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I HELD ONTO THE strap of my suitcase while I stood at the main entrance of the manor. Lino, Laurence, and Adeline were standing in line behind me, while master Claudio, whose face looked neutral, stared at me while holding onto his plague doctor mask.

     "Mateo told me that it would only be for one night. I hope you enjoy your time with him, my dear Bishop," Claudio tells me, making me hold onto the strap of my bag even tighter.

     "I will see you tomorrow. All of us at the manor will be waiting for your return," he continues to say.

     Why did Claudio agree to this? Why did he tell me to go despite knowing the fact that I may never return again? Is he planning something? Should I just stay?

    "Why did you permit me to come on this trip?" I finally ask.

    "Teo told me that he'll bring you home safely after," Claudio answers instead, and I could perfectly guess that he's not going to tell me his reasons even if I force him to.

     "You trust Teo that much?" I ask him next, and this time, Claudio's expression changes. He paused and took a step forward until he was now standing just a few inches away from me. He then lifts his hand up and gently touches my cheek. "I do not trust him. But what I do trust...is your fear."

    Fear?

    "You will return, Bishop. Whether you decide to run away or hide, you will return to me. That is something I am certain of," Claudio says with confidence as his hand continues to caress my skin. I wanted to push him away from me, but before I could even make my move, Lino touched my shoulder, interrupting our pleasant conversation.

     "We should go," he says, looking directly at Claudio.

     Claudio looks back at him in silence, but after a couple of seconds, he chuckles and finally lets go of me. "You may go."

     Claudio continues to stare at me as Lino takes the suitcase from my hand and walks out of the manor. I turn my head and look back at little Adie and Laurence. Adie gave me a sad smile while Laurence spoke nothing but nodded his head as if we understood each other's silence.

     I take a deep breath and turn my head to look back at Claudio for one last time. He smiles at me and waves goodbye as I finally walk out of the manor—the Hell House.

     Lino was waiting for me outside, holding the car door open for me while I approached him. "Watch your head," he says as I finally head inside the back of the car. Lino closes the door and goes to the driver's seat. He adjusts the rear-view mirror and looks straight at me before starting the car and driving away.

     I look out of the window and stare at the manor as it becomes smaller and smaller. For some reason, driving away like this made me feel nervous. But what scared me the most were the words that Claudio told me before I left. This was the perfect opportunity for me to run away, but his confidence that I would return made me feel uneasy.

     "Do you love this man, Bishop?" Lino suddenly asks, making me remove my eyes from the window to look back at him through the rear-view mirror.

     "Who?" 

     "The police officer, Mateo Ricci. Do you love him?" He asked me again, and the question was so sudden that I wasn't able to give a reply. It wasn't because I was unsure or because I didn't know what the answer would be. I wasn't able to give an immediate answer because I wasn't the right person to answer it in the first place.

     "Are you asking me, or are you asking the others?" I ask back, making Lino furrow his brows in confusion.

     "Who else would be in love with him other than you?" He wonders, and I look out of the window again, catching a glimpse of the ocean in a distance.

     "I don't know. Whenever I'm with Teo, I feel...whole. I feel like I'm not myself. I feel as though I'm not Bishop but someone else, and that someone is there but not there at the same time," I try to explain as much as I can because I was confused about it myself. "Why are you asking me this?" 

     Lino adjusts in his seat and grips the steering wheel, almost like I asked an uncomfortable question.

     "I asked because if you truly did love this man—" Lino pauses and looks straight at me through the rearview mirror before continuing, "You must return to the manor no matter what. Whatever happens, whatever you hear or see, promise me that you will return."

     "Why? Do you know something that I don't?"

     "I don't," Lino immediately defends. "But I do know that master Claudio sees that officer as your weakness. If you try to cross him, you will surely regret it."

     "And why should I trust the opinion of the man who is considered Claudio's mad dog?" I then asked next, not to offend him, but because I was genuinely curious, and I wanted to hear what Lino would say about it.

     Lino was quiet for a while, thinking of an answer to my question. After a couple of seconds, Lino takes a deep breath and finally opens his mouth. "You once told me that I did not swear my loyalty to master Claudio. Instead, he sold me fear that was masked in an act of goodwill. Ever since that day, I have thought about those words over and over again. But after some time, I realized that you were wrong."

     "How so?"

     "Like a mad dog, I followed him and swore my loyalty to him—that is the absolute truth. I swore my life to our master, but ever since the first plague, I realized that we are no longer serving him but doctor Giovanni de Vincenzo. The master who saved me...he died the moment the first plague was released. I am no longer loyal to the man in the mask. And I hope you are no longer in love with him too."

