CHAPTER 7: LATER NEVER CAME

HAVEN'S POV

I breathed a sigh of relief when I didn't run into anyone when I decided to leave my room and go to the kitchen. Though it's past midnight already, I wouldn't be surprised if some of Allesio's men are still awake.

I've been here for almost a month and if there's one thing I notice is that everyone seem to always find something to do in any time of the day. I mean... they're all part of the criminal world. I doubt they follow legal working hours when their business is not even legal.

I expected that my stay here would be awkward, and I was right. It's like I need to weigh every little move I made. It doesn't help that out of all the people here, I could only talk to Rosa since I feel like Allessio's men are avoiding me.

I know it's not just all in my head. There were a couple of times that they would just suddenly change direction before I could greet them as if I had a deadly, contagious disease. The only exception is when I go out of the house to walk around the property without Rosa because it was only then that one or two of Allessio's men would suddenly follow me around.

When I reached the kitchen, I just opened a single light since I don't have plans to cook anyway. With the lessons that Allessio enrolled me in, I can do a lot of the basics now better than before. Still, I don't want to make a mess in Rosa's kitchen. It's not like I know a lot anyway. For now, I'm still learning baking while waiting for a slot to open for cooking lessons.

I walked to the fridge, and I opened it. I sighed when just as expected, there's no food left in the fridge. Rosa cooks a lot, and so does Pietro. The latter is one of Allessio's men, but from time to time he cooks for everyone. Out of all Allessio's men, he's the only one who talks to me without looking like he's about to be tortured.

Despite the fact that it's like a feast here every day with how much Rosa cooks, it's rare that there would be any left by the day ends. The stomachs of Allessio's men are like a bottomless pit.

I decided to open the cupboards, and any hope I had left vanished when I saw that everything was just ingredients for cooking. There were can foods but I really didn't want to cook. I don't want to get any attention or to disturb anyone. Or worse, I might burn the house accidentally when my stupidity kicks in.

"No cereal, no cookies, and not even one single pack of chips," I grumbled to myself. "Do people here have something against unhealthy food? What is life without sweets or salty snacks?"

I sighed when I caught sight of a can of peaches at the very top of the cupboard. "Kung walang makain, ayaw naman magpakain," I said in Tagalog, annoyed that it's either there's no food, or there is some, but I can't eat it. Unless I suddenly grow a couple of inches, there's no way I can reach that can from where it is now. Should I just go back to sleep?

The answer was a quick no when my stomach grumbled. I didn't eat that much during dinner because I was really seconds away from falling asleep while in the middle of eating.

My day was jam-packed with lessons because Allessio didn't just enroll me for skills training. He also signed me up for creative classes which range from crocheting, painting, pottery, and music class. I feel like an Asian child with an achievement-oriented parent.

I braced one hand on the counter and stood on my tiptoes to reach the peaches. I could get a chair, but there's an innate stubbornness in me that exists in every small person who wants to prove that even small, I could overcome the hurdle of reaching something that was placed far above my height.

"I'll be happy with instant noodles at this point," I said, grunting at the exertion I'm putting my small frame into.

"Denied."

At the same time that I heard that deep voice that I'm familiar with more than I want to, I managed to move the can that I was reaching for closer to the edge. It would have been a congratulatory moment for all my efforts but since I got startled by Allessio's voice, it slipped from my hands.

I squeezed my eyes shut, accepting my fate of being smacked by a can of peaches. But instead of the feeling of the can on my face, I felt a hard, solid body behind me and an arm that circled my waist.

I felt like all the air had left my body when I noticed Allessio standing behind me. Except for a brief hello a few days ago, I haven't seen him at his house since the last time we really talked. I don't think he's even been home for a week. The past few weeks, whenever he did come home, he'd leave early in the morning.

"You're a magnet for trouble, gattina." Instead of handing me the can of peaches, he put it back where I had gotten it from. "Seriously? Instant noodles? Haven't you eaten enough of those to last a lifetime?"

"I have, but I'm hungry, and it's convenient."

He mumbled something in Italian, and even though I couldn't understand it, I have a feeling that it's about his deep hatred for instant noodles.

"I'll cook something for you," he offered.

"You don't have to."

"I know that I don't have to." He opened the freezer and pulled out a ziploc bag. When he put it on the sink, I realized that it was a pasta of some sort. A fresh one, of course. "I want to. You're not the only one hungry."

He pulled out all sorts of things from the fridge while I just stared at him. I should help. After all, he's the one doing the cooking.

"Can I help with anything?"

He glanced at me, and then he tipped his chin in the direction of the vegetables he took from the fridge. "Wash the spinach, tomatoes, and pepper, then chop them. Garlic as well."

Okay. Chopping. How hard could it be? I've chopped food before. I mean... you're just going to stab the food until it's into pieces. There wasn't anything I needed to chop during my baking lessons except for butter, but oh well. Even the chocolate we used for the muffins we made today is chocolate chips so it doesn't need to be chopped.

