9. Rosa
CHAPTER 9
Rosa
N ick is his name. The new stranger who is around more than I would like. He has an average face with tan skin and rosacea around his cheeks. Every time I see him, his eyes are intense. He seems the type to have a thousand thoughts on his mind but never say them aloud. Perhaps, a lot like Vinny. Vinny, who I once thought to be a lover, is mute. I find out over stale coffee that they were friends.
“He was about to get jumped by this new gang around the school and I saved his ass,” Nick tells me with a smile. I can’t imagine anyone trying to beat up Vinny. He’s huge. Nick has a slender build with chiseled arms. The black t-shirts he wears reveal soft abs.
“Good thing Vinny has your company,” I reply. Nick’s smile fades slightly.
“Well, he does again. I left,” he says. His eyes are dark like he’s recalling bad memories. It sends a shudder down my spine. “He has you right now, too.”
I stare at the coffee table. “Don’t make jokes.”
“I’m not,” he says. “You’re here, aren’t you?”
Without thinking, I kick Nick rightly under the table. “I’m not here by choice.”
I expect Nick to kick me back but he just stares until it’s too uncomfortable not to look away.
“I’m sorry, Rosa. You’ve had a very unfortunate life it seems,” Nick mutters.
My face gets hot. I take another look around the room. Vinny has been gone for hours now. It makes me uncomfortable because I can’t tell if Vinny’s absence means his job is done. I don’t know this Nick character, and I have no idea what’s up his sleeve.
“Do you love him?” Nick asks suddenly.
My heart thumps in my chest. “He’s been kind.” There’s no way I’m mentioning anything else.
What if Vinny already told him about us hooking up? What if Nick thinks he can join in?
The way Nick is staring at me makes my skin crawl. “I don’t have anything for you.”
Nick scoffs. “Do you have any idea how unnatural that would be for me?”
I gasp. “You… don’t like women?”
His face gets serious, and for a moment I expect him to hit me in the head with the coffee pot. But he breaks into laughter, filling the kitchen with his hyena laugh.
“Oh, you’re funny, Rosa. I see why he keeps you around,” Nick teases. My heart is still pounding in my chest. The stress of Nick being around for a full week is agonizing.
“Is he actually keeping me around or—” I start to say.
“Stay positive, Rosa,” Nick cuts in. “Positivity is how I survived the army.” His eyes are flat but he’s smiling. “You of all people should know how to see the good in the worst situations.”
So, he knows who my parents are? I figure Nick knows all the dirt given his close proximity to Vinny’s family. I’m almost too afraid to ask, though. My parents are guilty of a shitload of crimes but I don’t feel the need to ask any further.
Vinny comes home close to eleven. He’s obviously drunk as he slurs his words. Nick jumps to action and plops Vinny on the couch.
“Get his boots,” Nick orders. I reluctantly hurry over and untie Vinny’s shoes. I can smell beer radiating off Vinny’s clothes, and it reminds me of my dad. There were many nights my mom and I would have to make sure he didn’t choke on his vomit. It could be me secretly being pregnant, but my emotions well inside me before I realize I’m crying.
Nick stops. “He’ll sleep it off.”
I wipe my face, feeling like an idiot. “It’s just my period.”
Nick nods his head and grabs a blanket from the couch across the living room. “He’s not doing good. He hasn’t done this in a while.”
“Probably agonizing over how he’ll kill me,” I mutter. Nick sits on the floor, studying me like I’m an old book.
“Rosa, you’re not going to die. Not by Vinny’s hand at least,” Nick says.
“Then why are you here?” I press.
“He requires guidance,” Nick continues. “You don't know how bad he’s had it. Especially after Larry got put away. He’s all alone and I’m afraid he’ll be the one to get himself killed.”
I sit next to Nick, placing a pillow between us. “The first time you visited… you know…when I was in the basement?”
Nick shrugs. “Yes?”
“What did you say to him? He was different when he came to get me,” I say. Nick takes a deep inhale. When he exhales, he shakes his head and frowns.
“Rosa, there’s certain things you shouldn’t ask,” he says.
“Nick, I need to know what’s happening to me. I’m sick of being in the dark,” I hiss. “Is Vinny spiraling because he doesn’t have the balls to do what his dad wants?” It’s obvious Vinny is a guilty son. I see it as clear as day.
“The Montoyas are hard to read. Even I can’t see through them. But Vinny’s father has specific plans. Big ones. He needs everyone on board and if that means through violence, he doesn’t care,” Nick says.
He’s not going to tell me the real truth. Only bits and pieces.
My chest still feels heavy. I watch as Vinny’s chest rises and falls. Nick awkwardly reaches over the pillow and pats my shoulder.
“One day at a time, Rosa,” he says.
