CHAPTER 18 #3
“That is definitely just the way he is. What you see is what you get with Dante. He’s always been like that as long as I’ve known him. I have questioned before if he could have some kind of Aspergers, or Autism, but I would never dare to suggest it to him.”
“Did you ever meet his dad, Enzo? That man used to terrify the stuffing out of me. He was a monster.”
“No. Marcello and anyone who was loyal to him were all long gone by the time Rafe took Arran and I in. Dante doesn’t talk about his past either, but I get the feeling it was bad.
Rafe told me once that Enzo started training his son to be a mafia enforcer from the age of ten.
Can you imagine what that kind of training would entail?
It makes me shudder just to think of it,” he told me.
“You would shudder more if you ever met Enzo. That man was the closest thing to evil I have ever encountered, and I knew that even as a small kid. He always terrified me. He used to stare at me, and his eyes were so cold…nothing behind them. There were rumours that he was the reason Dante’s mother killed herself.
Even at eight years old I had heard them, but they never meant that much to me, since I didn’t know Dante or his Mum back then.
I only knew the monster and believed the story I overheard. ”
“Dante’s Mum committed suicide?” Cal gasped.
“I think so. I mean, I was young when the rumours were flying, but I was smart too. Maybe I shouldn’t have brought it up if Dante hasn’t told you,” I worried.
“Don’t worry. It won’t leave this room,” Cal assured me.
“He can’t hear me, can he?” I asked as I glanced to the camera in the corner nervously, suddenly remembering it was there.
“No. There’s no audio on the cameras down here.”
I sighed with relief as I laid back down again.
It made me feel ill to think of the childhood Dante had to have endured at the hands of the monster that was his father.
I hadn’t even thought about the rumours about his Mum for years, but putting it all together now that I knew Dante, made me feel ill for him and all I was sure he’d been through.
I didn’t know how he had come through all of that to become a good man, but I knew he had, because there was no doubt in my mind that he was good.
“Are you sure you’re alright? You do look pale,” Cal asked as he propped his head on one elbow and looked down at me.
“I always look pale. That’s my wonderful complexion,” I teased him. “But seriously, I’m fine. Just disappointed about how pathetically unfit I am. I managed five K on that treadmill and I might as well have crawled the last eight hundred metres, I was going that slowly.”
“You’re still injured. Bruised ribs are a painful injury to live with. I’m not sure you should even be trying to push yourself right now,” Cal pointed out.
“I know. I just wanted to do something positive though. I wanted to feel as though I was taking steps to do better, you know?”
“I do, but you can’t do better if you’re ruining the healing of your injuries. If you really want to do something to exercise, why don’t you try the pool? Swimming should be much gentler on your ribs,” he suggested.
“That sounds great,” I agreed, “But I don’t know how to swim,” I added with a smile.
“What? How does that happen?”
“Don’t know,” I shrugged. “I never had swimming lessons as a kid, then I left London and there was no time to swim, or to even consider the life skill had passed me by.”
“Well we have to rectify that. Come on,” he jumped to his feet, surprising me, then held his hand out to me.
“Where are we going?” I asked as I trustingly put my hand in his. He carefully pulled me up to my feet, then into his side, supporting my aching body as we left the gym and started up the stairs.
“To order you a swimsuit. I’ll get next day delivery, and then when it gets here tomorrow, I’m teaching you to swim,” he explained with determination.
“Don’t you think I’m a bit old for that now?” I laughed.
“You’re never too old to learn new skills, and swimming is an important one. We’re doing this,” he told me flatly, leaving no room for argument.
“Fine. Is there something in the water here that makes you all bossy bastards?” I laughed.
“Kind of a dominant household you find yourself in, I’m afraid, gorgeous,” he told me with a cheeky wink that brought out the playful side, which I loved in him.
“Well, I’m equally afraid to say that none of you guys will find me a very obedient submissive. I don’t like to do as I’m told.”
“Fine by me. I like a challenge, but I’m not sure what Dante will actually do if you say ‘no’ to him. No one ever says ‘no’ to Dante, with the exception of your brother, obviously.”
“I guess we’ll find out eventually,” I told him with a grin. I had to admit, I quite liked the idea of going toe to toe with the protective giant. It would be interesting to see his reaction when challenged.
“We will, I’m sure. But not now,” Cal said.
We were in the kitchen now, and I sat in one of the stools at the island while Cal went to the fridge.
He pulled out a large, bottled water and set it down in front of me.
“Dante said you need to drink all of that before he gets back. I was also ordered to make you something for lunch.”
“It’s not lunch time yet,” I argued.
“Which is why we will swimsuit shop first, then I’ll make lunch. Drink up.” He was smirking as he grabbed a laptop from the side of the counter and opened it up between the both of us.
“You’re enjoying this,” I accused, and he just chuckled happily.
“Not enjoying, but I am happy to help Dante take care of you. I think you need some TLC right now. Plus I love the confused look on your face every time you start doing exactly as you’re told, like you don’t know why you’re going along with any of it, but doing it anyway.”
“That’s because I am confused,” I admitted. “I haven’t been told what to do by anyone other than my employers since I was a kid. But ever since I came here, I keep just agreeing to these random orders. It’s weird and not at all like me.”
“It’s because some part of you is tired of making all of the decisions.
You want some control taken from you, and the guys in this house, especially Dante and Dario, will happily do that.
Rafe too, and even Arran to some extent, though he’s a lot more laid back than the others.
The fact you’ve given in to them so easily, just means that you have at least some trust in them to take care of you, and I think that’s important for you right now.
You’re wary, but coming to trust the guys will help you settle here with us,” Cal explained patiently.
“Where do you fit in this scale of bossiness?” I asked.
“I’m pretty laid back, like my brother, but I can be bossy when I need to be, like when someone I care about needs help or to be taken care of.”
“How old are you, Cal?” I asked. Looking at him he seemed younger than me, but he couldn’t be. The way he spoke, the things he said – I knew he had to be older.
“Almost twenty-one. I’m almost halfway through my degree at uni.”
“You study medicine, right?” I asked, and he nodded. “You must be really intelligent. That’s not an easy career path to choose, is it?”
“It’s a long career path,” he told me. “But it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do, ever since I broke my leg when I was seven and saw the doctors in action in the accident and emergency department, at the hospital.
They looked like superheroes to me, and as I’ve got older, I still see them like that, in a way.
I can’t think of a better thing to do with my life than to try and save other lives. ”
“I agree. I know if anything happened to me, I’d be relieved to have a kind, friendly, and caring doctor like you turn up to fix me up and comfort me.”
“Well, if I actually achieve my dream, you’ll always have me there when you need me if anything happens, not that anyone, especially Dante, will ever let anything happen,” he joked.
“Life happens, Cal, and unfortunately it’s not always happy or good. You never know. Always good to have medical advice on hand,” I shrugged.
“For now you have Dante’s wisdom, and I’m sure, at this moment, he’ll be watching the camera in here and growling because you’re not drinking any water. Better get on that.”
“Jesus. Why do I feel like I’m going to be looking for a way to disable those cameras before the week’s out?”