Turn Towards the Sun: Book Three- Forever in Bloom (The Sunflower Trilogy) (23 page)

Danny nods. “I’m here 24 hours a day, Ava. You won’t be alone.”

“How do you eat and um, shower and stuff?”

“I have food delivered and I have ways of taking care of the other stuff. Don’t worry about me. My only concern is you and your safety.”

“Thank you, Danny. I’m going back inside now.”

“Okay. I’ll call your husband.”

His words hit me hard. My husband. I know when he hears about this, his instinct will be to call me or try to come out here. I still feel like I’m safer here than Arizona, but that feeling is diminished now that I know Anna knows where I am. This bitch will stop at nothing.

Back in my room, my phone rings and I know it’s Enzo. I let it ring until it goes to voicemail. He doesn’t need to talk to me. Danny can tell him everything he needs to know. Moments later, my dad comes to my room.

“Ava, why won’t you talk to your husband? This man is frantic.”

“Daddy, I can’t. I need a clear head and Enzo is too persuasive. What did he say?”

“He told me you could be in danger. All of us could be.”

I nod my head. “That’s true, but Danny is outside and he will be the whole time.”

“Who the hell is Danny?”

“My bodyguard.”

My dad shakes his head back and forth and paces my tiny bedroom. “Danger, bodyguards, stalking- this is straight out of the movies.”

“Tell me about it. It’s overwhelming.”

“I imagine it is.” He sits on my bed and takes my hand. “Listen, I know this is easy for me to say, but I wish you’d give your husband a chance. It’s clear how much he loves you and a man in his position is bound to have trouble like this.”

“Oh, now you are taking his side too?” I stand up and cross the room to my window. “Why doesn’t anyone see my side of this?”

“Why do there have to be sides, Ava? You and Enzo are not against each other.”

I turn back and stare at my dad. His words make sense on some level, but I’m just too hurt and confused to deal with it right now. “I just need some more time, dad.”

“That’s fine, princess. You can stay here as long as you like. I’ll just leave you with one more thought. Ain’t nothing gonna be solved with you hiding out in this bedroom.”

As if I’m not already aware of that. “I know, dad.”

He leaves and I continue staring out the window. My eyes scan the backyard looking for any sign that she could be here. Is this how I have to spend the rest of my life- looking over my shoulder and surrounded by bodyguards?

I TENTATIVELY TURN my phone on to send Cassie a text. I know it hurts her that I won’t talk to her but she’s in the same house as Enzo and quite frankly, I’m not in the mood for a verbal smack down from her. I know she means well but sometimes her bluntness with me is too much to take. Even she couldn’t possibly understand how I feel right now.

Me:
Hey Cass. Just thinking of you. I love you.

My phone immediately buzzes with a response.

Cassie:
Girl, there is some shit going down here. You NEED to talk to Enzo.

Me:
What is happening?

My heart races. What is Anna doing now? It’s been a week since I got the ultrasound and not a day goes by that I don’t wonder what she is going to do next.

Cassie:
Attempted break-ins at LB. Girasole too. The police were called and Enzo was close to filing a report but then he got some more info and he didn’t do it. I think maybe she is blackmailing him now.

Blackmail. Exactly what he was worried about.

Me:
Does she want money?

Cassie:
I don’t know the deets. TALK to Enzo. He’s fucking dying, Ava.

Doesn’t she know I’m dying too? The hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life is not talk to that man. I don’t know what talking to him now would do except upset me more.

Me:
Thanks for the info.

Cassie:
Are you going to talk to Enzo or do I have to kick your ass?

I choose not to respond to her last comment and turn my phone off once more. It’s clear to me everyone thinks I’m wrong for leaving and not talking to Enzo, but no one knows how I feel. No one knows what it’s like to be the target of someone’s rage and delusions. Part of me thinks that now that she knows we’re apart, maybe she’ll calm down a little. Although, her actions show that she’s still doing whatever she can to get to Enzo. What is the right thing to do? I clearly don’t know.

LOOKING AT THE calendar on my wall, I realize it’s been three weeks since I left Phoenix. Three weeks since I’ve heard Enzo’s voice or anyone else’s besides my mom and dad. Enzo continues to call my parents once a day to check on me and tell me he loves me. Other than that, I have no contact with the outside world. I’ve spent my days reading books and writing my feelings down in a journal. Occasionally, I log onto the internet and search my husband’s name. The only thing I saw was that Franco made an announcement that the opening of La Bellissima is delayed indefinitely. The knowledge that I tore Enzo away from his passion only makes me feel worse.

I stare at the unopened letter on my dresser that came in the mail yesterday. I guess Enzo decided if I wouldn’t talk to him, maybe I would read a letter. I haven’t decided if I actually will.

