Page 180 of Ruins
Nico remains at the elevator door, his intense gaze fixed on me with an angry glint in his eye that makes my blood run cold.
“You’re really going to keep her here?” He directs at Angelo.
Angelo’s jaw tenses. “Say what you got to say Nico.”
The weight of whatever’s unsaid hangs heavy between them. Their exchange shifts into rapid Italian, their voices sharp, controlled. My name is mentioned more than once, but I can’t piece together what’s being said. Then Angelo’s voice lowers, the final words clear.
“Se vuoi vivere, te ne andrai.”
Nico exhales sharply before turning on his heel and leaving.
I let out a slow breath. “He’s angry at me.”
“He thinks I’m going to fuck you.”
Shock slams into me. “He—what?!”
I barely recover before another wave of panic hits. “He wouldn’t tell Santo that, would he?”
Angelo shrugs, utterly nonchalant. “No. I’d kill him if he did.”
His words should be a joke. But they’re not.
Angelo sets down the pizza, grabbing two plates. “One or two slices?”
The night winds on, we eat more pizza than I thought I possibly could and watch a cop show that Angelo jokingly tells me has taught him all he needs to know about law.
At some point, I end up sprawled across the couch, my feet resting on Angelo’s lap. His arms are thrown over the back of the couch and I’m fully engulfed in the story playing out on the screen that when Angelo grabs my foot, I can’t control the shriek I let out.
I try to pull away, but he keeps a firm grip on me.
“Do you love Santo?” His voice is quiet.
He begins to expertly massage my foot with his skilled hands. Each touch sends waves of relaxation through my body.
I watch him, his intense gaze still focused on my foot as he continues to work his magic.
“I don’t know... I think I could, I want to, but he,” I take a deep breath and will myself not to cry. “He just left me.”
Angelo studies me. “I was in love once.”
I sit up at this confession, pulling my foot away and crossing my legs in front of me.
“What happened?”
His eyes darken. “She left.”
Something in his gaze unsettles me.
“I’m sorry. Do you know where she is now?”
“Florida,” he answers immediately.
“Why did you bring her up now?” I lean forward as if the closer I get to him the more I can read.
He looks away, his eyes shadowed.
“When we first met, we spent a week together. We ended up on a couch like this, with her feet in my lap.” He looks at me again, the intensity of his stare penetrating me. “This moment just reminded me of her.”
