Found in Darkness

Chapter 24

ELENORA

The next morning, I step out of the room and find Mostro sitting at the kitchen island.

"Buongiorno." I greet him, grabbing a banana from the fruit bowl. (Good morning)

He grunts in response.

I take a bite of the banana before turning to him, wondering what his problem is, but I gasp, choke, then force my bite of the banana down when I see his eye is almost swollen shut. "What happened to you?" I grab his face to get a better look at his injury.

"Did Rico do this to you?"

Mostro shakes his head, removing my hands from his face. "Fuck no, Rico didn't do this to me. I wouldn't be alive if Rico unleashed his anger on me. Some motherfucker we roughed up last night, fought back," He informs me as I grab a piece of steak from the fridge and place it on his eye.

He gives me a questioning look. "It will take some of the swelling down."

"Seems like a waste of food if you ask me." But he holds it against his face anyway and then picks up his cup of coffee to take a long sip.

"Where is Rico anyway?"

"He's at the gym down the hall," He tells me. "He didn't want to wake you."

"Hm," I say as I keep eating. More like avoiding me after our text fight yesterday. After he left I sent him a text to let me know what he finds out. His response?

There's no need.

I repeat, there's no need.

Can you believe that? Well, let me tell you, I wasn't about to sit back and let him belittle my need to be a part of finding out who it is, and why they're doing it.

So I told him to suck a dick if he thought he had any right to tell me what I need or don't need. He didn't respond.

And then I couldn't sleep and ended up having one of my nightly one on one conversations with myself. A couple of hours later, the elevator ding alerted me that he was back. I debated if I should go out to the main room, but then the bedroom door opened and Rico went into the bathroom.

When he came out, I laid in the dark listening to him undress before he climbed into the bed and he wrapped his arms around me. He inhaled deeply before kissing my head and whispered. "Let me take care of you, patatina mia." (my little potato)

And then he was gone when I woke up this morning.

I throw away the banana peel. "I'm going to go work out."

Mostro looks up, still holding the slab of meat on his face.

"What? I work out." I defend myself against his scrutinizing eyes. He raises the eyebrow of his uninjured eye and I purse my lips at him before I turn away to grab some shoes and put my hair up.

When I'm ready, Mostro is standing near a door I always assumed was a closet, but when he opens it for me, I find we are in a hallway. "So, what's your real name? I doubt your parents would name you Mostro willingly, unless your parents are related to Maui?"

"Who?"

"Maui? You know, shapeshifter, demigod of the wind and sea, hero of men."

The blank look on Mostro's face is beyond shocking. "Oh come on! Really? That's it, we're doing a movie night. Maui is a co-main actor in the Disney Movie, Moana."

Still no signs of recognition from Mostro. "Anyway, his parents were major douche canoes and tossed him into the sea after he was born. Can you believe that?"