Closer || Adelaide & Carlo
carlo--romanoâ:
A warm smile spread over his face, and he chuckled at her comment. âSo Iâve been told. Although, I mean what I say. But⌠I think you might be the first person that has thought that about me since I got into this city. You shouldâve seen me in Ragusa. You might not even recognize me between who I was there and who I am here.â
Carlo listened to her explanation and then he let out a huff. âWhew, if thatâs not a story then I donât know what is. Honestly, the history of the city sounds like something I wouldâve read about in a novel. Something nice and dramatic, with all sorts of twists, turns, drama, death, and conflict.â If he was being honest, he was pretty glad that heâd missed all of that. Granted, he knew things like this happened, he knew people who had done plenty of questionable things, but having missed the Verona drama of the past was a relief. âWere you here for any of that?â
Letting out a sigh he shrugged and let out a nervous laugh. âItâs just that⌠I donât know⌠I donât feel like I did anything terribly important. Even you did more than I did that night, i think. Whatâs throwing a few punches, and pushing people around?â
Adelaide took another bite of her food, as it really was delicious and she wanted to make sure that Carlo knew she appreciated what heâd done. But his warm smile and his comment had her looking over at him with a curious smile of her own. âOh really? What was Ragusa Carlo like in that case?â She settled into the couch to hear his stories, wincing slightly as she brushed against her burned legs.Â
It honestly did sound like a novel when talked about that way. In fact, she had read novels that were similar. But having lived through it, it didnât feel so much like it. âI was here for some of it, although i was fairly young so I wasnât as aware. Then of course, I was sent away to boarding school so I missed a lot of the escalation of the violence in the previous years. And...and I was in the city for the last violent attack. Not in the club itself, of course. But my friend Aubrey had been there a few nights before. Luckily, that night she was too tired so she decided not to go.â Adelaide rarely let herself think about what the alternative might have been had Aubrey made a different decision.Â
It was easier to switch back to focusing on Carlo himself and what he did. âYou helped your brother when he needed it to save someone important to him. You protected her when she didnât feel capable of helping herself. Just because you managed it by throwing punches doesnât change the intention and the effect.â












