Elenora and Her Two Mafias

Chapter Fifteen

Nico Point of View

I hate this entire trip. We have been walking around from store to store for hours. Matteo has been trying to talk to our little sister but she keeps one word responses and moving on. I follow behind them and I realize it's like looking at myself and my brothers trying to talk to me after Dante took over the family. I hope she warms up to them and she doesn't do the same thing I did. I stopped responding and eventually they gave up and I don't think I can bridge that gap even if I tried. I just want to give an actual response to Matteo right now. She doesn't. She just keeps walking glancing and at a few items of clothing that Matteo immediately has the employee helping us grab.

I even tried to join in but every time I went to open my mouth nothing would come out. The store was so loud everyone moving around it was hard to concentrate on what I should say to them or even what Matteo was asking that I could answer. The walls and displays on either side of me felt twice as close together as they actually were and anyone walking the opposite direction of me felt as if I was going to be an obstacle in their path they couldn't avoid. Despite how busy it was especially for the holidays and shopping, the main the thing I could hear was the beating of my heart growing louder and faster. 

I was eventually broken out of this when Matteo tapped my shoulder. "Hey I'm going to check out then we will go sit down in the book store a street away. Elenora said all this clothes shopping is getting exhausted" I nod my head and start to take a deep breath, happy I'm about to get out of here. I walk over and sit down next to Elenora on the bench as we watch for Matteo to finish checking out.

After Matteo handed the bags to an employee to put in our car we walk a street down and make it to this small book store. As we look out the front I read the sign that says "Baunam Rare Books" Not big which was nice since it wasn't turning heads of the people on the street. I knew it would be quiet compared to New York, especially to the stores we were just in. We all start to look around with Elenora heading up the dark oak wood stairs, with even someone as small as here being unable to avoid making a creak on each step. I see Matteo about to follow her before his phone rings and he signals to me showing that it was Dante calling before walking outside to answer it.

I don't follow Elenora up the stair but look around the first floor for a second following the shelves set on uneven wooden floors. I stop walking and realize that I should probably go upstairs with Elenora. It's one thing to wander off while Matteo is with her but he's outside and I don't know if she's aware or if she thought he's given up on all of us spending the day together.  I go against my judgement of always avoiding one in one conversations and head up the stairs. I see her looking at a few vintage cameras displayed in the back. I move carefully to not scare her as she is clearly lost in thought admiring one of them.

"Matteo is outside taking a call from Dante so it might be a second" I said as she jumps and turns around to look at me. So much for my plan, and god I think that's the first thing I said to her and it was about our brothers' stupid phone call.

"Oh okay" she says moving her gate between and the cameras, looking like she's debating something in her mind before she fully turns back around to the display.  I move toward the left of her try to see what makes her so fascinated some old thing.

"So what are we looking at?" I ask. I want to yell at myself for saying something stupid again, duh it's a camera Nico and she probably is going to just exactly what it is labeled as, and think you are weird for not reading it yourself.

"It's a cannon film camera from the 70s" she says before hesitating, "I always preferred old film and wanted to create a scrap book or something with the photos it take" I nod I guess we are both just quiet art kids than.

"You should get it then" I say to her. She looks at me like I'm crazy before saying "I can't justify spending that much on a camera"

I pull out my card as she just stairs at me questioningly. "I can" I say before indicating her to grab the camera and leading her downstairs to pay. The store employee says something along the lines of good choice before he carefully puts it in a carrier handing it back to her.

Just as we walk outside and the bell rings, Matteo gets off of the phone looking surprised at the two of us. "I see you got something Elenora, what is it?" He asks excitedly that she finally got something without him having to pick it out for her.

"A camera" she says with a small smile. He nods along admiring what she is holding up. He looks at me curiously realizing he didn't even give her his credit card so I would've had to buy it. All I do is turn away from his gaze as we start our walk back to the car.

***
Elenora Point of View

We were finally heading back home after a long day of shopping. The camera is in my lap and I can't help but feel happy. I didn't want to get it since I needed to have a way to leave my biological family but that meant I needed to save all the money I had wisely.  I am worried that they would turn out to be like the Russians or like my foster parents.

I can't tell what they are truly like but if they are bad I don't think Nico is apart of this. That is what makes me feel guilty about him spending his money on me is I don't want to owe him something if I will eventually have to leave.

If I didn't want to owe him something I would have tried harder to stop him from buying it. I wouldn't have look back in the last clothes store we were in and saw the panic in his face and the shaking in his body and suggested to Matteo we go somewhere quieter. I wouldn't have said it was due to me to save Nico the attention. I don't know what this family means for the future, but getting attachments has only hurt me and those around me more in the past.

***

Authors Note
Thank you for reading! Please vote if you liked it and comment any theories you have.