Rose Petal (ongoing)

Chapter 10

If I had a highway, I would run for the hills
**

I lay in bed, mulling over what Gabriel had said to me. I rolled my eyes and giggled at the thought of him actually thinking he could lay a hand on me without losing a finger. Rolling over, I reached for my phone to see a missed call from Antonio and a couple messages from Tony.

Sighing, I wasn't ready to listen to my brother tell me how upset father was with me. I would deal with that at a later date. Instead, I scrolled through my messages and clicked on Tony.

T: Baby girl, where've you been? Haven't seen you at the bar in a couple of days. Been worried.

T: Cece, what's going on? I went to your house to check on you and no one was there.

T: Cecelia Rosa Moretti, if you don't text me or call me back I'm going to send out a search party to find you and it WILL involve your brother and father!

I sighed before typing out my reply to him.

C: Hey T. Sorry, I've been under the weather recently. I'm staying at a friends house right now while I recuperate. I'll be around soon. Promise. :)

Setting my phone down, I stretched and decided to explore Damien and Gabriels' home. It still hurt to move but as long as I moved slowly, it wasn't too bad. I opened the door to the room I'd been staying in slightly and poked my head out. I wasn't sure if either of them were home, but after Gabriels' comment, I'd much rather avoid them to be honest. I didn't feel like getting caught in the middle of some bullshit with these two.

Feeling as if the coast is clear, I stepped out and headed down the hallway. The hallway was decorated with beautiful photos of nature framed with intricately detailed frames. I rubbed my fingers down them, they were so breathtaking. Everything in the house was perfect. I stepped into the immaculate kitchen. Stainless steel shined bright at me as I could see my reflection in the appliances. My stomach grumbled as I glanced around the spacious room. It would be rude of me to help myself to something to eat, but since when do I care about what others think. I laughed to myself and quickly rummaged through their fridge for a snack. Score!, I thought to myself when my eyes landed on a yogurt. As I closed the door, I was taken by surprise as Damien was standing, leaning against the wall across the room, arms crossed over his chest and staring at me. A small smirk played on his lips that was only noticeable to those who were actually paying attention, which of course I was.

I continued staring at him as I opened the yogurt I had found, grabbing a spoon from the dish rack next to the sink. I took a bite as I stared, him unblinking as he watched me. I smirked at him as I licked the spoon clean, watching him swallow slightly and narrow his eyes at me. Shrugging my shoulders, I walked away from him, heading to explore the rest of the house. I was vaguely aware of him following behind me as I walked. I felt his eyes on me as I looked at his decor and hummed as I turned and walked right into an open doorway that just so happened to be a library.

My eyes widened as I gazed at the leather-bound books. My mouth dropped open and I almost dropped my spoon as my hand dropped to my side. I had never seen so many books in my lifetime. I felt Damien step next to me, eyeing me curiously.

"Like to read?" Damien asked gruffly.

I nodded as I was still in awe of the room. "It's used to be my favorite pass time when I was young, until..," I stated but let my memory fade away. Shaking my head, I stepped away from him and ran my hand across the spines of the books. I so wished I had something like this to come home to every day. Sighing, I dropped my hand and turned around to see Damien watching me with a look of curiosity displayed on his face.

I smiled just like I was trained to do when in the company of powerful men, and started to walk past him. As I was about to pass him, he grabbed hold of my arm gently but at the same time forcefully.

He gazed into my eyes for a few moments before speaking, "dinner is at 7 if you're hungry." He dropped my arm and I headed back to the room I had been staying in.