“Alexio will you be loyal to me even when my Dad passes away?” I inquired and sat up.
The car came to a stop as we parked along the side of the road. He reached over and took off my sunglasses, then took my hands in his.
“My Cuore, I am loyal to you. Not your father. I am loyal to you till the day you tell me to leave. I will always be here for you, in any way you want me.” He softly responded and leaned in to place a kiss on my forehead.
“Thank you.” I blushed and pulled him closer to give him a proper kiss. He deepened the kiss for a moment then pulled away.
“We can’t stop here for long.” He stated and started up the car.
“Can I play some music?”
“This is your car. You can do whatever you like.”
“Oh yeah, right.” I giggled and grabbed the USB out of my purse. I plugged it in and put it on track 9. Montero (Call me by your name) by Lil Nas X started playing.
I sang along to the song while we drove and Alexio joined in.
“Call me when you want, call me when you need.” We sang as the car sped down the street.
We stopped at Starbucks and I jumped out of the car.
“I’ll be just a minute,” I yelled as I walked away and put on my mask. Stupid corona.
The queue contained two other people so it wasn’t going to be long until I was served. I decided to go for my usual, The veranda blend. A smooth combination of soft cocoa and lightly toasted nuts. Hmmm, delicious!
“Next.” The woman at the till called out and I stepped forward while lifting my sunglasses onto my head.
“Oh hey, beautiful. What can I get for you?” She asked and twisted her hair around her finger.
I blushed and replied, “The veranda blend please.”
“Which size?”
“Oh yeah, a large please.”
“Number 69.” She winked and handed me the slip after I swiped my card.
I went to stand aside and waited for my order. I felt someone step closer to me. Urgh, people! Don’t you know what personal space is? I spun around and was about to snap at the person when I saw Alexio standing next to me. He tilted his head and raised his eyebrow at me.
“I was about you give you a piece of my mind for being so close to me.” I laughed.
“I couldn’t leave you alone. A rival mafia might be on the watch since word of the election tomorrow could get out.” He added and scanned the people in the shop.
“You do know I can protect myself right?” I replied and tapped my purse. I had a revolver safely in my bag. She was a beauty; engraved with a gold and silver pattern and 6 bullet chamber. I also had a dagger strapped to my heel, it matched my gun and the blade had roses on them that were a beautiful red when covered in blood. Plus years of training on how to defend myself. My Dad had trained me to excel in aikido, judo, karate, savate and boxing. I was also taught gymnastics which gave me the advantage to be both flexible and agile.
“There you go, sweetness.” The lady from before chimed and handed me the Starbucks. Alexio stepped forward with his hands in a fist next to him. I put my hand out and touched his arm which made him step back.
“Thank you,” I smirked and turned around to walk away. Alexio followed close behind me.
“She had no right to call you by a nickname. Why did you stop me? These people need to know who the next Padrino is.” He hissed and opened the car door for me.
“She didn’t mean any harm, I don’t want to cause a scene for nothing. Now drop it okay.” I demanded as he closed the car door behind me.
“I just find it disrespectful, but I won’t say anything else on the subject.”
“Here have a sip, it will make you feel better.” I offered and handed him my coffee. He shook his head no and pointed to my mouth. I knew exactly what that meant. I took a sip then pulled him closer to allow the warm liquid to flow from my mouth to his. His tongue swirled around mine and the delicious taste made each taste bud start tingling.
“You right that did make me feel better.” He smirked after we pulled apart. The engine then roared to life and we were off. We drove past my favourite sculpture in the city, which was on the route Alexio purposely chose just to see me excited.
“Are you hungry?” He asked and turned down the music. The car came to a stop by a traffic light.
“No thanks babes, I’m good.” I turned and leaned in to place a kiss on his cheek. As I pulled away everything around us seemed to slow down, but I was unable to react at all. I sat there frozen as a black van headed straight for us.
