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Aurora

Staring blankly at the wall of her room, Aurora's throat suddenly felt parched. She hadn't had a glass of water in quite a while and in a hurry to get to her room, she didn't take any water with her.

She groaned as she realized that she had to leave her room, not being able to ignore her dry throat that desperately needed to be quenched with water. She threw the blankets off of her, her cat being startled for a few seconds before falling back asleep.

She didn't want to make a lot of noise and trying to be as quiet as possible, she slowly opened the door. With each little squeak it made she cringed, hoping that Matteo didn't hear anything or wake up from the sound. Even though it was faint, everything was a amped up at night.

The stairs were luckily not made of wood, her feet making little tapping noises against the stairs as she walked down. Aurora smiled as she grabbed the water bottle from the fridge, opening it up she took a huge gulp of the refreshing liquid. She sighed in content, closing the fridge and making sure that she would retreat back to her room in this stealth mode.

"Can't sleep?"

She jumped as she heard his voice behind her. She whipped around to see Matteo leaning against the wall, the light being flicked on and his shirtless body was very evident.

She guessed that her avoiding Matteo at all costs has come to an end.

"I was thirsty." she said, showing him the water bottle.

He hummed. They looked at each other for a while, as if assessing one another since they hadn't seen each other for quite some time now. Aurora examined the look on his face closely, seeing that he was sleep deprived from the evident darkness showcased below his eyes.

There was a pink hue that formed in the white of his eyes that gave the impression that he must be tired. She felt a bit worried for him since it has been the first time she had seen him in a while, and Matteo looked like he desperately needed some sleep.

"Have you eaten anything?" he asked her.

This was she was avoiding, especially with him.

She replied hesitantly, "Y-yes."

Matteo looked at her as if he didn't believe her. It was easy to notice when Aurora lied, aside from her stuttering which was a normal thing on her part, she would always shift her gaze. She also had the tendency to play with her fingers, or fidget around with something.

"Are you sure? You're not lying to me, are you?"

Aurora avoided his gaze, scratching the label of the water bottle. "Of course not. I had Malinda g-give me something to eat while you were away."

She felt his gaze penetrate through her body. "Is that so?"

Matteo pushed his body off from against the wall, sliding his hands into the pockets of his sweatpants. Aurora's heart thumped loudly against her chest as he took tantalizing steps towards her, painfully slow as well. She felt like a criminal would had just been caught.

"Then tell me why Malinda said that you wouldn't accept any of the food that she offered you. You never even left your room today."

She mentally slapped herself.

Of course he would ask Malinda about what went on in the house during the day. It was also her duty to disclose every but of information about what transpired in his house while he was away. He sounded like a father who wanted to know every detail about his daughter when he wasn't at home.

She felt like a child being scold out by their parent. Something that she had never experienced before, yet she felt so shameful.

"I-I'm tired." she muttered, attempting to walk past Matteo to go up to her room.

However, before she could even side step him, his arm had shot out. Her eyes bulged almost out of their sockets as she was caged in-between his tatted arms. He had pulled her back in one swift motion, her body being forced against the fridge and blocking her from moving was his body and his arms, both giving her no room to escape.

She wasn't even given time to comprehend what had happened when he spoke.

"You're not walking away from me this time." he said to her, his warm breath fanning her face from how close he was to her.

She looked up at him, eyes wide. It brought back a memory from when they were in his office, everything he did bringing her back to the first impression he made. He had such a serious look on his face that it made anyone compelled to hang on to every word or even command that escaped to his lips.

She felt her face heat up at the close proximity of his naked chest nearly touching her. The art on his body created a beautiful contrast against his skin, making it even more of a difficult task for her to focus on his face only and not letting her eyes wonder.

"Matteo-"

"You have never disrespected me before, Aurora, and I fucking swear you are not about to start now."

His words were came off heavy, like a threat that embed into her heart and caused it to settle with a weight over it. Her body slightly trembled at his harsh words, even if they were nothing but truthful.

"I am sorry for not eating today but it can w-wait for tomorrow." she tried to be dismissive.

"This isn't just about the fucking eating. You have never been this lousy, Aurora. Are you even concerned about yourself?"

"Yes I am."

"You should be taking this situation more seriously. I expect you to be considerate about your own health and not put your body in even more danger." he said sternly.

