Betraying Marco [Book 2 of the Stavros Series]✔️

5 |Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas|

I woke up in a cold sweat, my heart beating erratically and my mind scrambled. The memories of my mother's skeleton swimming after me in the ocean and down the beach frighten me just as much as when they were playing behind my lids.

The numbers on the clock tell me that it's way too early to be awake but I know that I won't be able to fall back asleep anytime soon. I decided to take a shower to fully awaken myself which helped only mildly. I had to make a cup of coffee to keep my feet moving in front of me.

With a cup of joe in hand I looked around the apartment noticing that it's too quiet without Rumi. I knew that if he were here he would be able to hear the creaking on the floorboards and come out to check on me.

We would either spend the rest of the night talking or watching a movie. He knew I had nightmares, not that I screamed while I had them because I always dreamed of water being forced down my throat so I never could scream. But he knew of my mom's death and after confessing the on again and off again dreams to him he gained a sixth sense for me. Sometimes when I had a dream Rumi would be there to wake me up, sometimes he wouldn't and sometimes I would wake up in the morning to see him sleeping beside me, prepared to jolt awake and fight off any bad dreams I would have been having.

At that moment I wondered why it was so hard for me to fall for Rumi only to ruin the only friendship I had.

I pulled out my lap top and placed it on the dining table, where it usually always is and power it up to search for flights to Denver.

If Rumi was being serious than I need to be prepared to leave if he asks me to. Sure we share the apartment but his name is on the lease and I just pay him back the money I owe him for rent each month. If anyone were to leave it would be me, especially since I've been feeding off him and his dad for the past five years.

It's time to start my own life in a new city where no one can track me down again. I never mentioned anything about Colorado to Marco or Xander before, it was just the first place that popped into my mind.

I opened a new tab and googled small Rocky Mountain towns and found a few cute ones. Still they were too wild for me and not enough sunshine or people.

For a moment of weakness I typed in flights to Italy just for fun. I knew I would never be able to live there, at least not right away. I need a passport than a visa than I needed to find a home. There were too many things to do but I liked the idea of nice sandy beaches and wearing dresses but not burning my skin off.

The front door behind me opened slowly and it was obvious to me who it could be.

I clenched the cup of coffee in my left hand tightly and hung my head.

"Did you mean what you said earlier," I asked Rumi. I could feel his presence as he came to stand behind me, looking over my shoulder to the computer screen. "Because it's alright if you did, I understand. Let me just grab a few things and I'll be out of your hair."

"You're not running to Italy."

I jumped in fright and twisted around, nearly hitting Marco in the head with my coffee cup.

"Easy there polo."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

A small smile finds its way to Marco's lips. "Isn't it obvious? I'm here to steal my girl back."

"Did you just break into my apartment," I asked suspiciously as I looked around him to the door.

"Actually I walked in. The door was unlocked which is very dangerous Eliza, you know that."

"Well blame Rumi for that," I grumbled and stood up from the table with my mug. "He was the last one out the door."

"I blame him for a lot of things queen," he muttered.