All I've Never Wanted(67)

I never stopped to look behind me, afraid that if I did, I would see something I didn’t want to see.

“Roman! Roman, open the door!” I cried, pounding on his door. “Please!”

What was taking him so long? Didn’t he know I was this close to death?

The door opened, and I almost collapsed with relief when I saw Roman’s familiar face, illuminated by the light from his phone.

“What’s all this screaming?” He looked at me. “And why are you only wearing a bathrobe?”


Ignoring his questions, I pushed my way into his suite. “She’s after me,” I whimpered, clutching his arm like it was my lifeline.

He frowned. “Who?”

“The girl from the movie!”

Roman just stared at me before he burst out laughing. “Maya, she’s not real. It’s a movie. Besides, we’re not even in Japan.”

“So?” I shrieked, grabbing his arm even tighter as I frantically looked around his suite, searching for anything suspicious. “She’s not human! How else do you explain why the lights went out right when I was taking a bath? A bath! That’s always where people die in horror movies!”

“Yeah, and I don’t suppose the giant storm outside had anything to do with the lights going out,” Roman said sarcastically.

“Now’s not the time to make jokes!” I was nearly hysterical.

“Maya!” Roman grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look at him. “Calm. Down. Take a deep breath, and count to ten.”

“But—“

“Do it!”

I shut up and did as he asked. Inhale. One…oh my god, she’s right behind me, isn’t she? Two…she’s reaching out a hand… three… I’m going to die…

No, stop! It’s not real, she’s not real…

I squeezed my eyes shut and forced myself to finish counting to ten. When I did, I slowly opened them to see Roman gazing at me with amusement.

“Better?”

“A little,” I admitted.

“Can you let go of my arm now?”

Startled, I looked down and realized I was gripping him the same way I’d grabbed Carlo earlier. “Sorry!” I exclaimed, turning red and dropping his arm like a hot potato.

“Don’t tell me the great Maya is scared of the dark.” Roman smirked.

I was never going to live this down. “Whatever. The dark is scary,” I defended myself. “Who knows what’s hiding in the shadows? Can’t you turn the lights back on?”

“What do I look like, the Wizard of Electricity?”

“Yeah, well, isn’t Roman Fiori supposed to be able to do anything?” I pointed out, striking at his most prized possession: his pride.

Judging from the scowl on his face, it worked. “There’s a generator, but it’s out back. Everyone’s asleep already, and there’s no use waking them up. Besides, it’s already nighttime. Once you fall asleep, it’ll be fine.”

I blinked. Who knew he was so considerate towards his staff? I peeked nervously out into the inky-black hall. “Um, Roman,” I started in a small voice. “Can I, uh, stay here for a bit? You know, until the lights come back on?”

I hated asking him for anything—even though I was staying in his house—but I did not relish the idea of going back to my pitch-dark suite by myself.

“What if the lights don’t come back on tonight? You’ll be here—“ Roman stopped when he saw the look on my face. “Fine,” he sighed. “As long as you put on some clothes.”

I wrapped my arms around myself. “I don’t want to go back there by myself.”

He groaned, muttering something to himself. He moved away from me, taking the light with him, and I automatically followed.

He opened one of the dresser drawers and pulled out a button-down shirt and a pair of boxers. “Here, put these on,” he said gruffly, tossing them at me.

I stared at them. “These are clean, right?”

Roman shot me an annoyed look. “What do you think?”

Alrighty then. “Can you turn around?” I asked sweetly.

He scowled but obliged. “I love how you act like this is your room,” he mumbled.

Ignoring him, I slipped out of my bathrobe and into his clothes. I was immediately enveloped in what seemed to be Roman’s signature woodsy scent, and I couldn’t help taking a deep whiff.

How could someone so evil smell so good? Although I supposed he wasn’t all that evil, if he was letting me stay here. As long as he didn’t plan to murder me in my sleep.

The boxers had an elastic waist so they fit ok, though they were a bit big on my legs. The shirt fell to about mid-thigh, higher than the boxers’ hem. I carefully laid the robe over a chair and ran a finger through my damp hair.

“Ok, you can turn around now.”

Still grumbling, Roman turned to look at me, a surprised expression flitting across his face when he saw me. His eyes flicked over me, and he stared so long I started getting fidgety.

“What? Do I have something on my face or something?” I asked, shifting my weight uncomfortably. I hate when people stare at me.


Roman started a bit, then looked away. “No. Just don’t get my clothes dirty.”