Close Your Eyes, Remember Me (TBF Book 1)

Lucia

Light had filled the bedroom already when Lucia awoke to gentle knocking on the door. She blinked a few extra times to clear her eyes and shuffled her body up a little to allow her to sit up a little higher to slouch across the many pillows she had been provided.

"Who is it?" She called with a heavy slur, patting her puffy face with her hands in an attempt to wake herself up quicker.

"Elijah."

Alertness hit her like a wave in the face as her anger was ignited at the sound of his voice. She suddenly felt a hell of a lot more awake, she felt ready to fight.

She let him wait outside, in silence, for a few minutes while she made sure her body was covered by her pajamas and the blankets, that her dark curly hair was scraped into a high ponytail (if she had earrings on she'd have taken them off just in case) and pulled herself up further, gifting herself a few extra inches of height with a straight back.

"Come in." She said clearly and with all the authority she had, in this room, in someone else's house, in an unknown area of England...

Elijah opened the door and slid inside, much to Lucia's disappointment he didn't appear to be carrying a tray with breakfast foods on it.

"Morning." He greeted cordially.

"Morning." She replied, keeping her face and voice blank.

"I brought something for you." He stepped into the room fully, gently pushing the door to behind him, and walked to the bed. Lucia watched him carefully, she didn't trust him or his 'something for her'. She pulled her covers to her chest defensively and watched him approach. He was moving with deliberate plodding steps, she almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of how slow he envisioned human speed.

When he finally reached her he pulled a small, black velvet box from his trouser pocket and opened it to present her with the contents. Lucia's curiosity got the better of her and she leant forward ever so slightly to peer at the ring sitting on the velvet cushion inside.

The ring itself was shaped with bright, shining silver that had been immaculately cleaned. The gem in the centre was a large blush-coloured sapphire while the smaller stones framing it were diamonds, he explained. Then he gave her a brief history of the ring, how it had been passed down through generation after generation, the last owner being his grandmother who had given it to him when she passed away so that he could propose to his future wife with it.

"So, you came to give it to me?" Lucia said with little enthusiasm. She felt like a moron sitting there and staring at the sparkling antique as though it had crash landed into his hand from another planet.

His hand didn't falter, he continued to hold out the small box as he added, "I was hoping it would make you feel more a part of this family."

"Why would I want to be part of this family?" She snapped, but she couldn't meet his eyes when she said it.

"Because your own sold you?" He snapped back just as quickly. The words bit at her with a sharpness she hadn't expected, an acidic burn sat in the pit of her stomach. "Sorry," He blurted, "I shouldn't-"

"No," She cut him off, "you're right, they did." she still refused to make eye contact with him as she spoke. "I don't want to be part of that family either."A lie, a blatant lie, but she didn't need his pity. She would always be a Martinez whether they wanted her or not.

A sickly silence sat between them for an awkwardly long time.

"What do you want?" He asked quietly.

"To leave."

"Where is it that you wish to go?" He asked, placing a hand on her lower leg over the covers. "I will take you wherever you want, once we are married."