Deadly Vows - Chapter 20 (Patreon)

He’s here when I wake up. He’s here when I go to sleep. He’s here when I am just sitting there, contemplating my miserable existence. He’s always here. Acting like he loves me. Staying by my side. Making sure I eat. Making sure I get enough sleep. And always making sure I’m not about to die.

Wouldn’t want his precious toy disappearing from existence, I think bitterly.

He’s once again at my bedside. He’s been in an abnormally good mood lately. And it’s almost creepy. He smiles a lot more, and I catch him on multiple occasions staring at me.

“I want to go outside.” My voice cuts through the thick silence that envelops the room.

I haven’t been outside since the day before Luca caught me. I miss the fresh air. I’m tired of being stuffed up inside this room. There’s sunlight pouring in from the windows, and I am dying to touch it. My fever has dissipated, and the infection is gone. I also have less gauze on my wrist. My body is healing slowly but it is healing nonetheless.

Luca is writing something in a thick notebook as if he didn’t hear me.

“Luca, I want to go outside,” I try again, my voice louder this time.

He stops writing and looks up at me with a clear expression.

“Why?”

I'm a little caught off guard by his question but recover quickly. “I’m tired of being stuffed up inside this house.”

He seems to be thinking for a moment before finally answering. He lets out a deep breath and closes his notepad. “Okay. But only the backyard. The front is off-limits today.”

I tilt my head in confusion. “Why?”

His expression shifts immediately, and irritation is evident. “Maybe I’ll just make you wait till tomorrow, since that’s not good enough for you.”

I sit up immediately, shaking my head. “No! The backyard’s fine. I just wanted to know why …” I trail off, trying not to dig myself an even deeper whole.

He stands up from his chair. “Get dressed. I’ll have the cook make lunch, and I’ll join you later. I have some business to attend to.”

He walks closer to the bed and pulls my head in, giving me a kiss on my forehead. He then exits the room as if his mind is elsewhere.

I immediately jump out of bed and head straight into the closet. I really wanted to go to the front yard, because that’s where all the beautiful flowers and scenery are. But since Luca doesn’t want me there, I’ll have to settle for the backyard. It’s just as nice as the front, but there is more artificial nature. I settle on a tank top and shorts.

After I change, I finally walk out of the room and into the hallway. The sunlight is streaming into the house, brightening my damp mood. There is no sign of Luca, or anyone for that matter. Luckily, there are no screams echoing through the house. I can hear the buzz of a Weed-wacker out front. Lawn maintenance must be here. That must be why Luca didn’t want me in the front today.

I step out into the backyard, sliding open the door to the pool. I don’t want to swim. Not like I can with these stitches, anyway. The yard is beautiful, and the plants and greenery are unlike anything I have ever seen. I step into the sun, reveling in the warm glow. It’s been so long since I have seen sunlight. Tears well up in my eyes and spill over. Just this tiny luxury that so many people take for granted is enough to bring tears to my eyes. It feels amazing, the warm rays caressing my skin.

"Why are you crying?"

I almost jump out of my skin as a young voice startles me. I open my eyes and look down to my left. There’s a boy definitely younger than me standing next to me, with big green eyes. His hair is pitch-black and curly; it is also wet with sweat and sticking to his head. He has a wheelbarrow filled with colorful plants and mounds of dirt. His face is streaked with dirt, and there are two big garden gloves on his hands. He has to be at least fifteen or sixteen. He is adorable, actually, and there is something familiar about him, but I know I’ve never met him before.

“Well?” He crosses his arms, looking at me still, and I realize I still haven’t answered his question.

“I … uh, just the sun felt so nice. It made me happy.” I smile sheepishly. I probably look ridiculous to him. He smiles and begins laughing at me.

“Well, I guess the sun would feel nice if you weren’t working in it all day,” he says, looking toward the grass.

It is really nagging me where I’ve seen this kid from before, but I can’t put a name to his face.

“What happened to your arm?” he asks, pointing to my wrist with gauze wrapped around it.

He’s a blunt thing, isn’t he? I decide to answer a question with a question, not wanting to explain to this kid why I have a wrap on my arm.

“What are you doing working here?” I ask him, genuinely curious.

He narrows his eyes at me and reluctantly answers. “Mr. Pasquino came by my house one day, asked if I was interested in a job, and I said heck yeah! He pays me really good, and all I have to do is tend to the flowers and keep the yard looking pretty.” He pauses for a moment. “He pays really good. So now I have enough to get my own food.” He smiles like he is proud.

“What do you mean your own food?” I ask.

“Oh. Well, my mom kinda blows all the money she gets on drugs. We were fine at first, but then my dad died, so we were on our own when the money stopped coming. But it’s okay, ’cause Mr Pasquino said he’d take really good care of me. But I had to earn it.” He motions to the yard. “So here I am.”

I can’t help but smile at him. Well, at least Luca is doing some good in this kid’s life.

“I’m sorry about your father,” I say, feeling pity. I know all too well how it feels to have your father taken away from you.

He only shrugs. “It’s okay. I never really knew him. He came around rarely and only ever talked about how I was destined for greatness.” He bends his head and begins picking at a scab on his arm.

