A Twist in My Story

Joe awakened as a soft light filtered in through the curtains of their room. Squeezing his eyes shut as he stretched and yawned, he smiled as a flowery scent hit his nose. Glancing down at his chest his grin widened as he saw Luciana still snuggled up to him. Last night had been full of confessions and he was pleased to know that Luciana was at least admitting her feelings now. He wasn't delusional to think everything was solved now, but he had some hope with her for the near future.
His hand hovered over her chocolate waves for several seconds before he dared stroke her hair. Silly as it sounded, he felt like he was in heaven. He'd wanted to do this for the past few weeks, since Paris, but never felt he had the right to...until now. She had feelings for him. He grinned like a schoolboy with a crush at the thought.
"Do we have to get up?" Luciana mumbled sleepily.
"I'm afraid so, Luce. We have places to see," Joe responded, kissing her hair.
"My legs hurt. I don't think I can walk like we did yesterday," she whined. Joe chuckled as he'd never seen this vulnerable, girly side of her before.
"I'll rub your legs for you. I'm good at working out sore muscles," he said, sliding one hand down her side, over her hip to her thigh.
Luciana jumped out of bed with a squeal. "Joe! That's...that's..." she noticed him laughing hysterically still laying in bed, "That was cruel."
"Maybe, but it got you out of bed," he agreed, getting up himself. "Besides, I smell food. Let's dress and go eat. You take the bathroom first."
"Uomini (Men)," she huffed, grabbing her clothes and bathroom stuff as she shut the bathroom door on him.

After consuming a full traditional Romanian breakfast of bread, feta cheese, some cold cuts, cucumbers, scrambled eggs, yogurt, and strong, Turkish-style coffee for Joe, tea for Luciana - all at their host's insistence - they were stuffed. Joe's stomach actually hurt it was so full. He hadn't eaten like that since the last big family meal at Easter. And this was only breakfast!
As they let their food settle, Luciana worked with the elderly man on the fastest way to get to Bucharest. It was arduous as she didn't speak Romanian very well and he spoke no other language but Romanian. However, in the end the man offered to give them a ride to Cluj-Napoca, the nearest large city. From there they could hop on a train to Bucharest. A half hour later they were headed to the city.
Before departing from the elderly couple, both Joe and Luciana thanked them for all they did and gave them some money for all their help. The train ride to Bucharest took only a few hours which they passed by talking, drawing, and photographing the countryside. Once in Bucharest they were lucky to catch the last train of the day headed south. Joe would have liked to tour the city a little, but Luciana seemed to be on her guard again, looking over her shoulder and scanning her surroundings constantly. Once they were in their private train car, she relaxed again.
"Are you ready to tell me why your brothers and cousins are after you?" Joe asked quietly.
Luciana wrenched her eyes from the scenery to Joe then to the floor. "No," she said softly.
"Why not? You know I'll help you if you are in danger."
"That's exactly why not, Joe. It's not fair to you to put you in the middle of my problems. We are only backpack buddies. Nothing more," she said more harshly than she intended.
Joe took a blow to the heart. He felt sure they'd worked their way past that and it hurt. "Are we?"
"Oh, Joe, I didn't mean it that way exactly," she deflated. It was then that he realized she was only lashing out at him because she was scared of whatever she was running from AND what she felt between them.
"What if I put myself there?"
"No. You can't. Don't try to play the hero here. Just let it go," she demanded. "Are you missing your family?"
"Nice subject change," Joe commented sarcastically. He decided to humor her. "A little I suppose. Mostly my mom. She and I are - were close. I guess I wonder what my brothers are up to as well."
"You should call them when we get to Greece. Check in and such," Luciana suggested kindly.
"Yeah I might. Don't want to worry my mom." Disinterested in the turn of conversation, Joe pulled out his guide book and gave it his full attention.
Luciana felt horrible for blocking him from her life, but it was the only way she knew to keep him safe. It was ridiculous that she felt so much for him in such a short period of time. Watching his face work hard to focus on the book, scrunching on his forehead and around his eyes, she couldn't resist any longer. Standing, she walked to him, took his book and closed it, and brushed a stray curl off his forehead before sitting on his lap. Joe was stunned by her boldness.
