Page 1 of Midnight Rose

Chapter 1

Ruby

Another Midnight Rose left on my window. A delicate and rare flower and also my favorite.A black rose with bright blue edges. I feel like it's somehow a reflection of my life.

Another reminder of the boy that I left behind. Only he knew they were my favorite flowers; only he knew the real me. No one has cared since to get to know me. The day he left, my world went as dark as the middle of that flower.

Orlando was the only boy brave enough to make friends with me. He was my best friend for many years until my brother died, and then my father locked me away in this tower with no contact with the outside world other than my teacher and the housekeeper.

Oh, and the men that stood guard outside my door, but they don't talk to me.I've tried, but they won't. They listen because when I ask them for something, it appears, everything from medicines to my father.

Did I mention my father is a Mafia boss? And my brother wasn't exactly killed; he was kidnapped and murdered by another family. It made my father slightly crazy because he was to take over the family. Oh, and because as his daughter, it means my only purpose now is to be married off to another family to forge an alliance and strengthen both families.

So now I'm not free to leave the tower on the estate, and no one is allowed in.The only time I will be permitted to leave is on my wedding day. Then what happens to me will be up to my husband.

Before I was locked away, Orlando would come over every day after school, and we'd play in the garden or with my dolls, or we'd play with his trucks. He'd call me Rapunzel because of my long hair, which is red, just like my mom’s. I loved it long and have kept it that way, even all these years later. Silly, but I feel like it's a tie to him.

The Russo family has to be protected at all costs. I know that. It doesn't mean I like it.But it’s gotten worse since my brother died. I feel smothered, and I'd do just about anything for some socialization with someone my own age.

Today is just a normal Tuesday for everyone else, but today I get this flower on my window, which is no small feat, being several stories up.Today is the day I realize maybe I haven't been as alone as I thought. And today is the day I start to hope again.

The longer I stare out into the dark, the more I feel like someone is watching me. Even though I can't see anyone, I get this feeling he's watching me from the shadows. I've had this feeling for years that Orlando is there just outside my line of sight, but I always thought it was in my head.

This is the first physical sign of it, though. So, I open the window, and the humid Charleston air hits my face. I stare out into the dark a bit longer, and I can still feel his eyes on me. "Thank you," I say out into the void, hoping he can hear me.

I wait to see if I can hear anything, even just a twig snapping to tell me he's there, any little sign.

But I hear or see nothing.

"I miss you," I tell him and wait again, hoping for a sign though deep down, I know it won't come.

Still nothing, no sound or sign, but I know he's there; I can feel him. Just like I used to feel it the moment he would enter the garden all those years ago when we'd played together.

While I don't know if he's listening, and I don't know if this is all in my head, it might very well be me going crazy after all these years. When I bring the flower up to my face and smell it, it brings back happier memories.

Memories of us playing in the garden here on the estate. A garden I'm not even allowed to visit anymore. Flashes of a memory of him teaching me to ride a bike up and down the driveway. Swimming in the pool on hot summer days, which are more often than not here in South Carolina.

I miss the pool, I miss the bike, I miss the garden, but I miss him more. I'd give it all up to have him back.

I'd do anything to have him back. He’s the only person who cared about me, the person, not me, the object to be traded.He was the only person nice to me, without reason. Other than my friendship, he didn't want anything from me.

Closing my window, I place the rose on my nightstand and lay down in bed. Now that I'm eighteen and have graduated high school, I have a meeting with my father tomorrow to discuss my future.I know his intentions are to marry me off, the sooner, the better, but I have other plans, other dreams.

I've been trying to put together my best argument on why I should be allowed to go to college and get a two-year degree before I am married off.I go over the reasons again in my head, over and over like I have been every night.

If he doesn't allow it, I will have to take matters into my own hands.

I'm a Russo, and that might mean it's time to wash my hands in blood. Come hell or high water; I will be on my own very soon.

Chapter 2

Orlando

God, I miss her too. As I watch Ruby standing in her window, I want nothing more than to pull her from the tower she's been imprisoned in and run away with her. But one thing I have learned over the years is self-control, and I will abide by the plan already in action.I will do right by her, so she never has a reason to doubt me or think I'm anything like her father.

Today I just had to see her, put my eyes on her to calm myself, and remind myself she is okay. She is safe. That is what I need right now.No matter how much pain it causes me to see her like this, I need her safe above all else.

She looks so damn beautiful. I swear, every time I see her, she gets more and more stunning. Even all those years ago, before I knew what it meant, she was so breathtaking my heart would stop when I saw her. Back then, my pulse would race just being near her, and it was like I couldn't stay away.

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