Black Romance Chapter 36

Clenching my jaw, I veered my stare . "It should have been me, not her . "

"You're right, it should have been . But she wouldn't put any blame on you, so I guess you can thank her for that . "

She's stronger than I thought .

"What business do you have with me?" Watching the floor as we walked, I stepped over small cracks in the concrete, wishing I was thin enough to slip through and disappear .

Is he selling me? Is that what this is all about?

Virgo didn't answer as he took a corner and stopped . Nodding at the guard outside the door, he asked, "Is he here yet?"

Advertisement"Not yet . "

He? Who is he talking about?

"Perfect . " Smiling down at me, he lifted his hand to my arm and patted it . "You're going to love this, Jessie . "

The guard opened the door, stepping out of the way to let us in . Entering the room, I looked around . It was a new place to me, one of the few rooms I hadn't had the luxury of seeing before .

There was a long wooden table in the center, with several chairs placed around the outside . A thick oriental rug was beneath the table, and the walls had pictures of old Italian relics .

What the hell is this room for?

There was a recreation of the Volto Santo and the Shroud of Turlin . A painting of the Villa of Mysteries was hanging on the wall behind the table . My eyes were scanning each image, taken by the beauty and ironic nature of them being in Virgo's hands .

So much beauty for such a dark place .

"Beautiful isn't it?" he asked, walking up to an image of a woman on a horse and admiring her . Nodding in agreement, I stepped to one of a woman standing on the crest of a wave . "That's Venus," he said, walking up beside me, his eyes mesmerized . "This painting is suppose to show her actual birth from the sea . "

"Why do you have this?" I asked, unsure how something so breathtaking fit into his world .

All I saw was darkness, a black hole that kept swirling and swirling, growing stronger every minute . I didn't see beauty, I didn't see color or shapes .

"Because I give life, Jessie, just like the sea gave her life . I take a seed and grow a flower, I formed everything in this place, just me . Without me, you'd have nothing . "

He said it as if I should be grateful for him, like he had given me something to cherish . He wasn't God, he was the Devil . He destroyed life, he tore it to pieces and put it back together like a shattered vase, and he expected that vase to still hold water .

I held nothing, I was too broken to be filled . All of us were, and yet he thought of himself as a creator .

Without you I'd actually be living .

My mouth opened to speak, but a knock on the door stopped me . Virgo turned to look at the door as it opened . The guard stuck his head inside, and said, "He's here . "

"Good, send him in . " Virgo swirled his hand in the air as he gripped my arm and guided me over to the table . "This is going to be fun . I have a surprise for you . "

"A surprise?" I asked as he pulled out a chair and pushed me down .

Smiling, his eyes twinkled with an evil glow, but he didn't answer, simply pulling out a chair for himself at the head of the table and sitting down . Steepling his fingers, he watched me carefully as his smile widened .

Leaning forward, I asked him again . "What surprise, Virgo?"

Left in silence, my heart started to pound as he let his eyes shift off of me and onto the door . He refused to answer me, leaving my mind to tumble and whirl with questions .

Why am I here?

What does he want from me?

What is the surprise?

There was no way for me to know . Not if he didn't tell me .

All I could was wonder . . .

Until the door opened .

Chapter end