“Alexio!” I eventually screamed as the van collided with the left side of my car. The Starbucks flew from my hand as the car flipped over and tumbled down the sloped street. All the glass had shattered by the time the car came to a stop. My head was throbbing and warm blood flowed down my face. Luckily the car had stopped upright, but the dashboard had been smashed in and my legs were trapped.
I looked at Alexio, he was unconscious. He had a big bruise on the side of his face and his arm was twisted into an unnatural position. It was probably broken.
“Alexio?” I yelled and my throat felt like it was on fire. “Wake up. Please. You need to wake up.” I pleaded. My voice was rough and sounded like a loud whisper. He didn’t respond, he didn’t even move. My head hurt so much, I felt like throwing up then passing out. I closed my eyes and swayed forward. I quickly opened them and sat back upright. The music from my USB was still playing.
“Alexio. Wake up… you…” I mumbled and swayed forward as my eyes forcefully closed.
“Get her and the driver out of the car!” Someone ordered in Italian. The sound of their voice bought me back to reality. My door then fell off and I felt hands grab hold of me. I closed my eyes again and drifted away.
“She keeps drifting in and out. The male is still unresponsive.” The same person yelled. I opened my eyes and saw a woman lean over me. I noticed she had a caduceus on her arm before everything went black.
The sound of doors banging bought me back once again.
“Don’t worry Miss Nova. You are at the hospital.” The woman stated and smiled down at me. The bright lights hurt my eyes, but the soft pillow beneath my head helped ease the throbbing. I wondered where Alexio was. Was he even alive? He deserved to have a long and happy life. I’m sorry, was the last thing I thought before I finally let go.
The bell rang to end this horrific school day. Finally! Urgh, I hate school. It’s so boring and just a waste of my time. I felt so irritated, I just wanted to get home. Everything irritated me; the voice of my accounting teacher, the way my uniform felt against my skin, the pink pencil case full of permanent marker scribbles that the girl next to me had on her desk and the taste of my dry mouth. I craved a sugary drink. The cola refresh in the fridge at home was calling my name.“Taylen, Taylen. Drink me! Drain my blood!” I imagined it saying. It would cheer as I took it from the fridge and twisted open the bottle cap to release the sweet fragrance.I shoved my fat accounting book into my bag and got up to leave. My classmates broke into a loud chatter and all rushed out of the class."Social distancing please!" My teacher yelled then saw me through the crowd. "Taylen Nova, can I talk to you for a second please?" No! I replied m
I touched the bowl and cursed, "Fridge magnets that's hot!" Damn, how could I forget? I grabbed the dishcloth and placed the bowl onto the table. "Weeeeeeeee!" The spice cheered as it fell onto the noodles. I smiled and mixed it all together with a fork. "Hey, Mrs Cheese. Since this spice is cheese flavoured are you by any chance related?" "Why yes, that is correct." She replied. Me = big brains."Snap this is delicious!" I beamed and twisted more noodles around my fork. "Why do you taste so good today?" I asked but the noodles didn't reply. I shrugged and continued eating. "Mr Taylen, please close that fridge." The nanny ordered as she walked through the kitchen. She was half her original size and had a massive bobblehead! I laughed and stretched over to slam the fridge door shut. I looked down but my noodles were already finished. Sadness. The food had gone quiet again, the nanny probably scared them off. Oh well, time to
I picked up my favourite beauty blender and squeezed my BB cream onto the sponge. This golden colour shade matched my skin tone perfectly. I needed to make my Arabic skin glow for the cameras. I had clear skin that still looked young and hydrated, even though I was already 26. I was getting old.“But still so sexy,” I smirked and finished up the last touches to my makeup. Being a male model meant that I had to highlight the features that a camera could not see. Everything needed to be perfect, which it already was. My chocolate brown hair was shoulder length and full of volume. It was healthy and allowed the light to dance on its surface. My facial features resembled the ideal mould of a man. Even my royale beard enhanced how attractive I was.Don’t even get me started on my body. Even Allah will bow down before me. I had toned every inch of my body to achieve the warrior physique and now no one could pass my title of the sexiest man alive. I was decl
"Isla thanks for coming today," I remarked as we watched all the children leave."To be honest at first I was like he wants me to be around children? Then I thought to myself, I get to see my favourite person." She replied and offered me a wink. Isla and I had been good friends for a few years now, I felt like she was the only person that I could spend time with and not feel irritated."It's a pleasure." I laughed."So I need to quickly change out of this," She stated and started walking away. I wonder if she would like to hang out now? I remember the first time we met at a fashion show in Hawaii. The designer had based all his pieces on the element of fire. It was a spectacular event! Isla and I were put together as partners for the couple's outfits, and we just got to know each other better from then on."Tay!" I heard her shout which snapped me away from my thoughts. "Are you coming?"
