Locked in chains

Chapter 4

9:00 pm

People are starting to arrive at the house, and the rooms are gradually filling up. They enter the house as if they lived here, pathetic. Emma and I are in the kitchen making ourselves a drink. A Sex on the Beach for Emma and whiskey sour for me. Shortly after, Kyle joins us. "It's going to be crowded later, I'm sure," he says.

"No kidding!" I reply.

"Don't act like a brat, princessa. Have fun a little!"

"He's right, L, you need to let go a little" Emma adds, moving her body to the music. I look at them and smile to show that I will at least try to have some fun tonight, even though it's unlikely. I prefer to stay in my room and wait for the party to pass.

"Well, I'll leave you girls alone," he says, looking at a girl in the distance. "She's gorgeous."

 He then goes in her direction. What a man! "Kyle, the ladies' man," Emma laughs.

"True."

"Umm... If you don't mind, I'll leave you too, and go see Enzo. Wish me luck!" After she said that, she leaves for the living room where Enzo is. I'm left alone in the kitchen surrounded by strangers. Perfect, that's how I like it. 

I start drinking and look at the people in my house, our house. When you take the time to look at people's behavior, you can make some funny observations. Maybe I'm too good at watching people and analyzing them. They seem to be having the time of their lives. Good for them, cause I'm definitely not having the same vibe as them right now. By the time I stopped overanalyzing people, Cole's next to me, looking straight ahead. I turn to look at him and raise my eyebrows in questioning.

"Always in la-la land," he says.

"Always so stupid."

"Who were you looking at?" He asks, changing the subject.

"No one in particular."

We stayed like that for a few seconds before he decided to leave without saying anything back. He went into the living room where the rest of the Reds were. What a strange man. It's almost 1 am, the rooms are filled with people, we hear the music everywhere in the house and at one point, I even thought I could feel the floor shaking under my feet. That's how loud it is here. Emma and I are dancing to the sound of Loco Contigo until she decides to go in Enzo's arms to finish the dance. I sat on the couch for a minute and returned to my old habit. People are going crazy here, some are dancing, and kissing and there's some almost having sex right in front of everyone. No prude here.

After the song ends, I leave the couch to go outside and get some fresh air. I couldn't stay there any longer, I felt overwhelmed by all these people I didn't even know. I pass by the pool and walk towards the small swing at the back of the garden. I sit on it and light a cigarette. The first puff entered my throat, burning me a little, I let it out and enjoyed the sensation of it. I shouldn't like that, but I can't help it. 

"I see we're running away." I turn around and meet his black eyes.

"Are you following me or something?"

"Not by choice."

"What are you talking about?" He looks away and sits down on the swing with me.

"No girl caught your eye tonight? You usually have one under your arm" I say.

"What are you insinuating, Leila?"

"Nothing." A silence settles, but nothing awkward. He rarely comes to me like that but now it's the second time tonight, so something's going on. "What are you thinking about?" I ask.

"Mm?" he says, turning to me.

"What are you thinking about? You're the one in la-la land now."

"Nothing important."

"Is it about the meeting earlier?"

"No," he says sharply.

"Cole, you know you can talk to me if you need to."

"Stop it, okay?" he says defensively.

"There's no need to react like this."

"I'll react however I want," he spits.

"I was just saying..."

"No, you want to know everything! If you weren't invited there's a reason, so stop asking questions that are none of your business." With these words, he stands up and leaves without even looking at me. Emotionally unstable, noted. I go back to my room, I've had enough of the party, and I'd like to be in good shape tomorrow morning. I change, remove my makeup, and settle into bed. The music's still playing, but I fall asleep anyway.

9:00 am

As I wake up, I notice the light hitting my face. I forgot to close the curtains last night, Urgh. As I complain in bed about it, I hear my door opening and the voice of someone I know calling me.

"Wake up, sleepy head!" says Enzo as he walks into my room.

"I'll be down soon" I groan, turning to face the door.

"Breakfast will be ready soon, come down," he says winking at me.

"Wait, you cooked?"

"tss tss, come downstairs."

"Okay, I'm coming," I get up, put on a hoodie, and leave my room to go to the kitchen. Once there, it's only to find Enzo and Lucas preparing breakfast in the kitchen. "I never thought I'd see you guys' cooking!" I exclaim.

"Taste it!" says Lucas.

"Okay," I say, before taking a bite of the eggs.

"And?" says Enzo.

"Edible," I say.

"Excuse me?" Replies Lucas, sounding offended.

"Okay, it's good."

"You can't recognize pure goodness!" exclaims Enzo.

"What's with all the shouting?" says Kyle, walking into the kitchen.

"They made breakfast," I say.

"Stop it!"

"No need to act so surprised," says Lucas.

Breakfast is finally served on the table, Emma and Cole join us, and everyone takes a seat. Cole doesn't even look at me and starts talking to Lucas who's sitting to his right.

"Let the festivities begin!" says Enzo cheerfully. Everyone starts to eat, and we continue with our conversations. After finishing breakfast, I say goodbye to Emma who's going back home. I know she lives close by, but in the next few days we have a lot of missions to take care of and I won't have time to see her. She has school to attend anyway, but we promised to see each other soon. She then turns to Enzo, who takes her in his arms and kisses her. I give her a look that says, "You'll explain this to me later," she smiles at me and then leaves the house. I turn to Enzo, who looks at me suspiciously.

"You and Em'?"

"She'll explain it to you," he says while walking away.

"Oh no! Come on, give me a hint."

He turns his head to the side and smiles at me. They're keeping secrets! Something's going on here and I can't wait for her to tell me all about it. I waited a long time for them to be together, they were always teasing each other and messing around. They finally took it to the other level.

"Guys, come into the living room!" Cole shouts. We all sit on the couch facing him, waiting for what he has to say. "Marcus just told me the next mission's tonight," he begins.

"What are we supposed to do?" Lucas asks.

"We need to make sure a delivery goes smoothly. He doesn't want to get robbed again and no one gets killed tonight unless it's a necessity." He says while looking at me.

"I understand," Kyle says.

"Understood?" He repeats while looking at me.

"Understood," I say.

"What time?" Asks Enzo.

"11:00 pm at the port."