12 | Promises

◇ KEL ◇

"When would you be back?"

"I don't know yet."

Sitting on the edge of the bed, Miles frowned at my answer. "Don't leave the country for good." 

His blunt response left me standing next to him, his attentive gaze taking over my thoughts.

He looked sad—his eyes said it all.  Apparently, he didn't want me to leave him alone in his countryside house while trying to make something out of his solitary life, left to his own devices for years and years to come. But there was something else he didn't want to share.

"Fine. Why?" I sighed. "Don't say nothing again, or I'll tell your parents you've been lying."

"It wasn't... I dunno why I did it. Okay?"

"So if they bring it up again tomorrow, at some point, you'll fess up and apologize?"

"No." Miles cut off our staring contest and rubbed his palms onto his clean-shaven, exhausted face.

"Why'd you even think I could lie to your family?"

"Not everything I told them was a lie."

"Oh. Just selective omission, then," I retorted.

It shut him up. A tense silence stretched as we let the bedroom stay dim.

Ugh. Fine. I would make the first move. Just so he would open up. Something upset him, and he wouldn't say what.  Although hesitant, I pulled him into a hug while I sat behind him on the bed.  "I hate it when you just won't talk," I murmured. My arms wrapped around his shoulders and chest, my thighs pressing against his warm back. Our cheeks touched. A comfortably quiet moment lingered.

"Sorry." Miles stiffened when I embraced him tighter. 

"Okay."  I smiled, relieved that he wasn't pulling away yet.

It gave me a sense of clarity I'd been seeking for days now. Miles loved being a painter and he preferred a recluse life in the countryside, but of course I didn't want to just leave him in his lonesome, withdrawn confinement in Brichese.

The past months we'd been living together, I'd barely hung out with him, mainly due to our demanding workloads and priorities.  Now I kind of felt selfish for not spending much time with him.

I'd traveled to Italy jobless and strapped for cash almost a year ago.  Without his help, I wouldn't have been able to work and save up for my pending academic plans.  Now I actually had some money for school.  Not enough to put me through another two years in med school, but, at least I now had an emergency fund of some sort. 

If ever his folks and mine would still permit me to stay with Miles in his house, I'd definitely spend more time with him. Get to know him better. Treat him better.  He was the new best friend I never expected after I just left New York to start anew.

"We good?" Miles touched my chin with his knuckle, breaking off my melodramatic musings.

"Maybe."

"You liked hangin' out with Charr?" He eyed me with a smirk that tilted his beautiful lips.

"Yeah," I replied. "Enjoyed our chat, actually."

"Don't mind him." Miles' grin now showed deep dimples I'd always loved.  "He just likes to drink. But he's cool."

"Yeah. He's nice. Your Mamma's lovely and fun to talk to as well."  I fought off a yawn and stayed on the bed, still hugging him. "Can't say the same 'bout your dad, though." My chin perched on his shoulder. "He's just intimidating, y'know? Barely speaks. Always on the phone..."

"Nothing new." Miles got up from the bed. All so suddenly, he got rid of his pleasant expression.

"Hey." I grabbed his wrist to stop him from walking out.

"Mykaela, it's past midnight." 

"Be here first thing." I pouted. "Don't wanna get lost in that creepy maze again."

"Fine," Miles conceded with a throaty chuckle while wiggling his hand out of my grip.  Then he crouched before me.  He sat on his heels, smiled, and put his firm arms beside my thighs. "I'll be here when you wake up."

I didn't reply. Instead I just stared at his handsome face with his hands now on my hips. My knees got warm against his shirt, his gaze passing for what I could tell were bedroom eyes.

Even in the dimness, every outline of his picture-perfect features stood out. His shorter, more masculine hair didn't take away the gentleness in his long-lashed eyes and nice smile.

It just made him more attractive, honestly. I wanted to snap myself out of it, but I just appreciated our closeness right now.  Couldn't he stay here with me all night?

Ugh. Not possible. Not with his parents sleeping in the guest room on the same floor. I pushed the thought aside as my heart pounded uncomfortably in my chest.

"G'night?"  Miles held my hips over my knee-length nightgown, his brown eyes watching my expression.

"Night." I got up from the bed to walk him out.

For a second, Miles mumbled something in Italian before he unlocked the knob and pulled the wooden door open.

I only watched as he stepped out of the room, my gaze mostly on the floor.

"Sleep in. Got nothing planned tomorrow," Miles said before he gave me a kiss.

My mere response was a muffled gasp amid a speechless, immobile state.

Miles furrowed his forehead and glanced around him, obviously oblivious to how the kiss shocked me and my current thoughts. I probably looked like a stupefied zombie. "You okay?" He glanced behind him. "Saw a ghost or somethin'?" He chuckled. "This house is real old."

