Bella Vita (3 page)

“
Alright,
mia bella
, I'll go into
the lion's den for you.” He touched my cheek and headed into the
house.

I waited until I knew our
conversation would be covered by Grandma's shrieking-
thank god for Grandma.
“I had another dream.”

“
I had a feeling something
like that had happened. Why don't you tell me about it?” His
eyebrow rose slightly.

“
I'll try. But it's worse
than the first one. I don't think it'll take as long for it to
happen either.” I explained before I gave him all the details of my
horrid dream.

“
Oh, Emma, darling. That is
just terrible. Have you told anyone? Isabella or Dominic?” I could
see his mind ticking away as we pulled more boxes out of the moving
truck.

“
No. I called Bettina to
arrange a meeting with her. She told me not to talk to anyone but
you about it.” I moved the loose hair out of my face and pushed it
behind my ear- one of my nervous habits.

Grandpa took my hand and patted it gently.
“Do not worry, Emma. All of this will work itself out. I know this.
I'm sure that Bettina will help you get a handle on this. When do
you leave?” I was amazed at how he always knew.

“
I leave tonight. But I
need Dom to stay here and not know where I'm going.” I pouted as I
hadn't figured that out yet.

“
Well that is easy enough.
You're going to visit a friend of the family that is a bit of a
recluse. It was difficult enough to have her accept your arrival-
to have someone outside our direct family would ruin the entire
thing. See, problem solved.” Part of me began to believe his words
as soon as they were said.
Strange
reaction.

“
But how...” I never got to
finish as Dom suddenly came out of the house.

“
Emma, dear, one of our
oldest family friends was terribly upset by the fact that she
wasn't able to attend your ball. She has invited you for a stay
with her.” I caught on quickly and set the box was I holding down
on the pile we had created.

“
Ok. Dom and I'll go and
visit her, it'll be good to take a trip before school starts.” I
tried my best to fake my smile.

“
Um, unfortunately, she
does not receive people, and she asked for you only. She won't take
any other visitors.” Grandpa's voice sounded perfect for what he
was saying- a little uneasy.

“
But Dominic's like
practically family. Surely he can go!” I was pouting now. I felt
Dom's hands come to my shoulders.

“
Mia bella,
go see this family friend. I'll take care of some
Bella Notte business I've been neglecting.” He smiled at
me.

“
But, it's not fair! Why do
I have to go see some weird family friend without you?” I knew how
I would've reacted normally and this part was key to getting
Dominic to believe this.

“
Emma. Enough. Stop acting
as though you'll never see the poor boy again.” Grandpa actually
huffed at me.

My mouth dropped open. “Yes... Grandpa. I'm
sorry.” I was really shocked.

Dom took my hand.
Close your mouth, Em.
“Do you mind if I ask when she's to leave?” His voice took on
a formal tone as though he had been offended by my grandfather's
tone with me.

“
Tonight. Everything is
arranged. It is a late flight, a car will be waiting to take you to
the airport at nine. Now your grandmother is calling me. Please
bring these boxes in the house.” And with that Grandpa walked
away.

He had done an absolutely perfect job and
left me in stunned silence.

I picked up the nearest box and headed
inside. Dom followed.

Dom and I had been quiet since we left
Grandpa. The atmosphere there never changed from our conversation.
I briefly wondered what exactly my grandparents gifts were, but it
wasn't the best time to ask.

Just as Grandpa had said,
at nine o'clock a shiny black town car appeared in front of
Castello di DeDominico
.

What should I say?
My mind kept circling around this question, like
the great white does in
Jaws
.

“Don't worry, Emma. I'm
sure that you'll have a great time. Perhaps the woman isn't as
crazy as she sounds. Hey, I forgot to ask, where are you going?”
Dom broke the silence.

“Ugh. I didn't even ask. I
bet Grandpa did it on purpose not to tell me so I wouldn't tell
you.” I sighed in my fake frustration.

“See, it's not so bad. It's
like a secret getaway. Or you're being taken as a prisoner. Or
you're sneaking into an enemy spy camp. Perhaps you'll travel to a
land that time forgot.” Dom's face was lit with excitement, like a
kid opening presents at Christmas.

“Woah! Clearly someone has
seen too many movies.” I teased.

“Clearly, someone else
isn't looking at the possibilities here,
poca nube di pioggia nera
.” He
teased back.

“Did you just call me a
'little black rain cloud'?” I was curious if I was actually keeping
the Italian I was hearing.

“
Sì
, soon you'll be a perfect Italian
native.” He beamed.

“Just because I can
translate, doesn't mean I can speak it or that I fit here.” My mind
started to shift to the last place I didn't fit and how things
changed.
Stop. Don't go down that
road.
My thoughts froze.

“But we fit, so when we're
together we fit anywhere!” It was the sweetest thing I had ever
heard.

“Aww.” I kissed him and the
driver tapped the horn ever so slightly.

“It's time for you to
go,
mia bella
.
Have a nice trip and come back to me.” He kissed me
again.

I touched his cheek and
then climbed into the back of the car. Once the door was shut, I
let out a sigh.
I really hate
lying.

Good morrow, Miss
Emma.
The driver spoke to me.

Merry Meet.
I responded automatically.

Shall we head to the
private airport, Miss?
His piercing blue
eyes stared at me from the rear view mirror, the rich black lashes
only making the blue stand out more.

No. We need to go to the
international airport.
I really wanted to
take the plane I had become accustomed to, but Dom could pick the
place out of the pilot's mind and he wasn't to know.

As you wish.
He drove over to the car ferry.

