Romeo

21| Recycle

Earlier that same night

***

The sun was down, but the city was very much awake. Streetlights lit up the roads and neighbourhoods in Boston. People were filing into bars, ready to celebrate the end of a long work week.

Far away from the buzzing city, Romeo was sitting at the edge of the water. Just a few feet away from where he sat with Daniella about three months ago. Staring at the spot, he took another hit of his blunt letting the smoke warm up his body. He needs something to distract from the high she gives him. Something that'll overpower the feeling only she can give him so he can think without her clouding his mind. Not that it's working.

The worst possible thing had happened; he loved the girl. Even now, he was itching to see her again, to hear her voice and make her smile. Every time he thought of her, which was a lot, his pulse spiked and his heart constricted in the most pleasant way. When he closed his eyes, Romeo could feel her skin in his hands, her taste lingering in his mouth.

Exhaling, he laid down on the rough rocks. He had his plan sorted out. The strip club Devin worked at starts their shows at 10 pm so he'll arrive at midnight. Posing as a first-time patron, he's going to sit through dance and then request a private show. Flashing his money should cozy her up. After she was secured, it would be no struggle to get her younger brother. From that point, both the kids will be taken off his hands and his portion of work complete. It wasn't decided yet if Gerard would kill the kids or keep them as hostages. He couldn't help thinking of Daniella and Nate who were the same ages as Devin and her brother. The thought of what he was about to do made him feel guilt- something he's never felt when it comes to his work. But he has no other choice but to finish this task through. If he didn't someone else would. Maybe Julian himself. 

He had gone over every detail with Xavier on the phone. This has to work smoothly, Gerard doesn't have any more patience. And the faster he gets this over with, the faster he can figure out how to keep Daniella out of Gerard's mind. The longer it takes for him to get this done with, the more danger Daniella is in.

How can he deal with this? Should he keep on lying? Or come clean? Both routes will lead him to disaster. And simply disappearing from her life is no longer an option.

Putting his palms on the rocks, Romeo got up. Since Daniella cared for the environment, he picked up the empty backwood packaging on her behalf. There was a trash can twenty meters from him, it wouldn't kill him to recycle. Something she had once said to him.

He tucked his lighter in his back pocket and that's when he realized. His knife wasn't there. Romeo pats his torso and sure enough, his .44 magnum revolver was there. But his knife, Rossi was not. He thought of the last time he saw it. In Daniella's apartment, tucked under her mattress. He recalled taking it off last night when they went to bed- just in case Daniella would feel it while they were sleeping.

Romeo could only hope she hasn't found it... yet.

He was going to be busy tonight.

***

Twenty minutes later he was outside Daniella's apartment. He looked at his call log, eight unanswered calls. She had been MIA for a while, he tried to not worry though. She was busy with finals. 

He let out a deep breath and looked up at the building, trying to see which apartment was hers. He recognized her balcony and tried to look through the windows. No lights. With luck, she was asleep and so was her roommate. If not, he could try and play it off as a surprise visit.

He waited in his car until someone else approached the front doors so he could enter the building with them and made a mental note to make a replica of her key later.  He tired her phone one more time. Still no response, she must be asleep already. The elevator door opened on her floor just in time for him to see the stairwell door close. 

Thinking nothing of it, he approached her door. He waited for a few minutes to detect any sounds from inside, but nothing. He blocked the security camera with his body and pulled a pick from his pocket, working on the lock. When it finally gave, he opened the door as quietly as possible and slid into the apartment. The only light was coming from the windows and it lit up the counter where he ate her out. The memory made him hard. Adjusting his belt, he made his way to her room. He paused at Jade's room and heard soft snoring. And something else. A piece of paper at her door. His name written in thick marker caught his attention and he picked it up. 

I'm leaving for a bit and my phone might be off, don't worry I'm okay. Just some family stuff, my parents know where I am but don't bother them. If Romeo comes by, don't trust him. Tell him you don't know where I am. AVOID HIM. I love you. ~ Daniella

What. The. Fuck. 

One, twice, he read the note three times. He walked into her room, the door was already open. Her things were strewn all across the room. His mind immediately jumped to the worst-case scenario. She knew. How did she know? And to what extent? How? He retrieved his knife and sat down on her bed in disbelief. Her sheets were unmade and smelled like her. 

Romeo was at an absolute loss. Daniella hated him, he was certain. And she was possible—most likely, even scared of him. She had been ignoring him on purpose. And where was she "leaving" to? Staying with her parents for a while? He couldn't shake the feeling that something was off. Something had happened. He had to find her and explain.

His eye caught the notepad on her desk beside the window. He pocketed her note to Jade and wrote a new one.

I'm leaving for a bit and my phone might be off, don't worry I'm okay. Just some family stuff, my parents know where I am but don't bother them. I LOVE YOU, ~ Daniella 

He omit anything about himself and tried to replicate her handwriting as close as he could. Then he saw movement outside the window. It was Daniella, sprinting at full speed with a duffle bag in her hands. He quickly moved closer to the window. She got into a silver car and Romeo craned his neck to who was in it. As the car drove off he saw a flash of dark skin in the driver's side and knew it had to be Julian. That two-faced slime.

Without skipping a beat, he wrote down the license plate. He left his note for Jade where he found the original and exit the apartment as quickly as he could. The elevator was taking forever so he took the stairs.  His eyebrows scrunched as he put it together. Daniella, Nate, Julian, and Stefan. The kids he was looking for were under his nose the whole time. And now Julian had snatched them up and was taking them God knows where. 

***

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