"I'm fine." It was a mansion, technically, but, yeah. It looked aged.  "Go to bed."

"You first." Miles leaned in and kissed me again—this time it took longer than a second I almost flinched. "Early breakfast tomorrow."  And just like that, he crossed the empty hallway leading to the stairs.

My feet stayed pinned by the door. I could barely breathe, heartbeat racing in a confusingly rapid pace.

It was a harmless little peck on the lips. But of course, my maladjusted emotions made something of it. I couldn't even move until his tall figure finally disappeared from my view, his steps still audible as he trod down the softly lit stairs.

"You're going nuts, K." I shut the door and retreated to the bathroom.  

It must've taken me an entire minute to process what just happened. Absentmindely, I inhaled deeply and bit the inside of my cheek.  I leaned against the cold sink, leaving the lights off, my fingers lingering on my lips.

Why did he have to kiss me?  And twice? 

Hold up— 

Why was it affecting me this much?  Surely it didn't mean anything to him.  Just another friendly gesture of affection.  No biggie...  

Why did it bother me?

Calming myself down in the spacious bathroom took a minute or so.  I put my palm on my chest, alone and in the dark, my frazzled common sense screaming for answers.  I kept pacing around for a while.

Until something made a loud noise. It disturbed the utter silence.  Something just broke and crashed onto the tiled floor.

Oh crap.

My breath caught in my throat, my heartbeat ratcheting up by the second, eyes fully alert despite the darkness. The shock forced me to switch on the wall lights.  Then my bare feet backed away from the pile of rubble.

Shattered pieces of a vase now littered the floor.

"Crap. Crap. Crap."  I just broke a large and expensive-looking vase. "Rag. Towel," I muttered to myself. Sharp pieces lay scattered on the bathroom tiles. I walked over to the mess I made. 

The debris just stayed scattered under the sink. Some white, powdery substance surrounded the broken pieces. It looked so out of place. I squatted on the floor just to check it out. My fingers examined the fine-textured white substance.

It smelled of old perfume and...gasoline?  The odd scent only boggled me more.

"What are you?" I whispered. Was it just some powdered chemical to keep the bugs out? Or something else entirely?

◇

"Vampirar et Dhampirica"

The gothic-styled calligraphy printed in gold ink intrigued me as I studied the brownish, tattered cover.  It was a vintage-looking book Miles currently engrossed himself in as he sat next to me.

Sitting on the bed, he flipped through dated, fragile pages the shade of pale yellow, unaware that I was already awake.

I watched him.  I stayed completely still under the covers.  For the next minute, the bedroom remained noiseless and dim. I'd made sure to lock everything last night and kept the window drapes drawn. My terrifying experience in the labyrinth was still somewhat fresh in my dozy consciousness.

Maybe Miles had keys to this guest room?  "Hungry?"

I glanced at him, his attention still centered on the book.

Collared shirt and new pants. Did we have somewhere to be today? Why didn't he wake me up?

The time on my phone read way past ten, and I wasn't sure what made me sleep in this late. The long trip?  I was used to traveling all the time. Being a working model required lots of it. I functioned well even on few hours of sleep.

"Breakfast ready in the patio. Told them we'll just come down for brunch," Miles mumbled.

"Showering now." I moaned in discomfort when I pulled myself out of bed, my limbs and back feeling like I'd just worked ten runway shows.  "Morning."

"Sleep okay?" Miles asked while I dragged myself to the bathroom.

"No," I replied when I reached the sink with my bare feet on the cold tiles.  Facing the wide mirror, I splashed water onto my face twice.  My eyes looked puffy. 

How was Dad doing in the hospital?  Was his condition worsening?  I'd prayed for him last night.  I needed to call Jill again.  Reception was crappy out here, but I had to try.

"We can stay in," Miles near shouted from the bed.

"They'll be expecting."  I brushed my teeth, my pale complexion in such contrast to my dark, tousled hair.

As my thoughts drifted to last night's events, I took off my nightgown and rushed into the shower.

It was around midnight when Miles took me back to the room.  As expected, we'd argued about some issues and his refusal to explain why he was lying to his own parents. I had a few suspicions, but until when should I keep making guesses in my head? He'd kept skirting the issue.

Confused,  I stepped out in a robe after showering. My pretend boyfriend sat still on the bed. "Good read?"

"Pretty interesting," Miles muttered before he flipped to another page.

"Vampirar is vampire." I put away the heavy drapes.  Bright and blinding rays of the sun penetrated my skin,  leaving a somewhat stinging sensation.  I stepped away from the windows and grabbed clean clothes, opting for a casual dress and light leather boots. The weather seemed fine, and in case his family invited us to while the day away with more outdoor activities, at least I'd be comfortable.  "What's 'dhampirica'?"

"Half-vampire, half-human offspring," Miles said flatly.

