Bella Vita (8 page)

The plane taxied to its spot. I happily
bounced in my seat with anticipation- bag in hand. As soon as the
attendant lowered the stairs, I was out of my seat rushing out the
door.

“
Thank you!” I shouted over
my shoulder.

Dominic stood in all his glorious beauty
just off the tarmac. He was clad in all black. His sleeveless shirt
showed every tattoo that had been expertly carved into his skin. I
had never seen Dom look like an avenging angel until that moment-
it was breathtaking. I rushed into his waiting arms.

“
Emma!” His word was an
electric jolt to my system.

“
Dom.. I've missed you so.”
I sobbed out at him.

“
Almost a whole week and no
word. I was so worried,
mia
bella
. I was beginning to wonder if I
should contact the school about you having a late start.” His pout
was visible.

“
Almost
a week
?!” I didn't believe I was
gone that long.

“
Yes! Did you fall into a
black hole? How could you not know how long you were gone?” His
eyes pierced my very soul when he looked so deep into
mine.

My heart beat just slightly faster, but it
didn't matter, he'd hear it if it was just the slightest increase.
“ I, ah, was, um, away. You know that.” I smiled sheepishly at
him.

He seemed to debate within on whether or not
to push the matter. The decision was clear- he would allow it to
drop for now. I still wasn't sure just how much of my trip I should
reveal to him. “So, we're going to have to get you settled and
ready for classes as they start the day after tomorrow. I went by
to get your schedule, but they said there was some last minute
changes and that you could pick it up on the first day.” Dom
lingered over the thought that the changes might have to do with my
trip- I could easily read it on his face.

“
Wow! Time flies fast. So
what needs to get done?” Dom's bike was behind him, he handed me a
helmet.

“
Come on. Let's start by
getting you home.” He tied my bag to the back of the bike and then
hopped on.

“
Kay.” I climbed on behind
him, the very scent of him sent waves of excitement through me-
clearly I had missed him.

The ride home was a mixture of flashes of
places I knew and loved and whirls of blurred images. The night sky
was kissed with the brisk fall air that I loved to feel sweep
across my face. I wanted to lean back and feel the moonlight dance
its way over my skin, but I didn't want to throw the bike off
balance.

Emma,
mia bella
, I missed you so. Did you
at least have a pleasant trip?
His words
tickled my mind in the most intense way.

Yes. It was an interesting
trip. I'll tell you about it when we get home. I don't want us to
die out here because I was distracting you with my lame old trip.
But you have to tell me everything that's going on with Bella
Notte.
I beamed back at him, I quickly
decided that I needed to tell Dominic everything except the weird
dream that Bernie had, so we had no lies between us.

When we're home
then.
He let the silence drift between us
like static on a dead radio, I didn't like it.

The rest of the ride was
spent in this fashion, which in turn caused me to desperately try
not to fidget. I allowed my mind to wander back to England and
everything that had happened. The entire trip was insanely
strange.
How will I tell Dom about all
this nonsense?
I knew him well enough to
know that he would think me foolish for keeping it all a secret to
begin with. Then I remembered why I had to keep it a secret in the
first place- that god-awful dream about his sister.

I sighed out into the cool night air, and
missed the fact that my breath no longer made little puffs of
smoke.

What's wrong?
There was no alarm in his voice.

Nothing, my love.
I sighed internally for having to lie once more.
I knew I needed to tell him, but how was an entirely different
story.

We crossed the water, and I
secretly laughed to myself about that old legend about running
water stopping vampires in their tracks. Clearly, it was nothing
more than a silly myth.
I wonder where and
how that one got started?
The sleek bike
made small crunching sounds on the well-worn road of this lovely
enchanted place. Dominic's castle like home towered above us as we
pulled up. I could easily see the tower-like rounded corner where
my room was located. The rich sea air was damp, but so welcoming. I
even had to admit to myself that I missed the spooktastic catacombs
under the house.

“
Welcome home,
mia bella
. It hasn't
been the same without you.” His words echoed through my body as
though he had said them straight to my heart.

“
Oh, Dom!” I clung to him
as we got off the bike. “I don't know where to begin! I want, no I
need to tell you so much!” The words rushed from my
mouth.

“
Emma, hush. Calm my love.
Whatever is the matter?” He stroked my straight black
hair.

“
Oh, so much. And your
sister!” The mere mention of Issy sent me into hysteria.

“
Emma, what about Isabella?
What's wrong, my love?” His hold tightened around me, as though to
protect me from whatever was causing my tears.

I could do no more than shake my head.

“
Come, let's get inside
where it's warm and I'll make you some tea.” Dominic led me up the
well-worn stone stairs into my home.

The kitchen was so welcoming after being at
Betty's with her strange rooms and servants. The beautiful tile
floor, with its warm hues, and the vast open space, with the light
pouring in during the day- it was just what I needed. Dom set the
kettle and retrieved a blanket from one of the many closets, he
placed it around me. The gesture was reassuring, even if the
blanket wouldn't change my naturally cool body temperature.

He placed the steaming cup in front of me, I
could smell the naturally calming herbs and the hint of blood he
must have mixed in.

“
Drink this,
mia bella
.” His words
were a command filled with love.

I sipped the soothing liquid. I could feel
it course its way through my body. The herbs were easily absorbed
into my system, and the blood gave me just the right amount of
extra energy that I needed to get control of my raging inner
self.