     "I was never in love with him," I answer way too fast, causing Lino to chuckle.

     I smiled at him, and the atmosphere between the two of us became light that it instantly made me feel better.

     "Why do you think master Claudio agreed to this?" I ask this time, and Lino takes another deep breath while his eyes are glued on the road.

     "I don't know. But he's a doctor, isn't he? He must be waiting for something, maybe something like a reaction. It's almost like he's considering this as an experiment. If I were you, don't let his reason bother you. Enjoy your time with the officer as much as you can. Show him that your fear will not spoil your fun," Lino encourages this time. I'm still not used to him speaking in such a manner, but I appreciate this change.

     Well, maybe not so much of a change, but an eye-opener. Lino has always been kind, after all. I just didn't want to see it. Whenever people show kindness, my first instinct is always to put my guard up. That's why Lino and I never met eye to eye. 

     "Take care of little Adie while I am away. Don't argue with Laurence, and make sure to wash the dishes tomorrow," I reminded him.

     "Such a reliable butler you are," Lino sarcastically replies, and all I can do is chuckle.

     I look back at the window again and realize we are now in town. It was still early in the morning, so the townspeople were out doing their daily routine. Whenever we visit the town, it always gives me a small shock because of how different it is compared to the dark and barren area surrounding the manor.

     "We're here," Lino tells me as he parks the car in front of the police station. "Make sure you don't forget your suitcase."

     "I won't. Thank you," I reply, grabbing the suitcase beside me and reaching out to open the door. But before I could even step out, Lino turned around and suddenly handed something over to me.

     "What is it?" I ask as I look down at the item in my hand. I didn't know what it was at first, but I was surprised to see that it was actually the container of my eye contact.

     "You found it?"

     "Adeline found it when she was cleaning your room. We properly cleansed it for you with the eye solution in your bathroom. I think it's safe to use now," Lino explains.

     "Thank you."

     I opened the container and found my brown contact lens. I stared at it for a while and almost decided not to put it on, but I immediately stood from my seat to lean at the front so I could face the rearview mirror. I stared at my eyes for a couple more seconds, but after debating with myself, I finally decided to put it on.

     It stung for a bit, but I blinked it off and looked back at my reflection, where my other eye was now covered.

     "Thank you," I say again, turning my head to look back at Lino, who was now just inches away from my face.

     Lino doesn't say anything and nods his head in reply. I didn't say anything either as I reached out to touch the scar on his face. Lino flinches, but he doesn't push me away. The two of us were silent, but after a while, I leaned close and gently kissed his scarred cheek.

     "Thank you," I repeated for the third time before moving away from him.

     Lino touches his cheek in surprise as I rush out of the car, slamming the door shut and pretending like I did not just give him a kiss. It was innocent and not sexual, but I think that was the exact reason why I felt a bit embarrassed.

     I ran towards the police station but stopped right at the entrance to look back at the car. The car windows were tinted, so I couldn't really see Lino properly, but I could tell that he was looking back at me, so with a shy smile on my face, I finally waved goodbye before running inside the building.

     The police station was small, but it was filled with people. There were officers, civilians, and an old woman who was complaining about her missing cat.

     "Sir Bishop!" A voice suddenly calls out, making me turn my head to face him.

     A tall man approaches me wearing a similar uniform that Teo has. He had this bright smile on him, and I could tell that he knew who I was even though I couldn't even remember who he was.

     "You're sir Bishop. Claudio's butler. I've seen you around town a couple of times. I was once partnered with the chief," the man explains, making me realize that I did see him once. I think it was during the time when an old man with Alzheimer's was painting in the middle of town, and the police had to take him home. He was one of the officers that Mateo was with.

     "Did sir Claudio send you? Did something happen?" He continues to ask. Claudio really is such an important man that even the police are worried about his well-being.

     "N-No, he did not. Don't worry," I immediately say, and the officer looks down and notices the suitcase I'm holding.

    "Are you perhaps...running away?" He then asks, but just when I am about to open my mouth to explain myself, a group of men walks out from one of the rooms. They were all so intimidating that the officer that was speaking to me even moved away from them.

    I gripped the strap of my suitcase and pressed my back on the wall so I wouldn't stand in the way. But as the men walked past us, a familiar officer followed behind them. He looks around and spots me, instantly making his eyes widen in shock. Soon after, a dimpled smile appears on his face, leaving me in a complete trance.