“Hard to do when every day is the same,” I remind him.
“Then, maybe tomorrow will be different,” Nick chirps with fake enthusiasm.
“Will you be gone?” I ask, hoping to hear a “yes”. Nick grins and wags his finger in my face.
“I’m not going anywhere,” Nick replies with a smirk. Nick pulls himself off the floor, starching his arms above his head.
“Get some rest. I have a little task for you tomorrow,” Nick says with a yawn.
Nick’s tasks are anything but little. He wakes me up before the sun is up and tells me to meet him in the backyard. I sleepily pull on sweatpants and a t-shirt and stomp my way to the yard, noticing that Vinny is no longer on the couch. My stomach flip-flops.
“Did Vinny go to bed?” I ask as I walk down the porch steps.
Nick is standing next to three huge plastic bags and a heap of dirt. “Vinny left.”
I groan. “Again?”
Nick points to the plastic bags and I immediately feel queasy when I get closer. I spot black sneaking through the plastic. A horrible stench fills the air and I hurl what was left of last night’s pizza dinner. Nick isn’t moved.
“When you’re done you can help,” he says.
“I’m not helping with that!” I cry.
Nick narrows his eyes. “Were you not the one who ran away?”
I blot my mouth with the bottom of my t-shirt. “He told on me?”
“I needed the full rundown. The only way this works is if I’m not in the dark,” Nick says as he kicks the bodies into the hole he worked on. “Now, you cover them with dirt.”
I grab the shovel and get to work. I don’t allow myself to think about how vile it is to bury bodies. The swiftness of Nick's movements let me know he’s no stranger to this. He works quickly and quietly. We don’t exchange any more words until the final body is covered. Nick sighs and takes my shovel from me.
“Vinny might seem different to you, but he still cares,” Nick says out of the blue.
“Where could he have gone this early?” I ask.
Nick juts his chin towards the direction of the door and I follow him. “More like where he’s returning.”
Nick starts up a new pot of coffee and cracks four eggs into a pan. “You need to take your mind off him for a while. Put those electronics to good use. Be resourceful.” As much as I’d love to complain, Nick is right. If I sit and let thoughts of Vinny stew, I’ll become enraged. So, the entire day is spent on my Kindle reading eBooks and binging The Office. I remain holed up in my room, only leaving to get a snack. Every time I come out, Nick is looking over a notebook, and every page is filled with words. I don’t bother to ask. Nick is odd and I don’t trust him.
I just have to get through the day until I can see Vinny.
Nighttime has fallen when I hear Vinny’s voice again. I sprint from my room, almost excited until the door bursts open and I see Vinny in the arms of two women with lingerie on.
Vinny pauses at the sight of me. “Nick? I told you to keep her away!” he screams.
“What is this?” I cry. Nick comes around the corner, not saying a word. He pulls me out of the way as the women bring Vinny to the living room and start to take off their lingerie. Tears stream down my cheeks.
“What the fuck?” I cry.
“Go back to the room. Don’t see him like this,” Nick urges me. I would throw a fit but what’s the point? Vinny isn’t my boyfriend. He’s my kidnapper. Why am I shocked?
It doesn’t stop the tears from sliding down my cheeks. It doesn’t make me feel any better. I have no idea why he’s turned into this distant, disgusting man practically overnight. I throw myself onto the bed and cry my eyes out. There’s loud techno music playing and Vinny clapping and ogling over the dancer’s bodies. I wait for the vomit to hurl out of me but it never comes.
My eyes crack open when there’s a slight knock. I sit up straight as it eases open. Nick stands in the doorway and over his shoulder, I see Vinny slumped over with the dancers shoving money into their panties.
“Rosa, I told you to take your mind away from him, he’s not himself,” Nick says softly as he walks over to me.
“No, I think this is exactly who he is. I was just too dumb to see it,” I sob. Nick watches me cry for a few more minutes. Once I get my last sniffle out, I dry my eyes. There’s no use in crying.
“I was never going to win in this situation, was I?” I ask in a whisper.
Nick looks over his shoulder like he’s expecting Vinny to come into the room. He glances back at me with worry in his eyes.
“You have no idea how hard he’s working to keep you alive,” Nick says.
“Why don’t I believe you?” I say through gritted teeth.
“Because you have no reason to. You’re not here by choice,” Nick admits. “But I’m asking you not to give up on him.” I desperately want to believe Nick is earnest. I want to believe there is still good inside of Vinny. I want to believe that sweet, charming guy who made me feel comfortable after being kidnapped is out there in the living room.
But my heart is still broken. It’s no longer just my life that will be impacted. There is life inside me and it’ll be the greatest sin for that life to be ended so selfishly.
I lie back down. “Just leave me alone.”
Nick leaves the room without a word.