23
I wake up in the big bed. I'm all alone, but the dent on the pillow next to me tells me, he slept here beside me. I stand up and open the black curtain. In the yard below me there is a large swimming pool surrounded by trees. Such a peaceful sight. So different from his world, which became my world last night. Or maybe even before that?
I go to the bathroom, and when I finish and return to the bedroom, I see my suitcase. I open it. My clothes are packed neatly, and my laptop and some textbooks are sitting on top of them. I get dressed and go downstairs.
Liam is dressed and shaved, and he looks so fresh. I think this is the first time my mind calls him by his name and not by one of the nicknames I gave him. He is sitting in the dining room working on a computer, drinking coffee.
“Good morning,” I smile and stretch my braid out on my back.
“Morning…” he shrugs and looks back at the screen.
“I saw you brought some of my things,” I say and walk over to the coffee machine. I have no idea how to work this thing.
“Johanna packed and Tommy brought them,” he says impatiently. I open the overhead cupboard and look at the shelf full of glasses in dismay. They are set out in no particular order, small ones next to tall ones. I take them all out and place them on the counter and rearrange them with the symmetry my brain requires. When I finish, I sigh in relief and start pressing buttons on the machine. It makes some strange sounds, and I can hear him grumbling behind me. He sighs and gets up, walks over to the coffee machine and efficiently makes me a cup of coffee.
“Thank you,” I say. He doesn’t respond as he goes back to his seat. I realize that my presence bothers him and try to figure out what I should do. “So… I'm going to go now,” I mutter and look around the room for my bag.
“You can’t leave yet,” he says without looking at me. “You’ll stay here until we go to work tonight, hopefully we can solve this thing quickly.”
“You’re not being very nice,” I say irritably. I realize that I’m stuck here with him, and worse than that, that he feels that he’s stuck here with me. “I’m not used to having strangers walking around my house,” he responds in the same dry tone, I fall silent and try to deal with the insult.
“Don’t worry, you won’t feel the presence of this stranger anymore.” I grind my teeth and go upstairs, take out my laptop and textbooks and go back downstairs quietly. I sit on a bar stool at the kitchen island and turn on my laptop. That idiot, one minute he makes me feel like I’m on top of the world, and the next, he reminds me just what a disgusting creature he is. I check my email and see that I’ve received a list of tasks from Professor Sawyer. The email puts a smile on my face and my mood immediately improves. I read through the complicated instructions and realize that he has decided to challenge me, and that he wants to put me through some kind of test.
“You’ve made my day,” I whisper to the laptop, and open a new file. I finish the first task quickly by searching the internet for articles that I’ve read before. I have to put a bit more effort into the second task, and the third one has me trying really hard. I try to reach for my coffee cup and discover that I have a new, hot coffee waiting for me. I can’t take my eyes away from the computer as I continue scanning through article after article, research after research.
“Do you want me to order something to eat?” I hear a masculine voice close to me, and all I can do is raise a finger to quiet him. My file is getting bigger and my mind is dancing a tango with the new conclusions. The natural light fades and is replaced by artificial light that fills the room, and I continue.
“Maybe you should eat something?” the voice at my side sounds concerned, and I raise a finger to quieten him once again. I’m on the last paragraph, the last sentence of my summary and my smile widens. A large hand blocks my screen and I move my head from side to side in a desperate attempt to see past it. The hand threatens to turn off the screen and I throw myself forward and clutch the laptop hysterically.
“No!” I shout and the hand moves away, but now there are two hands holding my waist, picking me up and sitting me on a muscular lap.
“I have to finish this,” I continue typing quickly. The annoying hand finds its way under my tank-top and starts massaging my breast. “Oh, not now,” I squirm and continue typing. Now there’s another hand on my other breast, pinching my nipple lightly. I feel my body starting to get aroused and I exhale in frustration, but my fingers continue typing. He takes one hand out and pushes the laptop to the middle of the island. “Stop…” I beg, and lean forward to continue typing. My pants button opens and my pants and panties are down. “Just one more minute,” I beg again and then his finger slips inside me. “You’re sick!” I fume and moan as he moves it around inside me, and when he slips another finger in, I find it hard to concentrate on the letters that appear on the screen. Four more words. Don’t give in, I order myself as I type letter after letter on the keyboard as I moan out loud and he presses himself against me from behind and takes down his pants. I type the last letter and then a period. I just manage to press on save and I throw myself forward on the table. “I’m done,” I pant happily, and he chuckles behind me.
