Romeo

07| Dead Ends

***

Daniella could have stayed in her room thinking about Romeo all day, but unfortunately, she has a life. She decided to stop being a stereotypical girl daydreaming about boys with heart eyes and actually get things done. That's how she found herself at the library with Jade and Julian studying for a test that was worth 30% of her entire grade. But there wasn't much studying going on.

"He's hot and he's loaded?! Wow, you've struck gold. Does he have a hot sister by any chance?" Jade had been on her back about Romeo since she came home from the 'joy ride'.

Julian scowled and hushed Jade, which only resulted in her flipping him the bird. If Daniella was any other girl, her seeing a guy wouldn't be that big of a deal. While her friends were outgoing about their love lives, Daniella was the complete opposite. The fact that she was even giving Romeo a chance was a surprise, to say the least. She had her fair share of attention from the opposite sex, but she always brushed them off and used her studies as an excuse.

"No, he doesn't have any siblings," Daniella whispered, "now can we get back to actually studying?"

Julian sighed and leaned forward looking at Daniella. "I don't know about him, Danny... I don't think he's a good guy. "

He had a point and Daniella knew it. Romeo had a look in his eye as if he was always daring someone to test him, always on guard. Every time she saw him, he had bruised knuckles, the faint smell of cigarettes or something else lingering in his expensive car. Romeo has secrets he wasn't telling and Daniella knew it. If he wasn't the walking definition of trouble, she didn't know what was. But did Daniella overlook it all because she was obsessed? Yes. She was a complete idiot in doing so and she knew it.

"I've seen him.. he just looks- I don't know... rough I guess. Dunno" Julian's brown eyes were filled with concern and they were almost hard to look at because Daniella knew he was right.

She knew he was bad but the way he treated her said otherwise. "Don't worry about me, Julian. I'll be fine."

But Julian was still not ready to drop the subject. "Okay.. but just be careful, we care about you. Don't let him take your trust for granted."

Jade cut off their bickering. "Well, I think he's fuckin fantastic. Now children let's flip to chapter nine please."

She smiled and placed her attention back onto her notes. Even then, Daniella wasn't as productive as she could be. All because of the messages that lit up her screen every time she turned on her phone.

Daniella: knock knock

Romeo: who's there?

Daniella: water

Romeo: water who?

Daniella: water you doing?

Romeo: Not funny at all. I'm driving to a meeting. And thinking of you.

She smiled and tucked her phone back in her pocket feeling giddy. Romeo had told her that he had some work in Boston, and Daniella didn't want to distract him but he couldn't seem to go thirty minutes without a message. It was heartwarming just as much as it was distracting.

An hour later, Daniella gathered her books and Julian walked her to class. The sun was hot and burned into her skin as the heat reflected off the skyscrapers in the distance. She loved the city but the heat this year was unbearable.

"Hey, do you remember the man who bought the 50k Victorian artifact while you were working at the museum? " Julian broke her out of her thoughts as they walked through campus.

"Yeah, what about him?"

"Well, it was stolen before it could be delivered. The buyer was found dead in his Miami beach house a few days ago. Poor guy was shot to death. "

"Seriously?!"

"Yeah, cops suspect it's going to be traded on the black market at some point. It was the only piece missing from the entire museum. Why would someone only take the artifact? There were way more expensive pieces there."

"Oh my god, that's crazy." She couldn't believe something straight out a movie happened, and coincidentally when she was working at the museum.

"You don't know anything about this? It's been all over the news."

"No, I haven't heard a thing."

"Okaaay.. the suspect is someone who's been on the FBI's watch list for almost 5 years now."

They stopped in front of Daniella's class and Julian stepped to the side avoiding the students rushing in. She remembered seeing a picture of the buyer in an article when the piece was first bought. It was hard to imagine a seemingly sweet-looking man had been brutally murdered.

"The craziest part is that the artifact was stolen on the same day you were working. Thursday before your exhibit opened."

"You're joking!"

"No, you seriously haven't seen it on the news? I thought the cops would interview everyone working that day, have you been contacted?"

All of a sudden she wasn't feeling too good. "No, I haven't heard anything, I've been, uh busy... Can you tell me more about it later? Bye Julian." She rushed her words and gave him a quick hug before walking into the room. A feeling of unease was settling in her stomach.

Her professor started talking but she couldn't pay attention. A realization had struck her. What was Romeo doing at the museum when she saw him? It was closed to the public that day, and he was there the same day Julian said the artifact had been stolen. Could Julian have been right to be wary of him? She would have to talk to Romeo later.

---

It had been an entire two days since Romeo had been given the assignment. He had gone to the hospital that the woman, Maria, had supposedly gotten an abortion to see if he could get some clues. His search turned up blank, he didn't dig up any dirt.

Some members of a small gang affiliated with Stefan Conte claimed they had useful information and Romeo had gone to check it out, but it resulted in nothing but a fight in which a knife grazed his shoulder. The adrenaline had covered up the pain at the time, but after he got stitches his arm hurt like a bitch. Nothing he can't handle, he's been through worse.

Currently, he was waiting at the airport for his flight, still high on painkillers. Finally, he was going home. As desperately as he wanted to see Daniella, he had work to do. But all it took was one photo from her and all his priorities vanished.

Romeo: When can I see you again?

Daniella: I don't know..  you can pick a time since you seem so eager :)

Her doubts were still there but she placed them at the back of her mind. She shouldn't be jumping to conclusions, she always worries about things for no reason. There was probably a logical explanation for the weird coincidence. Daniella wouldn't admit it but she was just looking for excuses to justify Romeo being at the museum. When Julian had told her more about the theft she hadn't let on that Romeo had been there as well. Come to think of it, she could be the only one who knew he was there. It was probably best to ask him in person.

Romeo: Stop being coy, I know you want to see me too. I'll pick you up whenever you want, I'm all yours as soon as my flight lands in three hours.

Romeo: What are you doing now?

Daniella: Just finished a 2-hour exam. About to take a nap.

Romeo: Rest up, I'm taking you out as soon as I get home.

Romeo: I miss you, Daniella, you don't know how you're making me feel.

Daniella: Trust me, I'm feeling whatever you're feeling. I can't wait to see you either.

The overhead went off and a flight attendant announced his flight.

Romeo: Three hours is too much. I'm counting down the minutes.

But he didn't come that night. In fact, he didn't even text her back until the next evening.

***