Menacingly

Chapter Nine

"I didn't buy you the dress."

"Oh. My mistake." Angela tried not to sound confused, but she wondered why Adrianno told her it was Mike that bought her this dress and who had actually gotten it for her. Could it have been Adrianno himself? No, she thought straight away, definitely not.

"You know I have the perfect earrings to go with that dress, why don't we go and look for them?" Maria, who was now standing with Mike and Angela, cut into her thoughts.

"Okay." Angela nodded and was lead out into the hallway away from the men by the hand. Maria was short too but not as short as Angela. She had this wavy black hair that was cut into a short bob and dark brown eyes that made her face look warm and sweet. She was wearing a cocktail dress just like Angela, except she looked way more glamorous in hers.

They made their way into what looked like a walk-in closet and Angela was shocked at the amount of clothes that surrounded them. Maria didn't seem fazed by it, which was obviously because they were all hers, and continued opening drawer after drawer of expensive looking jewellery.

"Here we go." She said, holding up two silver dangling earrings in front of Angela. They were beautiful, like the rest of the things in this room but she couldn't except them.

"They're gorgeous." Angela said politely, Maria smiled warmly at her and handed them to Angela. "But I can't take them." Maria smile faded slightly as Angela handed them back.

"Of course you can, I'm giving them to you." She was very kind for offering them to Angela and she was grateful but felt slightly uncomfortable accepting them from Maria, who barely knew her.

"No honestly, thank you though." Angela smiled back at her.

"How about you wear them just for tonight and give them back to me the next time I see you. They would look way better on you Angela." Maria insisted. Angela knew that if she didn't go along with it, she would never hear the end of it from Maria so she took the earrings and put them in her ears. They sparkled under the light of the room and Angela thanked Maria again for being so nice.

They sat and ate dinner afterwards. Maria had cooked a huge meal for the five of them. Angela was glad that her eating had gotten a lot better since she moved into Adrianno's apartment, she ate everything off of the plate, just like the rest of them. Her food was delicious. They all chatted over their food but Angela had just watched kept quiet for most of it.

"I cooked, you clean up." Maria grinned at the three men and got up from the table."Come on Angela, let's go." She motioned for her to come over.

"That's not fair, Angela should clean up too." Mike joked and both he and Maria laughed.

"She gets this one off." Maria linked her arm in Angela's and said "Wanna go for a tour?" Angela was quite curious to see more of the penthouse apartment so she nodded and Maria eagerly showed her around while they chatted. Angela was shy at first but Maria was beginning to like her, she saw her as a genuine and nice girl.

"And this is the family room." Maria opened one of the doors off of the long corridor and they both stepped in. Angela looked at the pictures hanging up on the wall of both Maria and Franco and two young kids.

"Is this your family?" Angela had spoken for the first time in a while, Maria seemed to be doing all of the talking for both of them but Angela was glad for that.

"Yes, that's Amelia." She smiled and pointed to the older little girl who was hugging Franco's leg. "And that's Michael." She pointed to the young child who was being held in Maria's arms.

"How old are they?"

"Amelia has just turned four and Michael is almost six months old." Maria seemed to brighten up even more at the mention of her two children and continued to talk about them to Angela as they left the family room and made their way out onto the corridor again.

There was a door across the hall that was ajar and Angela couldn't help but look through to see what was inside. She had stopped in her spot and noticed a black grand piano in the middle of the room with book shelves and sofa's spread around. She hadn't seen a piano in months, in almost a year maybe and she was curious to see more of the room because of it.

"What's that room?" she asked Maria who turned around and walked back to Angela.

"That's where Amelia does her piano lessons." She opened the door for the two to go in. Angela smiled at the sight of the piano and Maria raised an eyebrow. She noticed how Angela was very polite this whole evening, she laughed gently on que, she talked politely and she smiled politely but the look on her face was different now. It was a genuine smile, her eyes had lit up in joy and Maria liked that.

"Do you play?" she asked her, her words bringing Angela back to reality.

"I used to. Just a little bit." She replied hesitantly. Maria looked between the piano and Angela and got an idea.

"Want to show me?" Maria asked, causing a look of terror to form on Angela's face.

"Oh no really, it's fine. I'm not really that good." She shook her head and made Maria laugh.

"Oh come on, you have to be better than Amelia I'm sure. I won't have much to compare it too if you're terrible anyway, other than a ropy version of "Ba ba black sheep"." Angela thought about it for a moment, she really did want to play, she missed it and so she nodded and sat down on the stool.

"Okay then." She began playing slowly at first, getting a feel for the keys, but picked up her pace. Maria wasn't surprised that she was actually pretty good; she knew Angela was being humble when she said she wasn't that good but she did not expect her to be this amazing. She looked so confident sitting there, it was her favorite thing to do and she hadn't done it in a long time. The tune was loud and choppy and just beautiful, Maria thought.

As soon as Angela had started playing the men all looked at each other, wondering where the noise was coming from.

