Freedom, Books, Flowers, and the Moon

Chapter 15

A half an hour later, the girls' day had been recapped for the two men. Cielo's partner, whose name Aurie learned was Antonio, although he insisted on being called Tony, had pulled out his notepad about halfway through to begin taking notes. He had interrupted the girls, who took turns talking, every few minutes to ask the important questions. Cielo, on the other hand, had stayed completely silent. Aurie's gaze had mainly stayed locked on her hands in her lap, only glancing up every so often to gauge Cielo's reaction. The two men exchanged a glance before Cielo spoke for the first time since they entered the cafe.

"We need to get all of you back to campus."

The girls nodded their agreement and understanding, and the group collectively moved to leave. As they made their way back onto the street, Aurie tucked herself between Cielo and the storefronts. Her eyes quickly flitted about the crowds, subconsciously making sure that the men weren't waiting on her and her friends. She scooted closer to her professor, basking in how safe she felt by his side. Although he wasn't her professor at that moment, she reminded herself, he was a sergeant right now, and a scary one at that. The girl made a note to herself to ask him why he was patrolling; she was under the impression that he had retired from the force.

"You'll be ok, bambola." Cielo told her, looking down and noticing how close the girl had gotten to him.

Aurie said nothing, simply nodded in response. A block or so down, the group stopped at the officer's car.

"It's a good thing we drove the SUV today." Tony commented, tossing the girls a smile that none of them returned.

Mia pulled open the door and climbed into the third row with Lily. The remaining three slid into the second row, putting Aurie in the middle due to her size. The men sat up front, with Tony in the passenger seat and Cielo driving. Cielo peeled out of the neighborhood quickly, desperate to make distance between them and the men that scared his girl so much. He glanced in his rearview mirror at the redhead, finding her picking at her hands, a nervous tic that Cielo had immediately picked up on. He bit his bottom lip, forcing himself to not correct the action in the car with her friends. He wasn't worried about what Tony would say, he knew not to question the man's actions. Cielo silently reminded himself that she wasn't even his girl yet and that he really had no right to correct her actions at all, no matter the current company.

The whole car ride was uncomfortably quiet; no one was exactly sure what to say about the way the day had turned so suddenly. When they arrived on campus, the girls all piled out of the car. Mia, Charity, and Lily all thanked the officers before quickly making their way to the dorm.

"Aurie, come on." Harley called to the youngest girl when she paused by the driver's side door, where Cielo sat.

"You should go with your friend, bambola. You need rest." Cielo told the redhead.

Aurelia looked between the two but didn't move. Cielo sighed, already knowing where the girl's thoughts were going.

"Climb back in." He told her before addressing her friend. "I got her, I'll keep her safe."

Harley nodded, turning to follow her posse into the dorm building. Aurelia got back into her previous seat, pulling her legs up into the seat.

"Try to get comfortable, cara. We need to stop by the precinct, do a little bit of paperwork, and get this one back to his own vehicle." Ciel nodded his head toward Tony.

"Just drop me off, I can deal with the papers on my own." Tony told him.

"Are you sure? It won't take me long—30 minutes tops."

"You have more important things to do." Tony gave his friend a knowing look, his eyes flitting to Aurie quickly.

"Grazie," Ciel told his friend simply, whipping the SUV back onto the main road.