Chapter 259: A Dream
Chapter 259: A Dream
Camilla
"I guess you will take me up now?" I make the first move to break the silence thickening between us, making me feel so much more on edge than I had with the other two.
I had forgotten what it can feel like they were trapped under Adriano's stare and it was too powerful of a sensation to remain caught in. As if my words had too broken him out of his stance, he nodded, tipping his head in the direction of the stairs and not wanting for me to follow. It was completely dark outside now as I rushed after him up the grand staircase, noticing him slowing down ever so slightly until I was walking steadily by his side.
In a weird kind of silence, we went up until we were walking down the hall where his and Domenico's rooms were, the path breaking up to Y-shape of sorts where he took me to the left. To the right was an elevator and not far from that was the playroom. The sight of its door made a small frown on my face and I knew now more than ever that I just wanted to take some medicine and pass out for the night.
"You can choose any room down this hall." He gestured as he stopped walking, allowing me to look and find the three doors waiting before me.
"Some of the views are different but other than that, they are all pretty much the same." Even as he speaks, though, he doesn't look at me like he usually does when we talk.
It shouldn't matter to me and I shouldn't wonder what brought on the cold shoulder after the mostly positive note I left this morning on, but it does and I do. However, I also didn't have the energy to find out the answer right now, simply taking a step forward as I chose the isolated door on the right.
A simple twist of the handle had it opening with ease as I flicked on the lights but I could still feel Adriano's presence at my back, preventing me from just closing the door for the night and pretending like I wasn't sleeping under the same roof as him. Well, partially, depending on how late they all stay out hunting for Ofomata. I knew I could just say goodnight to him and leave it at that but there was a much larger question on my tongue.
It only felt heavier as I turned back around to see him leaning against the wall, his arms crossed tensely as he watched everything I did. His attention was so strong I couldn't help but ask. I couldn't help but wonder if my suspicions were right.
"Are you mad that I chose to stay here instead of the safe house?" I asked in a single breath, refusing to fold as his gaze focused solely on mine.
His eyes have been dark since before I walked into the house a few minutes ago and I couldn't understand what was so different with his response from Gregorio and Domenico.
"I will move first thing tomorrow if I am intruding on your space but you don't have to be a brooding prick about it especially when you seemed to want me here just a handful of hours ago." I said, speaking up and trying to read anything from his expression that could tell me what I did wrong.
Clearly it provoked a response inside of him as his jaw clenched, his head tipping to the side and looking at me up and down like the answer to my question was obvious. Right before I was about to ask him what the hell that meant, he started walking towards me, his body towering from as my neck was forced up to remain level with him.
The second he was close enough, he placed my duffel bag down on the floor by his side, just to grab my chin to ensure I didn't look away from him. The action in itself pissed me off enough to slap his hand away, staring him down as my back pressed lightly against the frame of the door.
"I am mad that the reason you are living here is because of another person and not because you wanted to." He said as his hand moved beside my head, my eyes widening ever so slightly at the frustration in his tone.
It is not what I expected but I can tell this has been on his mind since before I even agreed to stay here out of conversation. This time when he leaned in just a little more, I didn't push him away. Angling his head down, I waited as his lips parted a little and his eyes fell to mine.
"That is not how living together was supposed to go, Princess and yes, it made me a bit of a brooding prick about it." He muttered and it took me back towards days before I was taken to The Safe and I had thought about moving in.
I had considered the idea before we had even discussed it and I had been gleeful at the idea of being here with them every day. Now, I don't know how I could even make it past the week. Something about my expression must have made him think the same thing because I felt that reservedness about him returned, the fire in his gaze retracting. Things suddenly felt cold the second he took a step away from my body, not out of anger but out of the fact he had places to be. Gregorio and Domenico were waiting outside, waiting for him to deal with me so they could move on to the reason I was here.
"Sweet dreams, princess." He mumbled as his eyes slowly looked me up and down once more, my heart beating wildly against my chest.
As I slipped under the covers, something about Adriano's words had sparked a second question in my head. Even over my anger, I couldn't help but wonder if he still has his nightmares.
*********
Adriano POV.
'You don't seem as enthusiastic as I am but that is okay.' Raphael's cruel and menacing tone spun webs around me as he took a single step out the door, his hands resting peacefully in his pocket.
'Maybe your gift will excite you for the real thing.'
He barely even got in the last word before I was slamming the door in his face, the muffled echoes of a laugh sounding on my porch. My anger amused him beyond words but I wouldn't do what he asked of me. The love I had for Camilla was stronger than any promises I made and I wouldn't marry her under these circumstances. I refused, it was as simple as that.
Raphael was gone now, leaving me in a house full of silence apart from the low hum of a sound I couldn't detect, the sound growing in volume until the sharp rasp of a ding demanded my attention behind me. Spinning around, my heart held as I watched the doors of the elevator open slowly, a sick feeling already spreading in my chest as I knew something was wrong. This has happened before.
'Camilla!" I screamed as the gates peeled open to the sight of a woman laying unconscious, her beautiful hair spread out around her head like a silky smooth fan.
I tried to run for her as panic clawed at my chest but my breath was forced still as my limbs refused to move, feeling as though I were running against a pool of thickened honey.
'Camilla! Camilla!' I screamed again and again before everything around me froze, my eyes blinking confusedly as the invisible grip on my body disappeared. This has happened before, the woman on the ground wasn't my Camilla. This was a trick, a dream, a nightmare. This wasn't real.
'Adriano,' a soft, sweet voice whispered my name, pulling me right back into the horrors in front of me. It wasn't just a voice, it was hers.
My heart lurches as I race towards the woman in the elevator, my feet taking me almost too fast this time as I drop to my knees before her, cradling her limp head in my arms.
'Adriano?' She whispered again but this time, it sounded broken, helpless and lost.
'I am here, Camilla.' I cried as I stared down at the light dusting of freckles across her cheeks, the pretty curves of her lips and the incomparable blue of her tear glossed eyes.
'l am here.' I promised as I rocked her slowly back and forth, smiling at the feeling of her warmth beneath my touch.
Her once limp hand carefully rises and wrapped softly around my wrist, holding the side of her face right now.
'Why didn't you find me?' her lips parted at the question but the sound echoed again and again around us like the weight of it was bouncing off the elevator walls, impossible to miss.
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