Benjamin and I stood in the cold room in silent as I stared at him, waiting for him to slap his knee and tell me it was nothing more than a bad joke, but only stood there, staring back at me.
"What the hell does that mean, Benjamin?" I questioned, taking a step away from him, realizing that he could be dangerous as he had just talked about murder in such a casual tone.
"It means exactly what you think it does, Jasmine," he confirmed. "They're all dead."
"Stop," I told him, not sure what I was telling him to stop, but finally making up my mind on it. "Stop trying to mess with me."
"Do you really think that I'm—"
The door opened, and Luciano popped his head into the room, glaring at Benjamin as he said, "Are you doing that nonsense all over again; telling her that everyone else that has been in this house is dead?"
Benjamin groaned in frustration at being caught in the middle of his sinister prank, turning towards me and winking.
"You're going to love it here," he told me, patting my shoulder and walking out of the room, leaving me and Luciano, who only nodded at me.
"You should some sleep," he told me, leaving the room and shutting the door.
~
I did not get a wink of sleep that night.
My phone was in my hands the whole time. The lights were on, my eyes were wide open, my ears getting more and more sensitive to the crickets and the godforsaken classical music Benjamin was listening to.
I picked the chirps and every single instrument from each number on the classical album, holding on to them like my life depended on it, which I thought it did. The moment I heard anything that wasn't Mozart or a cricket, my fingers would fly up to my phone to dial 911, hovering above the call button until I was sure that the room wasn't being broken into.
I only started to doze off when the sun started to rise.
Not even long after I closed my eyes and welcomed the idea of sleep, a knock on the bedroom door pulled my eyelids up.
Benjamin.
I groaned aloud, getting the sudden urge to chuck a pillow at the door and scream for him to go away. "No, thank you! I still need to get some more sleep!"
"Too bad." The door opened, and I stared at him as he stood there with a grin I found too bright for a morning that early and a tray of breakfast. "Already made it."
"What's this? Are you trying to poison me?" I half-joked, laughing nervously and trying to hide the hint of fear I was probably already showing.
"As much as it may be tempting, I don't want Lucianoquestioning my judgment for the first time in the seven years that we've been together." He set the tray on the bedside table as I mumbled a word of gratitude.
"What's all this?" He knelt on the floor, picking up the jewelry and clothing sketches I had made throughout the night to distract myself from my fear of the unfamiliar environment.
"Just some things I'm working on. I could make you a piece, if you'd like." I suggested.
"I'm not a jewelry person, but thanks." He shook his head.
Just then, Luciano walked in with his hands in his pockets and a look on his face like he owned the place. Well, he did own the place, but I thought he could at least tone his aloofness down a bit. I was not going to tell him that, though.
"Morning," he and Benjamin greeted each other at the same time.
"Morning," I mumbled later, joining Benjamin to pick up the rest of the sketches. I didn't even know how many I was making until I counted it then.
Eighteen sketches in one night.
Maybe I should get stressed more often, I thought to myself.
"What are those?" Luciano asked, the interest in his voice betraying the stony look on his face.
"What, you didn't know your girlfriend made jewelry? For shame, Luciano." Benjamin stood up with laughter, leaving right after patting Luciano's back.
To say I was surprised by their interaction would be putting it in the simplest way ever.
"Wow, people touch you and don't turn into stone. That's a shocker," I joked, taking hold of one of the French toasts Benjamin had brought up.
"Did you sleep?" He asked the question like he knew the answer, and he was silently daring me to lie.
"No." I shook my head. I was out in the middle of somewhere I didn't know, in his house. Trying anything funny would only complicate things for myself, including lying about the smallest things.
I almost disappeared into myself as he stepped closer. I tried to think of one time when I was more uncomfortable than I was in that moment, but I got no single thought in my head.
I could smell his cologne. There was nothing fruity or specific to it, so I guessed it was one of those that was named something like Explosive Seduction or whatever. I reined in the urge to ask.
"I'm not going to let anyone hurt you, if that's what kept you up at night. Roman has begun his little tricks. Two of my clubs were attacked last night. I am going over to inspect the damages and total it to how much pain he's going to be in when I get my hands on him. Benjamin will be coming with me. You will sleep and do whatever you want. The place is heavily-guarded. If you need anything, no matter how small, send me a text. Are we good?"
I figured making a joke about how serious he was would not go too well – he looked like he was barely keeping himself civil – so I simply nodded.
"We're good."
"Splendid. I'll be back later." And with that, he left.
~
I only left the bedroom at three o'clock that afternoon after having long sleep and a refreshing shower.
I caught up with Vera on the phone. She told me the club back in Mesquite had been attacked in the middle of the night and that she would be staying at Matteo's for a while on his insistence.
Just when I was on the phone while trying to spread strawberry jam on a slice of bread, something stroked my leg and caused me to let out a yelp.
"Jasmine? What…what's up? Is someone there?"
I looked down at the black cat with an arched back and green eyes, hissing at me.
"Oh, no need to worry about me, Vera. It's just a cat."
"A cat? Where are you?" she questioned.
"In the kitchen. The cat must belong to Benjamin. Do you think I should give it some milk?" I went on my knees and bent over, checking for the cat's sex. It was a female.
"I have absolutely no idea," Vera replied.
We talked on the phone for over an hour, finding topic after topic to distract each other from whatever it was that bothered us.
By the time I hung up, the cat was already nestled flat against my stomach as I laid on the bed, asleep. My hand instinctively reached out to gently stroke her delicate head.
My phone rang again, but it wasn't Vera. It was my father.
"Looks like you're doing perfectly fine over there, not even thinking to call or check up on me for a full week and more," was the first thing I heard him say.
"Oh, dad. I'm really sorry. A lot's been going on these past few days, really. I'll come see you one of these days, I have enough money to come over now," I assured him.
"You got a job?" I cringed at the thought of calling whatever I was doing a job, but I gave my services and I was paid for it.
"I got a job," I replied.
His deep laughter travelled through my speakers, the cat stirring and lifting her head to watch me as I laughed with my dad.
"And you're still thinking of going on with that business or you're going to stick with the job for a while?"
"You know I've been dreaming of owning my business since forever ago, Dad. I'm not letting it die so easily." I could almost see him let out a sigh of relief.
My father may not have been a fan of a lot of my decisions, but the one thing he would never stop me from doing was what I loved, as long as it was acceptable by his standards.
Which was why I would never tell him the specifics of my job, even though I knew he would eventually ask when I'd go to see him.
"So, when do you think you can come? This old man is rotting out here with the same old routine everyday."
"How about Friday? I can spend the weekend and be off on Sunday for work." Right after having the discussion with my boss/boyfriend.
"I can't wait. We could go see your mother together, just like we always do." The mention of my mother, no matter how long ago it was that she passed, would always prick me in the heart.
Especially with the knowledge that I could have been there, either in her place or together with her.
My hand went down to the scar on my thigh. I lifted the garment of my simple blue, cotton dress and traced the scar with my hand. Emotions lodged in my throat as tears did the same in my eyes.
The cat hopped off of my chest and the bed, heading for the door. Before she could reach the door, it opened abruptly, revealing Luciano.
I gasped as I grabbed the helm of my dress and covered the jagged part of me I had tried to hide from everyone.
But it was too late.
He had seen it.
"What was that?"