Chapter Twenty-Two #2
“Crazy would be leaving you behind.” Cesare answered without hesitation.
Sabrina released a pent-up breath and shook her head at the absurdity. “When are you coming back?” She asked.
Cesare swallowed thickly. “I don’t know yet. It’s an evolving situation but as soon as I’m sitting in front of him, I’ll be able to gauge what the time frame will be.”
Sabrina furrowed her brows.
“If I could give you a return date, I would. If I could stay, I would. I’m not having this conversation with anyone else, Sabrina. I’m not in the habit of disclosing where I go, why, or when, but it matters to me that you know.”
Sabrina bit her lip and nodded. “Thank you for telling me. When did you find out?”
“Fifteen minutes ago.” He answered, a vein in the side of his temple noticeably pulsing.
“I’m sad that you’re leaving. Of course.” Sabrina replied. “But you’re going without knowing when you’ll come back; and that makes me feel like you’re leaving for good.”
“What would it take to get you to come with me, tesoro? Whatever you need, name your price.”
Sabrina gazed at Cesare’s face and sighed. “Can I sleep on it?” She asked.
Cesare nodded. “Of course.”
“I’m going to hang up now, and I’ll, I’ll text again when I wake up tomorrow.” She answered, her throat tightening as she refused to cry. Not yet, at least.
“Sleep well, tesoro.” He nodded.
“Sleep well, Cesare.” She murmured back and promptly ended the call.
With trembling fingers, she gently set down the phone and closed her eyes. She had spent the last three years watching almost everyone that mattered leave or die. Every suppressed disappointment, silent heartache, and stoic goodbye picked that moment to bubble up.
A sniffle turned into a teary gasp, and then Sabrina put her head in her hands and sobbed. She cried for her parents, for her sister, for everyone she thought would stay and didn’t. She sat with her pain as it rose from her gut and constricted around her chest.
Sabrina had the passing thought that she hadn’t cried at all when her parents had died, hadn’t cried when Brooke had left, and hadn’t fully cried over anything since.
It all seemed to come out now.
She vaguely heard someone knocking on the front door, but her sobs had become uncontrollable, and she had no intention of letting anyone see her this way.
She registered the sound of footsteps coming down the hall just as her bedroom door opened, and Cesare Lombardi stood in the doorway looking like the picture of distinguished wealth in a custom made suit and tie. The nerve.
“Why does everyone always leave?” She gasped out, looking up at him; tears streaming down her cheeks. “Why do they never stay?”
Cesare’s expression looked almost as heartbroken as Sabrina’s. “I’m not leaving you.” He muttered, shrugging out of his suit jacket and folding it over her chair. Underneath his jacket, he wore a leather shoulder holster that held a handgun against his left side.
Sabrina went still; the visual of the weapon centering her in the present and sobering her emotions. He pulled the handgun out and placed it on top of her nightstand. The cold thud of metal on wood echoed in the room.
Cesare shrugged out of the holster, muscles flexing, and laid it over the suit jacket. His silk tie and a polished leather belt soon followed.
Sabrina swallowed as Cesare unbuttoned his shirt, as tears continued to silently streamed down her face. She attempted a shuddering breath. Cesare placed his leather shoes and woolen socks by the bedroom door before closing and locking the two of them within the quiet confines of her room.
Sabrina watched silently as he slowly, methodically stripped down to his underwear in front of her. Instead of feeling any of the lust from earlier, the air between them tonight was fragile, vulnerable, and tender. Cesare took off his Rolex and placed it on the nightstand beside the firearm.
“I am not leaving you.” He repeated calmly, his voice so tender it was heart-wrenching.
Sabrina, unable to stop the tears that continued to fall, helplessly, wordlessly, lifted the covers in invitation as Cesare advanced towards the bed.
He joined her under the covers and wrapped his strong arms around her shaking frame, squeezing Sabrina’s soft body tightly to his chest. His lips pressed the softest of kisses against her forehead.
“You are mine. My treasure. My tesoro.” He whispered. “Death itself could not take me away from you. I would simply return to you as a ghost. Your ghost.”
Sabrina didn’t speak. Cesare’s whispered promises continued, and she fell asleep as the words washed over her; settling into the painful cracks of her heart; filling up and soothing each one with the promise of a future right there in his arms.
Sabrina woke up halfway through the night to the sensation of him grinding against her from behind.
“Cesare?” She asked hoarsely.
He had one large hand cupping one of her breasts, and another hand pressing against her pussy, effectively keeping her ass pinned against the front of his hips.
He gave no sign he could hear her, and continued to grind his growing erection into the cleft of her ass cheeks, and she moaned with a combination of arousal and sleep exhaustion.
“Mine.” He growled in his sleep.