I thought the longer I was away from him the easier it would get, but I was wrong. Every day is torture. Every night is filled with dreams of his face and his beautiful accented voice. A voice I long to hear, but fear I wouldn’t be able to make a clear decision if I heard it. I still haven’t decided if and when I’m going back. I can’t lie and say that I don’t miss my life in Phoenix, but is the life I left behind still there? Can we ever go back to the way things used to be?

I turn on my phone, ignoring my alerts, and look in my picture gallery. There’s a great picture of me and Enzo smiling that Cassie took at our wedding. We look unbelievably happy. My phone rings, startling me, and I see that it’s Francesca. A lone tear slides down my cheek as I turn my phone off once more.

Laying back on my bed I know I have to stop hiding out and make a decision- rebuild my life in Denver or some other place or go back to Enzo. I can’t believe this is even something I have to consider. I thought I would be with him for the rest of my life.

I hold my silent phone in my hand and bravely turn it back on. It’s time to be an adult.

STARING AT MY reflection in the mirror, the gravity of what I’ve done finally settles in. I left my husband. The broken expression on his face as I packed my things haunts my dreams at night. He knew he had to let me go and I pray he knew I would find my way back to him.

What exactly did I think I was running from? My entire life is in Phoenix and I’m in Denver- hiding from the real world in my childhood bedroom. It’s been nearly a month, but it feels like a thousand years since I’ve seen Enzo’s remarkable face.

Tears start to trickle down my face. I made the wrong decision. I don’t feel better. I told Enzo that we were a team no matter what. I told him that we would go through life together and handle any obstacle, but I left. I stood in front of God and everyone and said my forever vows to him but I was weak. I simply couldn’t take it anymore and I fucking left him.

I know it was the talk with Francesca last night that finally knocked some sense into me. I don’t know what made me turn my phone back on and answer it when I saw her second call but I felt like I had to. I listened and I almost lost it. I couldn’t bear to hear that I was breaking Enzo’s heart. He trusted me and I left him when he needed me the most.

“Yes, Ava, this is your sister, you must talk to me,” Francesca’s voice was shaky as I answered the phone. I knew she was choosing her words carefully, afraid I would hang up. Something in her voice had my attention.

“I’m listening, Checca.”

“There are a few things you need to know about what happened and what I believe. You just need to listen to me at least, please.”

“Okay.”

“First of all, I want you to hear what I saw that night in Vegas.” She takes a deep breath. “One moment we are sitting at the table talking about the hotel. Enzo goes to the bathroom but he was gone a long time.”

I nod my head although I know she can’t see me. This is hard to hear and even though I saw the footage from the hotel, Checca is the only one who saw anything that happened in the room.

“After some time, maybe thirty minutes, I get up to go find Enzo. I looked everywhere. My heart sensed something was wrong, I knew he needed me. I immediately went up to his hotel room. I tried his phone and just beat on that door. I was about to go get the hotel manager when he finally came to the door and what I saw was…” She stops and my heart races.

“Please continue, Checca,” I say, even though I really don’t know if I can take it.

“Something, it was not right, he could barely stand up alone. He leaned against the door and I could tell he was struggling to make sense of his surroundings. He was wearing just his pants, his shirt was off. I pushed my way in the room and Anna, she came from the bathroom. When she saw me she panicked. I admit I didn’t know it was her at first. I started yelling at her, asking her how she got in the room; Enzo was married, etcetera, etcetera. She tried to tell me that Enzo wanted to come up to the room, he wanted her, but Ava, I looked at Enzo sitting on the edge of the bed, rubbing his face in his hands, so confused. I thought there is no way he came here willingly. I know my brother and I know how he feels about you. There was no way.”

“I’m still listening, Checca.”

“Before I knew it, I was slapping the bitch and shoving her out with her clothes. She expected me to believe in less than one hour she lured my brother up to his hotel room, took his clothes off and had sex with him. I didn’t buy it, Ava. Not for one minute. It was very obvious that Enzo was under the influence of something.”

“You slapped her?”

“More than once. I called her a puttana and slapped her face. Then what she said made me realize it was Anna.”

“What did she say?”

“She said I should mind my business and that Enzo was hers and you took him from her.”

“Well that’s a wonderful story,” I say sarcastically, “But obviously something did happen if she’s pregnant.”

“Ava, listen to me. I know in my heart that the baby she is carrying is not Enzo’s. I just know. Enzo doesn’t believe it either. Yes, we need to prove it. Enzo will have a paternity test when it’s born. I’m positive she is lying.”

“What if she’s not, Checca?” The tears start to fall from my eyes.