Blood deep (Black Series 3)

Chapter 17

Theo

'I'm telling you, mom. Her hand just healed overnight.'

'Ok...ok... maybe she is not human.'

'Then why didn't she tell me? She knows about us not ageing!' I tell her losing my temper. It's infuriating to know she is hiding things from me.

'Theo, that's all she knows. Maybe she has no idea about vampires and nymphs and werewolves and many other creatures on this world.'

'Fine. I'll let her be, for the moment.' I agree with her, yet I'm still angry with the whole situation.

'And Theo, please, don't hurt her anymore. She cares too much about you, to put it in small words.' My mom tells me, making me even more confused.

'Yeah, mom. Anyway, gotta go. Love you.'

As I hang up the phone I see Rose walking down the stairs. She looks weak. Her face is pale and her eyes look lifeless. She didn't quite eat except for when Maria brought her food in her room. She's still not speaking to me.

'Rose?'

'Yeah?' she answers without looking at me.

'I asked Maria to make us some home made pizza. Would you like to joins us for dinner?' I try to be as polite as possible, not to upset her further.

She stops walking for a second and reaches her hand to her forehead, while supporting herself against the wall.

Panic seizes my body as I realize she might be ill, so I run towards her to make sure the doesn't fall and hurt herself. I wrap my arm around her waist and pull her close to me.

'What do you think you are doing?' She asks in an angry voice. 'Why are you holding me?' She pushes me away from her. 'Who gave you the right to hold me?' She continues yelling at me.

'Rose, stop! You don't look well. I thought you might fall and hurt yourself so I came to hold you.' I explain to her, trying to get her to calm down.

'So you are allowed to push me and hurt me but otherwise I shouldn't get hurt? What kind of fucked up scenario is that?' She is furious by now. Great job, Theo!

'Please, Rose. I just want us to eat like normal people. Do you think you can do that?'

'It depends. Are you gonna bring home a new whore tonight?' She raises her eyebrow waiting for my answer.

'If that bothers you so much, no.' I tell her truthfully.

'Fine. Let's eat then.'

Both of us join Maria in the kitchen and start eating the pizza she made for us. Maria is happy to see Rose eating. I am more than relieved to see her put food in her stomach too. She spent the last two weeks drinking every bottle of wine in the house. I told Maria not to buy anymore wine and to throw away whatever bottle she finds.

Rose finishes her food, thanks Maria for cooking it and leaves to her room.

'She is not well, Signor Theo.'

'I know, Maria. And it's all my fault.'

'That is true.' She says to me and I look at her with a menacing face but she continues speaking her mind. The woman is an angel, sweet and caring, and she loves Rose very much.

'The girl loves you, and not like a brother or a protector, she loves you like a woman loves a man. She cries herself to sleep every day. The love she has for you is destroying her, eating her alive. Every time I go to your bedroom in the morning and change your sheets she opens the door and looks at me with pure pain in her eyes.' She stops and takes a sip of orange juice.

'Maria, you are talking nonsense.' I tell her in disbelief. 'Yeah, she thinks I'm hot, but that's all there is.'

'They say that blind is he who doesn't want to see. You are a fool to dismiss her love like this, Signor Theo. A love that powerful could burn down entire cities in the past, could blow up mountains. She would do anything in this world for you, but you chose to oversee her and spend your nights with other women. It's killing her. I am afraid for the Signorina.' Maria says with an honest look in her eyes.

'Thank you for your concern, Maria. I will try to take better care of Rose.'

'Do you love her?' She asks me while she puts on her jacket.

'I... care very deeply about her.' I tell her making her smile.

'You are blinder than you know.' And with those words she leaves home, leaving a big storm of questions swarming in my mind.

Tomorrow is Rose's first day at school. I wanted her to have her own car to drive to school and back so I bought her a Volkswagen Beetle. She doesn't know about it. I was supposed to give it to her tonight. I walk to her bedroom and knock on her door.

'Yes?' She says from the other side of the door.

'Can you please come to the garage in 5 minutes?' I ask her almost begging.

'Ok.' it's all I get from her, but I'll have to work with that.

I go to the garage and put a big bow on the car. Also, I have her necklace in a small red box. I had it fixed after the tore it off her neck more than a month ago. I see her standing in the doorway of the garage, looking absolutely stunned.

'What is this?' She asks confused.

'This... this is your new car.' I tell her warmly. 'My gift to you for your birthday and your graduation. I'm not trying to buy your forgiveness. I just wanted you to be independent and travel wherever you want.' She looks at the car and then at me, but doesn't say a word.

'It's yours, dimples.' I say while placing the red box on the front hood of the car. She frowns when I call her by her nickname.

'Forgive me. I hope you like it. I will let you be now.' I walk past her to go inside the house but she stops me in my way when she says 'Thank you!'

Her voice is so broken it makes me want to fall on my knees and beg for her forgiveness, it makes me want to offer her the moon up in the sky just so I can see her smile again. I let out a deep sigh and return to my studio to paint.

Rose

As I go to the car, I notice a red velvet box on the hood. I take it and open it with shaky hands. It's my necklace. He fixed it and gave it back to me. My wings. I smile to myself. Oh, how I wish I had wings.

I take the keys he left on the board and return to my bedroom, holding the velvet box in my hand. I place it in one of the drawers of my vanity table and decide to call it a night. Tomorrow is the first day of school and by the looks of it, this October will be moody.

Outside the thunders echo in the sky while I my mind refuses to fall asleep. I need to stop thinking about Theo. I need to find myself a normal boyfriend, my age, and forget about this obsessive love.