"You already know about the men following me. Well...they are my oldest brothers Tony and Gio as well as my cousins Fabrizio and Vinny. I won't tell you why they are, but I will say I am not going to be caught and made to go back. I will never go back," she vowed, controlling the anger in her voice. "The brother I have yet to spot is Luka. He's my best friend and in love with my other best friend, Emilia. Luka's always been my protector and confidante...and I miss him so much," she confessed. Joe understood what courage this took for her to open up to him this way, knew that this was her showing that she was beginning to trust him, and wisely said nothing. "Luka is only a year older than me so we grew up doing everything together...or as much stuff together as our parents would allow. We used to play pranks on Tony and Gio all the time. They hated us so much when we were little..." She smiled wistfully at the happy memories, letting Joe's arms encircle her warmly.
"So why don't you call him and talk when we get to Greece?" he suggested.
Luciana shook her head. "No. I guarantee you he's out there with Tony and Gio looking for me. It's too risky...for both of us."
"But if you're as close as you say, I'm sure he would try to help you-"
"He can't," she interrupted. "Please don't push this, Joe. He just can't help me right now without getting into trouble himself. And I would never put Luka in that position. I hate that you're now in a dangerous position because of me."
He looked into her eyes and saw the desperate sincerity shimmering in them. He acquiesced. "Okay, but one day you will tell me the full story."
Luciana sighed and relaxed into him, snuggling closer to his warmth. "One day, Joe. Prometto (I promise)," she vowed softly.
Kissing her forehead, he readjusted them to a more comfortable position. "Sleep, Luce. We have 40 more hours until we reach Thessaloniki. I'll wake you when we switch trains," he said, but she was already asleep.

Luka knew his father was going to be livid, but just like his brothers and cousins, he had to return home to report in person. Entering his father's study he saw Tony, Gio, Fab, and Vinny, already there and Giuseppe Gambino deceptively calm as he smoked a cigar.
"Luka. I vostri fratelli e cugini sono tornati a mani vuote. Cosa ne pensi? (Luka. Your brothers and cousins have returned empty-handed. What about you?)" Giuseppe asked, his eyes glinting with anger in the dim light.
Pulling himself up straighter, bowing his head respectfully, he reported, "Ho guidato in tutto le principali città della Germania e le città circostanti, ma non ho visto né sentito alcun segno di una ragazza italiana che viaggiano con un uomo americano, padre. (I drove all over Germany's major cities and surrounding towns, but saw nor heard any sign of an Italian girl traveling with an American man, Father.)"
Giuseppe stood abruptly, slamming his fist on his mahogany desk. "Lei è una ragazza ingenua giovane e lei è superato in astuzia tutti voi! Come può essere difficile prendere lei? (She is one naive young girl and she's outsmarted all of you! How hard can it be to catch her?)"
Luka caught sight of his mother standing in the shadows by the door, a handkerchief fisted in her hand but a resolute expression on her face.
"Padre, noi torneremo con le principali città e continuare a cercare. Fab ha quasi ottenuto l'americano di numeri di carta di modo che possiamo tenerne traccia utilizzando quelli. Essi possono tornare da qualche parte hanno già stati a cercare di portarci fuori. Luciana sa che stiamo seguendo il suo, (Father, we will go back to the major cities and keep looking. Fab has almost gotten the American's card numbers so we can track them using those. They may return to somewhere they've already been to try to throw us off. Luciana knows we're following her)," Tony said.
"Certo che lo sa, perché tutti vengono sciatta! No. Andare riposare. Io penso e ti faccio sapere quali sono i nuovi piani sono domani, (Of course she knows because you all are being sloppy! No. Go rest up. I will think and let you know what the new plans are tomorrow)," Giuseppe dismissed them with a wave of his hand.

After nearly two days on two different trains, Joe and Luciana stepped onto Greek soil in Thessaloniki. The smell of sea water pleasantly assaulted their noses, bringing smiles to their faces.
"I'll be happy to not set foot on another train for some time," Joe said, stretching before putting on his backpack.
Luciana laughed at his pained expression then cupped his cheeks in her hands. "Aw, poor baby. One question though: how do you plan to get to Athens?"
"I'll rent a car or walk or skip, but I'm not getting on another train."
