Omertà, Amore Mio

Chapter 6

Noelle

He punched me in my back.

I know there's probably a bruise there. I layed my head on the window. I'm tired. I wanna go home. I don't even know anything about the stupid papers so why am I with him. The car comes to a sudden hault making me lunge forward. Aufiero looks back and grins. We're in front of some huge house. He unlocks the door for me to get out. They're a lot of big house in Maryland that I didn't even know existed. Another car pulls up behind us. It's dark. I can't really see who's in the car. I turn my head back towards the house. All of the lights are off. Afuiero's eyes flicked to the people behind me. Giovanni, Maso, Crespiano, Vitale and Finostadi. Aufiero didn't have his usual smirk on his face. His expression was unreadable. So are the others.

Two men were standing guarding the door. Their eyes were focused on Aufiero and the guys. The one on the right had his hand on something attached to his wasit. Most likely a gun. No one said a word. They walked a little closer to the men gaurding the door.

Gunshots cracked into the air as loud as fireworks. The gunshots were coming from the guys behind me. Aufiero had his gun out firing shots too. The gaurds were also firing shots. Glass is flying. I duck down behind the car, not wanting to get caught in the cross fire. Italian words were flying through the air. The gunshots stopped for a a few seconds.

"Noelle"Giovanni yelled, "Let's go"

All the blood that once flowed casually through the men's veins was now splattered onto the pavement. Black splotches everywhere. My mind thought back to the night I tripped over that man as I noticed blood pooling from one of the men's head. I quickly stepped over there dead bodies, walking into the house as fast as I could. They were rummaging through things. I stood by the door, not knowing what to do. Aufiero appeared from the hallway. His face had blood on it. You could see the stain on his shirt too. He looked at me and I feel like collapsing. I don't get the feeling that I usually feel around him. I feel scared. I can't breathe, it feels as if someone is choking me. He stares at me intensely like I'm next on his list to die.

I gulped.

My heart is racing. He takes a couple steps towards me, cocking his head to the side, "That will be you if you disrespect me again"He indicates. I feel like curling up in a ball, praying from someone to save me. "Find anything?"He askes the guys. They all say no. "Let's go"

I still can't believe my eyes. This is the third time I've seen a dead body in a week. My eyes won't be able to erase this. Even though it was pitch black outside, the street lights still provided a little amount of light. I sat in the back seat again with my head on the window.

Over the past few days, I've learned to cry in silence but right now, my cries were anything but that. My sobs were ferocious and noisy and Aufiero didn't like it. He pressed on the brakes and snapped his head back, glaring at me. My sobs stiffled. My lashes were stuck together. He parted his lips to speak but he turned his head back aorund. I could feel my eyes beginning to sting and my chest starting to feel heavy. I couldn't see clearly. The back of the seat looked like a blob and the only reason I even know it's a seat is because I know I'm in a car with a murderer. The car stopped and I wiped my tears.

We were at another house, but this time, it was just Aufiero's. He was on the phone, speaking harshly to someone. He sighed loudly before cursing in italian and throwing the phone on the concrete, shattering into pieces. He ran his hands through his hair and then rest them on his hips. He threw the keys at me. "Open the door and go to bed. Your family is coming over in the morning"

I wanted to yell, dance, sing, and shout at the same time but I didn't want to make him more upset than he already was. I smiled to myself and unlocked the door. I would see my family. Millions of questions ran through my head.

"Do they already know Aufiero?"

"Do they know he kidnapped me?"

"Do they think we're dating?"

"Do they know anything about the mafia?"

I sat down on the bed, resting my head on the headboard. My eyes open and close and I smile. Hopefully, they'll take me with them and I wont have to come back. Aufiero stands at the door. "I swear if you say anyt-

"I know, I know, you'll kill me in front of them"

He smiles. "Damn right." I try not to smile. He walks off and a couple minutes later, I hear the shower running. I layed my head on the pillow and thought about how tomorrow would go. My mind leisurely dragged my mind into the oblivion of sleep.

Waking up is such a pleasure. My eyelids were open wide and they aren't droopy like they usually were. The smell of breakfast filled the air. I hurried into the kitchen where Aufiero was standing over the stove fully dressed. It was bright. The curtains were pulled back and it almost seemed as if the person living in this house was a normal person living a normal life but he wasnt. I walked back into the room and gathered my clothes, heading into the bathroom.

Aufiero had a small radio in the bathroom. I turned it on. Bad Blood played at a medium volume. I undressed and stepped into the warm water. The water dripped through my hair and down to my body. I turned the water up a bit higher . Lined along the tile were soaps of all kinds. Maybe his ex left these here. That thought made me flinch. I couldn't really imagine him having a girlfriend. Maybe one day I could be his girlfriend.

What?

I pour some of the liquid soap onto the cloth and began scrubbing my body. The water was still drenching my hair. I rinsed off and stepped out, turning the water off in the process. I pushed the curtain back the way it was. The bathroom had lots of femine products in it but most of them were brand new. I dried my body and rubbed it down with lotion. I put on my undergarments and slipped on a sundress. At least Aufiero had good taste in women's clothing.

My thick black hair stopped just above my shoulder as a result of it being blow dryed. There aren't any flat irons but there are hair oils. I rubbed my hair with Argan Oil and threw it in a ponytail. I smiled. I actually look decent. I brushed my teeth and ran into the kitchen. My stomach is in desperate need of food.

Aufiero was at the table eating and typing up something on his laptop. My plate was already fixed and the table. He looked up once I sat down. His eyes lingered over my body. I disregarded his silent salutation and began to eat my food. I picked up a piece of bacon and stuffed it into my mouth. It was fried to a crisp. His lips quirked up into a smile as I continued chewing. My stomach churned. He probably poisoned this. I swallowed and stuffed more food into my mouth. My eyes darted up to his. He was still staring. "What?"I ask. He shakes his head. "Nothing, you just reminded me of someone for a second"He said. He have me a very vulnerable look. He continued to type away on his computer.

I washes the dishes and cleaned off the table. He kept typing on his laptop. Whatever he's doing must be really important. I took a seat on the couch and turned on the tv. "What if they ask why I'm here, what do I say?"

He looked up but looked back down. "The photography thing"

The door bell rings and a wide smiles appears on my face. He closes his laptop and stares at me intensely. "Open it" He almost smiled. I anxiously stood up and walked to the door.

Here goes nothing.