Page 68 of The Devil's Den

I rise to stand beside her, my fingers inching toward hers, but she pushes past me, leaving for the stairs.

Just as she’s about to go, she pauses, her back to me. “Why do you even bother with me, Matteo? When are you going to learn I don’t matter?”

She runs up the stairs as I scream her name. “Aida! Don’t say that! Aida! Come back.”

But the door shuts and I’m alone, wondering when I’ll see a glimpse of the girl she once was. But with each passing day, I’m afraid she’s gone.

For good.

* * *

The day after, she doesn’t bring me breakfast, nor lunch. Instead, Ms. Greco comes down with a bowl of soup and a salad.

“Where is she?” I ask as she places the food on the floor beside me.

“She’s not well, Matteo. I tried to talk to her, but she only looks past me, as though she’s not even listening.” She takes a deep sigh.

“We can’t give up on her.”

“I’m not giving up. I’m giving her room to breathe and so should you. She needs that right now.”

“You have to watch her. She may try to—”

“Don’t worry.” She squeezes my hand. “I am. I promise. I’ll do everything I can to keep her safe from herself.”

She starts for the stairs. “I care about you too, Matteo.” There’s sorrow etched in her eyes, her smile the same. “I hope you know that by now.”

“I do.”

She thins her lips as she nods. “I wish I had known you both at a better time, when life wasn’t so cruel. But we have to make the best of things.”

“That’s what we’ve been trying to do,” I tell her. “And look where it got us.”

* * *

The day has turned to night, and Ms. Greco returned hours ago to bring me dinner. Though I tried to sleep, it never came. I’ve been awake for longer than I should’ve and the house has gone quiet.

I think about what Ms. Greco said, giving Aida time. I know she’s right but what if we don’t have any time left? What if all we have are stolen seconds, dwindling away until they’re gone? Every day, I wonder if today I’ll die. They don’t need me to kill for them. They do it to torture me. That’s all I am, a toy. When they get tired or bored, I’ll have no value left. Then what will become of Aida and Robby?

The door suddenly opens.

“Hello?” My body stills into ice.

Footfalls crash heavy.

“Who’s there?”

Louder now.

It’s not Aida or Ms. Greco. I know how they walk by now.

The person gets nearer until the last step brings me face-to-face with Agnelo.

“What the hell are you doing here?”

He never shows his face down here. “I wanted to retrieve you personally. Today is a very important day.” He marches slowly, grabbing my wrist and undoing the chain with a key in his pocket. “Come on,” he orders with a wicked grin. “We’ve got places to be and people to kill.”

Fucking great. “What time is it?” I ask.

---