The strong traces of coffee, bacon, and toast drifting in the air woke me. Dazed, I scanned around the room to gain my bearings. A soft light shone from the lava lamp on the nightstand. The glow reflected off the many mirrors in the room, giving me more than enough light to see by. The fog of sleep drifted away and the events from the night before came screaming back to me.
"Ah, shit."
My body was stiff as I slipped out of Bruno's bed, still clad in the outfit I stole from the clothesline. My arms extended for the ceiling in a far-reaching stretch that pulled me up on my tippy toes. The window opposite the bed caught my attention. I walked over to draw the heavy curtains back a few inches. The glare from the light that poured in made me squint. The sun beamed high in the sky, somehow I managed to sleep half the day away.
The soft murmur from what sounded like a TV show filtered through the closed door. I took a deep calming breath and headed out. The moment I made the living room, I spotted the two guys from the night before; they were busy watching a sitcom. With some hesitation I walked by them, unsure if they would toss me back in the bedroom for safekeeping. Both of them followed me with their eyes on my way towards the kitchen where the aroma of food drifted from.
Bruno stood in front of the stove, he wore a white dress shirt, black slacks, and a blue apron. With a flick of his wrist, a pancake flipped into the air before landing haphazardly back into the pan. He hummed a tune, it made me smile seeing him look so domesticated. My tummy rumbled deeply, the would-be chef turned and stared at me.
"Doll, you're up."
"Smells good, but why are you cooking breakfast in the middle of the afternoon?"
"It's almost supper time now."
"I can't believe I slept half the day."
"Well, you had a rough night Doll."
"So why breakfast?" I asked, not wanting to talk about last night yet.
"Breakfast is my favorite, I could eat this at every meal," he explained.
This surprised me, having taken him for a meat and spaghetti kind of guy not a pancake man. He placed a plate of bacon, scrambled eggs and a mountain of pancakes at the table.
"Come an eat."
I pulled out a chair and sat down as Bruno poured me a cup of coffee. This turned into a strange situation. The guy I was crushing on for the last six months treated me as if I were a straight out enemy the night before. Only to be serving me breakfast the next day as if this was an everyday thing for us. I scarfed down the meal in silence as Bruno cleaned up the kitchen. My plans to run changed. This was nice, with a comfy bed, lots of food, and soon hopefully a hot shower. This beat living in an abandoned church steeple with a cat.
My thoughts turned to poor Grubby. The last time I saw her was the night before the shooting. Being a feisty feline I knew she could fend for herself; however, the guilt welled up inside me for not checking on her after my escape from the hospital. I tried to come up with a way to convince Bruno to let me bring the cat here if my stay ended up being a long one.
My attention was drawn back to the table as Bruno plopped a shopping bag down onto it.
"When you finish eating, you can get cleaned up. Not too many places were open last night where they could buy clothes. So this will have to do for now."
"Thanks. You mind if I use your room to change in after I shower?"
"Yeah go ahead. But then we need to finish our conversation."
I wanted to avoid any more talking about the previous evening's events. Besides I was unsure of what else we would need to discuss, having already told him everything about myself.
When I finished the last pancake, I snatched up the bag and went to his room. Haphazardly I emptied the contents onto his bed. A t-shirt, sweat pants, socks, and undergarments tumbled out. I frowned at the lack of style these guys had, everything grey, plain, and something a person in an institute might wear. The attire would be comfortable at least and warm enough, I consoled myself
The bathroom didn't overly impress me. A combined shower and tub, vanity with a white sink, and toilet. The one window in here overlooked the backyard. Out of habit, I tested the opening to check out how quiet it moved. The window made no squeaks, the corner of my lip curled into a smile, a plausible escape route if need be. Once in the shower, my frustration grew, all the shampoos and body washes were meant for men. Even the bar of soap reeked of men's cologne. Just great, I'm going to smell like a dude.
