Closer to the Whispers

Recovering Slowly

"Okay. What...Was that? Why are you injured? You have to tell me everything." Jasmine said, pulling over a chair and sitting excitedly, waiting for my story.

I told her a short version of the story. Her eyes were wide with shock the whole time, and her expression was serious.

"Okay, so let me get this straight." She said once I finished. "You're now with Mr. Grande, his family is cool with this, but some other family isn't and is angry at him for legalizing a drug they sell, so they kidnapped you and beat the crap out of you." She summarized her tone as one of disbelief.

"Yes." She was quiet for a long minute.

"So, will you stay with him?" She asked, her tone confused and questioning.

"With him, I get a family," I said softly. My eyes focused on the old blanket I had brought to the boarding school.

She was quiet, and I was sure she would condemn me for standing by him, but after a moment, she sighed heavily and nodded to herself.

"Right. Well, I'm keeping a close eye on you from now on." She agreed, helping me by putting away all my things and the many presents, going through them simultaneously.

"Man, do you even know what they gave you? You have so much jewelry in these bags, perfumes, and Ray Ban sunglasses. Who gives these as get-well presents? Are these real?" she asked, holding up a pair of pearl earrings.

"I think so," I mumbled, laying down exhausted even though I had only been awake for about an hour.

"A gold bangle? Oh my God, did you check the maker's mark here? It's 24-karat gold!" She practically shouted with glee, turning the carefully crafted bangle from a random cousin over in her hands gently.

"I think it would look ridiculous with most of my outfits," I said reasonably.

"Can you imagine Stacy's expression when she sees you wearing this? She's already going to be jealous enough about Mr. Grande walking you here," Jasmine admitted, organizing my gifts carefully and carelessly tossing the roses away.

"She has a crush on Mr. Grande, so I imagine she will go insane," I said with a grimace.

Stacy was territorial about all her exes and crushes. No one dared date any guy she even looked at, and she had made it clear Leo was hers. It would be a fight, and I knew there wasn't anything I could do about it.

The next day, I decided to skip school and stay in bed, catching up on homework I had missed and avoiding Stacy like the plague. I was still sore and tired, but I handled my work slowly, so I was glad I didn't have nurses barging in every five minutes like at the hospital.

Sometime around noon, I fell asleep from the slow and lazy work I was doing, only to be woken up by a hand shaking me and disturbing my peaceful slumber.

"Isabella, are you okay?" the concerned voice asked. My eyes shot open, and I almost hit Leo out of surprise.

"Yes... I'm sleeping. Why are you here? Don't you have classes?" I asked, sitting up gingerly in the tiny dorm bed he was also sitting on. He hummed as if he didn't believe me. His dark eyes swooped over every inch of me with concern.

"Of course, but I gave them an assignment and came to visit you." He said ruffling his hair thoughtfully.

"I'm fine. Why are you so worried anyway? You went from hating me to being obsessed with me. It's unbelievable. If you're just pretending to be into me so I don't abort the baby, there's really no need." I said matter of factly.

I was fairly confident I hurt his feelings, but he gave me a wry smile and a small nod.

"Clearly, the fact that I made a mistake not remembering you at first isn't something you can look past right now." He said plainly with a tinge of anger that he hid in his mask.

"It's not that...it's just..."

"I went into my enemy's home and risked my life and the life of every single member of my family to save you." I felt my breath hitch, realizing it wasn't just a mission of obligation that I had assumed.

"So you had feelings even before you remembered me?" I asked hopefully. He got up, and while his eyes lingered on me, I could tell he was not going to divulge any information.

"I won't disturb you with my presence. Don't worry, Ms. Francesca." He said, ignoring my question and leaving.

I groaned, realizing I made a mess of a situation I had only started mending. I really did want to trust that his intentions were pure and that he would take care of me, but his personality shift was so rapid I couldn't help but question if there was another motive.

I couldn't ignore the fact that I had been literally captured and beaten by his enemy either and the danger that being associated with him brought. It was a difficult move to let myself get close to him, but I knew I would have to learn to trust him.

I got up to get my ibuprofen for my arm pain and my cheap 99 cent plastic cup had been replaced by a tall pink steel water bottle that was at least fifty dollars.

"Dumb man. Why would I need this?" I mumbled to myself but smiled despite my grumpyness at the silent gesture. I wasn't sure why he was acting so attached all of a sudden, but I knew even though he was upset he wouldn't be able to stay away.