Secrets & Lies

Unwind | 54

After last night's raging after-party, Sebastian and I went to his family's guest house. The guest house was bigger than my and my neighbor's apartments combined. I woke up feeling refreshed but I was far too comfortable to get out of bed.

"Nyla! Sweetheart are you awake." The sound of Sebastian's mother's voice forced me to get out of bed. I pulled my bonnet off and pulled on a robe. "Coming, Sarah!"

I quickly wiped the sleep from my face and went to open the door. I wonder where Sebastian went. I pulled the door open and was greeted by Sarah and Amara. They were both wearing bright smiles and I stepped aside to let them in. "You need a facial my love, you look tired." Sarah sighed. "Don't be rude, ma."

"Oh, I didn't mean—sorry. I mean...well that is what I meant, but you do look tired. I could give you a nice facial. Sebastian is spending the day with his father and his brothers. So I'm here to do all the pampering with you two." She said.

"We should go shopping," Amara suggested. "Ooh yes, darling!"

"Sounds good to me let me just go get ready."

No more than an hour later we were out making the most of our testosterone free shopping spree. We'd only gone into one store so far but I came out with four bags. "So, Nyla What's your relationship with my son?" Sarah asked as we looked through a clothing rack.

"Sebastian certainly gets his lack of subtlety from you." I giggled. "Oh trust me, he truly gets it from his father."

"I'll have to take your word for it. But, I'd like to believe he and I are together. I'm not sure if he wanted to be the one to tell you or not." I shrugged. "He probably did. But that doesn't matter now! I'm so excited that he finally got a girl who isn't full of shit!" She exclaimed.

"Mom!" Amara gasped from a few feet down the aisle. Sarah giggled and muttered an apology. "I'm just happy he's taking a chance with someone with potential is all. As far as I'm concerned you've been a part of this family for quite some time now."

"Jeez, mom. They're not engaged or anything." Amara smiled. "Eh not yet at least."

I spent the rest of the day with Sarah and Amara. I didn't get a chance to see Sebastian until later that night. He and I sat up until the sun rose just talking. We seemed to have some of the best conversations when it was late and we were sleep-deprived. You learn a lot about people between the hours of 11 pm and 3 am.

The following day we went to his cousin's house to see some of his family. That ended in a long tennis match and surprisingly Sebastian won. Seeing him around his family was nice. It was different. They seemed to bring out a side of he I hadn't realized he had and I thought I'd seen it all.

Today, our second to last day here, he got me up at 7 am so we could get in a helicopter and go to Pompeii. "Why Pompeii?" I asked.

"You love history, so I figured you'd like to visit the Amphitheater, House Of Faun, and Apollo's temple." He replied.

"I love you, you know that?"

"And I You, gorgeous."

The first place we visited was the archeological park. I was having the time of my life exploring the culture and history. About an hour and a half into our trip Sebastian got a call. He left Ben and me to finish walking around the temple we were at. "You like history Ben?" I asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"Yes, It's quite interesting. I studied archeology in college for a bit before becoming a major in English." He told me. "Really? Where'd you study?"

"Moscow State University."

"Oh wow, are from Russia or..."

"No, Moldova actually. I spent a lot of my time in Russia though. Not as much as I spent in America. Which is why  my accent is a bit strange." He explained. "Interesting. How long you work for Sebastian?"

"I've known him since he was 12 and I was 17.  Only been driving for him for a few years though. In so much time I still doubt that he knows much about me beyond what he snooped to find out." He chuckled. "He has a way of not being too involved in other people unless he has to be."

"unless he wants to be."

When Sebastian joined us again his attitude was different. He seemed a bit angry but I knew that if he was it would be better to leave him alone about it. Ben walked around with us for a while longer before returning to the car. "Everything alright?" I asked.

"Yeah, nothing to worry about sweetheart." He offered me a forced smile and held my hand as he pulled me along with him.

:

We returned to the Romano family home a few hours later and I was beyond exhausted. But above all I was worried. Sebastian still has a sour attitude and he turned down every attempt I made at getting him to tell me what was wrong. I was on my way past the living room so I could head back to the chest house when I heard hushed voices.

"It's not safe." Anthony, Sebastian's father said. "I can't tell her dad. I don't want to scare her. We may have nothing to worry about." Said Sebastian.

"Julia is dangerous and you know that. If she's resurfaced, you're in danger and that means Nyla is too. She doesn't deserve that. She shouldn't have to watch over her shoulder every minute because she's with you."

"What are you saying? I should break up with her?" Sebastian asked. "I'm saying you should start thinking of her instead of keeping her in the dark."

I quickly turned and kept walking to the guest house. It didn't feel right snooping even if I was the topic of discussion. I'll just ask Sebastian about whatever he's hiding when he gets in here.