I chuckled, “I think it already did.”
“She poses a good question, though,” Livia interjected. “Why is she safer at our house?”
“I can keep an eye on her 24/7. That, and I’m not telling anyone that she’ll be there,” I explained. “Whoever is causing this, clearly has inside knowledge. So, until we know more about who is behind this, I think I might just lie and say she flew out to her brother’s place in Oregon. We’ll have to keep it to ourselves about our house guest.”
Livia nodded, accepting my explanation.
“You’re pretty,” Bec mumbled to her. “You’re pink.”
Livia giggled, “You’re right. My hairispink.”
Bec shook her head and then winced, “Not your hair.You. Rome is red, you’re pink.” She paused and turned to Luna, “You’re purple.”
“What is she talking about?” Luna asked me.
I waved her off. “Ignore it. She’s loopy. I think the drugs are finally kicking in.”
“I wanna be red…” Bec mumbled, her eyes now closed. “Just like Rome.”
“How do we get her to the house?” Luna asked. “I don’t think she can handle the subway in this state.”
I looked down at Bec, who was half asleep against my chest. “How’s the engine in the Beetle holding up, Livia?”
Chapter Twenty
BEC
Iwoke up with a start. My heart was racing, pounding against my chest, my body slick with sweat. I could feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins, but I couldn’t pinpoint the cause.
I looked around, trying to figure out where I was. The room was dark, and rain trickled against the window in a steady beat. I didn’t recognize the room, but something about it was familiar. I ran my hands over the dark green comforter as I tried to make sense of what had happened.
The kidnapping and car chase rushed through my mind. Every second I spent in that car hit me with a sudden force. From the anxiety of being taken, all the way to the relief I felt when Rome appeared through the glass roof. The last thing I could remember clearly was going to the hospital as they carted Rome away in a police cruiser, and I yelled that he was innocent. That he needed to be with me.
“Rome,” I whispered as I tried to stand. I didn’t know where I was, but Ididknow I needed to be with him.
I was stopped as a warm arm wrapped around my waist, pulling me back into the bed.
“Shhh,” Rome mumbled as he cradled my body against his. “Go back to sleep,” he spoke into my hair and proceeded to drop a kiss on the top of my head.
“Where are we?” I asked as I curled into his hard, strong body.
“My house,” he explained, his voice deep… more of a rumble than a sound. “You're safe here. Go back to bed. You need sleep.”
I relaxed into his arms because I knew he was right. But it wasn’t the house that made me safe, it was him. I drifted back to sleep quickly with the steady rise and fall of Rome's chest under my cheek, and the sound of rain as a relaxing backdrop.
When I woke up again, late morning light drifted through the window, flooding the now-empty bedroom. I sighed and stretched, feeling my aching joints relish in the motion. I vaguely remembered Rome mentioning we were coming to his home, but I hadn’t fully processed what that meant.
My head ached as I sat up, the pounding a steady beat. I gingerly pressed my fingers to the laceration on my head. I could feel the bumps of the stitches I had received in the hospital. It would leave a nasty scar, but thankfully, it would be hidden in my hairline.
I looked around Rome’s bedroom. I could admit I had wondered what it looked like. He had spent time in my home and space, and in many ways it was vulnerable. Letting anyone into the space I considered safe was scary for me, but I always knew Rome would protect it.
I imagined his room having movie posters, a smaller bed in the corner, and a desk. Instead, I awoke in a room with dark green walls, in a king-sized bed, and a large bookshelf in the corner. There was a nightstand on either side of the bed, a folded flag lay on one with his dad’s name printed on the bottom, but no desk in sight. Then there was a wall of only pictures, plastered from floor to ceiling.
I stood gingerly from the bed, noticing for the first time that I was not in my dress from yesterday. I was now dressed in a grey t-shirt with 'ARMY' printed across the breast, and it hit me mid-thigh. I had no memory of who had changed me, but was just grateful to be out of that tight, form-fitting dress.
I padded across the cool hardwood floors to the wall of pictures. There were quite a few of Rome and his sisters growing up. He was smiling widely in every single one. I noticed a couple with his mom, and even a few of a man who I assumed was his late father. They had the same dark eyes and hair, but it was their smiles that were the most similar—both having the innate ability to light up a room. I traced my fingers over the photos of Rome in the Army, pictured with his fellow Rangers teammates. I recognized Malachi based solely on his resemblance to Jackie, his sister.
It seemed Rome had plastered the most important people in his world on this wall.
