Under My Skin

Chapter 10

I woke up sometime in the middle of the night, or at least that was what I thought. I heard Enzo speaking in Italian on the phone. At that moment, I wished I could understand what they were saying. There was nothing I wanted more than to know what was going on and when I could go back to my life.

The TV displayed a black screen, which meant Enzo must've turned it off after he realized I fell asleep.

On the phone, Enzo said the word 'brother' on occasion. Perhaps, that was the person on the other end. When my name came up, Enzo looked at me. I closed my eyes as fast as I could. However, Enzo's laugh made it clear that he noticed I was awake and made a poor attempt to hide that from him. With a goodbye, Enzo hung up the phone and addressed me. 

"I thought I was going to have to carry you up the stairs."

"You know, I could just sleep on the couch. You don't need to look for every excuse to touch me just because you can."

"I don't do that. You give me these 'excuses'. Nonetheless, there's no point in sleeping on the couch. I have a bed prepared for you." 

Enzo gestured for me to head towards the stairs to the second floor. Without another complaint, I did as he suggested with the deal we made in mind. Following behind Enzo, I walked out the glass door into the courtyard. 

"If you have one nice bone in your body, could you at least try to avoid triggering my phobia?"

"You were fine when I carried you to your room after the incident in your father's store." 

Leaning against the railing, Enzo paused and looked down at me. In turn, I looked up at him. A sigh flooded out of my lungs. 

"I was just too exhausted to react."

Enzo contemplated what I told him. 

Before continuing up the stairs,  he said, "Even if the person means you no harm, you'll still harm yourself because someone touched you."

When he put it that way, I felt uncomfortable. It's not like I go out of my way to inflict pain on myself. It's just my natural reaction. The pain made the roaches sleep. 

"Their intentions don't matter. The fear eats me alive. It feels like thousands of cockroaches are living under my skin and I can't get them out no matter how hard I try."

"That's disgusting." 

Enzo held the wooden door to the second floor open for me to walk through. I nodded and stepped inside while mentally crossing my fingers that he'd understand my phobia better and stop trying to pick me up or grab me.

In the room down the hall from the staircase, my suitcase waited for me on the storage bench at the foot of the bed. It was a bright room. The chiffon white fabrics throughout the decor gave me a summer beach house feel.

"My room is around the corner and at the end of the hall if you need me," Enzo remarked before closing my door.

After unpacking, I brushed my teeth for the first time in days. Having clean teeth was a luxury I would never take for granted again. Although, this experience made me feel that way about a lot of simple privileges. I slept in my clothes that night. Living with my belongings made this situation a bit more tolerable.

The next morning, I scrambled eggs in a pan. Enzo loved pastries for breakfast. However, sweets made me feel sick. Eat too many cornetti in a week, and I'd roll everywhere, or worse, I'd have excruciating cramps that month.

"What are you doing?"

It was only a matter of time before Enzo bothered me.

"Making breakfast. Was I supposed to ask, my liege?"