𝐑𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐁𝐮𝐫𝐧 ✓

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧

RopeBurn

"Now you're manic
honestly
I've had it"

Chapter Fourteen

Elvira
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     Never once have I had a peaceful nights rest while staying in Italy. I have been here a month and yet every night has been wakeful. Even when I was in the hotel melatonin seemed to be the only way I could keep my eyes closed.

Aurora refused to allow me any sedatives in the room, and only gave me ten grams of melatonin around eight. Ten grams wasn't enough to put me to sleep much less keep me asleep.

My left foot hit the gelid floor first with my right foot following in suit. The first destination was the dresser. I slipped on two grey socks and made my way to the door.

It was roughly three am, all the yelling from across the hall had ceased. Since moving locations from the blue room it had gotten much quieter. Except every so often Marco could be heard screaming Italian across the hall.

    The stairs didn't creak like the ones in my apartment leading up to the loft. The house had gone completely dark on the third floor towards Marcos wing, though as I had reached the main stairway all the lights remained on. Even with no one in sight.

My first destination was the kitchen, where yet again no one seemed to be. I wasn't actually sure what the house looked like around this time. This was the first night I had left the room without receiving a shock sending me back into it. At least the first time I left alone.

There were five large fridges, each bigger than me. I took a water bottle about half the size of my head and made my way to the gym.

Restless nights typically led me to go for a run. Funnily enough the only time I ever did want to run was when the world had been engulfed by darkness. I loved the cool breeze that hit my face when I ran downhill. How it seemed the world just fell asleep and I was the only one awake.

Of course a few stray coughs or dog walkers would snap me back to reality that I was only a singular person in a world filled with billions of other individuals. It was just always nice to be alone for a few moments. To be at peace.

This house never seemed to leave me feeling alone. I always felt watched, scared that in a moment my life could be taken. It was far from the peaceful moments I felt while running back in DC.

The gym that was buzzing with people now laid deathly still. The lights were off, the only light coming from the moon outside the windows. It was enough to see, and enough to give me the illusion that I was back home.

    The treadmill was simple to use, even with the directions being in Italian. After all arrow buttons and an on button didn't need words to be understood.

I turned the arrows up enough to start me off on a jog.

    Since my arrival I had been denied access to any sort of internet or phone. It left me wondering whether anyone actually knew if I was alive. Had Laurence returned home to America? Had my Abuela heard that I didn't get off the plane with him?

It was eating at me. The thought of my family living in pain wondering what happened to me. My job left me with the knowledge that the not knowing was more painful than anything. It was the hope that crushed the spirits rather than the death itself. Part of you is stuck wondering if somewhere out there they are still alive.

Perhaps this was what he wanted all along. To get to me through my family. Though what revenge did he need to get? I was only doing my job, I had to get paid. It was not a personal attack yet here I was in this damn house a month later.

    I turned the jog to a run with a decline and closed my eyes to give myself the illusion I was running down the slope on Elmers Avenue. The one that always got my adrenaline running from the thought of falling.

I remember once when Naomi had bought me roller skates for Christmas and I couldn't stop myself from moving down the hill. I remember the trip to the ER and stitches I had to get. Most vividly I remember her smile and the way she laughed at me when I was high on drugs.

Would she come after me? Hell, does she even know where I am? She'll blame herself surely. She was supposed to be here with me but skipped out to go to some sort of music festival. I couldn't blame her. I would have done the same if it wasn't my job on the line.

"Why are you up so late?" The voice startled me from my thoughts and caused me to slip from the treadmill. The fall was quick, and within milliseconds I had reached the floor. "Shit, my bad." A laugh reached my ears. When my eyes met his my heart stopped beating out of my chest.

"Who are you?" His curly hair reminded me of Marcos. The soft eyes and the smile that had been haunting my dreams for days. Except he didn't look so threatening. He extended a hand to which I greedily took.

Calm down Elvira, no need to get excited over a hand.

"Mateo, It's a pleasure to meet you." My lips moved to speak his name, though no words came out. I was just testing how well it would sound. "You must be Elvira correct? You are all my brother talks about. It would be hard to not match you to his description."

"I'm sorry, brother?" I hadn't come into contact with many people.

"Mateo, where'd you.. Micetta? You really ought to be sleeping." Marcos voice ruined my sexual high. "What are you two doing?"

"I got a message saying she had left the room during the meeting. Decided to check it out before you got wind and gave her hell. Looks like I was too late though." He gave me a wink, and then cleared his throat. "It was a pleasure meeting you Elvira." I watched him leave.

"Are you alright? Your pulse is racing."

"Ah, you care for my health now?" I wiped the beads of sweat from my forehead and gathered myself. Part of me didn't even care how he knew. "I fell is all. People around here don't know how to announce themselves when they enter a damn room."

My hand was grabbed when I tried to walk past him in the doorway. "Hey, look at me." His grip didn't loosen until my eyes met his. "I care about your health."

"If you cared for my health you wouldn't have me wear a collar like some dog. Now kindly release my hand so I can shower." I smelled like a wet dog. I wasn't even really sure how long I have been running but considering I was drenched in sweat it must have been a long time.

"You are a infuriating woman, Elvira Valentina." His teeth bared as he spoke.

"And you my dear are odious, reprehensible, obnoxious, and absolutely nauseating."

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Song: Maniac