Once we were on the ferry,
my mind seemed to drift away. It went to a place I had never been.
It was a land filled with so many shades of green. The earth was so
full of life. I watched as I silently flew over fields with
crumbling ruins mixed in as part of the landscape. I saw livestock
grazing on the grass to their content. I had never been here, but I
knew this place-
Ireland, Mike's
homeland
.

The thought of his name sent my green
scenery into a flashing blur of smells and brilliant shades of
green. When it all came to a stop, I was panting for breath as I
floated near a restored castle. I saw people wandering the grounds,
but from where I was, I couldn't see much detail.

The castle, on the other hand, was huge. The
stones were rounded and worn smooth, clearly from weather and age.
The ancient carvings in the walls were faded, but still showed the
Celtic drawings that had been carved into them so long ago. Ivy
crept up the North wall and moss covered the foundations. It looked
like something out of a storybook about knights and Camelot. And
then I heard something that caused my world to shift once again- a
laugh.

I knew that laugh better
than any I had come to know.
Mike
. Hearing his laugh drew me
closer to the castle. I was over some sort of inner ward. The
height didn't stop me from seeing him. His auburn hair was spiked
as it had been back in my stupid small town with my stupid simple
life. I watched him move while he spoke to a group of people, one
of which I noticed was Acacia- my heart panged with
jealousy.
It was your choice! Remember
that dammit.
I reached out for him and
suddenly I was standing right behind him. I could smell his scent.
I closed my eyes and exhaled his name, “Mike.” He turned to look
directly where I was, as though he had heard someone call him, but
he didn't see me.

Ahem. Miss Emma?
The driver's voice brought me back to where I
was.

Yes.
I wasn't sure where I was or what had happened.

We've arrived at the
airport. As your grandfather instructed I've not thought of where
we were going. I did see a car follow us for a while, but I managed
to lose it. If you'll be requiring my services upon your return,
here is my card.
A pale hand gave me a
small white business card.

Thank you. If I need a ride
I'll certainly call you.
I grabbed my bag
and hopped out of the car.

I had never been in an
airport before, let alone an international one. Needless to say, I
was scared shitless. There were people
everywhere
and they all seemed to be
going somewhere. Since I wasn't checking luggage, I got my ticket
rather quickly. The woman directed me to my gate in Italian and I
thanked her. I walked in the direction she had pointed to. I was
nearly run over by a man wearing a brightly colored Hawaiian shirt
with buttons threatening to burst off at any moment. He didn't even
apologize,
stupid jerk.
I wished I had taken the private jet. I'm not
even going to talk about the security checkpoint because it felt
surreal and more like a cattle call than anything else. I went to
the gate and sat down, I still had an hour before they were to
begin boarding, or at least that is what the sign said. The ugly
gray hard chairs were filled with lots of different types of
people. I saw a group of men wearing dark suits, all typing away on
their laptops. Parents with children were standing together by a
sign I couldn't read from where I sat. The oddest group I saw was a
group of nuns. When I realized they were nuns, I suddenly felt
nervous about getting on the plane. I mean, they were all ready to
die and had made good with whatever being was up there, and then
there was the rest of us. My palms broke out in a sweat. I gulped
down the overflow of saliva in my mouth.
Please don't let me die. Please. Please. Please.

I heard a loud bong, which was followed by
the scratchy sound of a mic being moved. A woman's voice came on,
she spoke in Italian first and this was followed with the
translation into several languages, including English. “Good
Evening, ladies and gentlemen. We will be boarding in about five
minutes. If I could have the disabled passengers come forward, they
will be boarding first. This will be followed by passengers
traveling with small children. Then first class, and then coach.
Please be patient while we get through this as quickly as possible.
Thank you for flying with us.”

People began to shuffle
around. I quickly made my way to the first class line. I waited
silently as I listened to the people around me sigh in frustration.
I felt my heart begin to beat a little faster at the realization
that this was my first flight alone.
Holy
hell. What was I thinking?
My thoughts
circled back to when all of this crap started .
I'm suddenly not sure if this is a good idea.
The calmness that my inner self had somehow
managed to retain up to this minute vanished. I tucked my sweaty
palms into my elbows, leaving dark spots of wetness. The beats of
my heart sounded normal, something that should never happen to a
vampire with our slower system and all. It was as though I felt the
panic creeping into my very veins.

A woman dressed in a dark
blue polyester suit dress stepped in front of me and unlatched the
chain that was supposed to hold people back.
Like that little chain could hold anyone back that really
wanted to get down that floating hallway.
I was ushered forward by this small woman with mousy brown
hair. I handed her my ticket and she smiled in return and greeted
me with something my brain couldn't understand.

The walk down the shaky
tunnel to the side of the plane took longer than I thought it
would. My panic took over somewhere near the middle. My pace slowed
to that of a snail, but the people around me just seemed to keep
going.
What if the damn thing
crashes?
I stopped and took deep
breaths.

The nuns I had seen earlier
decided to help me onto the plane.
What if
being touched by someone close to God will ensure my death?
My brain shut down with panic. A blonde man
dressed in the male version of what the mousy haired woman was
wearing showed me to my seat.

It was an aisle seat, as all of the first
class seats were both a window and an aisle. I, unfortunately,
didn't want to be any part of the window bit and turned myself
slightly away from it, tucking myself up into the chair. The plain
white leather made the slightest argument to having me sit on it,
but decided that it wasn't worth the fight. I closed my eyes and
went back to my thoughts of Mike and Ireland. I needed to leave
this place or they would have big problems when the young vampire
freaked out and no one could contain her. No one disturbed me,
perhaps they thought I was asleep.