Our arrangement || Ongoing

06 || puntadas

Valeria Navarro

I wake up to the sound of clattering silverware and a bright light that is shining in my face. 
Opening my eyes, and immediately my body and my senses go into high alert. 

Where am I? What happened? How did I get here? 

I groan as I ask myself too many questions at once, and then I look around the unfamiliar room. The walls and curtains are a light beige color, and a big window is in the wall right in front of me, the curtains slowly moving in the soft breeze. 
I stand up, my feet touching the cold floor, and I walk over to the window, opening the curtains before looking at the beautiful scenery outside. 

From the window where I'm standing I have an overview of the whole backyard that's surrounded by a dark brown fence. 
Under my window, there's an area with grey tiles and I can see a table with chairs, and then the tiles transition into perfect green grass.
In the middle of the lawn there's a pool that is surrounded by the same grey tiles as the seating area, and the fence around the backyard is surrounded by a row of all kinds of shades and colors of roses. 

Outside of the fence I see a line of trees that look like a small forest, and behind those trees I see some of the bigger buildings in the city I live close to, and that's when I remember where I am, and also when I notice I am pretty close to my own neighborhood. 

I'm at Lorenzo's house after he got shot yesterday. 

I sigh while stepping away from the window, taking in the surroundings of the beautiful room once again before opening the door and walking into the hallway. 

I'm surprised by the rest of the house.
While the room I slept in was mostly light colored and soft earthy tones, the rest of the house is mostly gray walls and stone, and the floors are made of some dark wood and the same grey tiles as in the garden, and honestly, it's kind of boring. 

Walking down the stairs, I notice the house has a pretty easy layout, with the kitchen on the left side of the stairs, and the living room on the right. 
Next to the stairs there's a hallway that probably leads to a different part of the house, but right now I'm just interested in the kitchen. 

I stop in my tracks and stare at Lorenzo for a while, he's sitting there at the kitchen island on his phone while a woman, I assume his mother, gets some breakfast ready, and for now I decide it's best to be nice towards him, since I'm in his house. 
Lorenzo looks up from his phone and makes eye contact with me. "Are you just gonna stand there and stare at me or are you gonna sit the fuck down?" He asks, rolling his eyes. 

So much for being nice.

I walk over to him and ignore his snarky little comment while looking at the woman that's preparing our breakfast. "I like your backyard" I say, before walking over to the woman, seeing if there's something I can help her with. 

"Sit the fuck down, Valeria, you don't have to help her, I hired personnel for a reason" Lorenzo says, before motioning towards a chair, and I obey him and sit down. 

"She's not your mother?" I ask, curiously, while trying not to stare at him as he crosses his arms. 
Sure, Lorenzo is as beautiful as men come, he's tall and muscular, he has tattoos and he has a beautiful face too, but I'm not attracted to him. 
Okay, maybe I am, but you can't hate me for it, I'm a hopeless romantic and I read too much fucking romance books. 

"No, she is not my mother, she's my chef and servant" Lorenzo's answer snaps me out of my daydreaming, and I look up at his face. 

"Then, where is your mother?" I ask, but then I remember he's twenty-six, and he for sure lives on his own.