"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
"Knock! Knock! Knock!"
Enzo blinked, sitting upright. He took in his surroundings before turning to look for the origin of the knock.
"Hi!"
Warm morning light spilled through the windshield hitting his skull. His neck aches from sleeping upright.
For a second, he couldn't place where he was.
Then he looked up and there she was.
Enzo didn't remember leaving his mansion. He didn't remember grabbing his key.
All he remembered was the alcohol, the burn and then...Isla. Isla. Isla. Her name was looping in his mind like a curse he couldn't outrun.
"Hi!" Isla waved, flashing a wide grin.
He rubbed a hand over his face and lowered the window.
"How are you?" His voice was rough and croaky.
"I'm fine. Have you been here all night?" Isla blinked.
"Why do you ask?"
"Well…..Mrs. Wilkins told my babysitter that there was a man parked outside our house."
"Is that why you came out?" Enzo raised a brow.
Isla nodded and looked over her shoulder.
"But….Lena doesn't know I'm here," she whispered causing Enzo to chuckle.
"I won't tell if you don't," he said, fighting back a smile.
"I won't tell either," she grinned, hugging the stuffed panda she was holding. "So why are you sleeping in your car? Are your parents mad at you?" She blinked innocently.
"Why do you think my parents are mad at me and that's why I'm sleeping in the my car?" Enzo couldn't stop himself from asking.
"I see it on TV all the time."
Enzo shook his head. "Well, I came to see a friend," His voice was soft though his face held no expression.
"Where's he? Why did he let you sleep in your car? That's bad."
"You think?" Enzo chuckled at how serious she was.
"So why don't you take me inside then?" The words left his mouth before he could stop it.
"Them Lena will know I came out...but ok," she shrugged, steeping bacj so that Enzo could open the car door.
Enzo sat frozen, eyes locked on the woman who just invited him into her home casually even though she was going to get scolded by her babysitter for stepping out without her permission.
"Was that how she behaved towards anyone or it was just him? Was she that trusting towards anyone at all?"
The thought of it made a wave of anger hit him. He was going find whoever it was, if there was, and erase their bloodline.
"Don't you want to come?" Isla's voice pulled him out of his thoughts, that was when he moved.
He watched her lead him to their door, her pigtails bouncing as she hopped happily.
Enzo couldn't believe he drove from his home and spent the night in his car just for her. And here he was even planning to murder someone just for her. Whatever he was feeling terrified him, yet, it gave him a thrill he never wanted to end.
"Lena! The man from the park is here!" Isla yelled as soon as the stepped inside. Enzo took a moment to take in his surroundings.
His bedroom was way bigger than the apartment, making him wonder how she could survive in such a small place. There were two tiny bedrooms, a living room with only one sofa and a dining room squeezed into the corner of the kitchen. Everything looked so small, cramped and live-in.
He took in the mismatched curtains, the broken crayons and toys all over the floor. It wasn't dirty, it wasn't neglected. It was simply small. Too small dor someone as gentle and fragile as her.
His jaws tightened as his eyes kept darting around. How had she lived in a place so shrunken, so vulnerable when she bl deserved something bigger, better and safer?
For the first time he felt something unfamiliar twist inside him.
A protective anger.
A promise he hadn't spoken yet, but already willing to go to any length to make it happen.
She would not remain in a place like this.
Not while he was in her life z
"Mister?" A soft voice broke his chain of thoughts. He looked down to see Isla giving him a soft frown.
"What are you thinking about?" She asked softly but they got interrupted by the babysitter who just walked out of the kitchen.
"Isla I….." Lena paused when he saw Enzo standing just at the doorway. "Hi, how can we help you?"
He's the man from the amusement park. He came to see me," she announced proudly, grabbing his hand in hers. "He's my friend."
He stiffened.
Friend?
No one had ever called him tha with such genuine innocence. He simply stared down at her, the trust in her eyes and at the way she clung to him like he was something safe.
For the first time in his life, the title didn't feel wrong.
"Why are you standing there then?" Lena smiled. "Come in."
Isla nodded and dragged Enzo to the living room.
"Sit down," she smiled gesturing to the sofa. "I'm going to bring you all the drawings I colored."
Without waiting for his response, she run to her room.
"Sorry about that, she can be very hyper sometimes," Lena said with a faint smile to which Enzo just nodded.
"I'll be in the kitchen."
Isla walked out of her room, clutching two coloring books, a wide grin plastered on her lips. She settled down beside him and started flipping through pages.