After getting cleaned up I headed back into Bruno's room to dress. The outfit was a bit baggy on me and I tied the strings tight on the sweat pants to keep them from falling off. Someone tapped on the door as I finished tying up the sweat pants.
"You decent?" Bruno asked.
"Yeah come on in."
He stepped in and shut the door behind him and gave me a quick once over before sitting down on the edge of the bed. He no sooner got seated and his cell phone went off. He dug the device out of his pocket and read what I assumed was a message. Bruno scowled at the phone as his thumbs flew across the screen in rapid response. He finished the conversation after a few moments and stuffed the cell back into his pocket.
He patted the bed beside him, "We gotta talk."
"I told you everything I know. There's not a lot more I can think of…other than my dragon."
"You're what."
"A tattoo Bruno, not an actual dragon." I laughed.
"Show me."
"I don't think so, my inks a full back piece all the way to my foot."
"Show me the damn tattoo Mouse," His tone became more demanding.
I got up and stood with my back to him. Not that it mattered, with the mirror on the ceiling as well as the sliding closet directly across from us. I undressed and stood there in my underwear. Bruno stood up and took a step closer. His fingers glided over my skin as he moved my hair away from the tattoo. Bruno traced the dragon from the snout on my shoulder to where the claws gave the impression they dug into my hip.
The caress sent shivers over my flesh, the feathery exploration caused me to tingle all over and my face grew hot. I could see myself in the mirror; I blushed so hard my cheeks almost glowed.
"Molto Bella," he whispered in Italian.
His words caused me to redden even more. Unsure if he called the tattoo beautiful or me as I noticed him peering into the mirror as well.
"Can I put my clothes back on now?" Not feeling overly confident in being half-naked in front of him.
He didn't answer and I tilted my head up enough to catch our reflection in the big mirror on the ceiling. He pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and prepared to take a picture of me.
"Bruno. What the hell are you doing."
"Sorry Doll, The Boss needs to know about this."
Panic swarmed over me and I twisted around so fast that he ended up clicking a photo of my half-naked front.
"Mouse," he shouted as he dropped the phone and seized my wrist, and held me still.
"Let go of me, I don't want him to see that." the tears of anger started to line in my eyes. Shit, this is about to turn ugly.
Bruno stared at me for a few seconds his face unreadable and let go of my arm.
"Yeah go on put your clothes on, I need to tell you something before the Boss gets here," he said ominously.
I dressed rapidly, not taking my eyes off Bruno, who kept his gaze directed at me.
"Why is he coming here?"
"Come sit," he beckoned to the bed.
I sat down and twisted sideways to face him. Bruno brushed a runaway lock of hair from my eyes and smiled faintly.
"If the boss finds out you're more than just a normal person he ain't gonna let you go," Bruno said in an unhappy tone.
"Yeah I don't think so," I said. My voice attempted to be more confident than I truly was.
"You won't have a choice, he ain't human," he told me. I wanted to ask him what the hell he meant by that but we were interrupted by his cell ringing.
"It's the boss again, go to your room, I'll come see you in a minute," he ordered.
I did what he said even though the urge to eavesdrop would drive me batty. If there was any hope to gain Bruno's trust back, doing what he asked would be a decent start. Bruno seemed more freaked out over the possibility I was the enemy than by the fireballs on my fists, which was unsettling for me. I needed to learn more about him, as well as his boss. The thought of him being anything different made no sense, but then I didn't exactly appear to be normal myself.
The pink room made me nauseous, definitely not my style. I sluggishly paced back and forth; my nerves became more rattled by each passing moment. A muffled one-sided conversation seeped in from Bruno's room. With silent footfalls I snuck over to the door and pressed my ear against the hollow panel, straining to hear better. My efforts were in vain, however, as it didn't help.
The twin bed squeaked out a complaint as my body flopped down on top of the covers. Not knowing what he talked about had my mind racing all over the place. The assumption I might be the topic of the conversation forced my curiosity higher, it drove me nuts. My sole concern should have been whether they plotted my demise or not, however, my fear for Bruno kept percolating to the surface.