For a moment, my brain tried to decide which part sounded more ridiculous while I put on the light dress.  Miles seemed to care about nothing but the dusty-looking book on his lap. "Ricchar's?"

"Yeah."  Miles stayed hunched over on the covers, his dark brows furrowing at the old, wrinkly pages.

His cousin's comments and unsolicited advice the previous night were still fresh in my mind. Should I ask about it?  "Hey." 

Miles glanced at me.  

"So last night..." I neatened the creases on my plain dress. "Charr told me some stuff..." I murmured as the hairs on my arms stood at the mere thought of what I experienced last night. I even had a nightmare about the maze.  

"Like what?" Miles squinted. The book thudded onto the nightstand when he put it down. 

"About you and your parents." I sat on the bed to put on socks, mulling over the strange intimations his eccentric cousin had put into my head the previous night.

Ricchar even mentioned Miles didn't want me to leave the country because he was in love with me.

Yeah, right.  "Hey." I paused when thoughts of my family worried me again. My father was still in the ICU and my mom definitely wanted me home. Miles would understand. "Really have to get home. Mom's worried."

"So you'll go back home to take care of your dad." Miles looked at me, sounding fairly uncertain about my plans. "And then you'll get your degree and work at some hospital?"

His tentative tone made me stare at him. Did he doubt my plans would work out this year? Or was he just doubting my determination to make all of them a reality?  "Sounds sensible." I leaned down to put my boots on.

Promptly like an automatic response, Miles crouched in front of me. "Sounds like you're just itching to leave and get away from me," he said with a lopsided grin. With ease, he slid my foot into my boot.

"Don't be ridiculous." I scoffed. "Leave this place and this perfect face?" I pinched his smooth cheek, glad we were back to a bantering mood even after our awkward encounter last night when he kissed me goodnight.  Twice.  Or was I the only one being awkward?

"You'll be so far away."

The room fell silent for a moment. I saw him pout. I snickered.  "Just a couple years. So try not to miss me that much." Surely my choice to leave Italy wouldn't make that much difference to his life, save for leaving him without a roomie to hang out with in his spare time.

"Who's gonna make me breakfast every morning?" Miles scowled. "Clean up the house every day? It's a full-time job."

"Um...pretty sure your bank account says you can afford a cook and regular cleaning service." I blew a raspberry. "You're such a prince. It's annoying and hilarious at the same time."

"Two years max," he bargained. "After you graduate, you'll apply for residency here. Deal?"

"Did someone die and made you fully in-charge of whatever I have to do with my life?"

"And you can't date," Miles replied as he started texting someone on his phone. "'Cause then you wouldn't have time to travel here."

"Oh. So you're letting me go back home and finish school but I'm not allowed to date? Do I get some loyalty award or severance pay out of the deal?" I wisecracked.

"What time d'you fall asleep?"

"Like an hour after you left. Also, I may've broken a vase last night..." I confessed. Sure, I had cleaned up the mess I'd made in the bathroom, and I opted for a topic change to keep the mood light.

"What vase?"  Miles wrinkled his brows.

"Found a box of 'em in the bathroom. Some powdery stuff."

"Powdery?" Miles put his phone away and squinted at me.

"Like flour. Smelled weird."

The room got quiet again. The look on his face turned from curious to confusedly reprehending. "Shit." Miles swiftly got up. "Where?"

"Cleaned it up last night,"  I assured him. "Crap. I should apologize to Ricchar, huh?"

Instead of answering the question, Miles stayed silent for a moment. His gaze stayed on the bathroom door, his expression turning dark. "Where is it?"

◇

Bemusement and dread settled in the pit of my stomach as I watched the guy standing beside me.

His lips remained a thin line. At the moment, his hands were busy going through the contents of the mysterious box. Miles furrowed his brows after he inspected the nondescript vases and jars, his gaze as stony as his expression.

"What?" I asked out of confusion. Should I apologize to Ricchar now? Did the vase cost half a million bucks? I didn't mean to break the thing.

But Miles seemed to be concerned about something else besides the broken vase. He even had a pinch of the white, powdery substance sitting on his palm. "This was in the jar?"

"Yeah. Last night, when it fell and broke. Sorry. I didn't mean to—"

"Get out."

His commanding tone made me stare at him, somewhat shocked and frozen.

"Mykaela."

"Sorry," I muttered before walking out of the bathroom. A quiet, tense minute kept me still on the bed. 

Why was he so upset? It was just a vase. His cousin had plenty. From what we'd seen in the box, perhaps Ricchar had dozens more sitting all over the mansion. I just sat on the edge of the bed, hesitant to approach my unusually pissed off roomie.

"Pack up." Miles rushed out of the bathroom and walked past my slumped figure on the bed.

"What?"  Why?

"We're leaving."

◇