Paper Trails 2 | Draft

35.

So sorry if this is short!

"All my soul within me burning."

I woke up alone. Niccolò wasn't in bed beside me, nor was he in the bathroom. I glanced at the alarm clock, squinting at the glaring red numbers. 2:53. Yawning, I crawled off the bed and headed towards the door. It was quiet. Leo's probably asleep and God knows where Nic is. I decided to go downstairs and get some water.

Leo's fridge had a built in water dispenser, so I didn't have to open the fridge. Thank God, because I didn't think I'd have the energy to do even that. I filled the glass half-way, and leaned against the counter. The water brought some relief to my dry throat.

I had a habit of waking up in the middle of the night constantly. Dreams and nightmares and sleep paralysis tormented had tormented me within the first few weeks of being shot. Don't ask about the sleep paralysis—I had no idea why demons wanted to bother me. All I did was steal some money (you'd think they'd be praising me for the sin!) but I didn't care much. It was only scary the first few times.

The sleep paralysis long ended, but the nightmares were still around.

"Bit early to be up, isn't it?"

I jumped, my head whipping around to see Leo standing in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. His bare chest. I tried not to stare for too long. I suddenly became very aware of how little I was wearing. As in, just Niccolo's shirt and a pair of panties. I shift uncomfortably and look away.

"I needed some water."

I heard him move, and glanced up to see him get himself a glass.

"Do you know where Niccolò is?"

There was some hesitation. "He'd doing something for me." At three in the morning? "He'll be back by the time you wake up in the morning."

I don't reply.

After a moment, he speaks again. "I want to apologize."

"Apologize?"

"I feel I may have offended you earlier at dinner."

"Oh. No. All good. You don't really know me, so it's only fair you want to know—"

"Not for asking what makes you special. That, I still wonder. No offense, Neila, but you give off a vibe. You seem sad." He takes a sip.

I didn't know how to answer.

"Niccolò tells me you lost your mother when you were young, and your close friend some weeks ago."

"That, um..." I shake my head. Why? "Yeah."

"My condolences."

"Thanks." I guess.

He tilts his head to the side and sort of smirks. "Niccolò's lost people too. People he cared about."

"His father, I know." I was curious as to what he was getting at, but his face gave nothing away.

"Yes, his father. Some others...I feel his love for you is misplaced."

"Misplaced?"

"Two people who know loss and pain; it's not surprising they might gravitate towards each other. But you two don't fit, do you?"