Elsa
I am woken by the sun shining through the window. My head is heavy and throbbing with pain, but it isn’t my biggest problem-I can’t feel my hands. What the hell is happening? I think, my eyes shooting sideways, taking in the straps tying me down. I jerk my hands, but the sound of metal scraping against wood nearly makes my brain burst. I wail silently and take a look around. There is nobody there. I am clearly in Marcello’s room. I try remembering what happened last night, but the only thing I can recall is my pole dance. I groan, thinking about all the things that must have happened when we got back-Marcello must have been so infuriated.
Did he do it to me? How else would I have ended up like this? Now the only thing I can do was die of shame and hangover. A few more minutes of self-pity, and I started to think more logically. I fiddle with the locks with the tips of my fingers, but whoever designed my trap made sure that freeing myself on my own was practically impossible.
“Fuck, shit, fuck!” I swear helplessly. That’s when I hear a quiet knock on the door.
“Come in,” I say haltingly, fearing who I would see at the door. The only thing I know is that it is not Marcello.
It is Gabrielle. I can’t remember being this happy in my life. He freezes and watches me for a while, clearly amused. I drop my eyes to see if my breasts are visible, but I have been covered with the sheets very meticulously.
“Don’t just stand there! Help me out!” I growl, irritated.
Dominico walks over and frees my hands. Why is he here. Where is Massimo?
“The evening was a success, I gather?” he says, lifting his eyebrows.
“Give me a break.” I cover my head with the duvet. I want to die.
When I take a peek under the sheets, I realized I am naked.
“Oh no,” I yelp.
“Marcello left.” I knew it . “He has a lot of work, so you’ll have to bear with me. I’ll be waiting in the dining room. Elvira has breakfast ready.”
After thirty minutes, a shower, and a bunch of Tylenol, I sit at the table, sipping tea with milk.
“Have fun yesterday?” Gabrielle asks, putting his newspaper down.
“As far as I know, not really. But judging by the state you found me in, I did have some fun after we returned. Thank God I don’t remember any of it.”
Gabrielle bursts out in booming laughter, nearly choking on his croissant. “How much do you remember?”
“My pole dance. Nothing more.”
He nods understandingly. “I have to say, that dance of yours is hard to forget. You’re very flexible.” He grins.
“Ugh… kill me,” I groan, my head hitting the table with an audible thump. “But first tell me what happened next.”
Gabrielle raises his eyebrows and takes a sip of espresso. “Don Marcello took you to his room and-”
“Fucked me.” It wouldn’t have been our first time it fucking irritates that he would do it in the situation I was in last night.
“I doubt that, though I wasn’t there. I met him a minute after we returned and then saw him leaving the room and going to sleep in the second bedroom. You know, we’re family, me and Marcello, and he didn’t look”- searched for the right word-“satisfied. And after a night spent with you, I believe that is how he would have looked.”
“Oh my God, Gabrielle! Why do you torment me so? You know what happened. You can just tell me.”
“I can, but it won’t be as fun.” The expression on my face must have told him I was in no mood for jokes right now. “All right. You got drunk and got naughty, so he tied you to the bed and went to sleep.”
I sigh with relief. I couldn’t stop thinking about what had really happened, though.
“Oh stop it, you. Eat something. We have a lot to do today.”
Turns out Marcello has given me a shopping spree but I had to go with Gabrielle. He is like a person bodyguard and friend that Marcello leaves behind when he is a way. Gabrielle is a charming young man, and actually single. I have gathered enough information from his life since that time in Rome. Though he works alongside Marcello, he has a sense of humor and has a less darker side. That’s why I find it easier to joke around and enjoy his company.
I spend two days at the mansion without Marcello. After our night at the club, he disappeared without a trace, and Gabrielle won’t talk about it. He doesn’t call or text me. Gabrielle manages to stop me from snapping. It is clear that Marcello left strict instructions that I shouldn’t leave the estate unless I am with Gabrielle. Gabrielle is good enough to take me to a spa but highly disapproves when I ask to meet up with Rita. I talk to her on the phone though. I also talk to my mother and end up promising her a visit though I don’t specify when. She had a lot of questions about my disappearance because she had been informed by zio. I don’t tell her the entire truth but promise to tell her everything when I go up to Milan before the year ends.
Gabrielle comes to check on me the third day. We sit together in the living room watching TV.
“Are you talking to Marcello? Why doesn’t he at least leave a message or something before he leaves?” I ask. They must be communicating somehow for fuck’s sake.
Gabrielle keeps quiet for a long while, before replying. “I can’t speak for Marcello. I don’t know what’s in his head. So please, Elsa, don’t ask me about these things. You have to remember who he is. The less questions, the better.”
“Goddamn it, I have a right to know what he’s doing! Why he isn’t calling and if he’s even alive,” I growl.
“He’s alive,” Gabrielle retorts gruffly, avoiding my eyes.
I grimaced and get up.
“I have had enough shit for the day. I am going to the farm. Don’t be surprised if I try escaping through,” I tell him. He smirks.
“You have tried that before and I can recall it didn’t go well,” he looks up at me.
“It might be different this time. I know what not to do,” I tell him, then walk out of the house.