Cesare tightened his grip on Sabrina, nuzzling into her neck. “Mine.” He whispered again before settling back into the world he was dreaming.
Sabrina closed her eyes, soaking in the warmth of being in his arms, and succumbed to sleep once more.
At some point she had a vague sense of an alarm vibrating, and a kiss against her lips. Sabrina registered Cesare’s scent; the sound of a belt buckle being fastened and a weapon being holstered. The whisper of a coat jacket being put on, and the ghost of a kiss across her forehead.
Sabrina woke up with the sun to an empty bed and a note on the desk.
In court today without my phone. If you need anything, call Monty. I will call when I can. Be a good girl and keep the front door locked, tesoro.
A phone number, presumably Monty’s, was written below. Sabrina picked up her phone.
Sabrina: If you’re in court, you may not see this till later, but thank you for
Sabrina bit her lip, at a loss for words. She deleted the text.
Sabrina: Good morning, Cesare. Good luck in court.
She threw on the closest clean clothes and dry swallowed an Advil from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom. She locked the door behind her and put her hair into a last-minute scrunchie as she walked to the marine rescue to feed all of her furry and feathered friends.
Sabrina entered the building and made her way to the recovery room. She gave a sigh of relief at the sight of Freckles flopping happily in the water inside his kiddie pool.
“Hey little guy.” Sabrina smiled. She checked her watch. The vet from the Science Center would be arriving at any moment. “I’m sorry I wasn’t around as much, but I heard a rumor you’re getting strong enough to swim like a professional.” She spoke from the other side of the pen.
Freckles gave a chirp in response as he flipped in the water, and Sabrina smiled affectionately.
“I’m sorry you can’t stay.” She continued. “If we had more funding and a vet, then we’d be so happy for you to stay until you‘re ready to go back to the ocean. But the Science Center has both of those things, and I know you’re going to love it there.”
Sabrina’s phone rang, and after another careful look at Freckles, she left the recovery room to take the call.
“Hello?” She answered the phone. She held the phone to her ear as she walked towards the aviary.
“Sabrina! Oh good, I’m so glad I caught you. This is Kathy Zelenski from down the street. How are you?”
Sabrina blinked in surprise at the sound of her neighbor’s voice. “I’m well, thank you, Kathy. How are you? Is everything okay?”
“Oh, I’m just fine, honey! I’m actually calling you from work and I have some great news!”
“You do?” Sabrina asked, measuring birdseed from a container to transfer into a feeding dish.
“The grant for the Marine Biology students went through, and the funding is available as soon as they start work! We just emailed the Marine Biology Club, and the president says they have a handful of local students ready to come over anytime.”
Sabrina dropped the bird-seed container, and a variety of seeds scattered everywhere as the birds squawked in excitement.
“That’s the best news I’ve had all year, Kathy!” Sabrina exclaimed. “I thought there was a funding freeze until the end of summer!”
“Well, that’s the thing…” Kathy’s tone lowered into a conspiratorial whisper. “We received the funding directly from a private donor, earmarked only for the work exchange program with your rescue.”
“Who was it?” Sabrina asked, already knowing without a doubt that somehow, this was all Cesare. She swore she could hear Kathy’s grin through the other end of the line.
“They specifically requested not to be named anywhere, strictly confidential, you know, but when I tell you, this man was so fine…”
As Sabrina listened, she found her gaze settling on one of several brand-new windows in the building and gave a soft smile. “Oh, I know.” She muttered.
“What was that?” Kathy asked.
Sabrina blushed. “This is wonderful, Kathy. Thank you so much. Do I need to sign anything? Do anything? What are our next steps?”
“All the paperwork was completed when you submitted the grant proposal.” Kathy answered. “There will be some safety forms to sign once you have students on site, and a short form to fill out once a week to confirm work hours. But nothing until then. How soon do you want them?”
Sabrina looked around the rescue, giving a light laugh when she realized everything was blurry from tears of relief beginning to well up. “Tomorrow?” Sabrina laughed incredulously. “Is that too soon?”
Kathy’s smile could be heard through the phone. “Not at all! What time?”
“Does six work? We can do an orientation and they can meet Walter and I both.” Sabrina answered.
“That sounds great.” Kathy confirmed, typing away at her keyboard. “Talk soon, honey!”
Sabrina disconnected the call and then called Monty.
Monty answered on the second ring. “Hello, good morning.” He spoke with a thick Italian accent.
“Good morning, Monty. This is Sabrina.” She greeted, feeling somewhat formal around the man.
“Yes, hello Sabrina. How can I help you?” The older gentleman asked.
“I want to do something nice for Cesare. Something to surprise him when he’s done with court today. Can you help me?” She asked.
“Of course, Signorina. It would be my pleasure.” He answered easily. “What do you have in mind?”