She laughed. "Car it is then since I refuse to walk long distances ever again. But let's stay here tonight and see some of Thessaloniki. I need some downtime and I hear that Mt. Olympus is nearby."
"I love the way your mind thinks," Joe grinned and leaned forward, gently touching his lips to Luciana's.
Unnerved by the tingles in her belly, yet content, she let Joe take her hand and head off onto the busy streets of Thessaloniki.

The next day at the beginning of a clear mid-October day, they rented a car and drove south towards Athens. Luciana drove, as per their agreement, while Joe was tasked with keeping her entertained. Utilizing his well-honed humor skills, he kept her laughing until she begged him to stop before she burst a vital organ or ran them off the road due to her tears blurring her vision. Then they just talked about nonsense things for awhile. Joe took to watching her as they drove realizing that this was the most relaxed he'd seen her and how truly beautiful she was. He was fairly certain she wasn't aware of her relaxed state, but he wasn't going to point it out to her.
"Joe, do you want to stay in Athens or outside of the city?" Luciana asked.
"Doesn't matter. Can we get close to the water in Athens?" he responded.
"We'll probably have a better chance outside of the city. It is a popular tourist site, you know," she smirked.
"Really? I had no idea!" Joe joked back with fake shock.
"Americans just really don't know how to properly tour."
"Oh, and Italians are the best tourists to ever grace another country."
"It's good you recognize this now," Luciana nodded, struggling to hide her smile, only to wind up being tickled relentlessly by Joe. "Joe, I'm driving!"
He stopped, "Alright, but you watch yourself, missy, or you might end up taking a dunk in the sea," he warned waving a finger at her. She only scoffed at that.
Half an hour later they were checked into a hostel in Rafina, Greece right on the Adriatic Sea, forty minutes from Athens. Once again they were sharing a room with two beds, but only for the sake of propriety. Luciana discovered that she slept much better with Joe's warmth beside her and even now though it was only 8pm she was already asleep snuggled up to him.
Early the next day they headed over to Athens to begin their Greek adventure. They started at the Ancient Agora ruins, where they saw the Temple of Hephaestus, god of blacksmiths. Then they walked the short distance to the Acropolis. Climbing the large hill winded them, but the view was amazing. Since they were above sea level by several hundred feet they could see most of Athens. Joe commented on how the people looked like little ants scurrying around, making Luciana laugh and several other tourists frown.
From the Acropolis they went to an ancient theatre ruins where Joe proceeded to pretend he was the male lead in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He pleaded on knees for Luciana's, aka Juliet's, permission to secretly visit her, topping it off with a kiss to her hand. Luciana couldn't help her blush. The ruin's security guards on the other hand weren't as impressed and asked them to move along.
The fun continued at the Temple of Olympian Zeus where Joe pretended to throw fire bolts down on the citizens of Athens. Luciana laughed so hard she was bent over and her sides hurt, but when she caught sight of more guards approaching them she hastily pulled Joe away.
They finally ended up on the beach for a picnic lunch.
"Are you enjoying Greece?" Joe asked, taking a bite of his pita.
"I am very much. I think it's my favorite stop so far," Luciana's olive complexion shimmered in the bright sunlight as she soaked up some rays. "You?"
"Definitely," he agreed. "Do you think those guards would have arrested me?"
Luciana laughed at the memory. "Oh probably not, but why chance it. I don't imagine your parents would've liked to come bail you out of jail halfway around the world."
"What! Does that mean you would've let me rot there?" he leaned over the food, crowding her on the blanket. His eyes danced with laughter.
"Why would I have rescued you? I've already done that once. I don't need you. I'm not the naive tourist," she batted her lashes, trying to appear innocent.
"Oh I see how it is," Joe frowned, pulling back and standing up. "You still look down on me for being an ignorant American. I get it."
Luciana scrambled up quickly. She hadn't meant to hurt his feelings with her teasing. "Joe, I didn't mean-"
"No, that's okay, Luciana. You feel how you feel. I'm just a stupid American hanging around your neck like a weight," he brushed off her hands.
"That's not it at all and you know it, Joe! I was just teasing," she insisted, tugging him to a stop and positioning herself in front of him. "You know I enjoy your company and you."
"Good to know...because you are so gullible!" he laughed then ducked out of her reach as she hit him.
