Runaway II

Camila's POV
Performances always had my body humming with excitement. Wether it was in front of a crowd of thousands or a merely a couple hundred the feeling was always the same.
My heart would soar, my mind would race and my mind would clear because it was just me and my music.
It was one of the few moments where I took the time to pride myself on, well, myself.
Tonight my performance wasn't in an opera house or a large stadium. It was in the school auditorium for a crowd full of parents and faculty members but the crowd never mattered to me. They were all the same.
Strangers that just liked to hear me play.
I had opened the show with a chello performance and I was closing it with a piano solo. Luckily I didn't have to wait it out the time between my performances in the craziness of backstage.
Instead I got to lounge around in my own dressing room curtesy of my music teacher.
I wasn't planning on sticking around after my performance either. My music teacher had insisted but I refused, knowing all I'd be doing was standing there awkwardly while all the other kids got congratulated by their parents -who showed up for them even if they had no talent whatsoever.
Yeah, been there, cried over that.
Instead I was going to celebrate myself by having a night out on my own. I needed to learn how to have fun by myself and not count on others for my own happiness.
Although pathetic, that was my reality. I didn't have a lot of people there for me, and the ones I did have, had their own lives to worry about and I couldn't blame them for that.
Aside from the fact that I didn't want to be alone in Mason's apartment, I knew if I stayed in tonight I would wallow in my own loneliness more so than I already have been doing.
Besides I had a fake ID and Mason lives within walking distance to the hottest clubs, it would be a shame not to take advantage of the opportunity.
I was in the middle of rearranging my music folder at my dressing table, when I realized something was off.
I hadn't paid any mind to it but the moment I heard his voice, I cursed myself for being so oblivious to his presence.
"You were amazing, Principessa."
His deep rough voice had no right to send chills down my spine, but it did and I found myself snapping my head up.
I didn't dare to turn around and instead lifted my eyes to my reflection in the dressing room mirror.
I could make out his form behind me, and as much as I hated to admit it, the sight of Alejandro took my breath away.
For starters the man's hair was slicked back, like he had ran his fingers through it in a rush trying to tame his mess of dark curls. His face was shaved allowing me to get a good look at his defined jaw and the perfect tan skin of his face.
Alejandro was in his signature suit, one that hugged his muscular frame perfectly and with the way he was leaned back against the wall with his arms crossed, his biceps were on full display even if it was beneath the fabric of his suit.
But my attention went to the single rose he was fiddling with in his hand. It was a deep velvety red, one that was hard to come by and I found myself snapping my eyes away from him all together.
Was that for me?
I move my head back up at the sound of his footsteps and I watch him through the reflection as he walks forward. When he's standing directly behind me, he leans forward and places the rose on the vanity before me not daring to break eye contact with me through the reflection.
He slowly retracts and I take the time to cherish the smell of his cologne and the warmth of his body so close to mine.
I don't look away from his gaze but I can't get a read on him either. His face is serious and indifferent but I don't miss the way his eyes linger on my face.
I break eye contact first and when he retracts completely, he stays in his spot behind me. His chest nearly touching the back of my shoulder.
"You came to watch?" I ask, forcing my voice to come out nonchalant, even if my heart was beating at the prospect of him having been in the crowd watching me.
I can feel his gaze on me and when I glance up into the mirror, I meet his gaze. "Of course I did."
I hadn't even looked up into the crowd-I never did because I didn't have anyone to look for nor would I even think that anyone knew to come. But my heart flutters.
Someone came to see me.
I didn't have to tell them, persuade them or make them. They came just to watch me, appreciate me.
The urge to cry washes over me but I don't let myself get emotional over it. Instead I focus on remembering why I left him in the first place.
He disregarded my feelings like he didn't care. I felt violated and I confided in him but he believed Greta's bodyguard -the man that made me feel so disgusting- over me.
Although it wasn't as extreme as some of my previous experiences, I didn't appreciate the way he made me feel like I was such a problem for him to deal with.
I purse my lips and grab the rose, I can feel his eyes on me which is why I throw it into the garbage can off the the side of the table. "Cool." I reply tensely, before looking up into his eyes. "Was there anything else you wanted?" I say dismissively.
Nothing he could say right now would make my feelings change completely. Although this gesture was sweet, I wasn't quite ready to forgive him.
Not to mention he hasn't even apologized -but then again his apologies were useless.
