RED

16. Freesia

Nobody has ever measured, not even the poets, how much the heart can hold.

by Zelda Fitzgerald

Dressed in a black sweater and its hood over his head, slightly overshadowing his face, he pushed the door open, then stepped into the cubicle-like apartment. He headed straight to the kitchen where only an illumination emitted from and only stopped when he was in front of the round dining table, right under the dangling bulb. He placed the small paper bag he held in his hand right on the table and was about to walk away when he noticed a few stacked papers on the table as well. He picked them up and began to go through. They were bill upon bills. A lot that needed to be paid for. Unable to take it any longer and quite vexed, he slams them on the table. Someone coughs from behind him and he raises his head a little. A slightly clearer view of the tip of his nose then down to his chin could be seen. Eventually, he turned.

He stood still, staring at the shadowy figure approaching him, while both of his hands remained in the kangaroo pockets of his sweater.

"Where have you been?" asked the woman, who just stepped into the kitchen, looking a little unwell with a burning cigarette stuck in between her lips. Her steps were uneven and shaky. Her face was quite pale. Her eyes, a little red shot. She found it hard to stand straight, so she made her way in walking by holding onto things around her.

He turned his head away from her, refusing to give her the reply that befits her question. She stared at him for a few seconds as she inhaled from the cigarette before exhaling the smoke and in the process, resulted in her coughing once more, while holding onto the chair beside the table.

He turned his head back to her as if recalling her predicament. He took a few steps towards and with one hand out of his pocket, he snatched the cigarette off her lips much to her dismay.

"I bought your drugs. Take them." He orders, in a little deep and husky voice as he burns out the cigarette by squashing its burning tip in the ashtray right on the table.

"I don't want them!" She exclaimed, a little vexed that he took her cigarette away.

"I've told you several times to stop buying these expensive drugs for me... Give me the money and I'll buy something worthy." She declared quite bitterly, a little obvious that she was having difficulty in speaking.

He stared at her for what seems like a while.

"Something worthy?" He asks, finally speaking up before letting out a scoff.

"I'm sure your idea of 'worthy' is getting cigarettes, isn't it?" He asked, not quite expecting a reply.

The woman stared at him, a little loathly before coughing for some time. He looked away from her and walked out of the kitchen.

"What's the use of getting all these drugs... I'm still going to die." She stated quite dryly, as she pulled out a chair and had her seat.

He came to a halt, her words getting to him.

Suddenly, a light laughter escaped her lips.

"It's funny how we're suffering when the people who made us this way... barely got what they deserve." She stated and his jaw tightened. Rage seeped through him, but he walked away and right out of her sight, into his room, shutting the door right away.

He stood still in the middle of the room with his eyes shut for what seems like hours. A lot was going through his mind. Suddenly, his eyes flipped right open and he took steps towards the messy table right in front of him. He picked up a red marker right on the table, opened it and drew a large cross on Kiana's picture pinned to a large board, where a whole lot of assembled stuff was going on.

He shuts the marker, then stares at her picture.

"I'm coming for you... Kiana Stuart."

* * *

Enrico took a look at the large building that night before dialing a number and bringing the phone close to his ear with one hand buried within the pocket of his coat.

"Hello." A lady's voice came through.

"If I'm not mistaken, we're supposed to have dinner tonight. Right?" He asked, keeping his cool.

The other person on the other side was quiet for a minute before speaking up.

"Enrico?" She asked, a little unsure.

Enrico took in a deep breath before responding.

"You do recall." He stated.

"How did you get my number?"

"Really? That's your question? You seem to have forgotten I have an aunt who's eager to make us a couple." He sort of explained as he stared ahead at the building in front of him.

She fell silent.

"I'm sorry. I won't be able to make it. I have a lot of work to attend at the office."

Enrico let out a sigh.

"I figured out you might have such an excuse, so I'm here."

"You're here? Where?" She asked, a little out of curiosity.

"In front of your building. Sterling's Hotel. You work here, right?" He explained, much to her surprise as she remains silent.

"You know you could leave and just state that I was busy, therefore, the dinner couldn't hold."

"Of course I know that but... I'm not leaving. It's a waste of energy doing so. She will find another way to get us together, so why don't we just do as she says?" Enrico explained something he had barely thought about, just a decision he cooked up at the nick of time. That was his reality and he was going to live in it and not in the past.

Cecile was silent for a while before speaking up.

"I'll meet you in the lobby." She told him before disconnecting the call. Enrico sighed once more as he withdrew the phone away from his ear.

He took in a deep breath before venturing further towards the entrance into the luxurious hotel.

He tapped his fingers continuously on his lap, quite impatient, while his eyes found a little solace in wandering around the lobby. It felt like hours when it had barely gotten to thirty minutes that he had been sitting there waiting for Cecile to show up. Eventually, he picked up a magazine from the table in front of him and began to flip through, barely reading the words, but taking a good look at the images. He lifted his eyes away from the magazine and that was when he noticed a woman seated right across him. She had been staring at him and when their eyes met, she put up a simple yet charming smile.

Enrico slightly raised an eyebrow at her before bringing down the magazine, so his entire face can be viewed by her. She seductively and gently pushed her straight long black hair behind her, so that her neck was visible enough to evaluate. He understood this was the moment to look away if he wasn't interested, but he just couldn't. Well, he didn't want to. Therefore, slowly, he drew up a cocky and little devious sly smile on his face while his eyes remained on her. Clearly, she saw that as a sign to keep going and that was exactly what she did. She gently crossed her legs, exposing a bit of her thigh, then her long thin smooth legs. Her fingers moved ever so caressingly on her thighs, quite drawing him in.