Mafia's Woman

7- Frank

Eloise's POV

I stared up at the man, not knowing how to answer his question. I wanted to say I'm a klutz and that falling was simply in my nature, but I felt like he would not take too well to that answer.

"I'm sorry, sir. I was cleaning up from breakfast and tripped over my crutches. I dropped a bowl when I tripped and the glass shards cut my hands. Your friend Ermanno went to get a first aid kit to clean up my hand, and to find a broom," I explained and tried my hardest not to stutter. Amazingly, I didn't.

He stared down at me and grunted, then continued walking toward the fridge.

"You're a mess. How am I supposed to keep up my end of the deal if you won't keep up yours?" He pulled out a bottle of water and took a sip.

"I'm truly sorry. I don't mean to keep screwing up. I guess I am just a big mistake." I said the last sentence louder than I had intended, and Arsenio looked at me with an expression I couldn't interpret.

Ermanno saved me from the awkward situation when he came into the kitchen carrying a first aid kit and a broom.

"Hey, Arsenio. What's up?" He asked with a genuine smile.

"What are you doing Ermanno?" Arsenio asked with an annoyed tone.

"Eloise here tripped over her crutches and I'm helping her. You really shouldn't make her do this for you when she's on crutches, Arsenio. It's not safe. She could hurt herself like she just did."

"It's none of your fucking business what I do, Ermanno. Come to my office when you're done." And with that, he turned on his heel and walked away from us. As he left, I kept my eyes trained on his muscular back.

"Eloise!" Ermanno said loudly, close to my face. I flinched a little but snapped out of my trance. I looked up into his eyes, blushing because I had been caught staring at Arsenio's retreating form.

"Yes? I'm sorry I wasn't paying attention."

He shot me a knowing smirk. "It's cool. Arsenio has that effect on women. Anyway, let me clean your hands up."

He grabbed my hand and dabbed the blood off my palm with a cotton ball soaked in hydrogen peroxide. Then he applied some salve to the area and put a bandaid on the cut.

"Thank you," I said gratefully, happy to have someone help me rather than reprimand me.

"You're welcome. Be more careful next time, okay."

After Ermanno helped me clean up and stand up, he left the kitchen for Arsenio's office.

I rather liked his company even though we didn't speak much. It was nice to be regarded as a person with feelings, rather than as a punching bag or an idiot that needed reprimanding. I wished I could spend more time with him. Not because I was attracted to him or anything like that, but because he seemed like he would make a good friend. I could use one of those in this unfamiliar territory.

I found myself to be very bored after I finished cooking and Ermanno left. Arsenio told me not to do anything else until I no longer needed to use my crutches to walk.

I decided to head back upstairs to my room. I felt misplaced being out in his house. My room didn't feel like mine either, but I felt more comfortable there in a confined space than wandering out in the open.

After I shut the door to my room, I took my uniform off and changed back into a pair of my shorts and a t-shirt. I did only have one uniform, for now, so I hung it up in the closet to make sure it didn't get wrinkled.

Then I pulled my hair up into a bun and slid under the covers of my bed. I was a bit chilly, so the covers helped warm me up.

As I lay there, my mind wandered to my parents. I thought about how happy our lives used to be, just the three of us. We were the perfect family. My father used to take us out every Friday night for dinner. He would stop at a floral shop and get me a bouquet of flowers, always telling me that when I was grown up, I should find a man that takes the time out of his schedule to do nice things for me.