Elena lasted exactly three days before she remembered a crucial detail.
She was sitting at the window in her room staring at her laptop, and the realization hit her all at once — Alessandro had actually said she could go out. He had mentioned it when he was giving her the so called rules, that she had access to the house and the garden and that she could go out but not alone.
Not that she couldn't leave.
Just not alone.
She closed her laptop as she jumped from the chaise at the window and went downstairs.
Alessandro was in his office, the door half open and it was clear he was on the phone, she knocked once and pushed it open. He looked up at her with an expression that said whatever she was here for had better be important.
She stood waiting for him to finish.
He then muttered something low into the phone before he hissed and then set it down looking at her "what is it?"
"You said I could go out" she said with her arms crossed, "as long as I wasn't alone."
He looked at her for a moment "yes I did."
"Well! I want to go out!"
"To Where?" He asked as he straightened his posture.
"To see Sofia" she said, "she's been texting me every now and then, she even showed up at my apartment but didn't find me, she's two days away from filing a missing persons report and I need to see her before she does something that causes problems for both of us. Whatever happens might affect you too."
Alessandro held her gaze for a moment and she held it back stubbornly.
"Marco will take you" he said dryly, and picked his phone back up.
That was it. The converse was over.
Elena blinked surprised, "that's it?"
He looked up "what else would there be? did you want an argument?"
"I expected one." She muttered truthfully pouting.
"Disappointing" he said staring at her cuteness, and went back to his business.
She stood in the doorway for a second longer waiting for him to say something else but since he didn't, she quickly went to get her bag happily.
Sofia was already at the café when Elena arrived, sitting at their usual table by a window, she stood up the moment she saw Elena walk through the door and crossed the room quickly grabbing her by both arms and looking at her face like she was checking for damage.
"Elena! Oh my gosh! You look fine" Sofia said, sounding almost annoyed about it.
"I told you I was fine." Elena almost laughed.
"You told me not to look for you which is not the same thing at all. I was worried about you!" Sofia said pouting as she pulled her to the table and immediately waved for the waiter because Sofia processed stress by ordering things be it luxury or not. "I went to your apartment Elena, your plants are literally dying—"
"I'll deal with the plants—" Elena waved her hand.
"Where have you been? You've not been at your apartment." Sofia said, leaning forward, dropping her voice, eyes serious now underneath the dramatics "and I need an actual answer, not a text, not I'm fine, I need an actual answer."
Elena looked at her.
She had spent the entire drive over here thinking about what she was going to say. She had built three different versions of a cover story and taken them apart again because none of them were going to survive five minutes with Sofia who had known her since they were seven and could tell when she was lying from across a room.
So she just looked at her and said nothing.
Sofia's eyes narrowed "Elena."
There was still no response from Elena.
Sofia stared at her for a long moment, suspicion dissolving slowly into something else, and she sat back in her chair crossing her arms and looked at Elena with completely raised brows.
"Oh my God" Sofia gasped uncrossing her arms.
Elena blinked "what is it?"
"You're seeing someone." She almost yelled drawing attention from other people in the cafè.
"I didn't say that—" Elena whispered.
"You didn't say anything" Sofia said, pointing at her, "you went quiet and you have that face—"
"I don't have any face—stop." Elena gasped in realization.
"You absolutely have that face, you always go quiet when it's something you don't want to jinx, oh my God Elena!" she was leaning forward again now, both elbows on the table, eyes wide. "who is he?! when did this happen?! is this why you left the party early?! it is isn't it?! you left because of him—"
Elena opened her mouth to deny it again but closed it.
Because the alternative was explaining the truth and the truth was not something she could explain in a café on a Tuesday afternoon with Marco sitting in a black car outside and Alessandro's name sitting in her chest like something that had taken up residence. She couldn't tell her friend, she couldn't risk her safety!
So instead she picked up the menu and looked at it even though she had ordered the same thing here for four years.
Sofia made a sound that was almost a shriek "ELENA—"
"It's too early" Elena said, not looking up from the menu, "it's very early and I don't want to talk about it yet."
"How early—"
"Very."
"Is he good looking?" She asked with a smile swaying slightly in excitement.
Elena said nothing.
"Oh he's good looking alright!" Sofia breathed "okay okay I won't push, I won't say anything, I just need you to tell me one thing—"
"Come on sofia…"
"Are you happy?" Sofia asked, and her voice had dropped, the excitement almost vanishing, "because you've been back eight months and I haven't seen you actually happy, like genuinely happy, and I just need to know if this man makes you happy—"
Elena looked up from the menu.
She thought about the house, the piano, the east wing she still hadn't been into, Alessandro reading her journal and teasing her about her toy which embarrasses her everytime she thinks of it, coming back early when things went wrong and standing in her doorway the day before with his sleeves rolled up saying I'll handle it like it was the simplest thing in the world.
She thought about all of it.
"Ask me again in a few weeks baby" Elena said with a small smile.
Sofia looked at her for a long moment and then nodded slowly, because she understood more than Elena had actually said. "okay then" she said, "okay fine fine!" She chuckled and sat back "I'm so exciteeed Elena! but you're going to tell me everything when you're ready, right?" She pouted.
"Everything" Elena agreed.