“Not yet.” He pulls his fingers out and his erection rubs against me. “Have you got another condom?”
“No!” I answer in panic.
“Fuck!” he exclaims, pulls back and raises my panties and pants.
“Totally,” I breathe in disappointment, stand up and fasten my button. When I turn to him, he is arranging himself inside his jeans and twists his face. “Do you have blue balls?” I ask teasingly.
“Yes,” he says and drops his pants again. “Come take care of it,” he jerks his head downwards and I take a few steps away from him, stand behind the counter and smirk.
"This strange girl needs to get to work. Take care of it yourself."
“Don’t be a bitch,” he hisses irritably. “Come on, get over here. I’m about to explode.”
“No.” I march towards the door. “I have a strict boss. I can’t be late.”
“I get it,” he pulls up his pants, makes a face and breathes deeply. The look on his face turns amused. “You’ll pay for this.” He picks up his file and walks towards me.
“I suggest we leave all payments out of our twisted relationship,” I laugh, and he pulls me close, grabs my neck and kisses me savagely.
“I shouldn’t have been such an asshole this morning,” he says apologetically and bites my bottom lip.
“That’s right,” I stroke his chest.
“But listen,” he chuckles, “you’re such a strange girl.”
“Why?” I ask, insulted.
“I’ve never seen anyone who can sit for as long as you did without noticing anything around them.” He laughs and kisses me again. “And your face when you type…” he wrinkles his forehead. “It’s like you’re talking to a whole bunch of people at once, and not just staring at the computer.”
“He gave me some new tasks,” I tell him excitedly. “I felt it was a kind of test and I did really well.”
“Who? The professor?” His voice grows cold.
“Forget it. Let’s go.” I tug his hand and refuse to get into a discussion that will only make me miserable.
Thankfully, he doesn’t insist. We get on the motorcycle and the garage door opens. He rides out to the street and starts driving like a maniac. It’s only when we reach the bar that I realize the blue Volvo is behind us and that there are three extra guards at the entrance.
He pushes me inside, and when the door closes behind us, he exhales in relief. In addition to the two regular bouncers inside, there are two new ones. Otherwise everything is exactly the same. Charlie is already behind the bar and some of the girls are sitting around, waiting for customers. I manage to calm down. I start working, serving the girls drinks, arranging napkins, cleaning the bar and humming the song I heard last night during the private show I gave my strange man.
I sit down on the bar stool and Liam stands in front of me. His face is glowing and he’s smiling with desire on his face.
“Have you noticed that you’re dancing around the tables?” he asks and bends down towards my neck.
“I finished all my work for the university. I’m happy.”
His lips are on my neck. “And I thought it was because of me,” he fakes an insulted tone.
“Stop it,” I push him away. “They’re watching us.” I look at the girls uncomfortably and he laughs and catches me by the back of my neck.
“Who the hell cares about them?” he kisses my lips hard, and I give in to my desire.
Tommy and Mike walk in, pass by us and sit down at the round table. Liam kisses me again, and then joins them. A minute later, Ralph walks in with his two bodyguards. He stops next to me.
“Elena,” he says with his usual indifference, “I apologize for dragging you into this shitty situation.”
“I think I dragged myself in.” I answer sadly.
“Anyhow,” he taps his fingers on the counter, “Whatever happens tonight, remember I apologized.” He lowers his head in a slight bow and sits down at the round table.
I don’t understand what he’s talking about. I’m in a good mood and I won’t allow my thoughts to be dragged to dark places. I pick up the bottles of beer and go over to the round table.
“It’s more complicated than I thought,” Tommy says, playing with his bleached hair. I place the bottles in front of them. “A phone call apologizing for Giovanni’s public humiliation didn’t help. The father asked for a meeting.” The three of them are looking at him tensely, and I arrange napkins by their bottles. “If they hadn’t involved her, I’d tell them to fuck off,” Tommy continues irritably, and I hold my breath. “But that’s how it is. They’ll be here in a few minutes.”
“Great,” says Liam and drinks some beer. “We’ll offer them a compromise, and end this thing.” I choose to believe that tonight I’ll be free again, and I breathe again.
He asks Charlie to clear out the customers and close up. I have no work now, and I sit down on the barstool and swing my legs restlessly.
The front door opens and three men in elegant suits walk in. I recognize Giovanni immediately. He is in the middle, walking between an older man with white hair and another man who looks exactly like him but slightly older. They are escorted by three bodyguards.
