“Sorella? ” Gio gasped, he made to rush to her but Rocco held his arm “Please don’t hurt my sister” he pleaded.
Rocco smirked, he nodded in agreement and released the boy’s arm. He took his stand at the corner of the room, his legs crossed as he lean on the wall.
“Alita” Gio burst into tears as he reached her, he shook her “Sorella”
Alita inhaled deeply, she opened her eyes to look at Gio. For a second or more, she went rigid, her cheeks dropped as she noticed the overflowing tears on his red face.
“It’s okay Gio” she pulled him into a warm hug “I will get you back to where you want okay”
Rocco scoffed. he rolled his eyes as Alita flinched, and pulled Gio away from him. She stood up and let the boy hide behind her.
“Don’t make promises you can’t keep” Rocco walked to her “And this ” he points at her outfit “Looks bad on you already”
Alita couldn’t contain her fear and anger. She moved a fearless step backward, typically trying to get Gio out of Rocco’s reach. She looked behind Rocco and noticed the door ajar.
“I wouldn’t want to do that if I were you” Lu revealed himself from behind the door “Alita Roberto,” he said as she walked to the left side of the room where a mini-fridge was placed “My favorite brand”
He brought out a bottle of tequila and two glass cups from the same fridge. After pouring himself a cup full, he passed the cup and tequila to Rocco.
“You promised to be a good boy, Gio,” he said through clenched teeth “I don’t like to see you like this, especially now we have a deal already”
“What are you talking about?” Alita looks at both men in surprise “What the hell are you talking about?”
She turned to Gio and knelt, her hands laying on his shoulders as she stared intensively at his face.
“Gio?” She sounds impatient with his silence “you know what I don’t like”
“I will be fine Sorella” Gio eventually said, he placed both hands on Alita’s arms and slipped off her touch, “They say they will let you go”
Alita went rigid at that instance, her jaw dropped as she stood up slowly.
“You can’t do this. Mr. Lu” she said angrily “it is me you want not him”
Lu smirked, he looked at Rocco who shrugged, exhaled lazily, and walked toward him. They whispered something to themselves.
“It’s for your best Alita” Gio sniffed, “They said they will do all bad things to you and sell you to people we don’t know”
He looked up at Lu as if asking for permission, he sigh, brought out his mother’s necklace from his pocket, and gave it to his sister.
It was then that she noticed he was no longer putting on his rags she called clothes. His hair was neatly combed and he looked well. She held his wrist as she collected the necklace.
“You don’t fudging tell me what to do GIO ROBERTO,” she said through clenched teeth.
Gio grinned, he look back at Rocco who had to be suppressing the laughter that made his face red.
“You don’t have to do that too,” Gio said “I am not a child and I know a lot of bad words”
“Oh!” Alita threw her hands in the air.
She gave Lu an angry look and stomp close to him, her mind racing, and all she could think of was to snatch the bottle of tequila from where Rocco had kept it, empty the content on his head and smash the bottle on the same head.
“Go out Gio” she forced herself to say calmly “I and Mr Lu need to have an adult conversation” she stared dead into Lu’s grey.
Alita became confused about the change of color of Lu’s eyes, she fold both hands under her breasts contemplating if she should ignore the eye color. She notice Gio had a smile on his face and wouldn’t move even when she glared at him.
“Get the FUCK OUT MY SIGHT. NOW” she yelled, causing a new reaction from Lu.
Something she haven’t noticed since the little time she had seen him, nor have she ever thought he knew how to do that.
His smile seems sweet and meek, his now surprising grey eyes lit with enthusiasm as he crossed both hands behind him.
“You won’t fight with him, Sorella?” Gio pouted, his eyes became watery as he gave her a more pleasing look.
Lu’s smile widen, and he gave Alita a questioning look before walking toward Gio, he went on a knee so he could be at the same level as Gio.
“Does she always fight?” He grinned. Noticing the boy’s scared face and he followed it to find Alita’s green eyes staring daggers.
“Sure she does” he added.
Their gaze locked.
