If Only Tonight

Blurry Dividing Lines:
Chapter Thirty Two: Disconnected

"I'm going to sleep the minute I get home." Nathaniel said as he walked over to get his suitcase from the turntable.

"Is that all you think about? Sleep, eat, play?" Mia asked as she walked over to him, keeping a look out for her own suitcase.

"Honestly? Yup...that's pretty much it." Nathaniel grinned at her. Mia gave him a playful smack.

"What happened to all that planning over the summer? Aren't we supposed to be out and about?" Mia asked.

"I'll have you know that I took into account my sleeping habits and then devised the plan for this trip. In fact on the printed schedule you'll find sleep written in." Nathaniel told her in a mock uppity tone.

Giving him an exasperated look, Mia dug in to the pockets of her jeans to find the schedule they had printed out. Sure enough to her disbelief Nathaniel had included sleep.

"Smart move...Nate." Mia admitted.

"Thank you. I told you so." They laughed together.

Looking around to see where Matthew had gone off too, Mia saw him standing in a corner with his bag. That was fast, Mia thought. He had been quiet during the entire flight. The three of them had sat together, with Mia in the middle. While she and Nathaniel had watched the in-flight movies, Matthew had turned facing away from her and slept.

In comparison to their last trip, Mia found herself missing their bickering. Maybe he's just tired? Mia thought, hopefully. Don't be stupid, he had a long vacation, the rational part of her brain retorted.

Shaking off the thoughts, Mia saw her suitcase tumble on to the turntable. Nathaniel grabbed it before she could.

"There you go." He said, handing it to her.

'Thanks."

"Have you seen where Matthew went off to?" Nathaniel asked her.

"He's over there, waiting." Mia pointed the other player out.

"How the hell did he get his things so fast?" Nathaniel asked, in wonder.

"Your guess is as good as mine...maybe he paid someone to get his things."

Snickering, they started walking towards Matthew.

"So I'm going to sleep when I get home. But I'll call you as soon as I get up, and we'll hit the town as planned."

Mia couldn't help but laugh at his persistence to stick to their schedule.

"You know it's alright. You can sleep; I bet you're dead tired anyway. We can start tomorrow." She told him.

"Mia, I come home every summer. I am never dead tired. Usually just lazy, besides it's a lot of fun being a tourist. Don't worry about it." He reassured her.

"Alright...but no blaming me on your lost sleep." Mia warned him.

"No worries."

"Got all your things?" Mia looked up to see Matthew appraising them. He was leaning against the wall, looking weary. Mia didn't understand what was going on with him.

"Yea. How about you?" Nathaniel said before she could open her mouth.

"Yea, I have everything." He replied.

The sound of his voice was so different from what she was used to hearing. He sounded as though he was dreading something.

"Let's go then?" He looked over to her and asked.

"Uh, yea sure. Let's go." Mia answered, a little intimidated by his demeanour. Why was he acting so indifferent towards everything? Wasn't he happy to be home? Mia wondered as they walked to the exit in silence.

"Well guys, I see my ride…I'm going to go then." Nathaniel told them as they walked out of the airport terminal.

Mia looked to where he was pointing and saw a happy elderly couple waving him towards them. Mia could feel her heart clench. His parents looked so happy to see him.

"Those are your parents?" Mia asked.

"Yea! I forgot to tell you…but you're both coming to dinner tomorrow." Nathaniel told them with a grin as he walked off.

"But…" It was too late for Mia to argue. Nathaniel waved goodbye as he and his parents sped away.

"Mister Rossi…" Mia heard a man call out.

She returned her attentions to where Matthew was heading. A black town car with a driver was waiting for them. The driver had stepped out and opened the door for them.

"Allow me to take your things." He offered, taking Mia's baggage first, and then Matthew's. They both sat in the car.

"How long of a ride is it?" Mia asked, as they settled in. Her eyes were already starting to droop.

"About an hour…I live out of the city." Matthew told her, succinctly.

-----

It didn't take long for Mia to fall asleep, Matthew noted. She must be tired, he thought.

Having been on edge even before going on the trip, Matthew was not looking forward to meeting one inevitable person. He was less than thrilled to be back in his home country.

He felt Mia's head against his shoulder. It bewildered him, how right it felt to have her there. For a moment all the worry he had about this trip vanished. All he could think of was about how perfect it felt to have her next to him. How when she ran in to his bed, he could care less about the circulation in his arm but he wanted to know if she was okay...Why did she feel like she was meant to be with him?

But she can't be...he thought remorsefully as he remembered what was causing him stress.

His mother.

She would no doubt be coming to see him, as soon as she found out that he had arrived, and then all hell would be breaking loose.

From what he had gathered about Mia's mother, the same could be said about his own. She was one for destroying him in front of as many people as she could find. The more the better.

It hadn't always been this way, Matthew admitted to himself. There had been a time when he had been the apple in his mother's eye. His sister's life and subsequent demise had put an end to that...Luciana...he thought with sorrow.

Looking out the window, Matthew watched his country's fields pass by. There were times he wished his coming home wasn't such a distressful event.

-----

Awakening to Matthew gently prodding her and calling her name, Mia rubbed the sleep from her eyes before pushing herself off his shoulder.

Looking outside, she saw a gorgeous red brick complex. Vines creeped up along the side walls, and there was an arched doorway.

"Wow..." Mia gasped in amazement. The entire building looked so elegant, she felt out of place coming to such a location.

Turning to look at Matthew, she saw a faint smile on his lips. He was amused by her reaction.

"So where is your place?" She asked, curiously.

"Penthouse...the entire top floor."

Her jaw nearly dropped, upon hearing this. Mia looked at him to see if he was joking, but there was no sign of a smirk, or smile on his face.

The driver had gotten out of the car and was taking out their bags. Instinctively, Mia took her own before the driver could get to it.

As Matthew finally took hold of his own things and started walking to the building, Mia trailed behind him; taking in the beautiful view.

Large trees surrounded the premises, a fountain hummed off to the right of the grounds. Walking towards it, Mia could hear the calm bubbling of water, the smell was invigorating.

"Mia, come on." She heard herself being called.

I'll be back later, she thought to herself. They were staying here for two weeks after all.

Quickly walking to the entrance of the building, she followed Matthew in.

-----

No sooner had Matthew placed his bags in his room, he felt the itch to run.

Mia was busy with putting her things away. He was glad she had liked the room his cousin had set up for her.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, Matthew was acutely aware that his mother could be coming around with in the next few hours if she found out he had landed.

Not wanting to be around for her to catch him, Matthew was ready to bolt.

"Mia, I'm going to head out. I have some errands to run."

He called out to the girl in the other room.

"What? Where are you going?" She sounded understandably confused. After all they had only been in the apartment for a few minutes.

"I just have to check some things out."He said, not bothering to explain.

She would be fine, he thought, Nathaniel would come soon and they would both go and explore the city.

"Leave a note if you and Nathaniel go out." He told her, as she came to see him.

She gave him a questioning look.

"Okay? But when will you be getting back?" She asked, as he walked to the door.

"In a while." He said, closing the door behind him.