Water vs Blood

Tribeca

The trip back to the house went by in a flash for Daphne, mainly because she passed out five minutes into the drive.

Exhausted and overwhelmed beyond what words could describe.

When she found herself gaining consciousness again, Aurelio had just pulled into the garage and turned off the engine. She rubbed her face and looked over at him through tired eyes. He got out of the car and went to talk to Luca and the other unknown man. He hadn't acknowledged her since the bathroom yet.

She opened the door after gathering all her things back into the back pack and got out. The cold air nipped at her, but she enjoyed the fresh night air.

"Daphne." The defendant's voice called out to her. She turned around facing three pairs of eyes looking at her. She had her heels clutched to her chest and stood barefoot in front of them. She must have looked a mess with the dry drool on her chin. She subconsciously wiped at it to make sure she didn't really have drool on her face. Luca had a sly grin playing on his lips. "Hey warrior." He put out his hand to Daphne. She scrunched up her nose on instinct and both Aurelio and the other guy laughed.

"You've met Luca my Second, I've heard." Aurelio rolls his eyes at the wink Luca gave him, dropping his hand adding a confidant, "How could she forget."

"This is Dante, my First." He gestured toward the bold young man covered in tattoo's.

"It's nice to properly meet you." Dante said. She nod her head turning back to Aurelio. She held up her finger, clutching her heels and backpack into the other hand, gesturing for Aurelio to bend down to her level. He did and she whispered in his ear, "Do they know about everything or not?" She pulled back to see his reaction. He stood back up straight and nodded his head.

"Okay, so I don't have to pretend to care. Goodnight." She turned around and left them standing there stunned in silence.

After she went through the door two of them broke into a fit of laughter, saying something to mock Aurelio. She found herself a tad jealous of the wholesome friendship they had. Clearly their relationship ran deeper than just work. She always wanted true friendship, but she'd never had a say when it came to who she surrounded herself with.

She took a long bath that night, trying to soak in all the warmth she could, after her body was in a long shock of the day. She did down some pills before she got into the bath. One hour into her bath she heard a knock at the door. She covered herself on instinct as if the person was just going to walk the bathroom and splashed water everywhere in the process.

"Yes?" She rudely spoke out to the person. She knew it had to be either Luca, Dante or Aurelio and she wasn't in the mood for any of them.

"I have to do some work, but I'll be back tomorrow night." He told her and silence followed.

Daphne found herself frowning at herself and shaking her head. "You don't have to tell me your whereabouts, I don't really care." She shouted back at him. She didn't hear a response and assumed he had left.

She felt bothered the rest of her bath time and got out to brush her teeth and get into bed. She only wore her undergarments tonight knowing that she was indeed alone in the house. The heaven kissed bed was still magnificent and her body agreed as she cuddled into it and fell into a deep much needed sleep.

-

The next morning she got up earlier than she usual would, dressed in an oversized hoodie and shorties for once matched with some wooly socks for the cold. She was starting to adjust to her new daily routine. Greeting Chiara in the kitchen, downing her smoothie, going into the library to read, sitting outside, waiting until lunch, exploring, reading some more, taking a bath, dinner and then sleep.