La Dolce Vita: Part IV

Amelia woke up with a start, it was still dark outside and even though she tried to get back to sleep she found it impossible. Her eyes searched the room, it was dark and she sat up and reached for her bedside lamp. She put it on with a flick of a switch and realised the light bounce off the walls and cast everything in an eerie warm glow. She sat up straight in bed and looked at the time on her bedside table, it was two o'clock and in four hours, she would have to get up for the van she had hired would be picking her up and transporting all her materials to Tuscany for a few days.

She grabbed her cotton beige jumper from the chair when her eyes caught a motion from the street below. And she realised who it was standing below, it was Robert P. Blake but he was not a lone. He was with a woman with blonde hair, about an inch or two shorter then he and she was wearing a very glamorous dress. The dress glistened blue, like ripples within the ocean and her hair looked like a pretzel. She couldn't see her face but she must be beautiful, how could she afford a dress like that and capture the attention of the man in front of her. Amelia paused, why did she care so much anyway? Robert was an acquaintance, someone who had helped her with her materials later yesterday, nothing more. She was reluctant to let anything come from it, she had been there before and she didn't want to remember that part of her life, it was too much and it was too soon. Amelia looked down and she was overwhelmed, expecting to see the jewel seated firmly on her ring finger, magically disappeared. It hadn't worked out and she had as much luck with guys as she did with keeping them. Amelia suddenly felt claustrophobic, the walls began shifting towards her and she felt a panic attack ensue. She didn't want to stay here for fear of being buried under, she had to get away and as she slipped into her flip flops and made her way out quietly. She headed for the ocean, it brought her peace and it made her forget if only a little bit.

Rob had just said goodbye to Talia, she had dressed to kill but he wasn't interested in her like that and brought her down gently. She had sulked and gave him that pouty puppy dog look which apparently made guys melt and succumb but he knew better. Besides, Talia wasn't his type, she was high maintenance by way of everything. High state glamour all the way and somewhere deep inside, he knew, she was only saying those provocative words to get closer to the fame and fortune but that just wasn't him. He wasn't planning to bargain with it, nor sacrifice a perfectly good friendship. When she had scuttled away with her hips swaying, he didn't need to take another glance but as he went to take a few steps into his apartment, something caught his attention as it flew past him and he swerved to see Amelia run off into the night.

Amelia walked impatiently towards the shore. She could already hear the waves crashing and the palpitations course away. There was something calming about the ocean, something mysterious and...

"Amelia are you okay?" the voice came and then the touch and Amelia turned around to see Rob behind her.

Amelia looked straight past him, she wanted to avoid his inquisitive gaze as if talking to the air and not him she said breathlessly, "What are you doing here?"

"I saw you run out, has something happened? Are you alright?" Rob asked seriously concerned, he wouldn't let go of her until he got a plausible answer.

"Please let go of me Rob," Amelia asked, as her vision became blurry.

"There's something obviously bothering you..."

"Just leave me alone please..." Amelia interrupted him, "You have no place asking me... nor, were you following me?"

"No... yes, but no... you just ran out," Rob said as he looked at his watch, "It's two twenty in the morning, what are you doing up and around at this time?"

"God! You ask a lot of questions... for someone whom I've only known for like, what, a meeting? You seem to assume you have the authority to know everything about me, well you don't... no one does but myself... and what exactly are you doing here in Italy anyway Rob? You seemed to skip answering that question earlier, is it because you can't deal with fame or that it asks too much of you?"

Rob drew her to him to take the pain away from her, she tried to push back, away... but it was useless he was hugging her now, soothing her and as she looked up, his green penetrative green eyes were a fierce green emerald staring back at her and that was when she felt his lips on hers.