LONELY HEARTS (COMPLETE)

Chapter 11: The Monster

Matteo took a long drag of his cigarette, exhaling the smoke causing it to circle around the ceiling. He'd been in The Room all day, calculating his next moves. He continued to get lost in his own thoughts until he heard a bang at his entryway door.

A guard opens the door, revealing Gemma behind it. She pushes herself into the foyer past the guards and into the living room.

"Matteo!?", she shouts,"Are you here"?

Hearing that familiar voice, Matteo quickly ashes out his cigarette and gets up out of his seat. He's panicky now, he was in the middle of something important and she shouldn't be here. Only when he hears Gemma walking around does he open his door. Not even a second after closing the door behind him, Gemma appears right in front of him.

"Matteo, we need to talk", she demanded.

"Can this wait? I'm really busy right now", he says. He can feel that familiar anxious feeling tickling his throat. "I'll be done in a little while, we can talk at your place".

"What, no, I'm already here", Gemma replies, her brows furrowing in confusion. "What's going on with you? You're sweating".

She was right. Beads of sweat started forming on his forehead which meant Matteo was very scared.

"I'm fine. Okay, if you wanna talk, let's talk". He motions to the room across from them. Walking in, Gemma remembers this particular room. The last time they were in his office, they argued and now history was about to repeat itself.

"What did you want to talk about", Matteo asks. His eyes kept glancing up at the door, worried.

"I- I stumbled upon your case file today at work", she starts.

"What?", Matteo responds, his anxiousness hitting an all time high,"Whats my case file doing in Sage's office? He doesn't work for me like that".

"I know", Gemma sighs. She was about to tell him everything. She explained the Sage's lunch with Russo, the wooden box and key, the cabinet full of files. She stopped and took a deep breath. "Then I found your file...", she trailed off.

Matteo gets up out of his chair and starts pacing the room. There was a long silence as he continued to pace. his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Did you read it?"

There was another long pause between them, Gemma was so sure of this confrontation when she burst through his apartment, but now she was afraid of how he was going to react.

"Yes", she quietly says. She looks up from her lap to catch Matteo's reaction. Gemma was expecting anger, but all she saw was hurt in his eyes. Matteo closed his eyes, his body now leaned against his desk with his palms flat on the surface. He walks over to the small bar next to his desk and pours himself a heavy glass of scotch. He gives it a quick swirl, then throws it back in a matter of seconds.

Gemma's been quiet the entire time, just watching his every move. She wasn't sure how to move forward with this conversation, so she nervously waited for his response. After what seemed like hours, Matteo finally broke the silence.

"And?", he starts. "What was in it"?

Gemma took a deep breath. She knew once she started, she wouldn't be able to stop, she had to tell him how she really felt. "It had everything. It said your occupation was a landlord and we both know that's not true. It named everything you've ever been accused of, everything... including-"

"INCLUDING WHAT, GEMMA!?", Matteo interrupts,his voice shaking the painting on the walls.

"MURDER, OKAY, MURDER!", she screams back Her sullenness is now replaced by anger. "GOD DAMN IT, MATTEO. Seeing that shit in back and white, it made it so... permanent! What am I suppose d to think of you now!? You're nothing more than a glorified criminal!" Gemma was met with instant regret as those last words left her mouth.