Page 57 of Obsessions of the Heart

“Nope. Just coffee shops and such. Nothing fancy and nothing like a date.” This time, I gave him a pointed look, and he had the decency to blush and look away for a second, clearing his throat. It wasn't a lie….

“Good. Good.” His lip twitched before he pulled out his notebook and asked, “He didn't say anything weird, huh?”

Ah, so this was what he was really after. It was why he kept looking away, not wanting me to know he was more interested in these answers than the others. “Nope. Nothing weird. Just warned me about the Ricci family.”

He jumped up, scaring me so badly I picked up my pen and shot up with him, handling it like it was a weapon and not just a writing tool. Elio’s normally controlled chaos took on a wild and dangerous edge that made me take a step back.

“What the fuck did that asshole say about us? What secrets is he spillin?”

“Secrets? I don't know anything about that, but he did say your family was dangerous. Cin said the same thing about Ambros, so I told both of them that I was going to be friends with whoever I chose. You can hear the same message. If you don’t like that, then you’re not being my friend.”

His breathing calmed down, that anger cooling as my words sunk in, then he looked around as if realizing where he was. He shook his head, looking down at the ground as he mumbled, “I’m sorry, Layrin. I just… I lost it for a second, and I shouldn't have.”

Glancing at my hand, he took another breath before his shoulders slumped in a kind of defeat. “Fuck, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to frighten you.”

I carefully set the pen down, keeping my eyes on him. He blew out another ragged breath, “Fuck. I fucked this up, didn’t I?”

“I guess that depends on what you mean.” My voice grew steadier once I saw the Elio I knew come back to the surface.

He nodded to his notebook and sat down. In an even tone, he said, “What kind of business did you want to start? I know you already have ideas.” His smile came back, but it was more wary, less confident.

If he wanted to let it go, then I could do that. Sitting down, I explained my first idea. It was called Compybot. It was a robot that would be available for purchase or hourly rental to be your friend. We would program it to act and think like a human, putting in textbook psychology and real-world scenarios to help lonely people who were in need of some company.

Elio was all for it, coming up with some adjustments and marketing slogans. After we worked out an outline, he nodded toward a set of bookshelves. “Over there are the psychology books, and on the opposite side is mechanics. Why don't you find a couple psychology books you like, and I’ll find some mechanical ones to give the project that real-world feel.”

It was a good idea, so I went with it. Going down the dark aisle, I was looking over all of the books, engrossed with finding some that would help the bot learn how to empathize with a human as well as give solid therapeutic advice. I got the eerie feeling again but shoved it away, knowing that Elio was a few aisles down and over.

I had plucked out one of the books, reading about the philosophy of humanity and the fear of being alone, when I heard one loud thunk, then another, then another. I didn't understand what was going on until I heard a desperate call of my name, then the bookshelf in front of me was leaning overhead, about to flatten me like a pancake.

A flash of a body appeared, boxing itself around me as heavy books rained down, pelting me and whoever had saved me. When the bookshelf started to come down, I gasped.

“Get down.” I immediately followed the command, covering my head. There was a grunt before he whispered, “I won't let them hurt you.”

Looking up, I saw Elio was shielding me, his teeth locked in a grimace, trying to keep the heavy bookcase from crushing us. I scrambled out from under him, pushing at the bookcase with all my might. Finally, some young man showed up, eyes wide, and the three of us managed to push the bookshelf off Elio.

The librarian was furious, glaring at us like this was all our fault, but I knew it wasn't. I grabbed both my and Elio’s things. Shouldering our bags, I put his arm around me and helped him limp his way to the elevator.

Once we were inside, I couldn't help the words that spilled out. “Why, Elio? Why did you save me? You could’ve been hurt worse than this!”

He gave a pained chuckle, wheezing out, “You could’ve too, and I wasn't willing to take that chance.” He winked at me, but the teasing expression became a pained grimace. I was sure his back was on fire, so I told him I needed to get him to the nurse’s office fast.

“No, take me to the Alpha Sigma Xi house. We have better care there.” I held back from rolling my eyes because of course they had their own private care on campus. Rich kids.

It took me a while to get him over to the house. As soon as Luca answered the door, he was cursing up a storm, calling Elio an idiot. Luca barely glanced at me when Elio turned around and blew me a kiss. “Thank you, my sweets. I promise it will go smoother next time.”

I chuckled. “Sure. Yeah. Right now, we're zero for two. Not good odds.”

Luca, who was shoving him inside, called out over his shoulder, “That means there’s only more of a possibility for it to go up.”

I chuckled against my hand, turning away just as Luca jogged down the house steps. “Hey, Layrin. Thank you for helping him home. It means… something.”

I nodded in acceptance, getting the idea that Luca didn't like doing feelings or thank yous. “See ya around, Luca.” I felt his eyes on me as I walked away, totally drained.

What a day.

Chapter 20

Iwas going to kill him, and after I was finished with that Irish Ricci bastard, I was going to punish Rin for letting that man touch her. How dare she let that filth lay a hand on her, let alone take his limping ass to the fraternity house, the one we’d told her to stay away from.

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