2. Safe haven
2569 Words
Vannessa is standing under the shower just soaking in the luxurious feeling of a huge overhead shower fixture hanging from the ceiling. The water is actually hot, because she’s not the last to use a bathroom for once. There is a tiny stab of guilt and she buries it fast. It’s not her fault the house burned, she wasn’t even there. And Anjelica delivered the final blow when she said that the child care system is no longer her employer. She lost her home and her job.
She better start thinking about something else, because she can’t afford to crumble down and cry again. Her mind brings up the fire chief. When he came back for her, he was fresh from the shower and in civilian clothes. Damn, the guy is hot. Tall, dark hair and blue eyes. The muscles were straining the white t-shirt to it’s limits. But the thing that really floored her, was his soft smile.
Home, as he put it, was just half a block away from the fire station. A modest two bedroom apartment and he gave her one room to call her own. And even the spare room is nicer than what she had before. He gave her a soft white t-shirt and showed her the bathroom. He said he needs to make some calls and he will make her something to eat, too.
That fast glance of the kitchen she got made her heart sing. She likes to cook and she hopes he will let her use the kitchen. It is done in modern white and silver with stainless steel appliances. The flow to the breakfast nook and the living room is done in minimalist chic. No clutter anywhere, no dekorations and surprisingly, no carpets. Just a nice hardwood floor in every room.
“Damn, girl. Stop using up all the hot water. Your hair is clean, you are clean. Get out there, you know you're just stalling.” She gives herself a vocal kick. But the safety she feels is something she wants to hold on to for just a moment longer. God, I hope he doesn’t change his mind. I’ll be good and earn my keep.
-/-/-
Vittorio is pacing over the kitchen. He is waiting for his cousin Allegra to pick up her phone. He has the sandwiches ready and waiting, but he would really like to get this call over before his guest emerges from the bathroom.
“Hey, Vittorio. I’m sorry.” Allegra finally picks up. “I’m studying for my exams. My phone is on mute.”
“Oh. I hate to bother you, but I need a favour.” He tells her.
“No problem. I need a break.” She laughs and he smiles, too. The girl is always in a happy mood.
“Could you bring over some of your old high school clothes? And maybe a jacket? I picked up a girl after a huge house fire. She has nowhere to go.” He tells her carefully and glances in the direction of the bathroom.
“Is she there with you?” Allegra inquires.
“She’s in the shower. I gave her one of my t-shirts. I think it will be down to her knees. She’s tiny! I think she’s maybe 160 centimeters.” Vittorio tells her.
“Oh! That’s why you asked for my old stuff.” Allegra laughs. “Give me half an hour to rummage through the attic.”
“Thank you. I owe you big time for this.” Vittorio says and hangs up.
He is rummaging in the fridge for something edible to add to the sandwiches, but to his miss fortune there is nothing. He can hear the soft click of the door behind him and he smiles. She emerged from the shower at last. He turns around and has to laugh.
“I’m sorry.” He snickers. “That t-shirt looks like a dress on you.”
“I know.” She smiles and her face lights up. God, she’s beautiful, he thinks.
“I made sandwiches. There is nothing else here. I usually eat at the fire station. I’ll go shopping tomorrow, so tell me if there is something you don’t like and I won't buy it.” Vittorio tells her.
“You don’t have to do that. I can go shopping, I have some money.” She says and sits at the end of the sofa, still a careful distance away from him.
Oh, yeah. Trust needs to be earned. ‘What did you expect? That she’ll fall right into your arms?’ His wolf smirks. ‘No. But how do I tell her I’m a wolf?’ Vittorio answers and glances at her. She is munching on the sandwich and her beer is sitting there untouched. ‘We’ll figure that out. Just smell her. She’s not entirely human. I wonder if she knows?’ The wolf brings up another point.
“Where did you disappear to?” She whispers.
“I’m sorry. I got lost in my thoughts.” He smiles. “I called Allegra, my cousin. She’ll bring over some clothes for you.”
“Thank you.” She sighs. “I thought you were thinking how to get rid of me. I can find somewhere else to live. I’m saving for college, but if I have to rent a room, I have some money.”
“Oh, no. You can stay! Saving for an education is a good thing. I don’t want you to feel like you have to go.” He exclaims. “Besides. I would rather have you here than my brother. He’s just a freeloading ass, that takes up my whole apartment whenever his girlfriend kicks him out.”
That statement really cheered her up and she began to laugh with him. He loves her laughter already. She sounds soothing to his sensitive wolf’s ears. The ice is melting and he feels her opening up to him. Still a long way to go but he made a decent start with her. Now, he needs to be careful not to scare her away. He glances at the clock and wonders where Allegra is, she lives only two blocks from here.
He can see Vannessa rubbing her arms and there are goosebumps all over her exposed skin. Not that he can see much of her skin, the shirt he gave her looks like a tent on her skinny frame.
“Are you cold? I can fetch a blanket for you.” He offers.
“No.” She shakes her head. “I’m too warm, actually. Do you think I have fewer?”
He presses two fingers to her forehead and the touch sends shivers through her. It does some weird things to him too. ‘Oh, she’s definitely not human.’ His wolf comments. ‘I can smell her. But what is she? I have the sensation that I should know. But from where?’ Vittorio feels frustrated, but refrains from asking her.
The doorbell saves him from thinking about this and he drops his hand from Vannessa’s head. The loss of contact makes him sad and that is another thing he doesn’t understand. He was never a touchy feely kind of a guy. ‘Saved by the bell. How cliche.’ His wolf comments. ‘Stop it.’ Vittorio growls back and goes to let Allegra in.
