Chapter 30 30
|| Rosalie’s Pov ||
And I finally stopped when my eyes found her name. My mother’s. Carved into the stone. Right beside hers, my father’s. Both in the front row.
My breath faltered. I stepped closer. My hands were trembling slightly. My knees bent before I could stop them and I found myself kneeling on the ground in front of them.
My eyes suddenly felt so warm. I pressed my lips together trying not to cry. I closed my eyes, letting the ache rise in my chest and I gently joined my hands in prayer.
“H-hi Momma.” as I mumbled, tears came out of my eyes. My heart felt so, so, so heavy. “I missed you, Momma. I missed you so much.”
|| Author POV ||
Killian quietly followed her, then stood still just a few steps behind her.
His eyes settled on her kneeling figure before the tombs. His expression was void of warmth, void of sympathy even after seeing her shaking and weeping.
No flicker of emotion crossed his face. He didn’t even know what he was feeling. He just stared blankly. Coldly.
As if he was watching something he couldn’t understand, yet couldn’t look away from.
Killian waited quietly. Watching her from a distance, something dark and unfamiliar curled inside his chest.
When Rosa finally stood up, Killian didn’t move. Rosa stayed for a second. Her hands tightened around the fabric of her dress before slowly turning around.
Her pale eyes met his.
Rosa’s breath caught. Killian was just standing there with his hands tucked in his pockets and his eyes fixed on her. Rosa quickly wiped her tears. Her throat tightened.
Was he... standing there the whole time? Watching her? Why hasn’t he left already?
Rosa took careful steps toward him. Her eyes lifted to his. Not a word passed her lips but her gaze asked the question, ‘Why are you still here?’
Killian’s expression didn’t change. Like he hadn’t just watched her cry her heart out in front of two graves.
Time passed.
Rosa spotted Aria on her way back and asked Killian to stop the car. “Stop the car.” she said softly pointing her finger out of the car. Killian just nodded once coldly.
The moment Rosa stepped out, Aria spotted her and rushed over, wrapping her hand around Rosa’s with a bright smile. Killian watched silently. His grip tightened on the steering wheel and his jaw clenched.
He didn’t like anyone else touching what was his. Not even a girl. No matter who she is!
\---
|| At Night ||
Rosa finished her shift at the café. She wiped the counter with a soft hum under her breath. Her mood was light.
Visiting her parents’ grave after a long time settled some peace in her. She just hoped the night would be peaceful too. Because every time she visited the cemetery, the silence followed her into her dreams, turning it into a nightmare.
Rosa stepped out of the café. A soft sigh left her lips as the door closed behind her. She sipped on the cold drink through a straw. The plastic cup snug in her hand.
The quiet night welcomed her as she strolled through the dim-lit alley. The breeze played with the hem of her skirt.
But her steps slowed.
Not far from the café, a small crowd had gathered. Men, women, even police officers were there. Her brows pinched together.
What’s going on?
Still sipping her drink, Rosa stepped closer, curiosity tugging at her steps. The murmurs grew louder, people were whispering in low uneasy tones. Rosa peered between the shoulders of the gathered crowd, trying to see what they were all staring at.
Her eyes dropped and then, the straw slipped from her lips. Her knees wobbled.
Terror jolted through her veins as her gaze landed on the dead body being lifted onto a stretcher. The officers were focused, one of them calling something out to the others.
The man’s body was mostly covered with white cloth... except his face.
What was left of it. His face was smashed brutally, beyond recognition to anyone who didn’t know the shape of it before. Blood stained everything. His eyeballs were poked out. His skull looked caved in.
“H-hah.” Rosa gasped sharply, stepping back with wide eyes.
Her heart pounded as her breath hitched. She had never seen anything so horrific. She turned away quickly. The image had seared into her mind.
As she stumbled back from the crowd, the air grew thick with the metallic scent of blood and panic. Her shoulder bumped into someone hard. Her almost teary, wide eyes flew up, pupils trembling.
Killian.
“What are you doing here?” his voice came out deep.
Rosa’s lips quivered violently, her throat closing as a sob broke past them.
Without a thought, she reached out, clutching at his coat. Her body trembled as she pointed a shaky finger toward the scene behind her, unable to say anything, unable to look again.
Killian’s brows furrowed, his gaze shifting from her to the crowd. He didn’t say a word.
Rosa wriggled closer, pressing into his side like a scared child. Her fists still fisted in his coat. Her head ducked down, hiding her face in his chest. She couldn’t look at that again.
Not even for a second.
Killian’s eyes flicked back to the stretcher barely sparing it a glance. Judging by the situation, he knew it was done by some street gangsters.
But his attention quickly dropped to the tiny girl clutching him like a lifeline.