Mr Nova’s POVI woke up by my desk in a cold sweat. It was still dark outside so I checked my watch. 2am. The page she had written on had absorbed some of my drool. I wiped my mouth and placed the page safely at the back of my journal.That was the first time I had dreamt of Alveera Rose. Now she had even entered my subconscious mind. I remember it was such a calm experience but I felt like I had just awoken from a nightmare. My heart was racing and I felt anxious. To this day, scientists could not explain why we dream. The threat simulation theory suggests that dreaming could be seen as an ancient biological defence mechanism. This would simulate potential threatening events and enhance the neuro-cognitive mechanisms required. Basically, in simple words, it allows you to be prepared for that situation if it were to occur in real life. That was just one of the theories, but it seemed to make sense. I shook my head.
The next few months were full of long days and sleepless nights. The entire team worked on the project and none of them gave up. We got annoyed with each other when we disagreed or the calculations didn’t turn out. Alveera turned out to be the most valuable member of the team. She made sure we all stayed fed, hydrated and got at least 4 hours of sleep a day. She was basically our mother and kept us sane.We had exactly 123 failed test runs, and today felt no different. We had given up on waiting for natural storms and made an artificial method to manipulate the weather. That was a nightmare to perfect. There was a time we couldn't figure out how to make the storm stop and the facility was flooded. Luckily Gazala constructed a water catchment and storage backup plan. We sent the water off to arid areas in Africa. I guess you could say it was a win-win situation. I walked over to Alveera's apartment and knocked on her door. "Taylen my boy, come
Cuore’s povI stirred awake and felt a thin material draped over my body. I shot up and scanned the area around me. I was alone in a small room. It had plain white walls, no windows and one solid metal door. There was also an old wardrobe in the corner next to a basin and toilet. I felt a sharp pain in my arm and noticed I was attached to an IV drip that hung from a hook on the wall. I quickly ripped the needle out and felt a bit dizzy. What on earth was in that drip? I even had different clothes on. I wore a plain white shirt that was full of stains and a pair of black tights. I needed to get out of here. The single bed I was on had a quilt covering it. It was the ugliest thing I had ever seen. Random pieces of material had been sewed together to form a blanket.A gunshot went off in the distance. Where was I? This didn't look like a hospital.I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and tried to stand up. Everything felt like
"You looked confused." He laughed and pulled a chair over to sit directly in front of me. "Okay let me catch you up, you got into a car accident, slipped into a coma for roughly 6 months, left Cosa Nostra without a Padrino, oh and didn't attend your Daddy's funeral. Today is the 12th of September." "Sounds about right." The woman replied.Coma? 6...6 months. So I was right, my Dad was gone. Why didn't the family elect a new Padrino?"Here's the catch, doll. We need you to join Stidda." He stated. Ha! Give up my name for Stidda? He must be crazy. I burst out laughing which made him angry. He slapped me across the face then threatened, "That wasn't funny. It's either rot in that room we kept you in or join our families together." "Why me? Why didn't you just kill me and claim the glory?" "Cuore, you are more valuable alive than dead!" He yelled then grabbed hold of my face. "Plus there are better uses for a pretty f