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Chapter 5 There's No 'We'

Leila's POV

I went into Michael's room, brushing this whirlwind in my head aside, for Mr. Anderson had left me with no answers.

I embraced him tightly, feeling relief to the bone. For a moment, I could shove aside confusion and just be with him. "I missed you so much."

"I did, too," he said, drawing back to look at me. "But what are we doing here? What's going on?"

"I don't know," I confessed, taking a seat on the bed. "Mr. Anderson brought me but didn't say much. I'm just so relieved you're all right."

Michael scrunched up his face in utter confusion, frowning, his eyebrows stitched together. "Mr. Anderson, Is that who you live with now?"

"Yes," I replied, "I work for him. But I don't know he's been so good to us and taking care of us."

Michael reached for my hand again, holding it weakly, yet reassuringly. "Maybe he's just a good person. An angel that God sent to us." He said, smiling.

"Maybe," I said, unconvinced. Dominic was an enigma, and today's action just further muddied the water.

We both sat there for a couple of minutes. It was that steady beep of a heart monitor that made all the noise. My thoughts strayed back to that cool, emotionless attitude of Dominic's, refusing to answer my questions. What he was up to.

Luca came in with his ever-present, easy smile. "Hey kiddo," he greeted Michael, beaming at the sight.

"Luca! You're here!" Michael brightened the level of his voice.

"Of course, I'm here," grinned Luca, scuffling Michael's hair. "Can't let you have all the fun in here, right?"

Michael chuckled, and it was like someone wrung out a smile from me despite my concern. The thing was that Luca did this, putting everybody at ease, even in unnerving situations.

"How're we feeling, champ?" Luca asked as he eased onto the bed.

"Better now that you're here," Michael said, full of admiration, eyes shining like stars. "You staying?"

Luca turned toward me after some thought; the expression somber. "I wish I would, but we need to leave soon. But don't you worry, Leila will come back and see you later."

Michael appeared a bit disappointed but nodded. "Okay. Just promise you'll come by and visit again soon." He said to Luca.

"I swear," he assured him, squeezing his hand. "I will come back as soon as I can."

Luca rose to his feet, smiled reassuringly at Michael, and said, "You rest up kiddo. I'll see you soon."

We walked out of the room, and just as the door shut behind us, all the heaviness of everything, questions, uncertainty, came crashing down on me.

"Luca," I began, but he shook his head very slightly. "… Not here, Leila. Let's talk inside the car."

We went outside, and the cool breeze provided a slap of sorts into some form of reality. I couldn't shake off that feeling of unease that settled in the pit of my stomach.

He got inside the car and turned on the ignition but didn't immediately drive off. He turned to me then, his expression more serious than usual.

"I know you are curious and confused about why Dominic is doing all this and how we found your brother and brought him here," he started, breaking the silence. "But Dominic is just doing all this because he cares. That's all I can tell you," he said, breaking the silence.

I scowled, turning full bodied toward him. "What makes you say that?"

"Because it's the truth," Luca replied, his eyes searching mine. "He may not show it the way you want him to, but that's just it."

I shook my head, not buying it. "Then why won't he tell me anything? Why is he keeping me in the dark?"

"Dominic has his reasons," Luca said softly but firmly. "You just have to trust him."

"Trust him?" I scoffed. "How the hell am I supposed to do that with all these goddamned vague answers?"

Luca sighed, running his hand through his hair. "I know it's hard, Leila, but Dominic is not your enemy. He's trying to protect you."

"From what?" I said, my frustration boiling over. I raised my voice.

"The dangers of this world," Luca said, deadly serious. "Dominic's doing all he can to keep you both safe."

I was quiet again, his words ringing in my head. Seriously? All this trouble because Dominic wanted to keep us out of danger?

"But," I grumbled under my breath, more to myself than to Luca, "Why does he care?"

"That is something you will have to ask him for yourself," Luca finally said, his hands turning the key in the ignition. "But not now. You have had a long day. You must rest."

I lurched back against the chair, my head whirling from the torrent of revelations suddenly thrust on me. Was Dominic truly a protector, just as Luca had said? Is there something here that I still don't see?

The car whisked along city streets; I stared out the window. Very little seemed to make any sense. My mind was jumbled. There weren't any answers yet for what I needed, and this much was known: I was deep inside the looking glass now, and there wasn't any turning back.

Dominic's POV

"Jocelyn, what the hell are you playing at?"

I did not exactly bother with any pleasantries as I caught sight of her stepping out of the talk show building. She was all smiles, looking like a woman who had just announced her engagement on national television. My blood boiled just at the sight of her.

There she was, her eyes lighting up as she viewed me next to my car. "Dominic!" she said, that rotten smile smeared all over her face, and walked toward me. "I knew you would come."

I didn't smile back. "Why are you telling people lies about us?" I asked in a very low trembling voice, laced with the rage barely contained. "What the hell are you thinking?"

Jocelyn's smile wavered for a second before she drew herself up, reaching out to touch my arm. I flinched back, not wanting her anywhere near me.

"Dom," she purred, her head tilting up a little at the corners like she was speaking to a child. "You're overreacting. I was just setting up the stage for what's inevitable."

"Inevitable?" I spluttered, barely able to believe this. "The only thing inevitable is you digging your own grave with these lies. We never had a relationship, Jocelyn. Never."

Her frown deepened, eyebrows furrowed like I was the one being unreasonable. "That's not true, Dominic. We match perfectly and you know very well. Everyone can see it. I'm the only one who stands beside you."

Almost humored by the sound of her grating voice, I laughed. "Do you even see yourself, standing at my side? A delusion, Jocelyn. I have denied you time and again, and you just have to keep pushing this, don't you? Cause you can't stand that someone might not want you?"

My words seemed to turn her face to stone- her eyes did not shut so much as sharpen to needles of anger. "It's you who's been unreasonable, Dominic. You know I've given you everything. I've been patient, waiting for you to come to your senses. But clearly, you need a little push."

I inched closer to her, my body bent at the waist so that we were eye to eye. "Now, listen well, Jocelyn. You do need to put the kibosh on this nonsense here and now before it has gone too far. I have put up with quite a heap of your games, but this ends today."

She stayed put, unflinching. "I'm not afraid of you, Dominic. And I'm sure as hell not the kind of girl you could scare away. Meant to be, and I'll make this happen, whatever it takes."

Now, only her words could fan the flames that were blazing inside of me. "There's no 'we,' Jocelyn. There never was, and there never will be. You need to get that through your head."

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