Another Lilly/Saccardo chapter. It's supposed to be revealing chapter, so to say, and not in a weird way. O_o
Lilly pulled her hair back, leaving her bedroom when her eyes fell on the small side table next to her bed. She stopped and, slowly pulling open the top drawer, reached in to pick out the long box. She snapped it open to a diamond bracelet.
It had been a while since she'd looked at it, mostly because of work and partly for other reasons. She narowed her eyes in thought; her mind had just started to wander when suddenly there was an urgent knock on the door and she jumped. She hurried to the door, her mind jumping to the worst conclusions, and she opened it to the person she had just been thinking about.
Lilly sighed in exasperation, anger, annoyed more at the fact that she had started panicking.
"What, Saccardo?" she snapped, trying to calm down, but her heart rate seemed to only quicken as she stared at the man in front of her. He looked at her, eyebrows rising with a smirk.
"Calm down, Rush," he said. "I scare ya?" Lilly fixed him with a passive look. Saccardo leaned against the railing.
"What do you want?" Lilly prompted after a moment of silence in which Saccardo kept his gaze on her. He straightened, leisurely moving to the top step.
"Got to have a reason for comin' over?" Saccardo said, stepping past her inside. She slowly closed the door behind him, crossing her arms. Saccardo looked around, placing a box on the table.
"Nice place." She scrutinized him as his gaze fell around the room and finally to her hands and she realized with a start that she was still holding the bracelet case. He walked towards her, reaching down and taking it from her. Removing the bracelet from the case, he draped it gradually around her wrist. Lilly's eyes flickered up to him.
"Still have it, huh?" Saccardo said, glancing at her.
"Yeah," Lilly said dryly, half smiling. "I love my jewels." Saccardo grinned and they both looked down at her wrist. Clearing her throat, Lilly returned the bracelet to the case, placing it on a table and moving over to the couch. She looked a Saccado expectantly.
"Thought you might want some company," Saccardo shrugged. Lilly raised her eyebrows teasingly.
"And you figured I would enjoy your company?" she asked. He moved closer, sitting down close next to her on the couch, gaze lingering on hers.
"Don't you?" he asked, eyes twinkling mischievously. She rolled her eyes, masking the thrill of nervousness in the pit of her stomach. Saccardo looked down at his hands and handed her the white box he'd brought.
"What's this?" Lilly asked, surprised, looking down at the box.
"Open it," Saccardo prompted.
She glanced at him and opened it. Inside was a small stuffed animal: a lioness.
"It's for your, uh, niece," Saccardo said, gauging her reaction. "Show her that her aunt's as tough as a lioness. Can't be tamed, does all the hunting, you know." Lilly smiled, thumb running across the soft face of the lioness.
"Thanks," she said softly, looking at him.
"You know, lioness needs a tough lion, someone like me," Saccardo added impishly, leering comically at her. Lilly laughed.
"Right. King of the jungle," she said, rolling her eyes.
"Got that right," Saccardo grinned, leaning back. He looked at her for second, chin up, almost deliberating.
'Your sister," he began, gauging her reaction. Her face hardened, eyes wary.
"Why d'you feel guilty about her?" Saccardo asked finally. The question visibly struck her and she looked away, leaning forward.
"I don't," she answered, voice forcibly light, a defensive tone in her answer.
Saccardo leaned forward too, bending his head to look at her.
"I know guilty. I've seen it on every type of face, including gorgeous ones," Saccardo told her. She stared at him, eyes examining his and suddenly she got up, running a frustrated hand through her hair.
"What do you want me to say?" she snapped; something had broken inside her momentarily and there was a fire in her eyes. "That I wasn't a good sister? That I let her go?"
Saccardo was calm. "Did you?"
Lilly's face twisted agonizingly, as if she was lost in her mind and it was unimaginably, unbearably excruciating.
"I let her go," she said painfully, abruptly. She laughed once humorlessly. "She came to me and I pushed her away. I... felt like I hated her so much. For ruining every thing, every time there was something good in my life." There was a stinging in her eyes and Lilly turned her back from Saccardo, ducking her head. "And then, she... was suffering and I couldn't help her." Saccardo stood up, gently twisting her around to face him.
"You don't let it go, it's gonna eat you up," he said quietly. Lilly narrowed her eyes at the ground.
"It's my problem, Eddie," Lilly said firmly, eyes burning with fire despite the tears.
They had gone through this before, when Saccardo had given her a gun to protect herself from Moe Kitchener, the man who had tried to kill her; she could take care of herself, like she always had.
His gaze ran over her and he nodded without a word, pursing his lips. He stepped back.
"Got any food?" he asked, changing the subject and heading into the kitchen. Lilly leaned against the sofa; she swallowed, blinking once slowly.
"Your fridge's almost as empty as mine," Saccardo said, returning after a moment, eyes furtively examining her.
"Didn't think that was possible," Lilly said calmly, voice controlled. Olivia strolled into the living room, pouncing onto the sofa, fixing her gaze on Saccardo, who stared right back.
"Why's the cat staring at me?" Saccardo asked, raising his brows. he pasued. "Is that a cat?"
Lilly frowned, defensive again. "Yes, she's a cat. And she stares at shady people," Lilly said with a small smile, running her hand through Olivia's pelt; Olivia leaned into Lilly's hand, eye still fixed unblinkingly on Saccardo.
"Right." Saccardo answered slowly. "I'm gonna go get something to eat. You comin'?" He moved towards the door, looking at her.
"Yeah," she replied after a moment of hesitation.
She took her jacket and Saccardo opened the door for her.
"You're paying," she told him with a tiny smirk, passing him. Saccardo half grinned, shaking his head, and followed her out, shooting one last look at her suspicious cat.
I didn't update like I usually do and it's eating me inside. Sighs. Stupid things that I am forced to do that will have no impact on my life later on. Next chapter is a POV. Of course. :)