5. Elio #2
Her bottom lip stuck out in a small pout before it started trembling, and a slight shimmer entered her eyes. Fuck. Me.
I turned to Valentino, but the fucker was no help. His eyes glinted with amusement.
I leaned over until Isa met my gaze. “What I mean is, you don’t know if someone put something in that while we were gone.”
Her brows lowered. “But you’re here. No one would dare do that to you. And besides, if that were the case, you’d take care of me, right?”
“Right,” I said softly. I would always take care of her. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use caution.”
I shook my head when it looked like she was about to say something to that and stood up, flagging down the waitress.
“A bottle of water,” I said when the waitress got close.
She nodded and walked away, and I looked back at the table. Valentino had moved in closer to his sister, whispering something to her. I used this chance to take her in fully.
The feeling that something was wrong with her wouldn’t leave me alone.
I just didn’t know what, and a part of me understood that we didn’t have the kind of relationship for her to just tell me.
Would she tell Valentino if he pushed her for the answer?
And how could he not see that there was obviously something bothering her?
And I didn’t fucking know what to do to help her.
Movement in my peripheral vision caught my attention, and I turned to see the waitress coming back with the water.
I grabbed the bottle out of her hand, ignoring the not-so-subtle way she was looking at me, and turned back to Isa.
I caught Isa’s eyes then, and I didn’t know what to make of her expression.
She looked away quickly, and Valentino moved back to his side of the seat. I handed the water over to her.
“Thank you,” she said, not looking at me, her small voice barely audible with the loud music playing overhead.
I grabbed the seat facing the siblings. It wasn’t late, but it was late enough.
“We should go home,” I said. Valentino nodded while Isa looked up and frowned.
I shot her a look. She had already drunk more than she should have. She was going to feel the effects of the alcohol in the morning, and the crowd was getting too rowdy. I didn’t usually mind, but there was something about having Isa here that was making me feel antsy.
“Drink your water,” I said to her.
She acted like she was going to argue with me, but I didn’t look away from her. Finally, she let out a small sigh and took a few sips of her water.
“More,” I said, when she made a move to put the bottle down. She didn’t even drink half of it. She blew raspberries from her lips in annoyance, but thankfully did as I asked.
“Is this good enough?” she asked when she had drunk more than two-thirds of the bottle.
“Yes,” I answered, ignoring the heavy sarcasm I could hear in her voice.
I turned back to Valentino.
His gaze was back on the redhead. I rolled my eyes and stood up, holding my hand out to Isa. She hesitated for a beat before placing her hand in mine. A strange sensation hit me from the simple contact, and it took everything in me to ignore that and just focus on her.
“Come on. I’ll take you home.”
Isa turned and looked at her brother, who was barely paying us any attention. I shot her a look, my hand squeezing hers.
She mutely nodded.
“I’m taking your sister home.”
Valentino finally turned back to us, focusing his eyes on Isa. “Are you okay with that?”
“Yes,” Isa said quietly. “But can… can I sleep over at your place tonight?”
Valentino's face softened. “Of course, sweetheart. I will be home later tonight.”
He stood up and wrapped his arms around her, forcing me to let go of her hand. For some goddamn reason, I felt cold over the loss of contact.
Valentino nodded at me as Isa and I turned and headed for the door. I made sure Isa was walking close to me, my eyes scanning the place for any signs of threat.
It didn’t seem likely to happen here, but after Massimo’s warning about the Devil’s Wings MC’s attempt at a resurrection, I had been feeling on edge.
Thankfully, I had the common sense to suggest we take my car to the bar. Valentino could find his own ride home to the apartment, if he was going back to the apartment, that was.
Isa was quiet next to me as we walked. I didn't know what she was thinking about right now, or if she was even thinking about anything important, considering how much she had to drink. She stumbled into me just as my car came into view, and I quickly wrapped my arms around her, pulling her body in close to me, and wondering why the fuck it felt like I would die if I didn’t keep her close.
I shook my head over my dramatic thoughts and quickly righted her, forcing myself to pull away. “Are you okay?” I asked.
She didn’t say anything for a moment. Then, “Yes. Thank you for the save.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
“You’re always trying to save me,” she said softly. So softly, I almost didn’t hear her.
I didn’t say anything to that, unsure of where her thought process was at.
“But you’re only doing that for Valentino. Because you’re his friend…”
I cupped her shoulders with my hands, halting her words, and bent down until we were at eye level. She kept her eyes on me. The thought that something was wrong hit me once more, and I didn’t know why the fuck that was.
All I knew was that she looked fucking sad tonight, and I wasn’t sure why or how I could make it go away.
“It’s not for Valentino,” I said gruffly. It might have started as that, me looking out for her. But not anymore. It hadn’t been like that for a while now. It was all for her. “Okay?”
She shot me a small smile. “Okay.”
I kept my eyes on her. There was something more I wanted to say to her. I just didn’t know which words to use. Then she took a deep breath, breaking me out of my thoughts. I let go of her and straightened.
“Come on. Let’s go.”
We were quiet on the ride home. I glanced at her as often as I could. She had her head leaned against the window, her eyes focused outside, yet it felt like she wasn’t really looking at anything.
The drive ended much too soon. I parked my car in its usual spot and shut off the engine. She looked sideways at me.
“I can manage to get inside myself.”
I shook my head. “I’m walking you up.”
I got out of the car before she could say anything and walked around, opening the door for her.
She looked up at me as if she didn’t know what to make of this.
I reached in and unbuckled her belt when she still hadn’t moved after five long seconds.
My arms brushed up against her chest in the process, and she sucked in a sharp breath.
I held still, letting my eyes settle over her, taking in her features.
Our faces were no more than an inch or so away from each other.
I could feel her breath fanning over my skin when she inhaled deeply, then let it out in a long exhale.
She swallowed before turning away from me, breaking the spell.
I pulled back and stepped away from the car. She got out, closing the door behind her.
I could feel the air shifting between us.
We didn’t speak as we got up to Valentino’s apartment. She kept a small distance between us, as if she were afraid we might accidentally touch.
Her hand shook as she tried to unlock the door.
I grabbed the keys from her after her third failed attempt and unlocked the door for her, pushing it open to the dark apartment inside.
“Stay here,” I said, moving her back and checking inside.
“That’s not necessary…”
Her voice faded as I moved further into the apartment.
I checked around, not that I thought there was anyone in here, given the tight security in this building.
Valentino had taken extra precautions and installed one of the best security systems on the market in his apartment, but you could never be too careful.
After I was satisfied with my check, I came back out to her.
Isa was still standing where I had left her.
“There’s no one in there, huh?” she said, crossing her arms over her chest.
I didn’t say anything to that.
She rolled her eyes, moving past me inside, and then turned at the doorway. “Thank you for driving me home,” she said.
“Of course, sweetheart,” I answered. I stayed where I was, wondering if she would tell me what was wrong if I asked her.
“Good night, Elio.”
My expression didn’t change as I watched her, but fuck if I didn’t feel my heart reacting to my name on her tongue. My fists clenched and unclenched before I said, “Good night, Isa.”
She gave me one last look and closed the door. I stood there, staring at it for a few long seconds before turning back around and leaving, somehow feeling like I was making a mistake, as I resisted the urge to knock on the door and demand she let me stay.