Falling For The Mob

64 Why me?

Zoë

With Sam not seeking attention every five minutes, I've quickly realized how boring things have become these last three days. She is trying to respect my boundaries, and it should be making me happy.

Whenever I walk into a room, she leaves, and though it is never out of anger, it hurts me every time. When I asked for space, part of me expected her to try and find another 'loophole,' but instead, I have barely seen her. Even when doing exactly what I ask, Sam seems to frustrate me, but I have no right to be mad. Not this time, at least.

A knock on my bedroom door pulls me out of my self-pitying thoughts, and I quickly open, assuming that it is Addy. She has been extra attentive to me, no doubt because she feels bad for me, but there just isn't a fix. If there was, I would have found it.

"What are you doing here?" I ignore the instant rush of excitement upon seeing her, it will just make everything worse.

She smells freshly showered and is dressed in her business attire. It's confusing seeing her in heels again after only having experienced her barefoot or in sneakers the last few weeks. This right here is the Sam Claymore the rest of the city knows and fears.

Her smile is warm yet pained, only briefly breaking the facade of a well-put-together woman. "I've come to take you home." My stomach twists at her choice of words, but I know she doesn't mean it the way I initially heard it.

With very little to pack, we soon find ourselves on the hour's drive to my apartment.

The tension in the car is heavy, and I want nothing more than to reach out to her, but what could I possibly say? I could tell her how much I miss spending time with her, but that would just be cruel. She doesn't need me confusing her, even if it's true, the last thing I want is to play with her emotions more than I already have.

I wish she would still talk to me, any form of vulnerability would be enough, but I know better now than to think that friendship was ever an option for us. Even if we never admitted it, we've always been an all-or-nothing package.

~~~

"I have made arrangements for you to safely return to work tomorrow. A plan has been drawn up, I advise you to read up on all the details. If you have questions, you can place them with Jonas."

She closes the apartment door behind her as I place the bag on my couch. I asked for space, and she goes as far as bringing me to my apartment.

"I ask that you always have my guard informed of your whereabouts. These measures will only be temporary. The moment we have Gianni in our custody, I will call off my security team, and you can be rid of my family drama for good."

As she breathes out those last words, her eyes are cast toward the door, her cool composure finally cracking. She hates this, I hate this, but it's for the best.

This is good, this is what we both need. Now I won't accidentally have to run into her at breakfast or catch her staring at random moments of the day. She can focus on handling things with Gianni and take care of her family.

"We have been able to tap into the hospital security and place new staff members in the pediatric wing who answer directly to me." She says, looking around the apartment, inspecting her surroundings.

I follow her eyes, instantly noticing that there are a few changes in my apartment.

"Those aren't my windows, Sam. What happened?" I turn around to see her with an awkward expression on her face.

"I took a few measures for your safety. I also had the door switched out and put in a padded lock."

I chuckle, I should be annoyed, but I can't help but find her adorable. "My landlord is gonna kill me if he finds out what you did."