Bow Down(172)

Nobody was going to come looking for me. My parents would never know that I wasn’t at my apartment, and my friends never came over without me asking them to. Nobody actually knew where I was, which actually made me worried.

Well, everything about my situation made me worried. I paused on my third sip of coffee and realized that I had no clue if I could even drink caffeine or not.

I had to choke back panic again for the second time that morning.

I might be pregnant with Rafa’s baby. No matter what happened, now he and I were inextricably linked together forever, assuming I actually was pregnant. Plus, now he had incentive to fight for my life, assuming he gave a shit about the baby.

I quickly grabbed my phone from the other room and did a quick search.

One cup of coffee was probably okay. I started searching some more, and the full magnitude of what I had done really washed over me.

My whole life was going to change. I was going to have this baby, and I was never going to be the same again, even if I gave her up for adoption.

I was going to have to be careful with every single thing I put in my body for the next nine months. For whatever reason, that thought really brought home the full magnitude of what was happening around me.

I stood up, trying to fight the tide of panic and terror that was welling up inside me.

I couldn’t sit around. I quickly walked to the door and threw it open, walking out into the hallways as fast as I could.

I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going; I just walked. I felt like I was hyperventilating, breathing far too fast, short and quick. My footsteps matched my breathing as I hurried through the hushed hallways, past the expensive art and the priceless statues and the staring staff members.

I had let a strange man come inside me with the intention of getting pregnant. I was going to have his baby. I wanted him, and was incredibly attracted to him, but this was still so much. To top it all off, part of the mafia wanted me.

I was screwed. There was no other way to look at it. I was screwed and I was going to be destroyed.

I stopped at the first door I found and swiped my card. The light turned green and I threw the door open.

My breath was nearly taken from my chest as I stepped inside the room.

It was humid and large. Plants surrounded me on all sides. It was a greenhouse, or something like a greenhouse. Actually, it was more like one of those jungle exhibits at the zoo, with real plants and towering flowers clustering close to the narrow path. For a second, I thought I had walked outside, but I could see the glass ceiling up above me.

I stepped into the room, my problems forgotten. I slowly walked inside, following along the path.

It was strangely quiet. When I had stepped inside, I’d expected to hear what you normally heard in a forested area: birds, small animals moving in the underbrush, the wind through the branches. But it was silent, like an empty room. I had to keep reminding myself that I was actually inside.

It was beautiful. It must have taken serious work to keep it as gorgeous as it was. I had no clue what its purpose was or why it was in the middle of a mafia mansion, but I was thankful for it. I felt like I was truly alone, and for a second I could catch my breath.

I continued along the path until it came to a small clearing in the plants. There was a bench to my right and a statue standing at one end of the clearing. I felt drawn toward that statue, and I walked over to it.

The woman was beautiful. Long hair, thick lips, a gorgeous face. Whoever had made the sculpture made her look almost life-like. Her clothes seemed so real that I reached out and touched them.

“That’s my mother, you know.”

I nearly jumped out of my skin. I turned around and stared at a younger version of the statue. She had long, dark hair and intense, dark eyes. She was beautiful.

“I’m sorry?” I said stupidly.

The girl nodded at the statue. Her face was completely calm. “That’s my mother, Condita.”

“Oh,” I said, glancing at the statue. “She was beautiful.”

“She was,” the girl agreed. I guessed she was around my age.

“I’m Cassidy,” I said.

“I know.”

“Uh, it’s nice to meet you.”

“I’m Louisa Barone. Still nice?”

I gaped at her for a second. This was the daughter of Arturo Barone. She was incredibly famous. I’d heard tons of rumors about her, mostly about how insane she was and how she never left her rooms. She seemed pretty normal to me, although a little weird, and she was definitely not in her room.

“It’s good to meet you, Louisa,” I said finally.

“This room is a shrine to her.” Louisa walked over to the statue and put her hand on her mother’s foot. “My father had it built when my mother died.”