"This is Rapunzel," she pointed to a page, momentarily snapping Enzo out of thoughts.
Enzo starred at the woman with ridiculously long hair. Isla had colored her hair yellow and dress pink.
"She has long hair and it glows as well," she smiled but that smile dropped within a second. "An evil witch cut it off."
Enzo blinked watching her as she trailed a finger along Rapunzel's hair.
"I had long hair too. Lena said so…" she smiled looking up at him. "Just like Rapunzel's but it was cut. "Lena won't tell me her name but I'm sure the evils witch cut it."
She leaned closer and whispered, " I think she's jealous of girls with long hair."
Something hit and sharp detonated in Enzo's chest.
Anger. Immediate territorial.
He didn't know who the witch was. It didn't matter.
His jaw clenched. The idea of someone hurting her or cutting anything from her made something feral spike through him.
"Who?" His voice was low, dangerous. The kind that made grown men confess their sins.
Isla blinked at him, startled. "Huh?"
"Isla who cut your hair?"
He was trying hard his best not to scare her.
She moved back, confused by the sudden change in his behavior.
"A bad lady," she murmured, touching her hair as if to check if it was still there. " She said I didn't need it. I had more."
He inhaled sharply but it didn't help. Because every instinct in him was roaring the same thing.
Find her and make her pay for hurting Isla.
Hurt her for touching what was his.
He was going to investigate this further and God help this "evil lady" if she was real.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Isla ! Breakfast is ready!" Lena called from the kitchen and Isla's eyes immediately lit up.
"Come on," she grabbed Enzo's hand as she got up. "Lena makes the best waffles and pancakes."
Enzo stood up and get her drag him to the kitchen. She pulled out a chair for him to sit. The dining table was too small for a man like him. His legs cramped and his knees brushed the underside but he didn't mind because opposite him, Isla sat, swinging her legs and humming to a tune as she dipped her spoon into her cereal.
He barely touched the bowl of cereal she had prepared for him just because it was her favorite and she wanted him to try it.
"Guess what?" Isla said suddenly, lifting her head with a milk mustache.
"Mattew is coming over later!" She chirped. "I love him so much."
The words were like a punch to his ribs. His grip tightened around the spoon he was holding.
Mattew? Who the hell was Mattew? And why the fuck was she saying it like that?
"Mattew." He forced his voice to stay even.
"Hmm!" She hummed in response, shoving a spoonful of cereal into her mouth. " He always comes in the afternoon. Sometimes morning too. I love cuddling with him."
Enzo didn't even realize he was bending the spoon.
He comes over? She cuddles him?"
He felt something coil in his stomach. Isla leaned forward and whispered dramatically.
"He loves rubbing his face on me."
Then she giggled.
"And sometimes he sleeps in my bed. He's so warm."
Enzo's jaw tightened. His pulse hammered. A dark fury rose inside him. It was hit, ridiculous and immediate."
"Isla," he said in a dangerously low voice. "Tell me who Mattew is."
Isla frowned but before she could respond, the doorbell rang.
"It's him," Isla's eyes widened in excitement as she sprung out of her seat. She rushed to the door and swung it open.
Enzo eyes darted towards the door as well, waiting for Mattew to walk in. His hand instinctively resting on his gun.
"Mattew," she beamed.
And then…..
Meow.
He froze.
Another soft meow echoed, followed by Isla saying goodbye to someone.
Isla giggled. "You're early today."
The orange fluffy cat jumped out of her arms and walked to Enzo.
Enzo stared at the animal like it had personally offended him.
"Mattew loves cuddles," she told him as she sat back down. "He climbs through the window anytime I leave it open."
The cat meowed as if to confirm what Isla said.
Enzo stared at the cat. He couldn't believe he had almost been jealous of a cat.
"I think he likes you. Do you want to pet him?"
"No," Enzo said flatly.
The cat hopped onto the chair next to him anyway. He glanced at it but the cat blinked, utterly unfazed.
Mattew flicked his tail across Enzo's sleeve.
He stared at the animal with a slow, ice over glare.
Isla, meanwhile giggled in delight.
"He loves you,awww." She said.
Mattew purred loudly in response.
Enzo's eyebrows twitched.
I hate this cat.
It was quiet, simple and absolute. He didn't show it but Mattew had instantly become his enemy.
Mattew seems to have sensed it as well because he jumped off the chair and went to settle on Isla's lap instead.