Frightened rabbit.
Rosa was trembling like a leaf. Her breath was stuttering against his chest. It wasn’t the corpse that unsettled him, it was her. The way she tried to disappear into him after seeing that corpse. The way her fear made her look even more breakable.
“Shh. That’s nothing.” he murmured, the rough edge of his voice never softened.
His hand found the back of her head, gently cradling it, fingers combing through her soft hair.
He heard her shaky sniffle.
Rosa looked up slowly with wide glistening eyes, meeting his. Fear shimmered in them.
“Someone killed th-that man. H-he looks sca-scary. His face–” A tiny hiccup left past her small lips. Rosa again buried her face into his side. Her small fingers clutching his coat like it was the only thing keeping her safe.
Her soft broken hiccups trembled through the silence. Killian’s jaw tightened.
If only she knew–If only she knew the man she was holding was far worse than any monster. That his hands weren’t just stained, they were soaked.
Would she still hold him like this? Still trust him with those innocent tear-glazed eyes?
Or would she run?
“Did a mafia do that?” Rosa stammered. Her voice trembled with fear. Anxiety flashed behind her teary eyes as the terrifying images replayed in her head.
Killian’s expression darkened instantly. Her question struck him deep, too deep.
“Who told you that?” he asked immediately, his voice colder.
Rosa clutched his coat tighter in fear. “I–I heard. Th-that they kill people like that.” Rosa sniffled, brushing away her tears, eyes averting to the crowd. “H-how can someone kill like that? They ar-are sow cruel.” she whispered, her fingers brushing lightly against his coat for comfort. “I-i hate mafias. Cruel peoples!”
Her words made something shift in him. A dark tension rose in his chest. Anger filled his veins. He shot a glare at the crowd with a tight jaw, then looked down at her.
“Shh, calm down.”
Killian said, voice rough but quieter this time. He pulled her close and turned her away from the scene.
Killian had left the place with Rosa immediately, driving straight back to the mansion. After Rosa was safely inside her room, Killian returned to his own. The tension inside him grew heavier.
Few moments passed.
Water dripped from Killian’s hair and jawline as he stepped out of the shower while roughly towel-drying his hair. His masculine body sculptures flashed under the dim-lit.
His movements were mechanical as he reached the nightstand until the little thing caught his dark blue eyes.
A tiny beaded bracelet.
He picked it up. It was the same delicate bracelet he had found on his bed this morning. A shaky breath escaped his throat.
“Fuck!”
He cursed under his breath. His eyes flashed with dark intensity.
Seeing her so frightened by something as simple as a dead body made him realize how much he was hiding from her and how long he could keep it up.
His gaze hardened as he stared at the bracelet. It belonged to her.
Something twisted inside him. He had no intention of giving her little belonging back. With a cold resolve, he opened the drawer and tucked the delicate piece inside.
‘Did a mafia do that?’
‘I–I heard. Th-that they kill people like that.’
‘H-how can someone kill like that? They ar-are sow cruel.’
‘I-i hate mafias. Cruel peoples!’
Rosa’s fearful broken voice echoed in his mind.
A pounding headache throbbed behind his temples. The weight of it all pressed down suddenly. Without another thought, he strode out of his room, craving the burn of a strong drink.
\----
Midnight had quietly draped itself across the sky.
Rosalie stirred in her sleep. A soft whimper escaped her parted lips. Beads of sweat gathered at her temples. Her fingers curled into the sheets and she twisted slightly.
The nightmare clung to her like a shadow.
In her dream, she was back on that street. The man’s bloodied ruined face flashed behind her closed eyes again and again. It felt even more real and horrific in her nightmare. Her body trembled beneath the covers.
“No.” A faint cry left her lips.
Rosa looked so scared even in sleep, trapped in a world only she could see.
She tossed gently in bed, trying to run from something her feet couldn’t escape. She couldn’t open her eyes.
Her body froze the moment she saw them. Her parents standing in front of the bloodied corpse like a statue. Their faces were blank as they turned to stare directly at her eyes in her nightmare.
“AHHH!”
Rosa jolted upright with a scream. Her voice sliced through the quiet of the night.
Her chest rose and fell rapidly. Her heart pounded against her ribs and her eyes darted around the dark room. Everything was pitch black.
Tears welled in her eyes. Her hands trembled as she reached for her phone with frantic fingers. The screen lit up casting a faint glow as she turned on the flashlight.
Her breaths were shallow and erratic.
Her frame curled forward, arms wrapping around herself as she tried to steady the storm inside. Her tiny heart thudded in panic and eyes scanned the dark corners of her room like a scared child hiding from monsters.
But what if the monster wasn’t under the bed?
What if he was down the hall?