Sure I had been purposely acting out and driving Greta insane with the intention of her running to Alejandro. But it was only because I was angry at the way he had treated me that morning at breakfast.
I wasn't all those things he said I was. But now every time I was alone, I couldn't help thinking that maybe I was the delusional one. I didn't want to admit it, but he might have been right.
And despite the fact that I regret my childish antics, he still didn't believe me when I turned to him-after being violated by a man in my home.
But another part of me couldn't blame him for it entirely. I kept lying and testing his patience, until he couldn't take it.
Sadly the push that sent him over the edge wasn't a lie, but it told me that I needed to take some accountability for my actions.
Alejandro's face doesn't waver and instead of commenting on the elephant in the room, he purses his lips and regards me like there's so much he wants to say."When are you coming home."
His tone tells me that it's not a question but a statement and it makes my frustration spike.
I didn't appreciate him bossing me around so much.
I raise a brow. "Home?" I spin in my chair to face him. "Last I checked home is a place where you get away from all your problems. Not a place where you're told you are the problem." I say.
Alejandro's jaw ticks and he stares into my eyes. "Your problems are mine and sometimes you drive me crazy." He growls, stepping forward. "But that doesn't change the fact that I deal with them because I want you around." He continues to shake his head, looking just as frustrated as me. "I'm just not use to having to deal with someone like you."
Wow. Alejandro Gonzalez, forever the romantic poet.
I blink up at him and cross my arms. "Wow, what an honour to have you to want me around- to boss around." I deadpan.
He gives me a pointed look, one that shows me he's extremely frustrated with me, but I'm not done. "Becasue that's all you do. Demand and order me around. You never treat me like a normal fucking person and ask me anything."
He opens his mouth to protest but I give him a pointed look and he stops himself. "Maybe if you were decent enough to ask, instead of demanding like you are now, I would have come home." I lift my chin in defiance and watch as his eyes narrow and his jaw ticks.
I can tell he wants to fight me but he stops himself by taking a deep breath and his eyes penetrate mine. "Will you please come home?" He grits out, his voice hard but only to mask the pleading tone beneath.
His eyes watch me intently waiting for my answer and I know how hard it is for him to do what he just did.
Baby steps.
"No."
His face entirely drops, and he blinks in confusion like he's never been told no and when he looks down with a crestfallen frown and his brows furrowed like he doesn't know what he did wrong, I want to take it back. "But I asked." He mumbles genuinely upset.
My eyes soften as I look at his beautiful brown eyes that are blinking at me. "Yes, you did and it's a step in the right direction. But part of the growth is you having to accept my answer. Even if it's not the one you were hoping for." I explain.
He looks into my eyes, his face hardening into one of annoyance and frustration but I know it's not entirely meant for me.
He's upset with himself.
"And instead of fighting you on it, I'm going to give you a straight answer. I'll come home when I'm ready. Now get out, I have another performance to prepare for." I say.
Alejandro stares at me, his eyes narrowed like he's trying his hardest to accept this and when he doesn't say anything -a silent sign of understanding, I want to smile.
But I stop myself.
Was the bar that low that I found myself wanting to jump up and down at the fact that he asked me something instead of ordering me around?
I really was pathetic.
"One more thing, I would appreciate being able to roam around without one of your hot headed meatballs following me everywhere I go."
When Alejandro's face sombers into a look I know too well, I already know the answer. "Absolutely not. I'm not letting you walk around alone. They stay and that's final." He says firmly, squaring his shoulders.
With an annoyed sigh, Alejandro spares me one last look as he searches my face before leaving the room, without another word.
And when he leaves, my victory isn't all that sweet. Even if it was the right thing to do, it didn't feel like it.
And as masochistic as it was, seeing him only proved just how much I actually missed him.
The sour feeling followed me into my performance, but this time instead of allowing myself to isolate everyone around me, I found my eye wandering into the crowd in search for his face.
And when I spotted the two men lurking in the far back corner, I found myself allowing a small smile to grace my lips.
Marco and Alejandro were here to watch me.
We didn't speak to each other nor greet each other and when my performance ended we all went our separate ways, but I found myself smiling on the way home in my Uber.
That was one of my favourite performances in a while.
And when I found another one of those velvety red roses taped to the door of Mason's apartment, my smile only grew.
And this time I didn't throw it away.