Tainted

Tintamarre

Tintamarre| an uproar
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Ariadne
"Can you stop pulling on my arm so hard." I grit out, full on glaring at Neo who's quite literally about to break my arm.

"You walk slow," he says, his tone dry and bored. I look down at my heels whilst raising my brows.

"I have heels on, I can't run in them."

"That's not my problem."

"Are you all this unhinged? I've noticed a pattern." After the conversation Romeo had with the handsome stranger outside, I was beginning to think everyone was like this. Like Romeo, the stranger was completely detached. Both carried a darkness within them, but both their darknesses differentiated between one another.

"I'm glad you're noticing things, makes me think you might actually have a brain." His comment leaves me dumbfounded and irritated at the same time. "Sit," he pulls out a chair from one of the many tables in this huge ballroom, and I gladly obey.

"Where did Romeo go?" I asked with furrowed brows, though I wasn't quite sure why I was suddenly so interested.

Well that's a lie. I knew exactly why, and it was because he kissed me. Maybe I was reading into things bit too much, I mean, it was just a kiss right? Romeo Amato quite literally took my first kiss, and I wasn't mad about it. I hate him, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't enjoy his presence, his touch, or how he made me feel.

It was all too confusing to understand. He plans to kill me, so why kiss me?

Maybe he changed his mind?

Yeah, right.

"Jesus, birdie. Such a crude." Alessio shakes his head in disappointment before sitting down next to me. Neo remained on his feet, watching our surroundings as though something was bound to happen any moment now. "All the dude did was kiss you, can you make your daddy issues any more obvious?" My jaw quite literally hung open. I did not have daddy issues. Whatever those were.

"What are daddy issues?" I ask, feeling a little silly for not knowing.

"You never got daddy's attention growing up, so you throw yourself at any man who shows you even just a little affection." Alessio says, drily.

I got my Papá's attention just fine growing up. In fact, more than I'd like. Papá watched my every move like a hawk, and sometimes it was the most overwhelming thing ever.

Before I could open my mouth to protest, Neo was already ahead of me. "She got his attention just fine, it was the affection he lacked in. He was too busy trying to regulate her to his desires, so he could profit from them instead of actually treating her like his daughter." His tone was calm, and unlike any other time that he's spoken to me, this time he wasn't meaning to be harsh.

Alessio tilts his head to the side, bringing his tongue to the front of his teeth. "You think he got build a bear confused with build a daughter? Maybe he's dyslexic." I hear Neo suck in a breath, probably refraining himself from replying to Alessio's stupidity.

I also ignored him and instead focused on finding out more about my Papá's plans for me. "What do you mean by profit? How would he profit from 'regulating' me?"

I watch as Neo's facial expression turns into an angry one. The anger however wasn't directed to me this time, instead, at something or someone else. "You're oblivious," is all he says, and I had a feeling he wouldn't be speaking to me anymore.

"Birdie," Alessio sighs loudly, and I find myself having to prepare for whatever foolishness was about to come out of his mouth. "You make me want to gnaw on my left testicle. Is it that fucking hard to put two and two together?"