Chapter 9
LELANI
“Rory,” I exclaim. “I'm so happy to see you. Oh, look at you,” I murmur, draping an arm around her shoulders and moving away with her from the door.
Her eyes sparkle with a grin when I shift my focus to her face.
“You look good,” I say.
“So do you.”
She gestures faintly at my dress.
“Oh, this? This is nothing. How was your trip?” I ask, stepping away and making her do the same.
A year younger than me, Rory is the only daughter of a businessman from Boston.
We met in New York, where we attended the same exclusive private school.
Normally, I would shy away from everyone, especially someone younger than me like her.
Still, she caught my eye one day as she was eating her sandwich.
Big, tie-dye, furry, wireless headphones were framing her face, a mix of coral pink and turquoise blue.
She looked so cute with her big blue eyes, a smattering of freckles across her nose, and a mane of curly, light-brown hair.
She wore baggy clothes and an oversized neon-green backpack that made her stand out from the crowd.
We struck up a conversation despite our very different choices in clothing and demeanor.
I was standoffish and sarcastic at all times, and my sexy clothes drove people crazy, while she felt good in her skin and couldn’t be bothered with the rest of the world.
I wanted to be more like her and told her that straight out. She laughed, and we left together.
Later, I found out she only had her father, who was an angel in comparison to the men in my family.
I liked her even more.
I only met the man once. He traveled to New York for business, and Rory and I met him for lunch.
He was a pleasant man, and she was even more comfortable when he was around.
Rory instantly became the reflection I never had.
I looked at her and imagined I was her. Did my best that day to impress that man. I knew it was important to him that Rory’s best friend had all the qualities of a good person.
He expected me to be loyal, sincere, and reliable.
And I was.
I gave him a palatable story about my family and left it at that. He heard about the Gallos, and from his reaction, I couldn’t tell whether he knew the whole story or not.
Rory and I became inseparable after that, but life became difficult for both of us when I left New York.
She was attending college, and I was living on a different continent. The distance was killing us.
We chatted over the phone, and she came to visit me as often as she could. She loves this place, and I do, too, particularly because of her.
That’s Rory to me.
She’s my guardian angel, although there’s nothing she can do to change my fate or to protect me.
She doesn’t know a lot about my family’s dark side, but she knows enough to figure out I’m not at liberty to do the things she does.
Travel, live wherever I want to, and still figure out my life.
She wears a red long gown reminiscent of the disco era. Made of soft jersey, with an open back, a plunging neckline like mine, and straps that tie behind her neck, it’s the epitome of sexiness.
She’s sexy in an innocent way, and from what I know, she’s never been with a man.
She’s not interested in someone who’s not seriously interested in her.
I wish I were more like her.
“Other than being late for your party, my trip was fine.”
I laugh as I lead her down the corridor.
Luckily, this side of the house is dim and empty of guests. It’s also my favorite part of the house. It has secret doors, rooms, and corridors. It has an inconspicuous back door, where a footpath connects the house to a secondary road leading to the historic beach town.
Sometimes, I ride my bicycle downtown.
Other times, I walk in the sun, wearing a summer dress, scrappy Roman sandals, sunglasses, and a wide-brimmed hat with a ribbon.
Nona pretends she doesn’t see me taking the steps to the dirt road, and she never makes a fuss about me returning late.
I could do anything during that time. I could meet strangers, accept some rich man’s invitation to join him on his yacht, and dance the night away, but she knows I’m not doing any of that. And it’s mostly because of him, my blessing and my curse.
The man with eyes made of gemstones.
“Late? Don’t be silly. I am late, and it’s my own party. Did you have anything to eat?” I ask as we round the corner and the clamor of the house whips us like a gust of wind.
“I had a few snacks.”
“Let’s go to the kitchen and grab something to eat. I need to have my stomach full before I start performing for the crowd.”
I feel the heat of her sidelong stare on my face as I push the door open and we enter a large space, where people are busy carrying trays of food to the guests outside.
“Wow,” she murmurs. “The party is in full swing.”
“It surely is.”
We nibble on Arancini fried rice balls and deep-fried cod before drinking wine, my choice, and water, hers.
“Still not interested in alcohol?”
She shakes her head as she tastes the stuffed calamari cooked in tomato sauce.
“The food is delicious,” she says, chewing slowly.
“They’re the best cooks in town,” I agree, running a napkin over the corner of my mouth.
A few moments pass as she studies me in silence.
“How are things with you?” she asks, just as Nona enters the kitchen, and makes a small gesture at me that I’m expected outside.
I surreptitiously tilt my chin in acknowledgment, still listening to Rory.
Nona’s presence doesn’t register with her.
“Things are fine,” I murmur, my attention lingering on the people in the room.
I watch Nona direct the servers.
“Something happened to you,” Rory says, and I snap out of my meandering and focus back on her.
“What makes you say that?”
“You’re very tense.”
Our eyes stay locked.
That’s what I like about her. Despite all the distractions I have tossed her way, I can’t fool her.
I can’t tell whether her ability to read my soul comes from some innate talent or if she simply cares for me deep enough to trace my heart with the fingers of her soul.
I always felt like she draped me in adoration, and because of that, I considered her a victim of her naiveté.
How else can someone care for me that much?
“It did happen, didn’t it?” she says. “Is it something bad?”
My eyes peel away from hers as I look over her shoulder and check the new faces––additional servers that Nona hired for the event.
“They’ll be talking this evening about marrying me off to some stranger. They want me out of this house and shackled to some monster.”
My words float quietly and easily like a flurry of snow caught in a dance of death.
“Can they do that?” she asks, unable to stifle her surprise.
My eyes soften with a smile as I try to ease the blow.
“It’s common practice in my world.”
“But why? Wasn’t enough that they’d sent you away?”
“Nothing is enough for them.”
“What are you going to do?”
Her honest concern makes me smile again.
She has no idea how close I am to teetering on the edge of madness.
“I plan to enjoy myself tonight. Perform for them as I always have. Pretend I’m the dummy they think I am, and come up with a plan later. There’s nothing I can do right now. I need to know who they pick for me first.”
Her face looks pale.
“I’m sorry. Does that mean––”
I flick my hand up.
“It means nothing. I’ll fight them till the end. I’ve got nothing to lose.”
Sorrow, warmth, and affection glint in her eyes. I can’t help myself and hug her again.
“Thank you for being here for me. It means the world to me. I’ll get through this. I promise.”
I straighten and look at Nona again, who doesn’t gesture at me this time, yet I can tell from her look that it’s time.
I need to step into the arena and start to fight.