Inizio (COMPLETED)

39. I need to say...

The suns warmth hit my shut eyelids. I jumped in my seat, looking for Marco. My eyes landed on him at the wheel next to me. I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair.

"Buongiorno," he said. I mumbled a 'goodmorning' back and looked around us. We were in what appeared to be the woods. The trees were tall with beautiful green leaves and their tops intertwined with one another, only allowing small rays of sunlight. The car leaned left and right as Marco drove over the large roots that had grown over each other.

I looked over at Marcos wrists and saw that there was no blood on the top layer of the gauze. A small smile appeared on my face, relief that he'd be alright sinking in. The car came to a halt near a small, mossy hill. I looked at him as he turned off the engine.

"Did you take the wrong turn or something," I asked him. He turned to face me.

"What do you mean?"

"Um... I don't know. When you said you knew a "safe place" we could go to I didn't expect the fucking jungle." He laughed and got out the car.

"It's a forest," he began. I got out the car and followed him as he walked up the hill. "It's also where my safe place is." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah, well my safe place is my bed, but that's not exactly where I'd go if my life was on the line," I replied. My feet slid on the moss on my way up and I struggled a bit to stay grounded. My little nap in the car didn't do much for me because my limbs were still weak and I felt as though I'd been awake for months.

Birds sang in the treetops and a morning breeze passed by. The smell of nature wafted into my nose and I took it all in.

"Beautiful isn't it," Marco asked. I looked away from the treetops and directed my attention to the scenery before me. Our position on top of the hill gave us a beautiful view of the ocean spreading miles out; I could see the white, foamy waves crashing against each other.

"This is- just... wow," I said in awe. I felt his gaze on me so I looked at him. We held each other's eyes for a while, not saying a word. I broke the silence.

"So... are we done sight seeing," I asked. He gave a short nod and jumped off the small hill, which was a good 8ft down.

"ARE YOU TRYING TO DIE," I yelled. My heart nearly flew out of my chest as I replayed what just happened.

"Questa donna—Just jump," he yelled back. I calculated the distance and figured my exhaustion shouldn't deter me from doing my job. Ignoring my creaking knee caps, I jumped, landing square on my feet. My balance was thrown off and when I looked up expecting to see Marco, I saw nothing.

I whipped around to see him walking towards the bushes that'd grown over the other side of the hill. I caught up to him just in time to see him push a button. The bushes retracted and revealed two massive iron doors.

He placed his thumb on the keyholes and pulled open the door. The weight of the door groaned at the hinges and he walked in. It shut behind us with a bang and I heard the shuffling of the bushes as they got back in place.

The walls were made of rock and dirt and candles were hooked onto them. They flickered, casting our shadows around the room. I could hear water passing beneath us and that's when I noticed we were on a small bridge.

I followed Marco across until we made it to the other side. He flicked what I assume was a light switch and the room past the glass doors lit up. The creamy quartz covered floor glimmered and the small fountain in the middle of the room spurt crystal clear water.

"I bet your bed isn't as nice as this," he said, letting out a big yawn. I shook my head slowly. "You want something to eat?"

"I think I'd rather double check you so you don't suddenly die on me from sepsis. Do you have a kit," I asked. I tossed my backpack on the plush couch. He disappeared into the room across and came back with a first aid kit. I looked through it and found some alchohol pads.