"You are so...so... orribile! (horrible)" she fumed, stomping towards their blanket.
Joe chased after her and slipped his arms around her waist, resting his chin on her shoulder. "But you like me anyway." She relaxed against him in resign. "Come on, Luce. You need a cool off. Let's take a dip."
He lifted her into his arms against her protests, carried her across the sand to the water enduring her weak threats, and tossed her into the chilly water. He laughed as she sputtered, pushing her hair out of her face. He was actually laughing so hard that he didn't notice her trudge out of the water and come behind him until she pushed him into the water as well. After that the water war was on. They spent an hour playing in the sea until they decided to drag their wrinkled selves out to dry out.

Leaving the beach area they walked among the vendor stalls admiring the handmade goods for sale. At one stall Joe bought a coral pink necklace for Luciana. She lifted her hair for him to put it on her. The woman at the stall gave her enthusiastic approval, making a blush bloom across Luciana's cheeks. He then proceeded to treat her to dinner, paying for her meal as well (with her knowing it), a first for their time together.
As dusk settled over Athens, Joe and Luciana walked past the deserted stalls quietly talking as they made their way to their car.
"So tomorrow we go to Troy?" Joe suggested.
"Do we have to get up early?" Luciana asked through a yawn.
Joe chuckled, giving her a side hug. "No, we can sleep in."
"Good. I need some sleep before I can be Helen of Troy. She's so much work," she teased.
Suddenly someone bumped into her from behind, grabbing her arm in the process. "Oh, mi scusi, (Oh, excuse me)," he said in a smooth voice...a smooth voice she knew.
She whirled around to face the voice and gasped when she recognized him. She'd been found!
"Ah, Luciana," the man still holding her arm crooned. "Vedi, i ragazzi, ti ho detto che era lei. E 'passato molto tempo, amore mio. (See, boys, I told you it was her. It's been a long time, my love.)"
Joe frowned at the interaction, but as he stepped forward to intervene two hands landed firmly on his shoulders. Glancing back he realized that at some point the man's guards had flanked him. "Luce."
The man spared a glance Joe's way. "Che dolce. Ha un nomignolo per te. Si ha molta gente in cerca di te, tesoro. E 'una buona cosa che ti ho trovato primo. Mi sei mancato tanto, (How sweet. He has a pet name for you. You have a lot of people looking for you, darling. It's a good thing I found you first. I've missed you so much)," he whispered close to her ear before kissing it.
Luciana slapped him across the cheek with her free hand, but that only got both of her arms pinned to the stall wall. She grunted at his added weight as he pressed into her. "F-Fermalo!" She struggled to get away from him, but he was too strong for her. He continued to whisper to her, but only when he got to the end of his speech did she blanch.
The moment Luciana slapped the man Joe rushed forward to help, only to be restrained by the guards. He pulled against their combined strength to no avail. "Luciana! Luciana, I'm coming," he yelled to her. Silently thanking his brothers and their fights when their parents weren't around, Joe used his lean body to slip out of the guards' grasp. Then he charged the man assaulting Luciana, knocking him to the ground.
Joe pulled Luciana into his arms, trying to calm her tears and access her well-being at the same time. Meanwhile, the guards helped their boss up and dusted him off.
"I tuoi giorni sono contati, americano, (Your days are numbered, American)," the man vowed threateningly before stalking off into the darkening city.
Luciana seemed to spark back to life then. "We have to go. We have to leave Greece. Now." she declared, rushing down the street toward their car. "They've found me. It's not safe anymore. Shouldn't have relaxed. Stupida, stupida, stupida, (Stupid, stupid, stupid)," she cursed herself.
Joe followed in her wake, asking repeatedly who that man was, but she never answered. Soon they were back in Rafina, bags packed, and rental car returned. Luciana hailed a taxi for them and instructed the driver to just drive northwest.
"Where are we going, Luciana?" Joe asked annoyed and angry about her secretiveness once again.
"I'm going to Italy. You are going home," she answered before clamming up again.
Joe sat back and looked out the window, afraid he'd lose it if he looked at her any longer, but he knew for a fact that he wasn’t going anywhere without learning the whole story. Luciana had another thing coming if she thought he'd give in easily again.