/Eliana's POV/
"You know what this means, Cassidy?" the old officer asked as he walked behind me. The room was dark and the only light that filled the room was the white bulb that is hanging on the roof.
"N. . .No," I wiped my tears with my sleeve. He laughed at my answer even though there was nothing funny.
"That's a pity," he traced my neck with his cold fingers making me flinch. "For someone beautiful like you to end up in jail," his fingers moved through my collar bone making their way to my chest. I slightly pushed his hand away, but he didn't want to stop.
"I don't think—"
"Shh. . ." he put his index finger on my lips. "I won't let them do it. I will help you," he licked his lips looking at me from head to toe.
"I don't need your help," I snapped. "I didn't do anything."
"Darling, you just dig your own grave," he walked out of the door and called someone. After they talked for seconds, the other guy came to me and he was glaring at me.
"Do you seriously think this would help?" he slammed the table as I flinch.
"What—"
"Shut your slutty mouth!" he slapped me so hard that I fell from the chair.
That's when I sucked my breath and woke up from my nightmare. My breath became rough as if I run a marathon. My whole body was covered in sweat and my pajama is sticking to my body. Some of my hair is also stuck on my face, so I pushed it away and went to the bathroom.
I filled the tub with warm water and put the strawberry-scented shower gel in it. My favorite scent of this room. "Ah, finally," I said as I went inside the tub. I could feel myself relaxed as the warm water touched every bit of my skin. I closed my eyes trying to relax myself, but God had already planned some other things. Someone called me as soon as my eyes closed. I groaned and took my phone to see who it was. Unexpectedly enough, it was Riccardo. I guess he wants to remind me the incident earlier. But I'm Eliana, I won't let him use this against me. So I picked it up.
***O.T.P***
"Yes, babe?" I said, playing with the water. To my surprise, there was no response. "Hello?" still nothing. But this time, I could hear his breath. "Can you hear me?" I asked one more time before jumping into conclusion. He didn't say anything.
"Did you call me in your sleep?" I laughed. "I can't believe that, Detective. Do you love me that much? I mean you really can't live without me," I tried to provoke him to make sure that he was actually sleeping. There was no sound though. No scoff, no change in his breath, nothing.
"You're seriously sleeping. How lucky," I switch my hand that was holding the phone. "I can talk whatever I want now since you are sleeping. I was thinking. . . Hm," I tapped my chin thinking what I want to talk about. "Yeah, I'll tell you a story. Let me rinse myself. Don't you dare think about hanging up, okay?" I said as I got up to rinse the bubble from my body. After I was done, I dried myself and change into my pajamas. I finally laid on the bed and connected the phone to my ear.
"You're still sleeping, right?" there was no answer. "Good, let me begin then," I said making myself comfortable on the bed.
"Once upon a time, there was a beautiful poisonous rose. The Rose was in a small town where everyone knew each other. But, it was located on the mountain and nobody ever tried to touch it. Everyone was afraid of it due to it's poisonousness and dangerous thorns that surrounded the flower.
"In that town there was a little brave girl who always believed in the unseen. Rules were made for her to break them. She always wanted to try new things. Her parents have always tried their best not to let her see that flower. They knew if they forbid her, it will make be worse. So they just prayed that she never it.
"One day, she met this boy who was stranger to this town. They became friends, and then best friends. They shared many secrets, memories and love. So this boy heard the story about this flower and he did a mistake of telling her. He told her every single detail about it which got her excited. She knew about that flower, but she didn't give it much attention.
"Days passed and with each day, she was getting more eager to see what the flower looks like. So, she put her shoes on and left to get the rose without saying anything to anyone. The mountain was not far from the town so it took her fifteen minutes to get there.
"When she reached the place where the flower was, she read a sign that says 'FORBIDDEN'. That was a 'come inside' for her. So she scoffed at the sign and passed it. The rose was redder than a blood and the leaves were so green adding more beauty to it. It was the most gorgeous thing that she had ever seen. She could never be prouder in her decision.
"However, what she didn't see was the thorns that surrounded the rose. As she strikes her hands to take it, the thorn cut her hand. She was hurt and her hand was bleeding so much. Despite that, she didn't give up on taking that rose. After many attempts and cuts, she finally got the rose she wanted. She thought it would kill her, but it didn't. She got back to her home, and planted it in a beautiful vase. She always took care of it. She waters it everyday, makes sure that is placed in a perfect place to get sun light, and gave her everything to help it grow.
"What she didn't know was that as the flower grows, it will become more poisonous. After three years, the flower had reached its maximum growth. That day, the poor girl came to water it and she noticed that the flower had changed it's color. She got worried and touched it to make sure that the flower was okay. But the thorn cut her hand and the poison went inside her body. It first stopped her heart and killed her right away." I wiped the tear that escaped my eye. "So, what did you learn from this story?" no answer.
"Sometimes, things are forbidden for your own sake," I yawned. "Good night, even though it's 4am and you're asleep." I hung up and closed my eyes.
/Riccardo's POV/
She hung up after saying good night. I wasn't asleep, I just wanted to make sure that she was okay. I don't know why I did that, but it felt right. Hearing her talk felt so good and so wrong.
"But what happened to the boy?" Luca asked. I thought he was asleep the whole time.
Luca is my nephew. After my brother's death, I was assigned as his guardian. He is sweet, kind, and lovable. He doesn't know the fact that he is not my real son. I don't want him to know either.
"Were you listening this whole time?"
"Yeah, I woke up when you called her. Who is she?" he raised a question that is difficult for him to understand.
"She is. . ." I tried to find the right words. "Someone I know," I think it's better.
"She tells a good story, Papà. Can we call her every night?" he looked up at me with cute eyes.
"She is busy," I pulled him into a cuddle.
"Do you know this story?"
"Some of it, yeah." I brushed his hair with my fingers.
"Do you know what happened to the boy?" my fingers stopped moving at this question. "I mean if he didn't tell her about the rose, she wouldn't have died,"
"She could've heard it from someone else," anger is building up inside my body and Luca is just adding more to it.
"If he really loved her, he should stop her,"
"She is stubborn!" I raised my voice as I forget the fact that I was talking to a ten-year-old. "I'm sorry," I kissed his head. "let me tell you the story from the boy's side," he nodded raising his head to look at me.
"The day she went to get that flower, the boy went behind her just to make sure that she was safe. He tried his best to fulfill her wish and bring that rose to her, but he was just scared of the thorns. He was everything she was not. Like her flipped side."
"Like black and white."
"Yeah, like black and white," I smiled. "So that day, he followed her to that flower. Every time a thorn cuts her, he does the same to feel her pain. And after she took that flower, he also takes care of it more than his life. But she never knew that.
"Three years later, he saw that the flower had changed its color so he went to get another one. By the time he successfully brought the flower, she was gone. She left him alone. So he threw the flower away and buried it deep inside the soil." I finished it with a forced smile.
"But, she died. She didn't leave him on purpose."
"Luca, darling. You should sleep. This story is not something you understand easily," I kissed his head and pulled the blanket over him. Being an obedient child, he closed his eyes.
"No one does," I said before closing my eyes along with my thoughts.