Murder To Excellence

29.

"They say the first love is the sweetest, but that first cut is the deepest."

At first, she had no idea where they were. The flight wasn't lengthy at all, yet he didn't want to tell her where they were headed. Once she set foot out of the jet, she thought they were in Italy because of the colorful houses she saw.

"Are we in Greece?" When she turned around, she saw a bunch of white houses with domes, which usually classified Greece in movies.

Even though he knew where they were, he seemed as stunned as she was. "Yes... yes, we are."

After nearly a decade and a half full of neglecting, Greece still felt like home. Everything about it started to soothe and even hypnotize him for some strange reason.

It was an impulsive decision, but he wanted to bring her here to show her how much he cared for her. Not only that, but he knew he couldn't come here without her, either.

After their argument, she had given him the cold shoulder for several days. Her feelings were somewhere between disappointed and extremely angry. She wasn't surprised Raphael had beaten up Quincy, since being violent was part of him, but she had hoped he would never be violent to one of her friends and especially not one of her best friends. It wasn't like Quincy had ever tried to come onto her.

But being violent was part of Raphael's nature, and she knew that when she married him, so there was no reason to stay mad at him. She just didn't want him to think it would be acceptable if it were to be frequent.

They stood there for an additional fifteen minutes, in complete silence. Because it was the first time after this many years he was finally back home, she wasn't going to push it, although the sight was getting a little boring.

"Baby," he started, but it was obvious his thoughts were still far away. "Let's go."

Though he wasn't an outspoken person, she had never experienced him being this quiet all the time. Since they were in Greece, she had expected him to show her where he came from, but all he did for a few days was take her shopping, to the beach or out to eat. The thing that seemed most important and the main reason they were actually here seemed to be avoided at all times, even during the very little conversations they had.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked as he carried her on his back. It was a weird habit he had formed every time they went out, because he didn't appreciate people approaching her. If they wanted to talk to her that desperately, they could talk to him too. Therefore he had offered himself as a piggyback ride, but the offer was one she wasn't allowed to decline.

"Of course."

"Why did you bring me here?" He abruptly came to a stop and she quickly added, "I mean, I don't mind. I was just... just wondering."

He didn't answer her question. Not then and not later that night.

The change in his behavior seemed to have come pretty sudden. When they had made up, he seemed perfectly fine. Now his thoughts were far away and, as much as it bothered her, she didn't want to tell him how disturbing it was. Maybe this was his way of coping with it all, who was she to tell him otherwise?

For the first time since he could remember he didn't have the courage to do something. Visiting Raphael's grave was way easier than this, but that decision came out of the blue too. He wanted to do all of this once and for all, but visiting his yiayia's old house, her and his parents' grave were extremely difficult.