“What are all the different flowers for?” I ask, trying to change the subject to something a little less depressing. His eyes light up at the mention of his work.

“Mr. Pasquino requested them. He said his wife likes all the different-colored flowers.” He motions to each of the flowers as he speaks. “I got lilies, azaleas, sunflowers, all the different colors I could find. Mr. Pasquino said his wife was feeling under the weather lately, so he wanted different flowers to cheer her up!”

I can’t help but be shocked. Luca actually paid attention to something that isn’t for the purpose of inflicting pain on me? He requested that these be planted for my expense?

The boy’s smile slowly disappears as he thinks of something.

“Which reminds me … I should probably get to planting these before she gets up and sees them on accident.”

I would laugh if I weren’t so shocked at the thoughtfulness of Luca’s actions. This kid obviously doesn’t know who he is speaking to.

“Can I join you?” I ask.

I know he has work to do, but I don’t want to sit around the yard doing nothing, and something about him is comforting.

He looks as though he is thinking it over. “Hmmmmm, I dunno. I mean … I guess. But you can’t slow me down. I have to have these done before noon.”

I giggle to myself at the serious face he gets with me. It is adorable. “Okay. I’m Elise, by the way.” I give him a small smile and hold my hand out.

“Matteo.” He smiles and shakes my hand with his.

We work on planting the flowers in the backyard. Each time I try to plant them somewhere that isn’t right, Matteo stops me in frustration, getting upset when I almost “mess up the order”. He keeps fussing about how these have to be perfect. By the end of the day, I’m sweating and have dirt crusted under my fingernails, but I am the happiest I have been in a long time.

Matteo is a funny kid. Turns out he is fifteen. His mom had gotten knocked up, and the guy that got her pregnant had to get rid of her because he was married, but instead, he put her up somewhere, living in luxury. Unfortunately she is a greedy woman, using the money he sent her, blowing it all on drugs and alcohol. And when his father died a few months ago, the money stopped coming, and his mom ran through what was left of it, leaving them to struggle.

There is a light tap on my hand, and I look into Matteo’s frustrated green eyes.

“You can’t put that one next to the azaleas, for the millionth time, Elise.”

I give him a small smile. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention to what I was doing.”

“Well, you should. Mr. Pasquino will be really mad if we mess this up. And he’ll definitely get mad at me because I let the maid help do it.”

I turn my head away, rolling my eyes in the process. If only he knows.

“How do you know Luc—I mean, Mr. Pasquino, anyways? You sure do talk about him a lot,” I ask.

Matteo is digging a hole to plant the next set of flowers before he begins talking.

“Well, Mr. Pasquino actually showed up sometime last year. I thought he was another one of my mom’s suitors, but he actually has helped me a lot. He taught me how to shave, how to drive, how to play cards. He said he was getting married soon to someone special and wanted to learn more about being around people, whatever that means.” He pauses to wipe some sweat from his brow. “He actually talks about her a lot, which is why these flowers have to be perfect. He has helped me so much. He even paid our bills sometimes and made sure I had food at night when Mom wasn’t around.”

He looks up to the leaves of the massive tree above us.

“I asked him once why he was helping us out so much, but he just shrugged and said he was doing it for someone special.”

“Matteo! What the hell are you doing back he—”

We both jump and look behind us, where one of the workers stands. He is shouting at Matteo to come but stops immediately when he sees me.

“I … I’m so sorry, missus. He knows better than to be roaming the grounds. He knew the job he’s been given.” The man looks at Matteo with a stern eye. “We’re leaving, Matteo.”

Matteo jumps up frantically.

“But we’re not finished with the flowers!” He is genuinely upset.

“Look, kid, we told you our shift is over at twelve. You’re going to have to explain why the job on your behalf isn’t done. Or you can stay here and finish and walk home.”

I decide to step in on Matteo’s behalf.

“I can take him home. This is really important to him.”

“Elise!”

I jump, and even though it is eighty degrees outside, my blood runs cold. I turn and see Luca’s icy gaze, pinning me to the spot. He is wearing shorts and a nice short-sleeve button-down shirt. He is walking toward me with an irritated expression on his face.

“Where have you been? I’ve been looking everywhere for y—”

His gaze shifts and lands on Matteo, and his whole demeanor shifts. He becomes tense. Something that I’ve never seen him do unless he was anticipating some sort of threat.

“Matteo, I thought I made the rules around here clear.” His voice comes out cold and calculated. I look at Matteo, and he looks frozen to the spot.

“I …”

“It was my fault.” I cut him off. “He told me he was busy, but I insisted on his company.”

Luca’s gaze shifts between us, as if he’s thinking something.

“Come, Elise, lunch is ready.” He turns away from us and walks to the patio. I look at Matteo with an apologetic smile, and he’s staring at me in disbelief.

We take a seat at the outdoor table, and Luca wrinkles his nose at me.

“Elise, you’re filthy. You have dirt all over you.”

"Sorry."

He looks up from his plate and eyes me with curiosity. “Why aren’t you eating?”

