Under My Skin

Chapter 6

Hours passed before the door opened again. To comfort myself, I curled up in the corner. I held my legs against my chest to be as small as possible. 

With exhausted eyes, I watched as a team of strangers in workman's jumpsuits retrieved the body. Out of the team of four people, one scrubbed the floor, two carried out the body, and the third fixed the damages on the chair. Enzo entered while the team cleaned. He looked down at me with unappreciated pity.

"Let's go." 

Enzo dug his hands into his pockets as a sign of his sudden goodwill. I shook my head.

"It wasn't a question, Miss Lucia. I won't allow you to sleep in here tonight, or ever."

I didn't move. Instead, I looked past Enzo as the blood mixed with the soapy water into an unsettling rust color. My body swayed to the sound of the brush scraping the floor. The small room reeked of bleach, which made my nose itch.

Enzo pulled his hands out of his pockets and sighed. He gazed up at the ceiling before closing his eyes in a moment of silent prayer.

It was quick. Enzo leaned down towards me, and I flinched. He hesitated at the sight but did not stop. He picked me up, although I tried to roll away from him. To be fair, I was far too exhausted to make any notable movements.

As he carried me out of the concrete room and up the stairs, I scowled at his stupid and sexy face. None of this was legal. None of it was right. My mouth tasted like sin and agony. I wished I would throw up just to make it go away.

"You're pouting like a child," Enzo commented in that excruciating and annoying tone of voice.

"I hate you."

"Most people do." 

Enzo's voice trailed off. Loneliness hid behind his blank expression, and for a moment, I could sympathize. For a moment, I did not feel fear as I was trapped in his world. However, it returned as quickly as it disappeared.

On the second floor of the house, we entered his bedroom. He placed me on the edge of the bed. I flinched as he tugged on the hem of the sweatshirt I wore.

His eyes met mine in an earnest moment, "You need to clean up. There's blood on these clothes and your face."

"I'm not wearing anything under this," I muttered and looked past him at the window. As tears welled in my eyes, I prayed that he possessed an ounce of mercy in his body.

Thoughts flooded Enzo's mind as he hesitated. He decided to grab a t-shirt and shorts out of the closet and hand them to me. I held them on my lap without any intention of changing. 

In the bathroom, Enzo fetched a face cloth and rinsed it in warm water. He crouched in front of me and wiped the blood from my face. He took great care removing every splotch. Enzo cleaned the tiny cuts on my bottom lip from my teeth. 

"I shouldn't have brought you down there. I lost my temper. I'm sorry."   

Then, he left and I crawled under the comforting blankets.

In the morning, I changed into the clothes Enzo gave me. No one came to greet me or wake me. After a few minutes, I peeked out the door to see Sergio standing in the hall.

"Buon Giorno, Signora Lucia. I'll tell Mr. Vitale you've arisen." 

His cheery disposition caught me off guard. 

"No," I chirped out of desperation. 

Sergio looked upon me with concern and regret.

"I'm afraid I must. I don't want to get fired, or worse."