“
Feel better?” His green
eyes looked like storm-churned waters with his concern.

“
Yes. Thank you. I think it
was just how overwhelmed I suddenly felt to be home. I'm sorry if I
scared you. I'll tell you everything about my trip and the reason
for me going there. I'm sure I'll ultimately need your help
anyways. But right now, I'd like to go upstairs, take a long warm
shower, and then eat dinner.” I told him directly, expecting his
objection.

“
Sí
, of course, my love. I know your trip was long. We will talk
later.” Dominic's voice drifted after me up the stairs.

What's wrong with you, Emma
Hutchinson?
I realized that was a good
question! Why would I tell Dominic that I would talk to him
about
everything
,
and what would I tell him about his sister? The comforting warmth
from the shower never eased any of my tension. Instead, my body was
twice as tense by the time I got out of the shower. I got dressed
in some loose sweats, and went back to the kitchen.

The room was filled with food smells, and I
realized that Dom had made me some delicious looking dishes. My
mouth began to water, because even though I'm sure I could live off
of blood, I love to eat way too much to give it up. I didn't know
what any of it was, but I sat down quite happily anyways.

“
Eat,
mia bella
.” Dom placed a plate in
front of me that had some of everything on it.

“
Yes, sir!” I saluted him
and dug in, the flavors were out of this world.

Dominic ate nothing and didn't mention
anything. I felt like he was waiting for me to approach the
subject. Once I was full, I helped clean up the kitchen.

“
How about we have some hot
cocoa to go?” I asked.

“
Where would you like to
go, Em?” I wasn't certain of his thoughts or his emotions, and that
put me on edge.

“
I was thinking we could go
down to the cove.” I tried to make it sound like a statement, but
it felt more like a question.

“
It's quite dark out still.
Perhaps we could go enjoy the veranda in the back?” He sounded
amused.

“
Veranda? What veranda?” I
was certain I had explored this huge place from top to
bottom.

“
The newest addition to the
house. I had it built while you were away.” He beamed at
me.

Of course you did!
“Which way?” I asked to him.

“
Follow me, Milady.” He
held out his arm for me to take.

We walked through several of the rooms that
were themed. When we came to the beach themed one, I noticed a new
set of French doors set into the wall. Dominic smiled encouragingly
at me. I rushed forward with curiosity, and pushed them open. The
cool salty sea air blew into my face. In the darkness, the rich
dark wood looked black, and the sweet blossoms that clung to the
overhead trellis were vibrant red. It was a spicy musk that drifted
on the air from the blooms. The furniture was a bamboo like wood,
stained a darker color, with bright red fluffy cushions. It was
like a secret room with the most beautiful view of the sea, and I
knew that it would have stellar views of both sunrise and
sunset.

“
It's beautiful!” I
squealed in delight.

“
You like it,
mia bella
?” Doubt
colored his words.

“
Like it? Ha! I love it!” I
hugged him hard around the neck.

“
I'm glad it pleases you.”
He smiled.

“
Dom, sometimes you're so
strange.” I led him over to the chairs and sat down.

What's wrong, Emma
Bird?
His concern was like a thick fuzzy
blanket wrapping around me.

I sighed.
I'm not sure where to begin.
I confessed.

How about the
beginning?
He cocked his brow at me and
grinned.

“
Smart ass!” I shoved
him.

“
Ah, but you love me, so
what does it matter?” He winked.

It all started with another
dream. My first since the one that haunted me for years.
I told him everything from my vision, my trip to
England, my staying with Betty, Bernie, and even Mike. Mentally I
could show him images when I thought it was necessary. By the time
I was done, the sun was rising. The sky had turned a beautiful
scarlet. I was afraid to look at Dominic because I had withheld
information about his sister for so long, and I had intentionally
looked for Mike. I was really afraid of how he'd handle it
all.

I took a deep steadying breath and looked at
him. He was staring at the sea that looked like a flaming liquid.
His thoughts were dark- I could tell from the shade of green his
eyes had turned- but I didn't think it was directed at me.

“
Emma, I need to
know,
how
certain
is this vision?” His voice was pleading for there to be
doubt.

“
Bettina told me that all
visions are possibilities, but if she doesn't change the path she's
on right now, this will come to pass.”
How
could I be the one to tell him that his sister will die?
I felt horrible.

“
Then we must help to
change her path.” The finality to his voice startled me.

“
Eh, Dom? Don't you think I
tried contacting her?” I was hurt by the thought that he believed I
would just let something happen to Issy, especially since I had
emailed her before I left England.

“
Clearly, it's the fault of
this werewolf Jack. He must be removed from the picture.” Darkness
surrounded everything that was Dominic at that moment.

“
Dominic! No! What if that
is the whole reason why that vision happens?” I was shocked that he
couldn't see the connection.

“
What?” He blinked at me,
like waking from a dream.

“
The very action of you
doing something to try and 'remove' Jack from the picture could put
your sister in the very position that is shown in my
vision!”
Why did I even have to explain
this?!
My patience was running
thin.

“
Hmm. Well, something must
be done.” He was lost once more to these thoughts.

“
We can contact her, I can
try to continue to watch her future, but I'm not very connected to
her anymore- it'll be more difficult.” I sighed, stifling a
yawn.

The yawn seemed to bring Dom back to the
moment, he got up and held out his hand to me.

“
You must be exhausted. We
have to get you ready for school later today, you must rest now.”
His smile was forced.