DISCLAIMER: I do not own Twilight, the series, or anything affiliated. It all belongs to Stephanie Meyer.
ARTIST OF THE WEEK- Florence and the Machine. The song I used is called "What the Water Gave Me."
"I understand how one would be startled din this position, Miss Isabella," Miriam began sweetly, even if she was a seven foot woman with too many body moles to count, "but your safety was compromised and measures had to be taken. Do you understand this?" I nodded quickly before glancing over at Alice, whom was roving casually through her cell phone. How was she so calm and collected at a time like this? My heart was still racing like a hummingbird's wing. We were just smothered and smuggled into an alley, where an awaiting Escalade picked us up and drove off with us! How was this normal at all?
"Alice, whets wrong with you?" I exclaimed loudly, feeling on of those "I can't breath" episodes coming on.
He blue eyes almost looked bored. "I know, I should be angrier that our evening shopping was interrupted, but these things tend to-"
"No, Alice, you should be worried that a threat was made on your life and we had to be smuggled out of a store in broad daylight." I pounded a hard fist on my bare knee in a gesture to what I meant. Who gave a damn about retail therapy when it came to your own life?
She rolled her eyes and let loose a mocking chuckle. "Really, Bella, you'll get used to it. Sometimes its not even a threat on my life directly- if a person is caught shoplifting, or a mysterious man reaches for an inner pocket, or even a lunatic heaving his hands about crazily sets off my security team. They're extra precautious, for my own good, but these emergencies tend to fall into routine for me. Most of the time, I choose widely where I spend my time so that this does not happen." Alice sent a mean glare down at her dress. "I don't really like this dress."
I blew out a soft sigh and threw my head back on the leather seat. "You can always return it, Alice, its no big deal." I pointed out.
She scoffed. "My father would never allow me. I must keep it on my closet, or pass it down to a less fortunate cousin of mine. Sure, it's a little wasteful, but the press would have a field day with my father if they witnessed me returning an item to a store. They'll make up these wild rumors about money problems and bankruptcy and what it means for the restaurant. My mother made that mistake once, when I was a few years old, and it took days to convince the press that our restaurant was in fine shape as well as our fortune. Four nights straight of parties and gatherings at our Estate, and all of the finest wine we could order from our connections at vineyards within the short notice and space my parents had to work with." I nodded in understanding. I wasn't used to being politically right with society- sure, my dad was a conservative Republican voter every four years at the presidential election, and my mom was Green Party before it was cool, but I never followed what went one way or the other. I wasn't used to people's eyes being on me at all times.
"Where are we going?" I inquired quietly, hoping that the unbowed woman in the passenger seat wasn't listening. She intimidated me, but who didn't Miriam startle?
"My brother's house. There's this safety precaution they perform when these things happen. We're escorted out through backdoor exits, chauffeured to my brother's house in Manhattan, or my private loft in Brooklyn. My parents' house and the restaurant is too risky, as they say, so we try to stay away from them if even a hint of danger drifts our way." What did all of that mean for me? Why were there plans to be executed like this?
"Alice, why is there such a price on your head? I get that your family is pretty wealthy and all, but what is it that you're not telling me in all of this? Obviously, you're targeted a little more often than the average heiress with massive security and top notch protection." It was true- Alice was never so paranoid and less chill then when we crossed the bridge to Staten Island everyday for work. It was like an ice cold shiver ran up her spine.
"New York is dangerous, alright? I haven't taken you into NYC yet, you'll freak when you see all of the crazy lights and jumbled sidewalks. This place is a madman's town sometimes, Bella, and with the kind of money we're walking around with, its very dangerous." I almost corrected her- the money you're walking about with, Alice! I carried a few dollars in cash and left the rest on my card, which wasn't even really that much, anyway. "Promise me that you aren't going to go running back to the West Coast because of a few security levels?" Her soft face wrinkled with worry that New York had sacred me off already.
Well, I wasn't spooked so easily. "No, Alice, I like it here. And I'd rather be treated like the president escaping through the kitchens than the helpless girl exposed to nasty criminals with no defense at all." Alice rolled her eyes- ever since we sat down and watched "Single White Female", I was constantly weary about parking lots and guys in either leather jackets or overcoats made of anything but cotton. "How long of a drive is it from here to Manhattan?"
Alice tossed her head back and forth in consideration. "If traffic is good and Tino doesn't drive like a slow poke," she raised her voice to get the driver's attention, but the old balding man only smiled, "then forty or so minutes. Sometimes an hour, all depends." I nodded. Seattle was pretty congested, too, but the city never was crowded and thre buildings didn't look smashed together like New York cities did. "We arent going to my loft, seeing as my air conditioner and heater system are under construction right now. My brother's place is the safest spot."
And it was beautiful. I felt like I was walking into a dream when the car pulled into a private mechanical gate and maneuvered around the pebble stone loop before parking in front of a four car garage. My eyes were nearly bleeding by the time I took in everything- from the upside down pillars supporting the awning-type roof in the front of the house (the Romans believed they were good luck when upside down) to the sensitive gargoyles on the roof and right beside the door of the two story house, I awestruck. I heard the electronic gate slide and lock again behind us as I was helped out of the tall car by the manly woman (or womanly man?). I turned around and noticed a tower of sorts posted at the main gate. Was that the security post, high up in the air like that? Once again, I sent a look to Alice and pushed for more information, but she shook her head and led me through the backdoor and into the house.
