chapter NINETEEN
Over the next couple days, Vittorio and I practiced controlling our power together. I must admit, it was a lot of fun, but it was also exhausting. By the end of the third day, Samuel declared us strong enough to be left on our own. I think what he meant was Vittorio was strong enough to control the situation if I lost control. Either way, I was relieved he wouldn’t be hovering in the next room anymore.
“Does this mean I can fall asleep next to you now?”
“Yes, mia bellezza.”
My heart leapt with joy and I hugged him.
Vittorio swept me up into his arms and carried me into his bedroom. Rich brown carpet met deep burgundy walls. A thick, velvet, chocolate brown comforter and fluffy scarlet and deep brown pillows covered the king-sized cherry wood bed. The room was elegant and beautiful.
Vittorio laid me gently on the bed, then lay next to me. I wrapped myself around him and rested my head on his chest, surprised to discover I wanted nothing more than to be close to him. I told him as much.
“That is a good sign. It shows me you truly are gaining control of your power.”
“You’re not a little disappointed?” I teased. He seemed to struggle with his answer. “Come on, Vittorio. You can tell me if you are. I won’t be offended.”
“Perhaps a little.” He grinned and kissed my forehead. “But I want to wait until you have full control. I want everything to be perfect.”
I sighed, content to feel the warmth of his body next to mine. He was too good to be true. “Vittorio?”
“Yes?”
“Will you tell me about your power now?”
“I did promise, did I not?” he mused. “Yes, I will tell you now, though I warn you, it is a hard story to tell, and to hear.” He sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard.
“I want to know everything about you, Vittorio.” I sat up as well.
“And so you shall.” He paused, gathering his thoughts. “I was five years old. My family’s dog was old, sick, and in pain. We lived in the Italian countryside, and my father did not believe in spending money on pets. Rather than take him to a veterinarian to humanely euthanize him, my father took him into the backyard and shot him.” I gasped. “I watched from the kitchen window. I did not understand the dog was sick and in pain. I only understood that my father had killed my best friend. I was as angry as a five-year-old can be, and my power tore out of me and through the kitchen. It looked like a tornado had hit. When my father came inside, he thought I had thrown everything around. He beat me, and sent me to my room for the rest of the day with no food.
“The next day he told me apologize to my mother for making such a mess. I refused, and yelled at him for killing my dog. He slapped me, and again my power tore through the room. This time, my parents saw what happened, but did not understand. My mother took me to a string of doctors, but no one could explain what was going on with me. Over the years, my episodes, as my mother liked to call them, got worse. She did not know what to do with me, and eventually checked me into a mental hospital.”
“Oh my god, that’s horrible!” My hand went to my mouth.
“It turned out to be the best thing she could have done for me. The doctors there did not know any more than the others had, and eventually they kept me on sedatives so I could do no damage to anything or anyone.”
“Anyone?”
“Yes.” A pained look crossed his face. “I had an incident with one of the nurses. The first time they tried to inject sedatives in me, when I was ten, my anger took over. I threw her across the room with my power, and her head smashed against the wall. She lived, but her brain was severely damaged, and she could not function on her own.” He looked away from me, as if afraid I would be disgusted with him.
I reached out and touched his face. “It’s okay, Vittorio. You couldn’t help yourself.”
He looked at me.
“I can’t think of anything you could tell me that would make me turn away from you.”
Relief flooded his face, and a small smile graced his lips. He continued. “They kept me on sedatives for several months. I do not really know how long. One of the doctors, Julian Fondazione, had power and heard about me. He convinced the hospital to let him take over my case, and stopped the sedatives. He worked with me, taught me control. Eventually, I was declared safe to be released to society. My parents, however, wanted nothing to do with me, so Julian took me in and continued my training. He also trained me in witchcraft.”
“Witchcraft?”
“Yes. If you like, I can teach you as well. It complements our power nicely.”
“I think I’d like that.” Anything that would help me control this power was a positive. As well as anything to help me with the case, I grudgingly admitted to myself.
“As you wish.” He kissed me lightly, then continued his story. “When I was twenty, Julian moved here to America, and I came with him. I had nowhere else to go, and no plans. I had just graduated university, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life, so I moved here. I got a job at Porter Enterprises, the company Samuel’s father owns. That’s how I met Samuel. I moved up in the company quickly, in part because of my friendship with Samuel, but mostly because I worked hard. I am now vice president of human resources. Samuel is Vice President of Marketing. Our business views sometimes clash, but we manage to remain good friends most of the time.”
I wrapped my arms around him, regretting for him that he had such a difficult time in the beginning. I said nothing, sensing that he knew my thoughts.
“Thank you for understanding, Elena.”
“Thank you for telling me.” I stared into his eyes, then kissed him. My power remained calm this time, but the kiss was still incredible.
I fell asleep with Vittorio holding me, and had the best night of sleep I’d had since this whole thing began.