Chapter 276: I Don't Feel Too Good
Chapter 276: I Don't Feel Too Good
Gregorio
When Domenico cornered her at the funeral, he told us her balance had seemed oddly off, dark circles under her eyes and so much hatred for him that he feared she had been experiencing Stockholm syndrome when it was obvious she shouldn't have been so inclined to run back to her father's side. Over the few times I had randomly dropped in on her while she remained in this tiny apartment, I had thought she had just been too stressed to remember to eat. But now it made me wonder if her appetite had been reduced as well, her weight loss not from training more but from the drugs themselves.
Everything seemed to be falling painfully into place from those single pieces of information and her behavior made so much more sense in light of this. She wasn't just traumatized, she was physically sick from something she had no choice in the matter about.
"Why are you telling me this, Jacob? Because what I am hearing is that you played a pretty vital role in enabling this." I said slowly as I let the threat kick in with him.
Right now my blood was boiling and craving justice and while I know Camilla claimed he was one of two people that got her through this last year, I couldn't be fooled into believing he was innocent in all of this. Jacob needed to come up with a pretty good reason as to why I shouldn't kill him now and fast because I was on the edge of caving to the violence I have had to spend months suppressing for the sake of keeping my family intact.
Jacob was smart enough to hear the warning in my tone as he straightened a bit in his seat and while fear would typically create a sense of smugness within my soul. I wouldn't take any pleasure in making him pay for his involvement in putting our Camilla in that situation in the first place. All it would do was serve as a reminder that I had been too late getting to her and that there was absolutely nothing I could do to reverse what had happened now.
Based on what l was told, the last time Camilla had her dosage was the day before she escaped with Harper in her arms even if the cost of the action was herself.
"I am saying this because the last thing Camilla needs now is space." He inclined his head ever so slightly to show there were no regrets in what he has admitted to so far tonight, truly making me believe that this conversation was being had with her best interest in mind.
"She had been on her own far too long, Gregorio and I think that you three are the best shot she has at getting help."
While I hated to admit it, I couldn't help but feel like Jacob Pope may just be right. The feeling was more than just instinctual, it was bone deep and demanding. At this moment, I didn't care to hide my vulnerability as I took in a shuddering breath through my nose, tears beading in my eyes as I wanted to cry for the pain she had to endure without me or my brothers being there for her.
My anger for Jacob disappeared as I started to realize that there were so many other things in this world that were more important than something as petty and minuscule as revenge. And as I let a tear slip past my cheek, I forced myself to keep it together as I choked.
"Did she know she was taking them?"
I think I feared any possible answer that he could provide, though, because I don't think there was a reality here that wasn't marred by anything but sickening realization.
"Not at first." He shook his head quietly as he let out a heavy sigh before me.
"But after a while, I think she started to want them when she realized she wasn't getting out."
Another tear fell but this time it wasn't for me. I was crying for every moment Camilla couldn't and while I knew I had no plans of harming him tonight, I couldn't help but ask. But plead to know something that just didn't make sense.
"Why didn't you help her get out of there?" I whispered desperately, certain that I would have fought tooth and nail to get anybody in her place somewhere better.
It was why I was willing to let Camilla go even now, even though it went against everything I could have ever wanted for myself, for us.
"Because I have a family too." He said quietly like he wished he could have done something as well but I also understood that helping her could have put his own life and loved ones at risk in the process. I understood that but it didn't make it any better.
"I have two younger sisters and a brother." He continued, clearly seeing where my mind had gone and not blaming me for it either.
Even if at one point it had been romantically, I really do think Jacob cares about Camilla as much as I do and for a second, I hated him just a little less for it.
"I sparred with her to take her mind off things, taunted her just to make sure she kept her fight. I have done anything and everything I could do to help her get through the year the second I started to realize you weren't the brainwashing abusers Lucas painted you out to be. But if I contacted you…." He trailed off but we both knew blanks weren't that hard to fill in.
If he contacted us and we were unsuccessful in retrieving her, the consequences would have fallen immensely down upon him and very likely Camilla too. She was family and Jacob needed to look out for him.
I could connect with that because I had let go of Camilla once already and it very quickly became the worst mistake of my life. And despite where my thoughts had been earlier coming into this, I knew that in this case, Jacob was right.
I would be a moron to let her go again.
Camilla POV.
My head was pounding as my eyes squinted open slowly, blinking a few times as I adjusted to the unfamiliar environment around me. There was a lingering scent in the air that could only be described as something purely masculine, the bed u found myself in warm like a summer's day and soft enough to sink under my weight like a cushion of clouds.
Tucked up to under my chin was the light brush of a comforter the shade of a darker, almost muted pink, smelling similarly to the sheets in the guest room I had stayed in two nights ago even though I was certain I had never been here before. The room as a whole was simply dark yet seemed like it physically contained the essence of a kind of rich allure, every quality to it tasting like power and feeling, feeling like me.
"Gregorio?" I called out softly as I pushed myself to sit up ever so slightly, dizzied almost instantly and feeling like I was going to pass out from the movement alone.
I dropped my head back to rest it against the headboard as the awful sensation seemed to heighten almost instantly, just to be met with the gentle cushion of a hand cupping the base of my neck, the masculine smell from earlier increasing tenfold.
"I have got you, Camilla." Gregorio's voice soothed quietly as I felt him sit down beside me on the bed, my eyes squinting in the dark to realize that I wasn't even close to being alone.
Gregorio's curls were a mess right now with dark shadows making his face look so much sharper than usual, peering over the bed to find Adriano and Domenico on the floor, leaning with their backs against the frame and sporting the exact same tired look. They were already moving to stand before I could ask what was going on, my gaze being drawn back to the man at my side while the other two moved to sit at the foot of the bed together.
"I don't feel too good." I groaned as I brought both of my hands up to rub my eyes, tucking my knees close to my chest as an unconscious attempt at comfort.
With each second, the features of the room around me started to make less and less sense. Where the hell was I?
Just as another wave of dizziness washed over me, it was suddenly accompanied by the awful memories of last night, of the branch that cut me and all of the events and words that occurred after the fact. My eyes were still sore this morning from how hard I had cried while I was damn near falling over in their kitchen, the embarrassment and regret I felt over it now likely plastered plainly across my face.
"I know, sweetheart. It is from the medicine I gave you last night. The feeling will pass in a few minutes." Gregorio assured me as I felt his hand pass over my cheek, my body both falling into him and wanting to reject his touch due to how vulnerable I was right now.
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