𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐭 𝐋𝐢𝐤𝐞 𝐌𝐞

41|| Buzzed

Celeste // February 26
•••

I'd spend the entire afternoon with Adriana in the garden. Piero had brought us lunch and to my relief, she ate a sandwich and drank some of the smoothie he'd made for us.

She'd made me a bouquet that was currently standing on my nightstand next to my music box, and I taught her how to make flower bracelets.

It was fun, despite the heavy conversation we'd had beforehand.

I'd been thinking about it all day.

Would Dante really do that to her? Wed her off to some man while she's in love with a girl?

No. Dante would never do something like that.

Or would he?

How well do I actually know this man?

Not at all.

And how well does Adriana know this man?

Well. She knows him well.

Something heavy and unpleasant settles in my chest as I walk through the city.

Worst case scenario would be that he truly does plan on wedding Adriana to a strange man – then I'd have to go through the trouble of killing everyone.

Maybe I'd take her to a different country, and we'll take Maya with us on our way out.

No.

That would be kidnapping.

I blow out my last drag into the cold night air and throw the cigarette butt away into a trashcan before I enter the place which address was left on one of the pictures that was left for me to find in my bedroom.

I never had talks about my sexuality. Not with Lester, not with Celia and not even with Josette. It was all just a silent knowledge, something that came natural.

The thought of it not being that way was not a pleasant one.

"Hey."

A low voice snaps me out of my thoughts and I look up to find myself standing before a bar. There're empty beer glasses on the counter and the woman on the other side of the bar is currently cleaning one as she stares at me.

She has brown skin, dark brown messy curls that are up in a bun, a crooked nose with a black piercing in it and pretty black eyes.

"You want something?" she asks, moving on to clean the next glass.

Merde.

With all the chaos in my head going on, I hadn't prepared myself for the situation.

What am I supposed to say? That I'm here to meet someone, but I don't even know what they look like?

I open my mouth, but nothing comes out.

She gives me a strange look and moves on to another customer.

It's then that it hits me.

I'm in a bar.

I'm in a crowded bar. By myself. With no script or character or disguise or idea of how to function.

"What's a pretty girl like you doing in a place like this all by herself?"

I turn to find a guy a few years older than me, white skin, brown eyes, blond hair and a smile on his face.

Oh, thank god. Maybe he can lead me to the nearest exit.

Loud shouts and cheers come from the corner where a tv is showing a football game and I put my arms over each other. He steps closer to me, probably trying to comfort me and I smile at him as a thank you.