Under My Skin

Chapter 17

I thrust the door to my room open. The force in which it hit the wall shook the four walls and the rest of the villa. I grabbed the vase filled with fresh-cut flowers and flung it across the room. The pieces of ceramic exploded in tiny shards, which scattered over the entire floor. My grief shattered with it.

My body trembled with a toxic mixture of fear and hatred. I grabbed anything I could and threw it whichever way I faced. Glass Shattered. Mirrors broke. Fabric ripped. I flipped the whole room upside down.

Entering the room, Enzo dashed towards me and grabbed me. He pulled me into his lap as he collapsed to the glass-covered floor. I fought him. I tried to pull his arms off my body. I tried to pull myself out of his grip. I tried to push my body away from his, but I could not escape his embrace.

"You're going to hurt yourself!" Enzo exclaimed.

I beat on his chest. I scratched his skin. I pushed him away. He never let go.

Enzo endured my tantrum until I tired myself out. I felt his chest relax and lower as he let out a long exhale. My body continued to quiver from the feeling of tiny vermin crawling under my skin. Every few minutes I twitched from their tiny steps crawling up my spine.

Although Enzo knew his touch caused discomfort, he kept me from getting off of him even after I settled down. One arm wrapped around my body, and the other caressed the back of my head. I glared up at his loathsome face as he laid on the ground with his eyes closed and his head arched back against the floor.

Angelo reached the open doorway and skidded to a stop to see what happened. He had his gun at the ready. When he saw the position Enzo and I lay in, he lowered the weapon and walked away without a word.

With my cheek squished against Enzo's rising and falling chest, I heard his heartbeat. My heart synced up to his and for a moment nothing else mattered. The insects under my skin went to sleep, and my body stopped shaking.

"There's a contract," I mumbled against his chest.

Enzo didn't move. He questioned me with an airy tone as if he did not hear what I said, "What?"

"There's a contract that states I must marry Niccolò when I turn twenty-one. He has the event planned for my birthday. He's going to hunt me down. We need to be prepared."

"Let's not worry about that right now. That's a matter for after breakfast."

In an overworked state, Enzo refused to move. Every word he spoke slurred from exhaustion. After some time, I felt his hand on my head fall limp. He fell asleep. Even after I stood up, he didn't wake. As I look down at him, I snorted a laugh at his open mouth and unconscious expression.

In the kitchen, I opened the fridge to see uncooked cornetti, as I expected. It was his favorite breakfast item, and I planned to use that to get him to talk about Niccolò's next move.

How do I like my eggs in the morning?

The baking sheet almost fell from my hand as Niccolò's voice spoke in my mind. I shook it off and tossed the tray into the oven. As the two cornetti baked, the aroma of raspberries and sweet bread filled the villa. It pushed the memories of Niccolò and the Barbieri's estate out of my head for now.

After tossing Enzo's cornetta onto a plate, I brought it up to my destroyed room where he still lay on the messy floor. I held the plate in front of his face. I moved it closer to his nose so that he'd smell it and wake up.

Instead, I think he began dreaming about cornetti. Perhaps that only worked in the movies. He had an odd smile on his face, and I grew more annoyed. Then, I slapped him.