[Alice]
I turned towards the adjoining door in the room, willing it to open, and willing Jared to step out but it wasn't happening. A lot of people trooped into the liquor store a few minutes after I did, and headed straight for the part of the room where their preferred brand of alcohol was displayed. None of them looked suspicious or looked at me with suspicion which was good. Also I was grateful that my betrothal to the Mafia King had not been made official yet which was why I could look at their faces, and not fear that they would recognize me.
But where the hell was Jared?
"Nancy dear," I heard someone call from the entrance, and I turned towards it without hiding my annoyance. How stupid can whoever it was, to loudly call out to someone in a public place?
But the stupid person was no other than Jared. The same Jared I had spent the last five minutes waiting for. I felt relieved and surprised at the same time. Relieved that he was finally here at last, and surprised that he could be so loud. And who the hell is Nancy?
I walked up to him, and pulled him into a hug, one he responded with an unusual coldness but I was far from caring about that right now. He must be keen on leaving this premises as soon as possible, and without being seen, and so, didn't have time for a proper hug.
"Sorry, I came in late. I had to pick up my…" He hesitated for a while, and then he added "Friend." While I nodded. He must have a lot going on in his head to have forgotten the word for friend.
"Ethan might be looking for me right now," I whispered after pulling away from him, and he nodded in a way that showed that he didn't give a fuck.
"Yeah, I saw him downstairs." He added casually, and led the way out of the liquor store. There was something off about him today. He was not as clingy as I know him to be, if anything, he was pulling away from me. Maybe it was because we were getting together physically after a long time, or maybe it had everything to do with the situation on ground, and the journey ahead, or maybe it was me, thinking and analysing everything a little too much.
I concealed my surprise behind a sigh when instead of the elevator which I had arrived at this floor with, Jared led me to the rear of the building where I didn't know until now that a private external staircase was located. Not a single person was in this part of the building, and I wasn't surprised a bit. I did not know there was a private staircase in the building, and I was sure a lot of people did not know either. Only core members of the Mafia would know about it, I thought, and was about to shrug the thought away but another thought hit me.
How did Jared know about it?
Instead of dwelling on this rather disturbing question, I focused instead on the fact that his knowledge would be our saving grace. The staircase in question was very long, running down the outside walls all the way to the ground floor.
"Go on, my…" He hesitated for a second. "My friend is waiting for you in a red car at the base of the stairs. I'll join you shortly." Jared instructed me with haste.
"What about you?" I asked with a quivering voice.
"I need to get some clothes for you to change into." He replied, and I nodded, the boutique was on the fourth floor. I hesitated for a few seconds before I spoke.
"This friend I am to meet," I started, but Jared saw through my fear, and responded before I could finish.
"He wouldn't dare do anything stupid," he assured me. I hesitated again, and within a few seconds, Jared had pulled me to himself, and pressed his lips on mine.
The kiss felt real, and immediately erased every trace of doubt I had for Jared or the plan to elope. When he eventually pulled away, I was blushing so hard that I could not meet his eyes.
"Now go on or I'll pull you into another kiss." Jared threatened in-between laughs while I proceeded to descend the stairs without looking at him. I could still taste him in my mouth– apple mint made sweeter by his touch and saliva.
"Thread carefully," he called out from behind me, and his voice was replaced with the sound of retreating footsteps a few seconds later. I stopped moving, and turned to the now empty space behind me. I was missing him already, and as much as I hated to admit it, I was missing Italy already.
I resumed my walk down the stairs nonetheless, and tried not to dwell on the fact that despite how many stairs I have descended, there were still so many stairs. I thought about Agnes as my heart suddenly became heavy, and tried to imagine her in her classroom. She would be gloomy, I was sure, or trying so hard to act normally.
But what would become of her after she gets home? Who would plead on her behalf if ever she was locked up in her room again? Who would buy her candies to stock up her room?
I shrugged off the thoughts, and focused on the journey ahead. When I am fully settled in New Zealand, I would send for Agnes.
As difficult as it seemed, I got to the base of the car, and just as I placed my feet on the interlocking floor, a car honked. It was a red car, and located at the base of the staircase, just as Jared had told me.
"You must be Avira," he asked when I got to the side of the car. He was smiling at me, a smile too cheerful to be real, and I smiled back for courtesy sake. There was something about him that I did not like. Maybe it was because of the way he sat in the car like he owned it, or because Jared had arrived late to the liquor store because of him, I couldn't tell but I already did not like him.
"Come on in," he said, flashing that fake smile once more, and pulled the door open to usher me into the backseat. I got in, smiling as well even though not as cheerfully as him, and sat down.
"Your legs must be tired after descending the long stairs." He said. He was looking at me through the rearview mirror so I had to smile and nod, and pretend that I did not already dislike him.
"Jared will join us shortly," he said after some time. It was his voice, I decided that made me not like him. The sound of "us" from him brought a bitter taste to my mouth but I quickly shrugged it off, since I was sure that soon, Jared would drop him off from whatever hole he had picked him from.
"Thank you," I said after some time. I didn't know what else to say to him, and I didn't want to be rude. Jared had assured me that he wouldn't dare do anything stupid but he hadn't warned me that he was talkative.
"Don't worry about it. You're always welcome. Any friend of Jared's is a friend of mine." He replied. There was a strange fondness in the way he said Jared's name that made me wonder why Jared had not mentioned anything about him before now.
"You two must be very close," I said, faking a smile. He was talkative in nature, and I'm sure with just a little push, I'd be able to get enough information from him.
"Yes, Jared and I are…" He was interrupted by a gentle knock which sounded on the tinted glass of the car.
"It's Jared," he said instead, smiling ever cheerfully now, and proceeded to open the car.
Why did Jared have to show up now? I could have gotten some information from his friend.