Love, Evangeline

24.

Every nerve in my body seemed to be balancing on a tightrope. I felt like someone was softly squeezing my neck, limiting the amount of air I could to take in. Fiddling with the bracelet on my wrist, I looked out the window. Rome was beautiful at night, but knowing the danger lurking around was the one thing keeping my attention up. " So, Ms. Lombardi," the driver eventually spoke up. I looked at him through the rear view mirror, " do your brothers know about what you're doing tonight?" My driver asked me. I inhaled deeply before saying, " nobody knows about this." The driver slightly raised his eyebrows, " do you think this is a good idea?" " I need some time alone," I sighed. " Rome isn't a place for a woman like you to be out at night, alone," the driver informed me. " I can get you guards that'll stay behind you," the driver began to say.

" It's okay, I'll be fine," I said. The driver simply nodded before following the car in front of us and making our way down the road. Everything looked perfectly fine, families were out, bakeries and restaurants were open. I eyed my phone on my lap, my heart beating by the minute, just waiting for someone to call asking where I was. " Alright," the driver said coming to a stop. Unbuckling, I opened the car door before getting out. As the passenger window rolled down, I walked over to it. " Be careful Ms," the driver said. Smiling at him, I said, " thank you so much for the ride." Slight fear gleamed in my drivers eyes, making me rethink if any of this was a good idea. " Of course," the driver said. He smiled before rolling up the window, descending down the road. Stepping up onto the sidewalk, I watched as the car joined into traffic as it merged into another lane.

Soft music played up and down the street. Looking down the sidewalk, I turned and began following the crowd. The neon lights, energy, and music all around crept a smile across my face, a smile I never wanted to take off. As I inhaled deeply, I approached a bakery, all sorts of sweet assortments filling shelves. Turning, I walked into the store as kids with cupcakes in their hands were hurried outside by their parents. I grinned as a girl looked up at me, a half eaten chocolate sprinkled cupcake sat in her hands, as well as dots of vanilla icing painting her lips. I chuckled softly as her parents took her hands, leading her outside.

As I looked around, I my stomach grumbled. A sign with pink and purple lettering said, " newest adds" on the back wall. I could smell strawberry, instantly my feet leading me towards the shelves. Scanning, I grabbed a strawberry muffin. Walking up to the cashier, I set the muffin down on the counter. " Ah, many buy this everyday," the man said, his Italian accent making me smile. " It's delicious," the man assured me. " It looks amazing," I said. Wrapping up the muffin, the man said as he handed it to me, " enjoy the rest of your night."

Smiling, I thanked him before turning and leaving the cafe. The night was young, and the city was wide awake. Every now and then I'd hear some yelling, instantly catching my attention. Nerves inside me fluttered slightly at the sound of car tires skidding on the road, or any load noise around me, instantly sending regret into my body.

As I walked down the sidewalk, delicious smells of grilled food fluttered up to me . Eating my muffin, I decided to take a stroll around the park. Lights filled trees, glowing up walkways. I simply couldn't understand how Rome could be subjected to be such a dark and dangerous place, yet I'd seen nothing but utter happiness and beauty. A huge glistening water fountain sat in the middle of the park, kids laughing as they threw in coins, closing their eyes as they made a wish.

Flower gardens that had been planted bloomed up the park . Walking over to a trash can, I tossed away the muffin wrapper before turning back around. Loud laughter came up from around the corner of the walkway. A group of men began approaching me as I walked towards them. The smell of alcohol burned my nose as I smiled at them. " Look what we've got here," on of the men said I kept walking past them, hoping that they'd ignore me and continue their way down the path " Hey, I'm talking to you!" The man yelled.