There is nothing more beautiful than watching an innocent angel fall apart at my sinful actions. I'm going to ruin her.
"Augustine."
And she comes, looking down at me as she does so.
She glows, lighting up the goddamn room. Her feet barely touch t...
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Emilio and I stay in for the first Saturday night in weeks, and even Amaiah was concerned enough to text me.
Amaiah: how is everything right now? you know you can talk to me anytime.
Me: I know. We're just taking some time alone for now. Thank you for reaching out.
My response felt so robotic, and I hated the way I had to refrain from being authentic. She would probably tell something was off from how it sounded, but I didn't care.
I set down my phone and focused back on the task at hand. I started rinsing the conditioner out of Emilio's hair and tried my best to keep it all in the direction of the tub.
"If you could have any pet in the world, what would it be?" I ask, running my fingers through his hair to remove all the product.
Emilio looked up at me with a raised brow, probably not liking my question. But he answers it anyway.
"A cat. They're low maintenance," he mumbled, handing me the towel I was going to dry his head off with.
"Out of all animals, you'd pick a cat?" I ask, unimpressed as I scrunch the water out of his hair.
"Yeah," he shrugs, "I like cats."
"I would get a tiger," I said, even though he didn't ask me for my answer.
"It would eat you," Emilio mused, sitting up from against the tub.
My phone vibrates again, and Emilio side-glances me. Ever since he saw the notification that Eros had called me last night, he had been studying me extra hard.
I hadn't spoken to anyone I'm close with except Emilio for the past four days, and it was starting to drive me a little crazy.
But I didn't want to talk to Eros. I couldn't. Not after the way my brother broke down in my arms. I needed time. We needed time.
I had to go to work tomorrow at Lorenzo's, but I promised to spend the night giving Emilio the hair treatment that he thinks makes his hair look extra good.
It does, but only because I mix oils in with his conditioner. He doesn't know how anything works, so he insists I do it for him.
"My shift starts at ten tomorrow," I say, "So you'll have to go to the grocery store by yourself. Don't get too much junk food."
Emilio narrows his eyes, "Maybe you should make me a list if you're that picky."
"Okay," I state, "I will."
Whenever Emilio tries to say something with any sort of attitude, he always knows I will shut him down before he even gets the chance.
———
"Amorette, table 9," Marie rushed by me, slapping a few menus into my hands.
"Got it," I reply, slipping past the chefs and into the main dining area of Lorenzo's.
