The Thorned Rose

24

When we told the family and the capos what had happened in Bosnia, almost all of them squealed in excitement and happiness, and, as if we hadn't had enough champagne, brought out a magnum of Armand de Brignac Brut Gold (Ace of Spades), and we danced and danced until we were out of breath, and collapsed on the sofas in the main living room.

The next day when I went for my run, Fabricio joined me, which he had never done before, but I enjoyed the company. Once we finished, he turned to me and asked me if I wanted to go to dinner with him that evening.

"Nothing romantic, just a thank you, for everything," he insisted.

"Sounds fun," I agreed.

I have to admit, I was having mixed feelings about this dinner. Let me repeat, mixed feelings. This was a huge rarity, as though two teardrops the other night weren't enough, now I have to deal with other feelings, and ones that mixed together and make my stomach feel funny. I felt weird, like there was a heaviness in my chest, that moved through my body as a shiver, but my heart felt warm. I have never had such a weird bodily sensation before! I was nervous about the dinner, because I still didn't want anything romantic, although we did have an almost-kiss, and that threw me for a minute or two, my nap got rid of it mostly. I felt worried too, as if something awful was going to happen, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I decided to put my hair in a bun and go out shopping; I needed some retail therapy, and a new dress, as mostly what I had been wearing recently was just joggers and a jumper, or jeans and a jumper.

I got in my car and drove to the shopping street in Rome, and browsed and browsed, until I felt like I had bought enough. When I opened my boot in the car park, I felt a knock on my head, and something go into my arm, and everything went black...

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FABRICIO'S POV

I was so excited for the dinner, even though we had said it would be completely not romantic, and just a thank you, I still hoped it would go that way, potentially...

I looked one last time in the mirror at my reflection. I was wearing a black 3-piece suit, with black loafers and a red tie. I ran my hand through my hair and said to myself, "you got this," before heading downstairs. We agreed to meet in the main living room, so I poured myself a glass of bourbon and sat down. It was 7.08pm, and we said we were meeting at 7, but I assumed she would just be coming down in a minute. When it got to 7.29pm I was slightly concerned, as, firstly, Sav was never late, and secondly, if she was, she would've told me or something.

The door opened, but it was just Loretta. "Have you seen Sav?" I asked. She shook her head. "Can you go check everything is okay?" She said "sure" and went upstairs. About ten minutes later she came back saying Sav wasn't in her room, or anywhere in the house. Very odd. I picked up my phone and called her, but there was no answer.

"Where is she?" I said to Loretta, frustrated, just as Dimitri entered the room.

"Everything okay? Weren't you supposed to be going out to dinner?" asked Dimitri, with a confused look on his face.

"We were, but I can't find her," I answered.

"Maybe she just went for a drive... I mean, she rejected Diego because she said she didn't do romance, maybe she got cold feet?" suggested Dimitri.

"I said specifically it wouldn't be romantic, just as a thank you," I stated.

"Right, and I have been your right-hand man for, how many years, where are all of my thank you dinners?" he highlighted. I knew he was right. Even though I said it didn't mean something like that, it was impossible to look past it for what it was... what I wanted it to be.

"I guess you are right, I'll talk to her when she gets back, I'll apologise," I informed them, saying goodnight and heading back upstairs. I quickly got out of my suit and put on something more comfortable for a relaxed evening.

I shouldn't have said anything I just... I didn't know what to do. Sav is like a dream, and I know she has demons, even though she completely ignores them, and she has a hard time with feelings, I liked her. I just wish I was better with my words or something, but I just get angry so easily, and I struggle with my own emotions myself and I guess we are just two dysfunctional people trying to navigate our way through something that is completely unknown to us. I couldn't help thinking about her though, wishing I knew what she was thinking. I loved her sass, she never held her tongue, in situations where even I would hold my tongue, like in Bosnia when she irritated Nasir, but somehow, she always knew what she was doing. I admired her for things like that, and her skillset. She truly was an amazing fighter, but I couldn't help but feel her past was shrouded with loneliness and sadness, and although I could tell she respected and loved her father, from an outside perspective I saw reason, and I knew it must've been a high-pressure environment, not ideal for a young child. I just wish she would open up a little more, there was still so much I didn't know about her; she was so mysterious. The only part of her name I knew was 'Sav', and I didn't even know yet if that was her real name or another alias. I found out her birthday and how old she was literally the other day, and at the same time she found out herself. I know my mother often feels guilty when she hears things like that about Sav, even though she is not Sav's mother, and hasn't known her long, she still sometimes feels like she has failed Sav, which is absolutely ridiculous. My mother has quite a lot of emotions, and sometimes it is nice, but sometimes it is tiring and annoying.

Don't get me started on Sav's beauty... it is completely unmatched, incomparable to any face I had ever seen. I don't know if she notices her own beauty or not, but she never seems to acknowledge it, completely clueless to everyone watching her, I think, I never know what she is thinking though! She always floating around the house with joggers on and her hair tied up in a messy bun, yet she looks absolutely flawless. I stayed up till the early hours of the morning, just hoping that I would hear a car engine and it would be her coming back, but I never did, and I practically passed out from exhaustion.

In the morning I knocked on her door, no reply, and so I walked in and there was still no Sav. With my head hanging low I went into the breakfast room, where my family and Dimitri were sitting, tucking into breakfast.

"She still not back huh?" asked Dimitri. I shook my head.

"Who?" asked Rico.

"Sav," I replied.

"Back from what, shopping?" asked Rico. At that, my head snapped up.

"What do you mean shopping?" I asked Rico.

"I was talking to one of the guards on the gate when she left to go shopping yesterday, I guess to get a new dress or something, no idea what girls do..." answered Rico. I grabbed my phone out of my pocket and dialled the man at the gate, who kept tabs on every car that left and came in, and the timings, and he said she left at 5.32pm yesterday, and did not return.

"Something happened after she left here to go shopping..." I clenched my jaw, concerned. I turned to Dimitri, "set up a meeting. I want everyone, everyone here in 20." He nodded. I grabbed an apple and a croissant from the middle of the table and went downstairs to the meeting room.

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