Promised pain

Thriteen

Levine Romanov
Where the hell did all the boldness come from? And is it true? Is any of what I'm saying true?

Do I like this version of him? Do I??? "You're zoning out." His voice cuts off my thoughts and I startle, looking back at him, "Am I that boring?" He definitely seems like someone who knows the actual reasons behind zoning out.

And it's definitely not out of boredom, I blink dryly at him, before sobering up, "No." I let out under my breath, my nerves on fire as I stare at him, after everything I found out...and this new persona of his.

Everything seems more intense, his presence was already unnerving when he was trying to be sweet, let alone when I figured he might be as fucked in the head as I am, okay, maybe a lot more, his presence just makes me hyperventilate at this point.

He smiles. And it seems psychotic as well, I recall the time I called him sweet in the car a couple of weeks ago, "You're not sweet, I was wrong." The words slip out of my mouth without a single thought, again.

"Color me surprised." He widens his eyes marginally before returning his expression back to blank, as if the mask is too easy to take off. "Back to the point. You were talking about how much you're in love with my personality." His words are icy, shivers cascade down my skin from them.

"I didn't—word it that way, you narcissist." I snarl, narrowing my eyes as I stare up at him, nearly tiptoeing so I can feel more powerful, he smirks, "Figures. Figures." He offers dryly.

"And I'm not a narcissist." He arches an eyebrow and I suppress a sudden unexplainable smile, "Where is this going, Enzo?" I clear my throat noisily as I stare up at him.

He takes a step closer, "Nothing particular. Just needed to crack the shell you were forming around yourself." I bite my tongue, not denying that fact, maybe he thinks I'm ignoring him out of the blue.

But well, in my head, I didn't want him giving a reaction that would hurt me, shocking, I'm sidetracking basically because eventually I would've had to face the truth.

Thankfully, he doesn't seem as pissed about my invasion of his privacy, "And, Levine." The way he whispers my name makes tingles cascade down my skin like pouring rain.

"Don't ask about it." He demands, hinting about the main elephant in this room. I raise my chin, not stopping the usual sarcasm from escaping, "Stupid of you to order me after completely going against your first demand." The words roll out of my mouth with no filter and I curse myself internally.

Mischief enlightens Enzo's dark eyes, looking amused at best, "Touché." He murmurs and I smile in triumph before the smile slowly slips off, "Is the investigation over?" I'm desperate to leave.

Run. Get out.
Breathe.

And the desperation clearly shows in my expression because he doesn't let me go, he scratches his unshaven ragged jaw, looking around, "You want to say something." I let out awkwardly after a silence falls among us.

"Why did you like what you saw?" He finally asks, his voice serious, past the arrogant teasing comments, I swallow, staring up into his bottomless eyes, "I don't know." I admit, breathlessly.

I should've preferred the sweet version of him more, I even told him he was better as a kid, when he was sweet, but maybe finally seeing the man he is, feels much more real. Raw.

He absorbs my words, probably understanding the fact that I cannot even understand my own feelings
My reactions, he breathes out, his nostrils flaring. As if he's angry with the answer. Yet he masters a perfectly neutral expression that freezes me over.