A Taste of Darkness

Chapter 28: Consume

Scarlett

My legs seem to be rooted in place, preventing me from ever escaping this room that I now suddenly hate with every fibre of my body because of the view I see in front of me. My eyes can't seem to look anywhere else except for where Julio's arms wrap around this mysterious woman's shoulders- no matter how much I tell myself to look away, no matter how much I want to, I cannot. The longer I watch Julio and her in an embrace, the lower my heart drops into my stomach. Everything that I am remains frozen, even the breath of air I feel in my throat which desperately wants to escape, yet finds itself unable to, because I can't seem to be able to open my mouth to do so.

He was merely hugging her. . . so why did I feel so much because of it?

Maybe it was due to how they were holding each other, in a way that made it clear just how close they were not only physically, but mentally in addition. The way he looked so peaceful, comfortable. . . kind, with her. I had never seen him like this before with anyone else. I could definitely see them being together a possibility, romantically.

I swallow the bile forming in my mouth, feeling the burn as it travels down my throat. I hated that thought.

I despised that I hated that thought.

And what's worse?

She's fucking beautiful too.

I wouldn't blame him if he went for her, if he was already with her. Her glowing, sun-kissed skin, warm caramel eyes, long, glistening charcoal hair, model-like bone structure and annoyingly perfect body would be hard to turn down.

Fuck.

"E' bello vederti," she says into Julio's chest with a bright smile turning up her lips, her beautiful Italian accent clearly audible.

Into. His. Chest.

And she's Italian. Fucking great. Another thing she has in common with him.

"Anche per me è un piacere vederti," Julio tells her, continuing to reciprocate her embrace.

I think this hugging of theirs has lasted a minute too fucking long.

After what seemed like a million slow, painful years, just as I was about to go over there myself (I'm sincerely grateful that I managed to restrain myself from doing so), they finally pulled out of the irritating hug I found them wrapped up in. I watched as Julio greeted the two other men I have not seen before in my time here, and if I looked closely enough, I could discern that those two men looked quite similar to the woman Julio was much too familiar with. Perhaps they were related to her.

"I haven't seen you in a while, how have you been?" Giovanni asks the three of them with a warm, welcoming smile on his face.

Finally people are speaking some English.

I didn't like how everyone seemed so overjoyed to see them, because that meant this woman was already welcomed and comfortably apart of their group, which would mean that Julio would be even more inclined to be with her. I know that if I ever decided to get into a relationship with a man again- which was highly unlikely- the first thing I'd want would be for Elena to approve of him.

All of the members and the guests I failed to know the names of continued to chat with each other, friendly conversation freely flowing between them, while I was stuck here, at the edge of the room, quietly observing. I felt like an outsider. Thank God I have not yet been spotted, especially by Julio.

The only member of the team who was not conversing joyfully with all of them was Tatum, who was stood a couple feet away from the circle of individuals with an expression etched across her features that looked almost. . . melancholic? After her eyes remain on one particular person in the group for a few moments longer, she quickly escapes out of the room and disappears undetected.