"I am considerate."

"Bullshit. You are not making an effort to at least get yourself together. Why do you-"

"You know nothing." she whispered.

Aurora was surprised to hear that she spoke back to him. She never did it before, but she was too sensitive to this topic which made her too emotional.

"You are starving yourself. You have closed yourself off to everything around you, including the ones who actually care about you."

Aurora scoffed. "Oh, like you actually care?"

"I do." he said in an instant. "I do fucking care about you."

There were butterflies fluttering inside of her stomach when he said that. She felt warmth inside of her to know that he actually cares for her, knowing that he meant it. Matteo spoke the truth and he had no reason to lie, or say something that was fruitless which was why she believed every word he had said to her.

She shook her head. "You can't."

"I do. It took me a while to come to terms with it, but I have accepted it."

He breathed through his nose. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, the strands of his hair brushing against the tip of her nose.

"You did this to me." he said so low that she nearly had to strain her ears to be able to hear him.

He didn't make it sound as if he was accusing her, but just making her realize of what she was doing to him. Such confessions coming from him was something major and it surprised her.

Without even realizing it, she felt the familiar feeling of a warm substance sliding down the sides of her face. Matteo looked deeply concerned when he noticed that tears had spilled from her eyes, and she hiccuped which led to a soft cry coming from her.

He touched his fingers to her face, his fingers wiping away the tears from her eyes.

"No no no. What's wrong?" he asked her in a hurry, confusion laced in his voice.

He used his hands to cup her cheeks, his thumb continuing to wipe away the fallen tears whenever they fell from her eyes. The shift in his demeanor was so sudden, as if he wasn't just scolding her out a few seconds ago but he now comforted her.

She didn't fully understand why she was crying. The only thing that made her heart feel heavy was the thought of Matteo caring for her enough to not want go let her go, knowing full well there might be a time where she wouldn't be here. She couldn't come to terms with knowing that she could leave Matteo at any given time.

The only man that was now present in her life.

What hurt even more was knowing that Matteo had grown soft, for her. For someone who is battling with an illness that could take her away, away from him. She didn't want to accept it, especially now.

Not now.

"Agnellino, talk to me." his voice was so low, so gentle as if talking to a baby.

It made it difficult for her to ignore it. To ignore the obvious spark the two of them had. There was an invisible force that kept them together, and she felt it. She had felt it from the moment Matteo had told her to stay with him, the moment she felt his body against hers when she hugged him.

It was something strong and it was something that lingered in the air for too long.

She sniffled. "It was so easy t-to live with the thought that I could die at any moment in time. I was ready for that. I-I was fine with leaving, since there was nothing to lose."

He watched her closely as she spoke. He was invested in everything she said, making sure to hang onto every word that came out of her mouth. She watched him as she spoke, making sure that he would understand what she was staying.

"I-I don't want to leave anymore. I want this sickness to go away, and I want to be cured." she cried.

She felt his forehead press against hers.

"You are too precious to cry." saying this, he wiped away the remaining of her tears.

Whatever he did in this moment, and whatever he said to her, caused the mental knife to stab her even deeper in her heart. She craved this for far too long, wanting someone to love her and care for even if they were family or a potential partner.

This is what she had wanted for so long, but it seemed that the universe doesn't want her fate to be this way.

She basked in everything he did. His fingers grazing her skin, the careful look on his face as if he would hurt her if he touched her a bit more harshly. When she looked at him now, all she saw was a normal man who took care of someone.

His facade of a man who only grew up knowing how to kill people and never to show emotion, had slowly broken away. What she saw was the true Matteo, and she could live the rest of her short life living in content that he showed her affection.

"Let me take care of you." he said suddenly.

He lifted her chin with his fingers, locking eyes with her. She looked hesitant and he saw it.

"Just let me." he sighed, with a small not very noticeable grunt.

She smiled at him. A slight giggle slipped past her lips at how impatient he looked. He was like a little child who couldn't wait to get a gift for Christmas, not doing very well at showing even a small ounce of gentleness.

It was at this moment that she knew, her feelings for Matteo had already grown.

Oh my, two uploads in one week. You guys should be proud of me.

Okay but I liked this chapter. This man finally showed us some affection instead of being such a brute.

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