The men sitting at the round table rise, and each in turn shakes the older man’s hand and then the hands of the two other men. They sit opposite each other. This strange situation reminds me of a scene in a Hollywood gangster movie. I look at them curiously and wonder if I should leave now. I decide to stay.
“Carlito,” Liam speaks first, “we are glad that you chose to honor us and come here, and we intend to do everything we can to put an end to this matter.” The men at his side nod, except for Ralph, who has an indifferent expression on his face.
“Go ask them what they want to drink,” Charlie whispers from the other side of the counter, and I’m terrified as I realize that I’ll be taking an active part in this scene.
“No!” I shake my head in panic. “Take out three bottles of beer, three glasses of wine and three glasses of whiskey,” I tell him. He squints in confusion but does as I ask. I take the beer bottles to the table, trying to make myself as invisible as possible and after I put them down, I escape back to the counter.
“I’m glad you said that,” Carlito replies and pushes the beer bottle away.
“Shit!” I whisper. I put the wine glasses on a tray and tiptoe back to the table. “What happened yesterday caused great damage to our image.” He is playing with the gold pendant hanging around his neck and I place the wine glasses down carefully and then escape back to the counter again. “A public humiliation of this kind is a threat to our reputation, and it could lead to further incidents and… this,” he slams his hand down on the table, making it shake, “this I will not accept.”
“Those assholes tried to fuck me over and we need to apologize…,” Ralph mutters angrily, shooting an evil look toward Giovanni, who cringes in his seat.
“It is wrong to handle things in public the way you did!” Carlito raises his voice.
“Perfectly right,” Tommy joins the conversation and rubs his red eyes. “So, we thought of a compromise, we hope you'll accept it.” He stops talking and Liam takes over.
“We will give you area G for one whole month. That’s our best area, and I’m sure it will bring you excellent profits.”
“Six months,” the other man joins in, and Carlito raises his hand, gesturing for silence.
“Like Mariano, my oldest son said, we want six months.” He plays with his pendant again, and this time I take the glasses of whiskey over to the table quietly. I set them down and rush back.
“That won’t happen,” Liam says calmly. “But if my partners don’t object, we will be extra generous and offer you three months.” He looks at the men next to him and when they nod, he smiles in satisfaction.
Carlito takes a sip of whiskey and says nothing. Everyone is waiting nervously for his say. Finally, he nods his head once and everyone sighs in relief. I do, too.
“Papa,” Giovanni addresses his father respectfully, “since I was so humiliated,” he pats his swollen nose and looks at Ralph hatefully, “I have another request, yeah?”
“Before you ask,” Mike joins the conversation for the first time, “you can have any of the girls here for the night.” He points towards the girls who are sitting around silently.
“Good,” Giovanni smiles bitterly. “Then I want her.” He points at me and I nearly fall off my chair. “She chose to cooperate with him and humiliate me yesterday.” He sends another hateful glance towards Ralph. “Now I’ll take her and humiliate her all night long, yeah?” he chuckles smugly. I can feel the blood draining from my body and calculate how far it is to the door. I have to escape.
“Don’t say a word,” Charlie puts a hand on my shoulder and I’m trapped.
“Then I guess we have a deal,” the father puts his hand out to Liam, and everything is spinning around me.
“Elena is not a hooker,” Liam does not offer his hand. “I’m leaving it up to her,” he turns around to me and now everyone is staring at me. I swallow and think that if Charlie will let go of me, I would collapse.
“Elena,” Liam says to me with a smile, “will you spend the night with this gentleman?”
I move my head from side to side in refusal, but I can’t even open my mouth.
“I’m sorry,” he shrugs. “She won’t. But like Mike said, you can choose any other girl.”
“Since when do bitches get to choose, huh?” Giovanni punches the table and I put my hand on Charlie’s to make sure he won’t leave me.
Carlito shakes his head in disappointment, “So you choose to humiliate him again…” he spits on the table. “Give us the whore he wants or there is no deal.”
“I. Am. Not. A. Whore.” I hear myself screaming and shrink back into my seat as everyone stares at me in astonishment.
“Carlito,” Mike pulls himself together and says in a calm voice. “It would be a shame to make a big deal over a girl. You can have any of our girls here tonight.” He indicates for the girls to stand up and they rise and pose like models. “Even the twins,” he points at them proudly.
Carlito stands up and the two brothers stand beside him. “This day will be remembered as a black day,” he says heavily. “The day you went to war with us over a bitch. And we will win this war. We will get our honor back and kill her.”