"Has Maria brushed up on her piano skills recently?" Adrianno said sarcastically.

"Not unless Amelia has been teaching her in her spare time between naps she hasn't." the men laughed and walked to the source of the noise. Adrianno and Mike looked in surprise at the sight of Angela playing away on the piano. She soon stopped and everyone clapped except for Adrianno who was staring at Angela now.

"You were amazing Angela." Maria said, Angela had turned around at the sound of Franco and Mike clapping behind her and turned a bright shade of pink. She was quiet embarrassed now at them all hearing her play.

"Thanks." Angela said shyly and quickly began to fold in on herself like she had before she sat down to play.

"You should teach Amelia, you'd probably be better than that instructor we have right now for her. She's terrible, god bless her though, she does try." Franco laughed.

After that, they all left the room and went back into the dining room to have drinks. Adrianno had decline the offer and told them he would be driving home soon. Angela thought he was acting kind of strange but didn't say anything about it.

They stayed for a while longer but then Adrianno had grabbed his keys and said his goodbye's to Mike, Franco and Maria.

"Promise me I'll get to see this beauty again." Maria said to Adrianno as she hugged Angela goodbye.

"It was lovely meeting you Maria." Angela smiled at her, she really meant it. In her short time of arriving to Maria and Franco's home, Maria had been nothing but nice to her. She thought that if she had a big sister, she would've hoped she was like Maria. But then she thought about her own younger sister and how Angela herself was a big sister, it made her said and she had a bad feeling in the pity of her stomach. Would she ever see her sister, Lucy, again? She hoped so, as soon as she got her life back on track and was allowed to leave Adrianno's company she promised herself she would go back home to see her family.

She and Adrianno left and went to pick up his car. The drive home was quiet at first, Angela looked straight ahead of her out the windshield but she could feel a slight tension in the air. Now that they were alone she hoped she hadn't done anything wrong to anger him but little did she know he was far from angry.

Adrianno was intrigued by this girl sat beside him in the car. He would steal glances at her from the corner of his eye while driving but the words he wanted to speak stayed on the tip of his tongue.

"So you play the piano?" he finally spoke. She looked up at him but he was looking at the road straight ahead. They turned a corner and she looked down again.

"I dabble a bit yes."

"No." he let out a small laugh, "You don't dabble, you're a pro." She was surprised by his compliment.

"Thank you." She smiled at him. All that was going through his mind now was why he couldn't speak to her, why it was so easy with anyone else he had ever come across.

"How long have you been playing?" he asked after a short silence filled the car.

"Since as long as I can remember. My mother was always playing when we were younger so we always had one around." She smiled at the memory of her mother playing away every day when she got home from school. It was when she was about five that she properly sat down to play the instrument and loved it since then. "It used to be my favorite thing to do." Angela added.

"Used to be?" Adrianno asked quickly.

"Well I gave it up, tonight was the first time I even touched a piano in almost a year."

"Why?" he questioned. She looked at him now, his brows were furrowed but he was still looking ahead of him. He was actually very interested in what she had to say now. She hesitated to answer, trying to find a way to sugarcoat the real story. She remembered his words when she had just arrived in New York, Don't lie to me Angela again, because I always find out the truth and she gulped.

"It's a long story." She tried to avoid the question.

"We have a long time." He looked at her for a moment. She sighed and began.

"When I moved here to New York, I used to work some nights in small jazz clubs playing piano. It was the only time I got to use a real one because I couldn't afford one in my apartment. Because I was only starting off, I got paid little or nothing and I was already working three jobs at the time. We couldn't afford for me to go anymore." She had left a lot of things out of her story but how was Adrianno to know anything else about her life? She didn't tell him about him, and how he stopped her from going. He needed more money to fuel his addictions and for that, she had to give up the one thing she loved, the one reason she moved to New York in the first place, just for him.

Adrianno felt something in his chest at the sound of her words, giving up something you really loved for something else was a story close to home for him. He gulped but remembered how her last words had stuck out.

"We?" he asked, his eyes were moving between her and the road as he waited for her to answer. Her eyes widened only slightly and it was then that she knew she messed up.

"I-My boyfriend and I." she decided to tell the truth.

"How long did you live here in New York for?" he quizzed her again. She could've sighed in relief for him not asking her anymore about her boyfriend but now he had asked her another difficult question.

"Nearly three and a half years. I moved out here when I turned eighteen and left school."

"Why did you leave New York for some place in the middle of nowhere in Canada?" he didn't understand, he was born and raised here. Adrianno loved the state, he loved the city, he loved everything about New York.

"I just wanted a change." She lied.

"Bad break up eh?" he looked at her from the corner of his eye, guessing that was her reason for holding back.

"Something like that." She trailed off. She was glad they had reached his apartment, she was afraid of Adrianno's questions. He parked and came around to open her door. He took her by the hand again as they made their way up to his apartment.

