CHAPTER 21:

William jumped again, waking up from a restless sleep.

"William…everything okay?" Julia's still half-asleep voice asked.

"Yes, yes… Sorry." He cleared his throat uncomfortably and sat up in bed, forcing Julia to do the same as she had her head resting on his chest.

The young woman watched him and gently stroked his cheek and hair. He was sweating.

"I… I dreamed of Alfredo again…"

Julia looked down. She suspected that the death of Alfredo Villari had traumatized William. She had known this man for years…Knowing him dead…She could not think of it.

"He was a good man…" Julia whispered, finally resting her head on William's shoulder.

The young man in turn laid his head on Julia's, shaking her hand.

"It's my fault he died..."

"Of course not." Julia reasoned.

"You weren't there... When I found him, he was scared... I promised him I'd get him out of there. When one of the killers entered the room, I had him hiding in the fireplace. The same hiding place as yours, a little earlier, but in another room. I was completely stupid. It was the same man and he understood that you had hidden in the cavity. When you managed to escape, he realized it and went back to look in the fireplace. So… When he came to search where Villari and I were, he first looked in the fireplace. And he found him straight away…"

William took a deep breath as he felt his emotions take over. He sensed that Julia was beginning to really understand that this was not passing guilt, but trauma.

"If you had seen the look of fear on his face when…when…"

The young woman subtly decided to kiss William languidly when she felt that he was starting to lose his footing. The kiss lasted so long that the air ran out. But it was so comforting. So full of love...

Julia found enough courage to move and sit on the legs of the one who was to become her lover. The detective thought he was dead the moment their dressed centers brushed, but he knew how to keep control. He still ventured to caress her hips which he found literally irresistible. He moved his kisses to the neck of the young woman who threw back her long hair to give him free access. She heard herself sigh slightly at his care. It was really good… She did not think she had felt such pleasure with so little.

"William…"

The young man lifted his head from her neck which he had found incredibly attractive and looked into her green-gray eyes which had darkened with the lack of light in the room.

"You did everything you could for him… And he knows it… I've been through this room before you got there. And I also know that there was no hiding place except in the fireplace. You risked getting caught for giving him the only hiding place, the same way you did for me in the library. It's heroic, William."

William continued to stare at Julia, while thinking about her words which were not false at all. He knew deep down that the young woman was right, but he could not help but think that Alfredo's death could have largely been avoided...

"You know… All my life people have been just judging me. Because I don't drink alcohol… Because I am old fashioned, strict, very religious, Catholic and I have hardly ever been seen on the arm of a woman. Because I respect all women, cultures, skin colors and beliefs. I'm also judged because I'm a detective…" William explained quietly.

Julia frowned, not understanding where he was coming from.

"When Alfredo came to see me… I judged him. Immediately. Yet, I believe that he is one of the only people who has not judged me in my life. He asked me what I did as a job and when I told him that I was a detective, he told me that he found it fascinating... And I judged him... I found him intrusive, I don't know…"

Julia laughed lightly, taking William's head in her hands, and leaning it against her chest, while she was still sitting on his legs.

"Alfredo was lovely. He was interested in everything and was very sociable. He had enormous respect for everything and every man on this earth… When his wife died, he suffered… A lot. I hope he is with her now." Julia said sadly, remembering Alfredo's friendship with her father before he passed away.

"He asked me to promise to bury him near his wife." confided William who looked up at her.

"We will do that, William." the young woman smiled at him as she felt confiding had lifted a weight off the detective's shoulders.

"You know you can trust me with things too…right?" William asked suddenly, worried that the young woman might keep something heavy for her.

"I…" Julia sighed. "I stepped over the corpses of my friends William...I don't know what else to say..."

William stood frozen in horror. He had been so obsessed with what had happened to him that he had forgotten that Julia had known all those people at that party. Most of them had been her friends and he had not imagined that she could have stumbled across their lifeless bodies. The young man remained silent but passed his hands around his lover's waist. He rested his head on her chest and breathed in her floral scent. He hugged her, knowing that no words could ease her pain.

Note: Quite proud of this chapter, I don't know why haha!