I don’t even have time to blink, as Liam pulls out a black gun and aims it at the father’s head, suddenly everyone at the bar has a weapon out and is aiming at someone else. Even Charlie lets go of my shoulder and aims a hunting rifle at one of the Italians’ bodyguards.
“You come to our bar and threaten us?” Liam asks venomously, as his scars stretch over his face. “You son of a bitch, you think your threats scare us?” His voice makes my blood freeze. “Today will be remembered as the black day by one side, and it won’t be our side,” he is still holding the weapon steady.
“Finally, someone is talking some sense here,” Ralph says as his gun is pointed at Giovanni. “Why do we need wars when we can finish all three of you right here and now?” He moves his finger to the trigger.
“Want to see who’s faster?” Giovanni asks as he points his gun at Ralph.
“We’re done here.” Carlito exclaims and puts his hands on the weapons that his sons are holding. “The first act is over,” he signals Giovanni who obeys, but still pointing his gun at Ralph. “When the second act will start there will be blood. A lot of blood.” He says as he walks to the exit. His two sons and his bodyguards are walking behind him. Everyone still has their guns drawn. Just before they leave, I hear Liam’s voice again.
“Too bad you didn’t teach your sons not to get involved in a war they’ll never win.” The door slams behind the Italians and I stand up. The stress and pressure explode inside me and I run to the restroom.
“Elena, come out of there,” Liam is knocking on the door of the stall. I'm sitting balled up on the toilet seat, hugging my legs and rocking back and forth hysterically. I must calm down. Each thought I have creates a new wave of panic and I’m in a complete haze. Think of something else , I command myself. Let your mind push it all away, force it to deal with something else.
“Elena, open the fucking door,” Liam knocks again and I close my eyes and mutter.
“Newton’s third law—”
“I can’t understand what you’re saying,” he sounds concerned.
I ignore him and continue muttering. “Newton’s third law is also called the law of action and reaction… in every interaction there is a pair of forces…”
“You're hysterical, Open the door and let me help you,”
"The third law is also called the law of action and reaction, when two bodies interact with forces…"
"Open the fucking door already!", he raises his voice but I'm already in another world.
“The size of the force on the first object—”
“You try,” I hear him say in the background.
“Elena,” Johanna’s gentle voice almost brings me back to my black world, but I continue.
“Equals the size of the force on—”
“Newton’s third law,” she giggles. “Open up and we’ll talk about it the way we like.”
“The second object. Equals and reverse in its direction to the force exerted by the second body…"
“On the first object.” she finishes my sentence and I burst into tears. I feel my two worlds have collided. My magical, enchanted, and rosy world has been sucked into a black hole of a shocking horrific world that’s waiting out there for me.
“Don’t cry,” she begs. “Please open the door for me.”
I rock back and forth, my body starts seizing up and I cry harder.
“Move!” I hear the insistent voice and the door is kicked down. I shut my eyes again and start muttering from the beginning.
“What happened here? What happened to her?” the sweet voice sounds scared.
“Come on,” I am being pulled out of the stall and forced to stand up. My body is wobbling, and the man who put me in this situation puts his arm under my armpit. He pulls me along with him. We walk out to the bar and my weeping turns to wailing.
“Walk us out,” he requests. I think some men are walking behind us, escorting us. We go out to the street and I am put on the motorcycle. He puts the helmet on my head and sits in front of me.
“Tommy, the bar is open,” he says firmly. “Those bastards won’t interfere with our business.” I don't hear the answer, I hold on to his waist and rest my head on his back as he starts driving fast, so fast that my head slams against his back every time he shifts gears. Finally, he stops, raises his arm towards the wall, and the garage door opens.
“Come with me,” he says softly and gives me his hand. I don’t have the strength to refuse. We go inside and he takes me immediately upstairs. He sits me down on the bed and takes a bottle of liquor out of a dresser's drawer. “Drink.” he orders, and I take a small sip. “More,” he orders again, and I take another, longer sip. He removes my shoes and my jeans, and lays me down on the bed. “Go to sleep. You’ll feel better tomorrow.”
I put my head down on the pillow and close my eyes. “It’s all your fault,” I hear myself saying all choked up. “You should have kicked me out of that hellhole the first time I walked in.”
“I tried,” he says painfully.
“Not hard enough.” I answer accusingly and recite the third law again. Minutes later I'm in dreamland.