DARK DEEDS

37

“WE SHOULD HEAD back to the hotel room. It is quite cold out.” The Guard informs. “You will catch a cold.”

“I know but I called a friend to pick me up.” I tell him in hopes that he will leave me be but he does not. I hand him his phone. “You can leave now.”

Like a robot he iterates his robotic words; devoid of all human emotion.
“Mr LaGuardia will not be pleased with that when he comes back. We should head back inside Miss.”

He tries to take a hold of me but I step back. “No. I do not want to. Neither do I want to see Salvatore when he comes back. You can tell him that.”

“Tell me what?” Salvatore comes from behind me. I turn to him — startled at his presence.

When I take a look at him — sorrow pierces me at the vision of him. A deep dark red stains the neck of his once white shirt.

That same red colors his bloodshot eyes which look to me with the kind of melancholia that alcohol cannot hide.

More so as I respond to him. “I called a friend to pick me up.”

“You have no friends here.” He spits before he takes a hold of me. “Come with me.”

“No.” I scream as I attempt to push his hand off of me. Yet he holds onto me so hard that I fear he could break a bone in me. “Salvatore — Leave me alone.”

I continue like that before a voice comes from behind and shouts — “Leave her alone.”

It is Nikolai. He does not even wait for Salvatore to ‘Leave me alone’ — he pushes him off of me.

Salvatore stumbles back a few steps — the effects of his drunken state more alive than ever.

The Guard becomes defensive. More so when Nikolai pulls me to him and wraps his hand around me.

“He is the friend I called to pick me up.” I make that known. The Guard relaxes but Salvatore does not.

He tries to intimidate Nikolai as he stands tall and towers over him. Nikolai does not cower.

Neither does he bat a lash as Salvatore stakes his claim on me. “I do not care if he is a friend or not — You are mine.”

“No Salvatore. I am a person. Not some thing you can have one minute and toss in the next.” I scream. “I do not work like that. You understand? It is either you want me or you do not.”

“I WANT YOU.” Salvatore screams back at me.

“You do not want me — You never have.” I chuckle in a sinister manner.
“You want Candle and truth be told? You can die in a miserable little hole and rot in hell with her for all I care.”

I turn to Nikolai — his hand still over me as I conclude. “Shall we leave?”

“Sure.” He responds as we turn to leave. I do not look at Salvatore a second time. He deserves it after what he said to me. I hope he feels as bad as I did if not worse.

Nikolai opens the door for me before I slide in. Then he closes the door. He slides into the drivers seat from the other side. With that — he pulls out of the hotel.