. It was like a weight had been lifted from my shoulders. Like I'd been set free.

In his sleep, Assante was the same as I remembered him. I knew he was sleeping because his breaths were even, but his eyes were darting beneath his eyelids. He slept on the left side of the bed, facing the door.

He'd never told me what his nightmares were about, but with my knowledge of his life, I was sure I could hazard a guess.

He had- however- grown more restless over the last three years. I was sure that was a result of prison. With thin cell walls, I was sure he could hear the trauma and distress of other inmates twenty-four seven.

It was strange how much we both must've changed and yet we were exactly the same people.

He still made me feel weird.

He had his gun out on the bedroom table, just within his reach in case he needed it.

I caressed a finger down his brow, frowning. If I closed my eyes, I could pretend to be eighteen again and pretend that I had it all together.

There was still that uncertainty with him being here.

Why was he here? I knew he wasn't here to stay. Someone like Lorenzo Assante was bigger than this life. He belonged in mansions, drinking expensive wines and driving pricey cars. He was death and danger rolled into one. My two bedroom house in a normal, peaceful town wasn't what he was here for. It wasn't his life.

The not knowing was making me uneasy.

And yet he spoke as if he planned to stay.

I couldn't wrap my head around it. I couldn't wrap my head around this either.

He was just sleeping. In his sleep, there was nothing to stop me from doing as I pleased. I could call the police- I could do anything and he'd be none the wiser.

I stayed awake for most of the night. A minute before my alarm was due to go off, I turned it off and slipped out of the bed, wincing when the cold bit at my skin. Constant heating was expensive, so I went without.

By the time my feet touched the ground, his gun was off safety once more. I knew he had it trained on me.

"Where are you going Bellezza?"

"You can put the gun away. I'm going to the bathroom."

Groggily, he muttered something about me getting back in bed, but I didn't listen.

For my mental state, it was probably better if I pretended he wasn't there.

I could hear the pitter patter of his footsteps following me to the bathroom, accompanied by his groans as he struggled to wake himself up.

"You can go back to bed," I told him. "Or you could use the spare room like I initially said, where you can sleep without my noises annoying you."

"Your noise is better than their noise," He said ominously. "I'd rather hear your sleep whispers than the screaming and yelling of petty thieves and dickheads. Will you report me for that too?"

I pretended I hadn't heard him and slipped into the bathroom. I caught a glimpse of him in the mirror, blinking against the light, rubbing tiredly at his eyes.