Respect

Chapter 26: Lonely House

Athena's POV
"Leave"
Was all he said. For the first time, he pushed me away, and I deserved it. I was so used to doing it to him never knowing how painful it actually was, and when he said it to me, it did hurt.

I had never seen him this vulnerable before. I always saw this hard shell around him, impenetrable, but today, I saw a whole different person, a more vulnerable Daniel.

He was hurting, and I thought he was completely heartless and incapable of feeling emotion, but I was wrong. I misjudged him and regretted it.

I wanted to hold him with every bone inside my body. I wanted to comfort him and make him feel less alone. I hated this guilt feeling inside my chest. I felt like I should have been doing so much more. Whenever I was in trouble, he was there and even when I pushed him away, he never left. So why was I?

That night was the first night Daniel hadn't visited my room. Not hearing that soft knock on my door felt foreign. Not hearing his voice filled with so much concern suffocate my room broke my heart into a million pieces. I'm not sure if I deserved to feel this way after all I had done to him, but one thing was certain, I should have been besides him, comforting him, as he did to me.
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The following morning, I set out on a mission, a mission to finally get close to him. I couldn't stop thinking about him, and wanted so badly to be close to him, and I had mustered all my courage to do so.

I woke up early that morning and went straight to his room. I knocked and knocked, no answer.

Where could he be?

I slowly opened the door and peeked in, there was no one. I opened the door to its max and walked in. I called out to him, but no answer. I walked towards the bathroom and knocked, it was completely quiet.

I soon realised that he wasn't in his room.

Maybe he's downstairs

I rushed out of his room and went to the first floor, he wasn't there either.

"Daniel!" I called out

"He already left ma'am" someone said from behind me, startling me cold.

"What? What time did he leave? It's not even 6 o'clock yet" I asked surprised

"He left last night ma'am"

I was disappointed and hurt at the same time. Why did I leave him?

"Oh, okay then. W-what time will he be back? Where is he?"

"I can't say for sure ma'am. He does this a lot. He leaves when he feels like it, and returns when he pleases"

"What do you mean? Where does he go?"

"We don't know ma'am. But what I can tell you is, when he wants to be alone, he just.... disappears. We're used to it. It's not our place to question, he's the boss"

"Thanks" I said, walking away, disappointed.

I didn't know what to think after that dreadful conversation. Daniel was gone, without a trace. He wasn't in the best condition the last time I saw him, being alone was the last thing he needed, and I hated myself for having left him.

I returned to my room and wandered away. Where would a mafia boss go to clear his head?

Seated on my bed, many things crossed my mind attached to this thought, only making me more restless. I fell back and stared at the ceiling, and could only hope that he was doing well.

Thinking about this only made me worried and bored at the same time. So, I decided to read a book. Daniel did have an amazing collection of books, I appreciated that much about him. I went to his study and scrolled through his books until I was satisfied with my pick, made myself comfortable on his large expensive looking velvet couch, and read away.
________
I was startled awake by the sound of an owl and realised that I had fallen asleep. I looked out the window, it was dark.

Wow!

I quickly put back the books in order, composed myself and ran out of his study. Walking to my room, I realised something, this house was BORING. No wonder he was always so gloomy. I'd be the same if I lived in a large fancy house all by myself.

I could feel myself being sympathetic towards Daniel's situation. He was alone. Come to think of it, could you call what he had a family?

With his killer aunt and psychotic sister, alone is an understatement. I'd hate having such relatives to be honest.

The chef called me for dinner as I was drowning in thought bringing me back to reality. Going downstairs, I noticed the number of bodyguards surrounding the house, all the expensive looking furniture, the golden utensils that made you feel guilty for using them, and the food, neatly set on the table-- was this really his life? He had everything, but looking at him, one would think he was always grieving. He lived such a comfortable life but seemed so unhappy. The more time I spent around him, the more I learnt about him, and I must say, it was sad.

I sat down to eat-- alone, and suddenly felt this rush of emotions. I missed my family. I missed the long conversations around the dinning table. The crazy jokes and fun nights. The embarrassing conversations, and happy moments we shared together as a family.

Daniel always ate alone
Did he ever have a family?

I finally placed my small form on the comfy living room seats and watched the men making their rounds. I wanted to know more about Daniel and what he was like, but approaching either one of these men seemed impossible. They were so focused.

"Umm, excuse me!" I called out, getting their attention.

"Do you need anything ma'am?" one of the guards asked

"No no, I just um, I was wondering if you could tell me something"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I mean, about your boss. It's just that, I don't have anything to do or anyone to talk to, and I'm here in some stranger's house and I don't know anything about him, other than the obvious"

"I'm not sure I know what you are asking for"

"Could you tell me something about your boss. Like, what he's like? Is he...good?"

They all stared at each other, breathing heavily, puffing their chests, when I asked the last question. He didn't seem too open to talking about him.

"Well, ma'am, Don Terranova is very... let's say, career driven. He enjoys his work. He's a good leader and he has done a lot to get to where he is today, and he has earned the respect that's given to him. That's all I can tell you. About being 'good' well, I can say, he doesn't have the most noble profession" he said

Don! Wow!

"Thank you. Really. Um, may I know your name?" I asked plainly

"Claudius" he answered

"Thanks Claudius"

"My pleasure ma'am" he said walking away

I went to my room and took a nice hot shower. Feeling the water run down my body made me feel less stressed. I thought about what Claudius had just told me and remembered what Dean once said. Maybe I really didn't know him. Maybe there was more to him than what met the eye. 

I walked out of the shower, throwing my robe on, and lay in my bed. I stared at the ceiling and let sleep take over me. I was going to find a way to help Daniel get over all of this. That's the least I could do after he helped me so many times.