𝐀𝐫𝐚𝐛𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

Sixteen

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ARABELLA

"Shhh, stay still and stop moving your lip." I shush him as he whines.

I'm pouring disinfectant stuff on his cut located on his bicep. He had to remove his shirt and I tried not to look, wanting to respect his privacy.

By the scars on the top part of his body and his knuckles, I know he had been through this before. I don't know why he is being such a baby.

Since he is super tall, him sitting down on the toilet made us the same height, making this much easier.

"Stop slouching!" I say in a strict tone and he rolls his eyes.

"It hurts, I can slouch however I want." He glares at me and now I'm the one rolling my eyes.

As I wrap up his wounds, I have to press my hand against his abs to keep a steady and still pace but I can't help the way my face heats up at where my hand is.

"You getting flustered down there, Bella?" I hear his deep amused voice and I shoot a glare up at him.

"I am not," I mumble and I hear him chuckle.

Cold-hearted Rico Giovanni just chuckled. From me.

"Did you just... Laugh?" I raise an eyebrow playfully at him and he chuckles even harder.

I don't know what happened between us that made us in this playful mood but I don't mind. I want to make him laugh more.

"Are you laughing?!" I laugh and giggle with him as he throws his head back from laughter at what? I don't even know.

But I don't mind because he has one of the best laughs I have ever heard, I hope to hear it more.

When he looks back at me, our faces somehow had gotten closer and our laughs died down. His dark eyes stare into my deep blue ones and the world stops spinning for a second. Just for a second.

I can feel his minty breath on my face from our proximity and I can smell his masculine scent and his cologne. It's intoxicating.

It makes me think back to when Adam used to smell more human than a bar. When I used to smell him instead of another girl's perfume or weed.

The thought of Adam causes me to frown and look away. Backing away from each other, he looks at me with worry in his eyes.

"Bella..." he whispers and I look back up at him. I know what he wants to ask me. 'What happened to you?' 'Why did he do this?' 'Tell me the things he did.'

But I don't. I don't want to think of the things he did to me because just the thought makes me nauseous.

"I have work tomorrow. Y'know, since it's Monday. I should get some rest." I whisper back to him and he nods, clearing his throat.

I grab some pajamas and wait until he leaves the bathroom before changing into my white pajamas with little red hearts on them. These have to be one of my top favorites.

As I brush my teeth and wash my face, I think about work. I'm not ready to go there yet, scared that Adam will come in there.

I braid my curly hair so it won't be as tangled in the morning, making sure I'm not taking too much time in his bathroom.

As I leave, I see him sitting on his bed, looking at something on his phone. His grey sweatpants hang low on his hips and he doesn't have a shirt on. Yummy.

No. Stop.

"Hey." I smile at him and sit on my side. He scoots over to give me more room and I thank him.

"Are you gonna be at the tattoo parlor tomorrow?" I inquired.

He turns off his phone and looks over at me with a curt nod. "What time do you get off of work?" I think for a moment.

"Around three to four pm. But my lunch break is around 12." I smile up at him.

He nods as he looks at the floor, thinking.

"Sleep?"

He nods and sets down his phone on the nightstand as he turns off the lamp and we get comfortable in bed.

I feel a sigh come out of his mouth as we both face each other. I stare into his grey eyes as I think about everything that has happened.

I hope he still doesn't mind me being here.

"Goodnight," I whisper, still staring into his eyes.

"Goodnight."

Even though we both say goodnight, we still stare at each other, something shining in his eye.

I scoot a little closer to him as he scoots toward me too, unable to help myself.

"Fuck." He whispers, his hand shooting out to grab my arm and slam my body into his. I gasp at the contact.

I feel the heat radiating off his body that u didn't feel with Adam. "R-Rico..." I stutter out and he looks at me with an intensity that I haven't seen before.

But before he does anything, his nostrils flare as he takes a deep breath before holding me close. "Just lay with me amore." He sighs.

I shift to get comfortable and rest my head on him, snuggling into the warmth he provides. His large hand gently combs through my hair and I feel myself letting out a yawn.

"Go to sleep Bella..." he whispers in a gentle voice and I nod, snuggling closer.

And next thing I know, I'm out.

RICO

I stare at the beauty sleeping in my arms.

If only she knew half the secrets I keep...
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Starting to hit a plot point😈