Mine only

Chapter 7 - Obsession

Alyssa's POV

I didn't trust myself to go home yet. Not until I knew that Enzo was around in case anything happened. I instead went into town, as the shopaholic I am, and decided to spend a little too much money. I think retail therapy is always the solution. I met up with my friend, Jessica, for coffee as well.
"So..." She smiles at me. It might be a little obvious that I purposely sat in the cafe that Enzo is on duty around so I can watch him from afar. She's looking at me, then him and then me again.
"So...?" I try not to sound so obvious.
"Omg, Ethan told me already about your weird question, so just spill the tea. Tell me everything!" She was always the gossip type. And I always had something to gossip about with her. I told her everything but in a low voice since he was right there. She giggles and laughs before staring at Enzo, checking him out.
"Is he big?" She raises her brows.
"Very big. Huge-"

I was cut off by a strange man sitting down at our table. Enzo. I hope he didn't hear me.
"What's huge?" He asks, confused. Me and Jessica just burst out laughing while also trying to think of an excuse.
"Ummm...Alyssa wanted to get a maine coon cat, you know, the big ones. And I asked her why and she said because they're huge." Jessica is a shit liar. You can spot it everywhere. She's too obvious.

However, I think Enzo caught on because he gave me a little smirk before motioning his eyes towards the bathroom. For me.
"I'll go pay for you girls' drinks. I'll be back." He looks at me one more time before pointing towards the bathroom behind Jessica's back.
"I need the bathroom. Are you gonna be alright alone? Just for a second." She just nods, but I think she caught on too. When I enter the bathroom, Enzo is already there. He's holding the note. Note. Stalker. Fear. Everything starts coming back. This always ruins the mood. He hands it to me, and it's in a small plastic wrap. Labelled as evidence.

"I checked for fingerprints, but nothing came back. The guy must not be as stupid as we thought." He gives me a gentle smile. "I'll find him, I promise. Okay?" He gives me a reassuring look before rubing my shoulders.
"Thanks for even trying. I would've thought he was smarter. I just don't feel like going....home." My slight smile fades and I'm left pale again. What am I going to do? Where can I stay if not my place? Maybe Jessica's?
"Mine." He says. I stare at him blankly. "If you don't want to stay at your own house, stay at mine." There's a slight regret in his eyes as he said those words. I don't even really know him. How could I stay with him? Well, he did stay with me. Maybe I could.

Enzo's POV

My regret hits me harder than a bullet. Why would I invite her over. She's gonna know. She's going to know everything. I can't let her do that. She cannot find out about me. More than she already does. What am I supposed to tell her? Oh, by the way, I was married once. And my wife died. Oh, and you kind of look like her, too. She'll freak out! After my duty was done, I had nothing on my mind, but Rachel. My wife. Ex-wife. I needed to get all her pictures and stuff out of the house. Preferable destroyed. Maybe this is the push that I needed to finally move on with my life. Maybe Alyssa is the thing that will change me finally. I put my keys down on the table and get straight to work. All her pictures? Burnt them. Her clothes? Burnt them. All the stuff that belonged to her was burnt. And I made a promise to never tell Alyssa. Can't lose her. Too much is at stake if I do.

Then I cooked. I got my dinner table set. Put on a nice suit. Went to but her chocolate and flowers. Lilies. Rachel used to love them. I threw the flowers away. I chose a nice big bouquet of tulips in the colour of pale blue. They were so desirable that I knew Alyssa would love them. All that was missing was her. Alyssa. I just needed to pick her up.

I drove to her house, taking the long way on purpose. I needed to think about whether it was right or wrong to do this. I shouldn't lie. But it's not like I can tell her because I am physically incapable of expressing these emotions.

I snap back to reality, and I'm standing in front of Alyssa. She has a dark red silk dress on. It is quite short and revealing, but I loved it. She looked like a goddess. I've never been this in love before. Rachel. I've never experienced this before. Rachel. I've never seen someone so beautiful before. Rachel. I've never...
"Rachel." Shit. I did not just say that out loud. Her expressions change faster than a second, and she's not happy.
"Who the fuck is Rachel?" She's not happy. Her face turns as red as her dress.
"I need to tell you about her. That's why I invited you over." I shouldn't be aloud to improvise ever. But I can't lie to her. I thought it'd be easy, but the way she looks at me with those innocent doe eyes, I just can't resist her. She crosses her brows and just silently gets in the car.

The ride was silent. None of us talked. Or even breathed loudly. When we got there, the gifts and the dinner lifted the mood, but she still had a sad expression on her face. Or more like a worried one. I served dinner, and we sat down.
"So about Rachel. Whoever that is. Go on, explain." She's not happy. I just need to tell her. I know she's not gonna like it, but here it goes.
"Okay, can you promise not to freak out too much?" I ask. My voice becomes almost silent and weak. She nods silently before I talk. I clear my throat and begin.
"So I used to be married."
"What?!" She gets up, knocking over the glass of wine. The glass falls, and I watch as it breaks in slow motion. Everything like stopped. This is the moment I know I lost her.
"She died. Two years ago. Cancer. We found it too late, but it was stage 1, so there wasn't really a lot they could do. By the time we found it, it has spread to multiple parts of the body. Including her brain." I feel a hand squeeze mine. Alyssa. Her fingers lock into mine, and she gives me a gentle hug, stroking my back as I talk. It felt horrible. I felt weak and sensitive. Which is what I've avoided my whole life.

She didn't leave me?