You Interest Me

The next morning I slept in late, because I was glad to not have classes that day. Having a free day was always a good thing in my mind because I didn’t know how else to get the time I would have to recuperate from the disaster of a work night the night before.

I stood up slowly from the bed, yawning deeply. I had been so exhausted from the stress.

I immediately remembered Charlie and I picked up my phone to call him. The phone rang and rang but no one picked.

Was he asleep?

I sent him a message after he didn’t pick up the second time I called.

‘I’ll come over this afternoon. Are you okay?’ The text read.

With that, I looked around my stufffy bedroom and knew I had to definitely clean today.

That was what took up the most of my morning and I thankfully finished my laundry as well.

After hanging out some of my things to dry on the line, I decided to go grocery shopping before going to see Charlie, as I was sure he didn’t have anything to eat. That man could survive in nothing but a pack of smokes - which I loathed, and almost expired milk, I swear.

The trip to the grocery shop didn’t take long and as I returned from it I spotted a black car in front of my apartment building but I paid it no mind. At least, I didn’t think anything of. Until I heard that voice call my name.

“Eve,” he said, and I stilled, whipping my head to look at the face of the devil in the back seat of the black car.

Antonio Bernoti.

“Wha?” The word left my lips and I felt shock freeze me to the ground. I gaped at Antonio, who smirked at me. “What are you doing here?”

“Get in,” he said, and I came to my senses. I shook my head at his brashness.

“What are you trying to do? How did you even find me?” I demanded to know.

I hadn’t even told the manager where I lived, only the general neighborhood and that was just for the firm filling process he used to hire his people.

How had this man found me?

“If you get in, I’ll take you to lunch, and you’ll get a lot more than those fifty grand I gave you.”

Fear filled my body as I realised now the identity of the mystery man. It was him.

Now I felt revulsion. What was this man trying to do with me?

Was he trying to brag? Buy me? I didn’t know but I wanted no part in it. I just wanted to wash my hands off hisatter and leave.

“I’ll give it back,” I tried to say, already halfway back up the stairs. “Just hold on. I’ll go get it. I don’t want your money anyway.”

“Don’t be silly, testa calda. Or would you prefer if I called you Evelyn? Evelyn White, right? You are a senior in the community college, studying business administration?”

My eyes widened and I was frozen to the spot.

He knew me. How did he know me? How had he found out about me in such a short time?

His grey eyes were cold as he gazed at me with his soulless smirk.

“Get in the fucking car unless you want me to convince you how bad of an idea it would be to piss me off,” his words struck a cord within me and I left the stairs, walking to the car as if I was a doll on his puppet strings, and I opened the car door and moved to sit beside him, shutting it firmly.

“Drive,” he ordered the driver and immediately the car was moving. My bag of groceries sat prettily at my feet and my heart pounded.

“What do you want with me?” My voice came out as a croak. “What did I ever do to you?”

He didn’t respond and for a moment I had the idea that he hadn’t heard me but then finally I heard the rumble. His deep voice.

“You interest me, Eve. Such a girl like you, so mysterious,” he mused. “Unfortunately, it takes little to find you with my men’s expertise at my grasp. You aren’t very good at hiding.”

“I wasn’t hiding,” I insisted. Was it a bad thing to separate work and personal life again? Especially with my line of work, it was practically of import to me. “And my life is none of your business,” I added after a few moments.

“Of course. But your boyfriend is, isn’t he?”

Charlie?

I sat still as I felt the man lean in closer to whisper in my ears and his breaths triggered tingles all over my skin.

“I want you to know that I have my eyes on him. Him, and everything that has to do with you. Your dreams, your favorite food, your dead parents, all of it.” Be enunciated the last three words in a mix of American and Italian accent that just sounded so… so dangerous.

Nothing comes for free, I thought? Remembering the money of fifty thousand sitting in my wardrobe, i trembled as I asked him.

“What do you want?”

“You.”

That word was loaded.

“Me? I don’t have anything to offer you,” I tried to reason with him, hoping he would be able to buy it and let me be free. “I am no one special.”

“I want you to dance for me, Eve. Me and no one else. I will leave your boyfriend alone if you agree to break up with him and do as I ask. In return-“

“In return you’ll give me everything I ever wanted? Everything I ever asked for?” I had interrupted him, already knowing what he was going to say.

But his words only served to make me angrier than a bull when it sees red, I was determined now, to wreck his damned mentality of being able to own people, most especially owning me. I belonged to no one but myself, and it was about time he knew that.

…