Under My Skin

Chapter 12

"Say I believe you," I stared into Enzo's sorrowful eyes, "what does that mean? Do you know the man who held a gun to my head? Like what exactly are you saying?"

Enzo gestured for me to sit on the couch, and I ignored him. He sighed and began pacing in front of the glass doors.

"I knew your birth family. It took me a long time to find you."

"So, you're a stalker?"

"No. Wouldn't you want to know where your childhood friend, who you thought was dead, by the way, wound up?"

My arms folded over my chest and my eyes moved left and right as Enzo paced. 

"When I realized you didn't remember anything, I decided not to tell you who I was. I didn't want to scare you away."

"Of course not. You just kept me as your prisoner, made me witness a murder, attacked me more than once, and then forced me to live in the middle of nowhere with you? Because that's not scary!"

I ran my fingers through my long brown wet hair. The floor of the living room housed puddles from where Enzo and I stood. We both tried to suppress our rage to understand each other, but that patience ran thin. Enzo teetered on the edge of an emotional cliff. 

"I couldn't stand your disregard for your safety - never mind the self-harm."

"How does that make any sense? You hurt me because I hurt myself. Oh, Prince Charming, sweep me away, and let's ride off into the sunset!"

"Your sarcasm isn't helping. I'm trying to be honest here. I might not always act the way you want, but I'm trying to protect you."

"You know what? I don't believe anything you just said. I'm calling my mother, Mr. Control Freak."

After huffing out my frustration, I stomped back to the pool where I left my phone on the side table. Enzo remained inside the villa while he entertained a small mental breakdown. He paced around the living room releasing a sigh every few seconds. The constant pulling on his face reflected his anxiety and a need for comfort. He wandered to the couch, leaned on it for comfort, then returned to pacing before repeating that entire sequence multiple times. 

As I held the phone up to my ear, I watched him. It couldn't be true. The entire story was absurd. Enzo bit his thumbnail as he watched my conversation unfold.

"Lu!" My mother called for me through the phone. God, it was good to hear her voice, even if she sounded scared.

"Mama, are you alright? I heard about what happened at the store. How is dad?" 

Pivoting on my heel, I turned away from the villa to focus on the conversation. I needed to know that my mother was okay before I dug up potential skeletons.

"He'll survive. The doctors say he'll be able to go home in less than an hour. I only have a few scrapes and your brother stayed home today. It was crazy these men showed up at the store with guns. Then, another group of men fought them. Your father and I hid in the backroom as they shot at each other. One of the stray bullets hit your father in the shoulder. Dio mio, we're thinking of closing up shop and moving at this point." 

My mom let out a long tired breath before begging, "But tell me, how's your vacation going? I want to hear good news. I'm so tired of this mess with the store. Is Enzo treating you well?"

"He's been great. We're staying at a beautiful villa. I feel like I'm in a movie sometimes."

To be fair, I wasn't about to tell my mother all the terrible things he's done after she just pleaded for comforting news.