“It’s just … I didn’t get Matteo in trouble, did I? He’s just a kid.”

Luca tilts his head at me. “No, you didn’t.”

“Okay. Well, I kinda told him you would take him home since I slowed him down on his work.”

Luca only grunts in response. His mind seems to be elsewhere right now.

“What did you guys talk about?” Luca asks.

I look up from my plate, and his steel gaze is burning right through me. I don’t know what I should keep out of telling him. He’s being so serious right now and I honestly don’t even know what I did wrong.

“Nothing, really. He mostly yelled at me for putting the plants in the wrong place.” I give a nervous laugh.

Luca is still staring at me. I can tell he is deciding on whether to believe me or not.

We eat our lunch in silence, the only talking when Luca asks me questions. When we finish, he stands to go into the house to get his keys so that he can take Matteo home.

I immediately stand up from the table and go find Matteo. I step around and am surprised by the yard. It’s beautiful and colorful. It looks like something a professional would do, not a fifteen-year old. The yard is like a rainbow of flowers. It's obvious that he put a lot of effort into this.

"Do you like it?"

“It’s beautiful, Matteo,” I tell him. And I truly mean it. This is amazing.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were Mr. Pasquino’s wife?” he asks.

“I don’t know. You didn’t seem inclined to ask, and you thought I was the maid, so I didn’t feel the need to correct you. Besides, we had fun today, didn’t we?”

He shakes his head, his curly hair bouncing in front of his face. “He told me specifically not to make any kind of contact with you. He’s going to be so mad at me.”

I feel my heart sink into my stomach for him. I once again may have gotten someone into huge trouble because of my stupidity.

“I’m sorry. He said he wasn’t mad about it. I just … it was nice talking to someone else for a change.”

I turn and look at him, but he is focusing on something else. Who is this kid to Luca? Why is he helping him out so much? And why does he look so damn familiar to me?

“Matteo!” Luca’s voice comes across the yard like a whip. Matteo turns to me, holding his hand out.

“It was nice meeting you, Mrs. Pasquino.”

He gives me a huge smile. I smile at him and shake his hand. He then takes off across the yard to Luca. I watch as they turn and walk toward the garage. Luca is speaking to him, surprisingly calm. He isn’t yelling or anything. They finally disappear from view, and I head into the house to take a bath and wash all this grime off me.

After I wrap my wrist up, I take a seat in the warm water, letting it relax me. My thoughts wander back to Matteo. He’s only fifteen and has gone through so much. But what connection does Luca have to him that he feels obligated to help this kid out? I’ve never taken Luca for the caring type. The thing that bothers me the most is the fact that there is a nagging in the back of my mind. But I can’t think of where I know him from.

I sit in the water until it starts to get cold. I step out of the tub and into the bedroom freezing in my tracks. Luca is standing in the doorway, eyeing my naked body up and down lustfully. He pushes himself off the doorframe and makes his way over to me.

My heart is thumping heavily against my chest. Luca isn’t speaking. His face is blank. I don’t know if he is mad or happy or what. He takes my hand and leads me to the doorway. We both step out of the room and into the hallway. We step down the hallway and come to a massive double door. He pushes it open, revealing a massive en suite bedroom. I don’t have the time to admire it. Luca pushes me gently up against the wall. He nuzzles my neck and brings his hands down to my butt, pulling me into him. I don’t dare fight him. I know what will happen if I do. So I just close my eyes and give in.

“It’s been so long since I had you, Elise.”

His hands pick me up, and I gasp aloud. He carries me to the bed and drops me on top of the warm sheets. I can feel myself sinking into the soft mattress. He leans over me, straddling my body. His lips meet mine, but they are not possessive and harsh like usual, but soft and warm. I feel his hand drift down between my thighs. A soft moan escapes my lips as he begins moving his fingers to arouse me.

His lips leave mine, and he leans down, capturing my breast in his mouth. I can’t help the pleasure that explodes within me. I hate my body in that moment. It always betrays me just because Luca knows what he is doing manipulating it. I can hear shuffling and open my eyes to see Luca shedding his clothing.

He uses his knees to spread my legs apart, and I can feel his hot erection pressing at my entrance. He slowly pushes into me, stretching me to accommodate his large size. I gasp and open my eyes to Luca’s lust-filled gaze boring into mine.

He slowly starts thrusting into me, eliciting little sparks of pleasure each time. An involuntary moan escapes my lips. He threads his fingers through my hair and pulls my head to the side, exposing my throat. He leans in and begins sucking hard on my throat. I cry out as he picks up his rhythmic thrusts, pounding deeper and deeper into me each time.

“I missed your body so much, baby,” he groans in my ear.

All at once, my orgasm hits me, and I open my mouth to let out my moans of pleasure. Luca captures my mouth with his, swallowing my moans. I can feel him getting even larger inside of me as he finds his release with a pleasured groan. We stay like that for a moment, our labored breathing echoing throughout the room. Luca slowly pulls out of me and picks my limp body up, taking me to the bathroom.

For the first time in a while, Luca lies next to me as I sleep. I decide to put all the negative thoughts out of my mind for once and let my weakened body rest.