La Rosa Del Sur (The Rose of the south)

Chapter 13

Chapter 13
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"Roseina!" Luca's voice sounded closer now as I stumbled into the entrance room. I stopped at the mound of marble and breathed heavily. I turned to watch as Luca came into the room.

I held up a hand to silence him. "Don't speak."

"Roseina, please," Luca said. "It just slipped my mind. I would've told you."

"It 'slipped your mind'," I repeated stonily. "How can something so excruciatingly important as that, 'slip your mind'." I turned away from him shaking my head.

"Roseina, it's like what I said when I didn't tell you I was in the mafia," Luca implored. "I wasn't sure I could trust you."

"So what, you don't trust me still?" I could feel my face burning. "After all that's happened?"

"I trust you now, I promise," Luca said, reaching out to grab my hand. "I would've told you, I just forgot. It's not that big of a deal."

I pulled my hand out of his reach. "When you're a Don, everyone needs to know who you are. You have power and secrets. How do I know that you're not conspiring to harm mi familia? By getting close to me, you can take advantage of me and use me as a way to get close to them. How can I trust you when I don't know who you really are?" I turned away from him, crossing my arms. I'd never felt so betrayed in my life.

"Roseina," Luca said softly. I felt a hand brush my shoulder. "Please, I would never hurt your family, or you, believe me." The hand pulled away. "I won't ever forget to tell you something that important again. I promise."

I heard him breathing quietly. I turned around, arms still crossed. Luca looked me in the eye, and I could tell he meant what he said. I let my arms fall to my sides.

"Thank you," I said. He looked relieved. I stepped forward, tentatively. I wasn't sure what I wanted to do, so I went back over to the mound of marble with the iron plaque, studying it. "Who was Mila Marino?" I asked, trying to change the subject.

Luca looked a little surprised by the question. "That was my mother. Why do you ask?"

"Her name's on the plaque," I said, pointing to it.

"Oh, well yeah, that's my mother," Luca came over to look at it. "She was forty-seven when she died. I was thirteen and Mia was just turning eleven." He sighed sadly, putting a hand on the raised letters. "There was a fire in our home. My mother was the only one there, and she didn't get out in time..." He trailed off.

I put and hand over his. "I'm so sorry. I can't imagine what it's like to lose someone that close to you."

"Thank you, but it's alright," Luca said, turning his hand over to squeeze mine.

I snapped my head up to look at him. The room suddenly felt a bit hot, despite the cool marble underneath our fingers. I tried to keep my breathing under control and keep a steady gaze. I could see a lump in his throat as Luca swallowed. I couldn't tell if he was thinking what I was. If one of us stepped forward...

"Roseina?" I jumped as Rafael's voice echoed in the entrance hall. I whipped my head around and saw him standing in a doorway with the tall man, looking around. When Rafael's eyes landed on me, his face lit up and he tried to stride forward, but stopped short, wincing a bit.

"Easy there," The tall man said in a deep voice. "I did just stitch you up." He smiled and lightly slapped Rafael on the arm. He looked at me. "I don't believe we've been introduced. My name's Ezekiel."

"Nice to meet you, Ezekiel," I said. I took a step away from the marble. "I'm Roseina. Thank you for patching up my brother."

"Don't mention it," Ezekiel smiled. He frowned a bit and suddenly asked, "Have you seen my wife?"