Page 47 of Spark

“Unfortunately,” his smile faltered as his eyes got a faraway look to them. “He got sick when I was fifteen.”

“Aurelio,” she said, an apology sitting on her tongue. She swallowed it down, knowing exactly how it felt to be pitied because of circumstances that happened in your life. She let his name be the answer.

His face was still smiling at her, but the pain in his eyes was there. The memories were not yet healed. “Well, enough sad stories. Shall we head out?” He moved to close the car door, prompting Mia to get settled into the driver's seat. Movingquickly, she rolled the window down and leaned out for another kiss.

Smiling, he obliged. “I'll follow you,” he assured her, stepping back.

“I don't drive as fast as you, I hope that's okay!” she yelled, smiling as he turned to catch her eye.

Aurelio winked at her with eyes that shone bright in the moonlight. “No one does, beautiful.”

Mia made sure to move as swiftly as the old girl would go, pushing her to fifty-five on the highway. Aurelio drove next to her the whole time. She caught him looking at her through the window. She gave him a frown, pointed to her eyes, and then to the road. He laughed, continuing to drive by her side.

As they approached her street, her phone began to ring. She slid her finger across the screen, tapping the speaker button.

“Hello?” she called, turning on her blinker and stopping at a stop sign.

“Hey, beautiful.” Aurelio's voice filled her car, but it wasn't his usual calm charm.

“What's wrong?” she asked, knowing he was about to disappear again.

“I'm sorry,” he started.

Mia huffed, trying not to be upset, but her feelings were getting the best of her.

“I am,” he said, aggravation in his voice. His car was still behind her. “I can't stay. Something's come up, and I am needed.”

“Fine.” Her tone was clipped. “Maybe it's better,” she added, regretting it immediately.

“What?” he stuttered, surprised and hurt. “Why?”

“I don't know, Aurelio.” Her doubts were back; she chose to be honest, no matter how much it hurt. “Things are still so… unanswered.”

“Mia…” he said after a moment. “Please know, I want nothing more than to come upstairs and fall asleep with you.” His tone betrayed him, the fear and want mixing to a plea in his voice.

She sighed, pulling her car into the alley and seeing his car lights pull past the entrance and stop. She killed the engine and waited.

“Mia.” He wanted some reassurance. She could hear it in his voice. “Mia.” There was a little more desperation in his tone. “Say something.”

“Have a good night, Aurelio.” She whispered and ended the call, throwing her head against the headrest. His car lights slowly rolled by, leaving her in darkness. Her music began again, but her shattering heart was all she could hear.

Chapter Nineteen

The next morning, Mia went to grab her phone, but as she lifted the device, she decided that she was not ready to see what may, or nay not be waiting there. When she got home the night before, she put it on silent and left it on her nightstand. The fear of him disappearing again was too much. She channeled her frustration and fear into her dissertation, working till almost two in the morning. She swore she heard car engines up and down her street all night. But when she went to the window, she didn't see anything. Maybe her mind was playing tricks on her aching heart.

Pulling herself out of bed, her body protested the early wake-up, wanting to crawl back into bed. Aurelio may not have come to bed with her last night, but he was on her mind regardless. She knew that if she closed her eyes again, all she would she was him. And right now, she didn’t want to see him.

Mia threw on yoga pants and a tank top, deciding to go grab a coffee and vent her frustrations to Tony. Her reflection in the bathroom mirror looked as tired as she felt, tear streaked makeup still clinging to her skin. Sighing, she grabbed a wipe and went to town cleaning her face. The bruise was still there, but it looked more faded.

The loft was quiet, and the gentle hum of traffic could be heard from the street below. It was time to look at her phone. The screen blinked alive, and several messages, two missed calls with voicemails, and one call with no message started filtering in. She opted to listen to the messages first, knowing several of the texts were from Aurelio.

Static rang out for a moment before the caller spoke. “Hey, Mia. Oliver here.” She smiled at his apologetic voice. “You never got back to me yesterday. I don’t want to pull the cop routine and force you to come.” A brief pause. “You need to call me back.”

“Shit,” Mia swore. She hadn't meant to not call him back, but her day had slipped away. Honestly, she had forgotten all about it. She made a note to call him back when she saw the other message, time-stamped at ten-forty-five, that came in around the time when she got home the previous night.

His voice was filled with more urgency; it was almost angry. “Mia, Oliver. Call me when you get this. I have questions I need to ask you.”

The phone clicked, and Mia frowned. What happened when she got home that made Oliver call her like that? The last phone call she missed was from Detective Daniels, but he hadn't left a message. She took that as a sign that she didn't need to call him back right away. After a quick debate, she opted to call Oliver before she became entangled in whatever was going on between Aurelio and her. The phone rang twice, and Mia was getting ready to leave a voicemail when Oliver finally picked up.

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