“Can I sleep next to you then?”

“On the floor?”

“Yeah.”

“You should sleep in the bed. You are not use this. Me I very use to it. You had a lot of bad things happen to you in a very short amount of time and not to mention you are hurt. You need some comfort…take it while you can.”

“Shane, you should heed your own advice.”

We don’t talk just stare. My stare one of want and need to understand and in turn be understood. Her stare; tired, searching for something in me. Something she is still trying to understand. Maybe a why. Why was she still here with me? Why did she say out loud her fear of being left alone, her fear that her family died because of me, and the worse fear that I was somehow going to drive off in the night, leaving her to fend for herself the madness creeping in. Did this really happen to her?

I heard her loud and clear even though she said not a word. Her stare said it all. Its all understood. 

‘I am not your friend. I not going to leave you alone in this.” I tell her not taking my eyes off of her.

“You should. If you had a brain you would leave me as soon as you could.”

“Why? Because Papi left?”

“I….”

“That’s right. I paid attention. I am not her. You are in this because of me. They killed them to get to me. It wouldn’t be very proper of me to leave you would it?’

No answer. Nothing, just that stare. The stare said; help me understand.

“The person who is responsible for the death of your brother and his family….your family. That person is my boss. She is known as The Artist. She runs The Agency I worked for.  A while back like a year ago, I was sent to watch this princess. Who she was…. does not matter…….. Anyway I was sent to watch her.  So I did I followed her around. She went to parties did a lot of drugs, made an all around spectacle of herself. Anyway I guess she started to get into me. I thought about her, I dreamed about her. I watched her when I wasn’t supposed to. Somewhere along that line she noticed me. Not her guards or her entourage…… she noticed me. Soon after everywhere she went I went, and we started playing this dangerous game she and I. In the darkness of the nightclubs, when her guards had their guard down, she would wander. Not too far out of their site but far enough and close to me. We didn’t touch or talk or anything but we stood near each other. I don’t even know how it started. I can’t pinpoint it or anything you know…….So we are in France in the country, open air, trees… beautiful. She is on holiday with her family. She has no idea that I am there I made sure of it. I get the call from The Mother asking how the mark was going, more specifically why was she still breathing.”