I followed his orders and washed everything he asked me to. When I was done, I wiped each one as if they were plates rather than ingredients that they were so dry by the time I finished. Even the spinach didn't escape from what I was doing.

When I looked up, I saw Allessio watching me with an expression on his face that could only be described as a look that a person would have if they came across a three-headed chicken who sings a Whitney Houston song. In short, he's looking at me like I'm a new species that sprouted in the middle of his kitchen.

I gave him a forced smile which made him shake his head before turning his back on me to focus on the things he needed to prepare.

Breathing a sigh of relief, I grabbed the chopping board and placed the first thing I managed to grab which happened to be a bell pepper. It's a good thing he's not watching since his presence makes me nervous that it won't be surprising if I suddenly cut a finger off.

Holding the bell pepper at the bottom as if it's a fish that might escape my grasp, I started hacking it off. I was busy stabbing it when I felt a hand stop me.

"Have some mercy, gattina." Allessio carefully took the knife from me. "The bell pepper didn't do anything to you. I asked you to chop it, not murder it."

My cheeks heated. "I-I am chopping it!"

"I'm not the kind of man that gets scared, and yet I think I'll be having nightmares starting today."

I could hear a hint of lightness in his tone, which made me realize that he's teasing me. I narrowed my eyes at him. "Not everyone is good with knives."

"The way I use knives in my world is not as pretty when I use it in the kitchen, but I think if I show my enemy the way you handle a knife, they'll think twice of messing with Idalion."

I yanked my hand away from his grip, my face scrunched in annoyance. I was about to walk away to leave him when he pulled me back again. These damn men with long legs, arms, and everything.

"Come here and I'll teach you how to use a knife."

"I'm not hungry anymore," I mumbled.

Ignoring what I said, he pulled me closer until we're a breath away, turning me around before I collide into him. I held my breath when I felt his huge build behind me again, standing so close to me than he already is. He put the knife on my right hand, and he held it in a way that he's also holding my other hand.

"Umm..."

"Always think of your safety first. You don't want to lose any of these pretty fingers."

A shiver ran down my spine when his warm breath grazed my neck. He moved my hand on the left so that it's forming a claw, tucking my fingers in. He guided my other hand up and down with a steady rhythm to chop the vegetables without them looking mangled, chewed, and like they've been spat out.

"You don't need to be fast. You can take your time. Sometimes, doing it slowly at first is better. Then, when you're used to the feeling, you can increase your speed, doing it faster and faster..."

Something is wrong with me. The air coming from the air conditioner is cool, and yet I feel like I'm burning from the inside. My skin is prickling as well, and my senses are heightened. His hot breath, his firm hands on mine, and the feeling of his body behind me—all of it intensified.

For a quick moment, I felt his hot breath on my skin come closer to a sensitive part of my neck, and I squeezed my legs together unconsciously. But before I suddenly self-combust, it was then Allessio let me go and stepped away.

I caught a hint of what I felt just moments ago in his eyes before he dropped the shutter down so quick that I wasn't even sure if I just imagined what I saw.

"I'll check the pasta," he declared, his voice sounding rough.

Silence shrouded us. There was a part of me that felt disappointed, something that confuses me, while there's also a part of me that felt relieved that he put a distance between us.

This is just hormones, right? My period is coming. That explains the hunger... and this... whatever this is.

We worked quietly around the kitchen. Allessio started incorporating every ingredient into a pan, and it wasn't long before the kitchen was filled with a mouthwatering smell.

"Do you want to try?" he asked, glancing back at me.

When I nodded, Allessio took a fork and speared a piece of the pasta, which I recognized as ravioli. I hesitantly approached him to take the fork, but instead of handing it to me, he held it up in front of my mouth.

Hesitating for a moment, I opened my mouth to have a taste. I couldn't help the sound that came out of me when the rich flavor burst in my mouth. I run my tongue on my lips, licking the remaining bits of sauce.

"Cazzo."

I looked at Allessio with wonder. He's staring at me like he's suddenly hungry for a midnight snack the way I was. Maybe even more so. "Hmm?"

He was about to speak when Fierro, whom I also hadn't seen for a long time, suddenly appeared in the kitchen.

"You have a visitor," he informed Allessio.

It was clearly unexpected, based on the look on Allessio's face. "Who?"

Before Fierro could answer, we heard a woman's voice calling Allessio's name. Something crossed between Allessio and Fierro, and the latter shrugged as if answering an unspoken question.

Allessio's jaw hardened, and he turned to me. "Stay here and eat, gattina, so you can go back to sleep."

"You're not.... you're not going to eat?" I found myself asking.

"Save some for me. I'll eat later."

I watch his back as he walk away. For a moment, I could hear Allessio and a woman's voice outside talking... then a sound of a woman's laughter until it faded away. I was curious, but like he instructed, I stayed in the kitchen and ate. I ate slowly, as if there's a part of me that is hoping that he'll come back and eat with me.

When I woke up early in the morning, earlier than I ever had before, I saw that the food that I put in a container with his name on it in the fridge was left untouched.

Later never came because he didn't come back.