Pinocchio

Chapter 21 : Home

"Penny." Gustavo whispers as he touches Penelope's cheek softly. She groans as she starts waking up. She opens her eyes and sits straight slowly.

"We've arrived." He says as he unlocks the seatbelt. He opens the car door and immediately goes to her side to open the door for her.

She yawns and stretches before she walks out. She smiles sweetly at him. As she clasps her hand onto his, and they walk inside the hotel.

"Wow. This is nice." She says in awe. There are no people in the hallway, although some old men sit, unoccupied in the breakfast room.

He smiles. "Come on. We don't have much time." He fastens his steps up to the third floor.

When they've reached half of the third floor, she's panting and exhausted already. And without any warning, he picks her up and goes up quickly.

"Whoa." She whispers and laughs. "I can walk. It's okay. I'm just, a little bit tired."

But Gustavo doesn't say anything. He keeps walking until they've reached the front door of room 305. He puts her down gently to unlock the door.

Penelope follows him behind as he turns on the light. He takes a deep breath and goes to the bedroom. He takes off his blazer and puts it onto the desk.

"We're leaving tomorrow." He says. Penelope nods and she sits down on the bed.

He turns around and sees Penelope looking down on her knees. She rubs the rug with her left toe softly. He approaches her and kneels in front of her. With his fingers, he lifts the tip of her chin.

"Hey," he says gently. She smiles as she stops moving her toe. She exhales.

"You came." Holding back her tears, she takes a deep breath and laughs as she exhales. He smiles.

"Of course I came." He stands up and her eyes follow his movement. "Have you had dinner?"

She shakes her head.

He frowns. "Why not?" He asks as he walks out of the room.

"It's okay. I'm not the in the mood of eating." She says right before he leaves. A few seconds after, he comes back with a chocolate muffin in his hand.

"Here, eat this."

"No, I-"

"Eat, Penny. You can get sick if you don't eat at all. I don't know if a mannequin can get a gastritis, or not, but I'd better give you food instead of taking care of the sick Penelope on the way home." He insists. She tilts her head and takes the muffin. She has a bite and looks up to him.

"I'm going to take shower. If you need anything, you know where to find me."

She nods and he leaves the room. She finishes her muffin in a few bites. Once she's done, she folds the wrapping paper and puts it on the table next to the bed. And she lays down on the bed.

She can't believe Gustavo really did come for her. He had gone through a long journey and she knows it's not easy for him. He's not used to going outside or travelling a long way, or socializing with people. Imagine how many people he has been talking to since Penelope came into his life. She suddenly feels overwhelmed.

The bedroom door is opened and Gustavo comes in with only towel covering his lower part. She widens her eyes and she immediately looks away as she leans back on the bedrest.

"Sorry." He mumbles. He immediately changes clothes and once he's done, he sits next to her.

She looks up at him and pamperedly, she snuggles into him. He embraces her tightly and kisses her forehead. She puts her head in his shoulder and curls her arms around his neck.

"I didn't expect you'd come." She whispers.

He chuckles and caresses her hair. "Of course I'd come. I don't care how far we're apart, I will come to get you back."

"But why? I'm nobody. I just, I just suddenly show up and give you so many troubles."

"Troubles?" He laughs as he kisses her forehead again. "I wouldn't say that, though. I consider those "troubles" as, experience." He looks at her and smiles. "And I'm glad that I get to gain new experiences with you, things that I've never done in my life before."

Penelope is about to say something when Gustavo interrupts her. "What happened when they took you away?"

"They threw me into a truck and covered my mouth. Then someone talked to me. It was Signore Antonio, your customer who bought your dragon. He told me his plan. He's going to put me into a circus for freak people and this is just a start.

He didn't exactly tell me what he's going to do with the money. But," she sighs. "He says it is you that he wants to destroy."

It's silent and the phone next to Gustavo rings loudly all of the sudden. Using his free hand, he takes the phone off the table and answers it.

"Hello?"

"Gustavo, my dear!" The voice across the phone sounds panic.

"Claire? What happens? Is there something wrong?" All his senses wake up. The situation suddenly feels more tensed.

She sighs. "Your house is blown up. I don't-"

"What?!" He sits up straight and releases his embrace on Penelope. She frowns and she sits straight, leaning back on the bedrest.

"I'm sorry, dear. There's nothing I can do. The police officers are doing an investigation in this thing."

He goes silent for a few seconds.

"Gustavo, are you there?"

"Yes. Yes." He shakes his head. He takes a deep breath and brushes his hair with his fingers. "So, nothing left?"

"The only thing left is the things in your studio."

"Good." He sighs. "Oh, Claire. The girl I'm looking for,"

"Oh, her!" She exclaims in excitement.

"I've got her back."

"Aw. I know you can do it. Listen, when you're home, you can stay with me with your girlfriend."

"She's not-" Gustavo stops and steals a glance at her. "Okay. Thank you so much, Claire."

"Wait, honey. Maybe you should check this thing on internet. Oh, and while you're there, maybe you should visit Bailey Florence."

"That might be a nice thing to do. Do you have the address?"

"Yes. I'll text you the address. See you soon, honey."

And Gustavo hangs up the phone. He searches the story about his house on internet and immediately finds a picture of his neighbourhood with his house on fire at the middle of the picture.

"What happened?" Penelope asks as she hugs Gustavo from behind. She kisses his shoulder and puts her head onto his back. He caresses her hand and sighs.

"Someone blows up my house." He gives the phone to Penelope. She gasps and she releases her hug.

"Oh my God. Is this for real? I mean, with a bomb?"

He shrugs and takes a deep breath. "I think someone intentionally set it on fire." He puts both hands in his head as he looks down. "I've lost my home, Penny." He whispers.

"I-I'm sorry." Penelope stutters and she clasps both hands.

"It's okay. It's not your fault." He sits up straight and caresses her head.

He stands up and sighs. It only takes one look for Penelope to see the focus and anger in his eyes before it disappears. "I have to find him."