We walked straight through the kitchens; it was almost the size of the restaurant's kitchen, but with less accessories. There were a few stoves, ovens, and dishwashers along with two separate ceiling pan-holders; every countertop was marble, and the floor was clean and polished. I couldn't help but feel like this was starlight billionaire stuff. "Whoa, dude, your brother is loaded." She showed me pictures of her loft when we were still in Seattle, and it was nice (and quirky as she was, with different colored walls in every room and Beatles posters/memorabilia everywhere), but her brother definitely took the cake on personal living. Mr. and Mrs. Montebello's Manor was close to four stories, with vaulted ceilings and acres of land for a large estate, but they were the eldest and inherited that home from the generation before. She guided me through different hallways, which were carpeted and had basic decorations for a single man's coziness.
Colors were neutral and kept light in the house, but it was the three living room's that did me in. "Three living rooms, really?" it was funny- I always teased Alice that when I owned my dream house, I would have a different living room for every want; sports, theatre, chick flick night. She gave me a tour around the foyer, where the ground was marble, and gestured to a tall staircase that had two different sides to ascend or descend. "To the left hall is the library, a few guestrooms my parents and I use when we visit, and the staircase to the rooftop garden." I giggled, what was someone like her big, burly brother doing with a garden on the roof? "To the right is the master bedroom, a few spare rooms for all of his stuff, and his study."
"He has a study? I emphasized the last word.
"He has a study!" She nodded quickly. A study? Wow, I had never been in a house with a private office before. "And there's a billiard's room through here." Alice pointed to the archway underneath the high stairs. "That's the entertainment section of the house." I was literally walking on a cloud when she showed me said room and the main dining room, which had a connecting hallway to the kitchen. I ran a hand over the wall portraits of his family and landscapes I couldn't recognize, and the crystal glass table with already set porcelain plates and wineglasses made this feel all too fake for my liking.
"This is real?" I had to ask. Why did this feel like a dream come true to me? I tried to snap out of it, but it was so hard. I fell in love, and there was no turning back. "This place is just too amazing." A lot of it seemed to be fabricated from my own dreams and fantasies, but I pushed the thought away. This a stranger's house, and the only connection we had was good taste. Alice shrugged like it was nothing. There's a gym and a dayroom upstairs, too- I use the dayroom to paint sometimes. But other than that, I'm not here that often." I had to wonder why; all of the right places were carpeted or tiled, entertainment was complete in this house, and the hallways were expansive with high ceilings. Nothing about this was place was fast track New York style. "He lives kind of far from where we work and stay. Its just not logical to come during the week. But weekends are always fun. He had this penthouse suit in Le Pierre before this house, and I loved that location! Indoor swimming pool, Bella. Does life get any better than that?"
I rolled my eyes at her. "Um, rooftop garden? An open dayroom to paint all day? A private gym inside of your house? A kitchen large enough to open up for your own restaurant? Need I go on?" And she shrugged again. "How is this kind of money casual to you?" I trailed her to a large bay window in the spaced-out foyer, close to the front door.
"Because, Bella, we own this town." She was looking out at Manhattan from the top of the hill that the house sat on. Even if it wasn't on the coast like Montebello Manor, I was still mesmerized. Who knew cockroach New York had a spot of serenity Alice's brother found here? "It's ours for the taking, wherever we decide to plant our feet, whenever we feel is the right time. All of it is a matter of how we want it, and that's not always a good thing." Did she hear herself speak? She was sounding like a dictator. "Sometimes I have so much at my fingertips that I don't want any of it at all. Any school on the East Coast; from Cornell to Cambria, I could have screwed classes over and lived carefree because of my name and what grandfather did to deserve our century-old respect."
"So you flew all the way out to Washington to get away from luxury?" It was almost unbelievable how good-hearted her story was. When we first met, I had no idea her hippie and indie clothing was top of the line, or that she stayed in an expensive suite before going halfers with me on rent in our two bedroom apartment. I knew none of it until we actually began explaining our lives and childhood through the years. Yeah, sometimes I questioned her expensive gifts for holidays and birthdays, but she always wrote it off as "blowout sales" and "deals", and it wasn't until a private car picked us up from JFK airport and dropped us off at her family's manor that I truly understood how good the Montebello's had it.
"Basically." She toyed with an ancient looking globe. "And because I am avid fan of Sleepless in Seattle." we laughed easily. Of course, that was a story Alice enjoyed telling immensely.
"Miss Montebello, they have given me the all clear, you are free to leave. Your bother has given me direct orders to see to it that you take his silver Lexus. Here are the keys." Alice took them without another thought and motioned for me to follow her through the hallway and into the garage, where four impressive cars sat. My eyes were glued to the big, white and black Range Rover towards the end of the row. Could we take that car instead?
'Cause she's a cruel mistress,
And a bargain must be made-
But oh, my love, don't forget me.
I let the water take me."