Lu kept staring, his emotionless gaze borne in her familiar green eyes. No matter how he tried to look away, it felt like there is this very strong attachment, bounding them together. It almost seems like they had histories.
Maybe he was the only one that had such history, not them both.
He looked back at Gio and forced a fake smile, something awkward for him to do. He touched the boy’s shoulder and almost burst into laughter at the boy’s innocent fake smile.
“Give us some time, Gio,” Lu said, he looked up at Rocco who understood the assignment and took Gio’s hand “Stay as long as you want” he added.
Even as a young boy, Gio knew things were not good. This is the moment in a family where mummy would give her best fake smile and tell the kids to excuse them because ‘mummy and daddy want to have an adult conversation’.
Only in this case, Lu and Alita are not married. In fact, they can never be seen as friends in the next lifetime. Not just that the man in question kidnapped them, but he threatened Alita, and nobody but Gio know what Alita might want to do.
“Please don’t hurt her,” Gio said to Lu before he left the room.
Even as the door closed, Lu and Alita still didn’t know who to first talk to. Lu maintained his strange looking at Alita’s green eyes while Alita was trying hard to avoid his Intensive gaze.
“Don’t keep me waiting, Warrior” His voice sound hoarse, he cleared his throat noisily and resumed his staring.
Alita sighed, she looked away to keep her eyes busy other than staring back at his grey eyes she thought were blue.
Although the night was dark, with the help of the stars, moon, and faint lights from the street, Alita was sure she saw the color of his eyes clearly.
She wasn’t drunk or had any shot that night that she might have reacted to. She shrugged and mentally rolled her eyes, why should she be worried over the color of his eyes when it could have been another person with almost the same voice.
“Hey!” Lu half yelled, his expression remains mute as Alita tried to compose herself “We don’t have all day”
“Don’t take Gio” she stated.
Lu’s countenance changed, he released his hands and moved steps towards her. His anger increased as she took some steps backward.
“What did you just say?” He asked.
All he could feel was anger and rage, he felt he should smash her head against the wall and feed her body to his fishes but something changed. His mood changed as his grey eyes meet her green ones, it was just like everything stopped for a moment.
“I will do whatever you want” Alita sniffed, fighting hard to restrain her tears “Just let him go free”
Lu stopped, he acted like he was thinking and grinned. Without any more dramas, he walked to the door.
“I bet you know what anything means?” He asked.
That hesitation.
“I do,” Alita said, moving to the side, her lips quivered more as she stared at his back “Please just let him stay with a friend, Father Lorenzo” She paused for a few seconds “You can tell him I died or maybe…”
“That’s a bad idea” Lu snapped. turning back to face her, his brows raised “He only agreed to work 30 years for me or you die” He smiled at the shocked expression on her face “But if you want to bail him, you will be mine forever”
Alita hesitated, she went silent as if analyzing the words before she could reply.
She knows what mine means, she knows what forever means, she also knows what that look on his face means but yet…
“Deal” she answered, she noticed the strange look on Lu’s face then she added, “That would be if you let him stay with Father -”
“Lorenzo?” Lu completed “It’s either you let him stay close to you until he is old enough or he works”
Silence.
Well, that seems better, better as Lu took that as the preferred possible reply and opened the door. He didn’t just walk out immediately as he stop still waiting for what he had no answer for.
He could feel Alita staring daggers, funny enough, she didn’t try to attack him from behind again this time.
“Can I at least let friends know I am not just missing?” Alita asked, her eyes moved to his hand on the door handle, which she noticed she had never seen.
Lu scoffed, he didn’t bother to look at her even when he could imagine her planning to jump down the window this time.
A sly smirk appeared on his face as he sighed.
“You don’t have friends,” He sounded a little bit rusty “And your boss thinks you traveled” he paused for a while, turned back then looked straight into her eyes “As you are mine, there will be no more freedom for you till death”
His grave voice echoed as he leave the room. Even without further talk, Alita knew she was done.
She kept staring at the blank as he left and let tears flow freely.
“I’m finished’ she thought.