The man always treated me decent in the past, the night before was different. He acted as if my intentions were to plot against him and his boss. The simple fact I worked for him for such a short while should have been an indicator of his lack of trust. After all, he belonged to a seedy world.
Lost in my thoughts I barely noticed the click of the door locking from the outside.
"Stay put til I get back," Bruno ordered from the hall.
"Come on. What if I got to go pee." I whined.
"Let one of the men know and they'll let you out to use the can."
I busied myself with organizing my pink hell. Once that task was done I found a novel on the dresser and decided to read the book to idle away the time. Several long hours went by before a car pulled into the drive. Shortly afterward, there was a tap at my door.
"Don't expect me to unlock it for you," I grinned, knowing full well the lock could have been easily picked if I, in fact, wanted to. Bruno opened the door and stood there holding a bag of fast food and a container of pop.
"Food for Me?" I snatched the stuff from him, "Thanks."
I walked by him and into the kitchen. A bulky Italian guy sat in the living room and another at the table. Both left when he told them to. After layering some fries on top of my burger, I then added more salt and pepper to it. Bruno leaned against the counter watching me eat.
"Listen I need to tell you something about Marco," he stated
"Oh?"
"He can make people do things he wants. They don't even know he is doing it."
"So he's a hypnotist?"
"No Mouse," he sighed. "We'll just say he's got a talent. He'll make you tell him the truth, he'll find out everything about you."
"So…it's not like he'd believe it."
"Yeah he will, so if you wanna get outta this you gotta lie to him," Bruno said.
My elegant response was to choke on the cola that I took too big a drink of. The soda sprayed out of my mouth and nose, all over me and the table. Grabbing for the napkins in the bag as if I were a crazed woman, while my cheeks burned intensely. Bruno moved to my side and patted my back.
"Eh you all right there. Take it easy now," he said. I hurriedly wiped the pop off my chin, t-shirt, and the table, trying not to look like a complete idiot.
Once I caught my breath and restored a bit of dignity I eyed him for a second. His statement from earlier surfaced to mind. Marco isn't human.
"So what the hell is he?"
"Even if I wanted to tell you I can't," Bruno stated. "You're strong, Doll; no one's ever been able to lie to him before."
"So what am I supposed to do?"
"Lie, but don't look him in the eyes, if he finds out your abilities he'll make you his ghoul."
The way he scowled told me something slipped out that he shouldn't have said. His hand slipped through his hair as he pulled a chair out from the table and sat down across from me.
"What the hell is a ghoul?"
"I can't tell you that."
"So are you a ghoul?" I continued, figuring my shit was out of the bag, his should be too.
"I...promise me you won't tell him what you told me. You can't let him take control of you."
He didn't give me a straight answer about anything. The desire to beat my head against a wall filled me. The more he told me the less it seemed I found out.
When Marco interrogated me, I couldn't help but tell him the truth. The struggle to tell one small lie left me exhausted. If I needed to go another round with him, it could prove to be my undoing.
"What if I can't, you need to tell me what the fuck I'm dealing with." Realizing I may be very much powerless in that situation.
"You gotta try."
"But if I can't…I don't want to be someone's...ghoul."
My own words made me wonder exactly what a ghoul might be, that didn't come across as something I would want. The idea made my tummy tighten and my skin crawl.
"No you don't, go get some rest, he'll be here soon to talk to you again," Bruno said before he turned and walked to his room. I was left alone to figure out how to deal with this.
Bruno might be my friend but he would have to take his lumps. Like hell would I be anyone's ghoul. I slipped back into my pink hell and without turning on the light, peeked out the window. Two guys nonchalantly patrolled the area. I knew that there were two at the front door, two at the back and one in the house somewhere plus Bruno. I figured my chances of escaping unnoticed were pretty slim. For quite some time I tossed ideas around in my head. Hoping to come up with one that got me out of here and not ending up with Bruno killed in the process. But I kept coming up flat.