“Hey, cuz. Be a gentleman and help me with these.” Allegra greets him.
“Sure. What did you bring? The whole wardrobe?” He laughs and takes two of the three large duffle bags she brought.
“Not even close, but mom is going to thank me for all the extra space in the attic.” She responds and waltzes in. “Hey cutie! I brought you some things. I can even make the alterations for you, but we need to meet at my bosses workshop for that.”
Vittorio watches Vannessa carefully. He wants to see her reaction to Allegra and he is not disappointed. Her reaction is just like from anyone else. Allegra is just such a happy person that it’s contagious. Vannessa smiles at his cousin and even gets up from the sofa to greet her. He can see the difference in her posture immediately. She doesn’t feel threatened by the new girl, she even approaches Allegra on her own.
-/-/-
Vannessa doesn’t know what to think of the new arrival. The young girl is exuberant and her good mood is contagious. She can’t help but smile and she feels like her spirits have been raised just by her presence. Even her name, Allegra, means the happy one. She is a ray of sunshine in this doom and gloom world. She can’t even imagine what her life is like, but she doubts the girl has any troubles at all.
“Hi.” Vannessa greets, still a bit shy. “Nobody has ever called me cute before.”
“Oh, but you are. And we’re going to make the world see it.” Allegra laughs and guides her back to the room Vittorio gave her. She can see the duffle bags sitting by the bed and Vittorio standing just off of the door. He is leaning on the wall and observing.
“You brought too much.” Vannessa whispers. She suddenly feels intimidated by the bags and she hasn’t even seen what's inside. But judging from the outfit Allegra is wearing, the clothes will be something Vannessa never even dreamed of having.
“You think? You haven’t even seen the things. What if you don’t like them?” Allegra asks her. “Come on. Let’s open up the bags.”
At the prospect of dressing up in something that is not a men’s t-shirt, Vannessa finds the courage to open one of the bags. Allegra laughs at her reaction as the first thing she sees is a jeans jacket. She picks it up and smiles brightly.
“Oh! I always wanted a jeans jacket. And it’s genuine Levi’s! Are you sure you want to give this away?” Vannessa exclaims in wonder.
“Oh, absolutely. I don’t even fit in that anymore.” Allegra explains. “All the things here were just sitting in the attic for the last five years or so. I know a lot of them are outdated but the new stuff would be just too big for you. I’m about ten centimeters taller and I gained some curves by the end of high school.”
“She means it.” Vittorio ads with a smile. “You will do a great deed by taking all this stuff. And Allegra wouldn’t be caught dead in any of these now that she works for a fashion designer. She is our little miss class.”
“You work for a designer?” Vannessa asks. “Like a famous one?”
“Oh, yeah.” Allegra laughs. “Vesna is amazing. We just did a show two weeks ago. Everybody loves her. She’s even in Cosmo.”
“Oh, that must be so cool!” Vannessa exclaims.
“You’ll get to meet her if you stick around.” Allegra smiles wide. “I have to run now. I have an exam tomorrow. I have to study some more. Vesna expects me to get a good grade. Have a blast!”
Vannessa looks a bit perplexed at the sudden change, she has troubles keeping up with Allegra. The girl is a whirlwind and she seems to be always in motion. She is nearly out the door when she turns back around, runs to Vannessa and whispers in her ear.
“I can vouch for my cousin. He doesn’t bite, he’s not bad, he doesn’t drink or swear. And he is the best guy to have around when things fall apart.”
-/-/-
Vittorio escorts his cousin out to the door and thanks her for that last line. He heard everything even if Vannessa thinks he didn’t. And especially for the generous donation of clothes.
“My pleasure. Take care of her. There is something special about that girl.” Allegra hugs him goodbye and he locks the door behind her.
He is standing there in his living room, listening quietly to the gentle swish of clothes being laid out. ‘Is silence a good thing?’ His wolf asks. ‘I think it is. At least she’s taking the stuff out of the bags. I think she might keep some.’ He says back. ‘Then let’s hope she decides to keep us as well.’ The wolf comments.
A shrill scream brings him from his thoughts and he sprints to the spare room. He stops dead in the door and can’t believe his eyes. Vannessa is dressed in a pair of jeans and a nice frilly blouse, but she is holding a golden backpack to her chest and screaming. She is bouncing on her bare feet and he worries that there might be something wrong with her.
“Vannessa? What’s wrong? What happened?” He asks, concerned for her.
“Nothing is wrong! Look at this!” She exclaims and continues to jump.
“What am I looking at?” Vittorio frowns. There is a mess of clothes on the bed but nothing really stands out for him. Just things he saw Allegra wear at some point.
“The backpack!” She thrusts the thing at him with a huge smile on her face. “It’s Gucci. And it’s the real thing, not a knockoff.”
“Ah!” He laughs at the happiness he can see on her face. “That was her school bag.”
“What? Are you joking?” She looks at him, suddenly very serious. “Are you rich?”
“Oh, no. Nothing like that. Allegra was just spoiled. Her parents gave her everything. Her mother works at the museum and her father is a college professor.”
“She doesn’t strike me as spoiled.” Vannessa comments.
“She’s not, now. She is studying to be a designer, she works for a designer and she pays her parents rent for the upper floor of the house.” He tells her.
“I love her. I never had so many things before. And all are really nice.” She sits in the middle of the mess and stares at it.
“Do you want me to help you put all that in the closet?” He inquires.
“You would do that?” She is surprised and he only nods and starts to pick up the clothes.
- Writer