They walked into the empty apartment, Adrianno closed the door quietly. She took off her high heels and breathed out a sigh of relief. He smiled at her how small she was, he found it funny that even though she had been wearing heels tonight she was still barely reaching his neck. She let her hair down and Adrianno couldn't help but notice how it tumbled gracefully down her back.

"Thank you." Angela said quietly, avoiding eye contact.

"What for?"

"For letting me go out tonight." She looked all the way up at him now. A piece of her hair was in her eyes and he had the urge to each over and fix it but quickly stopped himself. She tucked it behind her ear. He nodded, not able to speak. "Well, goodnight Adrianno." He liked how she said his name. Her voice was always gentle and calm. She had turned and began walking, leaving him standing there on his own.

"Angela?" he called. His voice made her turn around to look at him now. "Could you make lasagne tomorrow for dinner again?" she laughed lightly and replied.

"Yes."

"Goodnight." He spoke to her retrieving back. He heard her bedroom door close behind her. He was confused by his actions tonight, wasn't he supposed to be keeping her here against her own will and she was still being nice to him? Maybe it wasn't an act, he wasn't as convinced that it was anymore but he had to be careful. Even the best of friends could deceive you quicker than you ever thought.

Adrianno hoped to see Angela before he left for work, he even left later than usual, but she had slept in that morning. Once she was up, she walked around the empty apartment. She put on the radio full blast while she was cleaning, and then began to make the dinner. Once she had the lasagne in the oven, she took a shower. She padded around to the kitchen to check on her food, still in her towel, when she heard the door opening.

Her eyes widened and she wondered whether she could run across the living room to her bedroom without Adrianno seeing her but she knew it was no use. The front door opened into the living room and she didn't have enough time now. She heard the door closing and Mike talking loudly.

"Hey Shortcake. You look very eh- clean." She laughed lightly but turned pink. Then she heard another set of footsteps and Adrianno had leaned back to peep his head into the kitchen to see what Mike was talking about. He froze for a moment and Angela's cheek's only burned even more. Adrianno was on the phone but stopped talking for a minute, he tried not to gulp or look surprised.

"I'm sorry, I didn't think you'd be home this early." She looked anywhere but at Adrianno. Mike was grinning widely at her and she just laughed, she laughed when she was embarrassed.

"We came for the lasagne." Mike replied, she noticed Adrianno had gone back to his phone call an was talking in fluent Italian again.

"Well, I better get dressed then."

"It's fine really, you don't have to." Mike flirted with her and she giggled. She didn't notice Adrianno's eyes narrow as he stared at the back of his brother's head. She almost ran into her bedroom and got dressed quickly.

When she came back out, Mike was sitting casually on the sofa and reading the paper, Adrianno was still on the phone. She looked at him and then Mike. Mike just rolled his eyes. She smiled at him and Adrianno finished his call.

"I hope you don't mind Mike tagging along tonight, I couldn't keep him away." Adrianno's voice was slightly playful.

"What can I say? I can't resist a good lasagne, and from what I've heard, it's great." Mike replied and Adrianno glared at him for a moment, like he had said something he wasn't supposed to.

"It's okay, there's always spare anyway." She replied and heard the oven timer going off. "I better get that."

Once she dished out the two men's dinner, she brought it out to them I the dining room where they were both seated.

"Thank you." Adrianno muttered and began eating.

"Aren't you having some?" Mike asked, causing Adrianno to look up from his dinner.

"Um- I'll have some later." She would never sit down to dinner with Adrianno, she thought it would be way too awkward for her.

"Nonsense, come and enjoy your food with us." Mike pulled out the chair next to him. She didn't want to say no or cause a fuss so she nodded and went in to dish herself some.

She began eating slowly, looking up at Adrianno every while. He was busy on his phone and eating at the same time. His mood had changed since he came in, his brows furrowed at something he saw o his screen and anger appeared on his face.

"So how was your day shortcake?" Mike tried to make conversation.

"Fine." Was all she could say, she hadn't done much today. She didn't do much any other day. "How was yours?"

"Mine- Not so good. Works been really tiring lately."

"What would you know about tiring?" Adrianno shot back at him in annoyance, not looking up from his food or his cell phone. Angela looked between the two men, Mike gave her an apologetic look.

"I'm just saying-"

"Whatever." Adrianno pulled his chair out and stood up, it made a squeaking noise. She winced at the sound and tried not to look sort of scared at what Adrianno might do. He was so edgy. He huffed and puffed and stormed out of the apartment, his phone in his hand.

"He's just stressed." Mike made excuses, he knew something I didn't. "Or in other words my brother dearest is on his period again." Mike tried to joke.

"Is he alright?" she wondered.

"He'll be fine after a while, he always is."

"Are you alright?" she then asked. He smiled at her.

"Of course I am, don't worry about me. He's said worse stuff than that before, he's being a lot more tame because you're around." she just glanced at him and back at her food. They ate quietly, waiting for Adrianno's return patiently.