     How can Mateo Ricci look so handsome?

     "Bishop! You really came as I requested," He announces with no hint of shame, making everyone around him stop so they could look back at me.

     I awkwardly smile and wave my hand to him. "I came," I repeated, and the smile on Teo's face widened even more.

     "It's great to see you, sir Bishop," one of the men with him says.

    "Good day, Bishop," another officer greeted me while tilting his hat.

     The other men tried to speak to me, but Teo quickly blocked my view of them so they could no longer say anything.

     "We just finished our meeting. Let's talk in my office first," Teo says, grabbing the suitcase in my hand so he can carry it for me. He then bids farewell to the other men he was with and leads me to a different hallway.

     "Did I come in the wrong time?" I ask, worried that I disrupted his work.

     "Of course not. You came at the perfect time. I was just about to clock out," Teo explains. "I already told the others I'll be gone for two days. I even have the things I need for our trip. You can say that I'm very much excited. I've never been this excited for a trip since I was ten."

     I chuckled at what he said and continued to follow beside him.

     "To be honest with you, I was worried that Claudio might not agree to this because you're such a capable butler, and he might not be able to do anything by himself, but I'm glad he called me yesterday to give his permission. He really is such a dear friend," Teo then says while I laugh at the first statement he made.

    "Anyway, here we are."

     Teo stopped at a door with a nameplate that said 'Chief of police Office.' He opened the door and gestured for me to come inside first, so I excused myself and got in as Teo followed right behind me.

     "You can take a seat while I fix my things."

     Teo places my suitcase on a chair and starts fixing the files on top of his desk. While he was doing that, I didn't take a seat and decided to look around his office instead.

     There were shelves filled with books, a portrait of him in his uniform, some trophies, certificates, and boxes filled with papers. It was a messy office, but it was a good mess if that made any sense. It felt like you could still breathe despite the number of cluttered items around the room.

     "How long have you been working as a police officer?" I ask while I stare at the photos that are hanging on the wall.

     "Let's see...I'm thirty-four now, so about ten years," he answers.

     I quickly turn my head to him and decide to tease him a little. "Thirty-four? You're already thirty-four years old?" I ask with a shocked tone.

     "Why? Does that bother you?" Teo quickly asks back, now removing his eyes from the files he was arranging so he could look at me with a sly smile on his face. I chuckle and decide not to answer him, so Teo immediately puts the folders down so he can approach me. He grabs my waist and pulls me towards him, pressing my body against him while his face stops just inches away from mine.

    "My age doesn't matter to you though," he whispers close to my ear. "After all, I'm still strong enough to lift you off the ground like last time."

    His hot breath made me shiver. I try to move away from him, but Teo locks me in his arms so I wouldn't be able to escape. I stare at him for a while and reach out to remove his cap. "Were you working all night?" I ask while I fix his hair for him.

     Teo pouts like a baby and nods his head, making me hit him with his cap. He laughs, but then he wraps his arms around my waist tighter and leans close to kiss my forehead. "It's fine. As long as I am with you, I won't feel tired."

     "You just got out of the hospital too you know, and you had your mother's funeral the other day. Do you really think it's okay for us to have this trip?" I ask him, genuinely concerned.

     "Well, if you were so unsure, you wouldn't have brought your suitcase with you. If you ask me, you're just as excited about this trip as I am," he teased this time, and I finally pushed him away from me.

     "I always do, my love."

     My love. Amore mio.

    Every time he says that sweet endearment, my heart would uncontrollably beats faster. How can simple words make me feel this thrilled?

     "I have prepared for everything, so there's nothing for you to worry about. We'll ride the train to Sta. Rosalia, that's an hour's ride from Sorrento, so we'll have to drive there first. Don't worry. I already asked someone to drive us there," Teo explained with such excitement that I couldn't help but smile with him.

     "Once we arrive at Sta. Rosalia, we'll stay in this little inn. I have already rented a room. And then we'll eat lunch at a local restaurant nearby and look around the city. I visited the place a few years ago and remembered this beautiful park near a lake. We can visit that too if you like. How does that sound?" Teo asks, looking at me.

      "It sounds perfect," I answer, and Teo walks towards me again to gently touch my cheek. His hands weren't soft, but they felt safe. So I closed my eyes and reached out to touch it.

     "Thank you for inviting me to this trip," I say before opening my eyes.

     Teo was smiling at me while his thumb continued to caress my cheek. "Thank you for agreeing to it. Let's enjoy this two-day trip together, okay?"

     "Okay."

     Two days.

     Just two days.

     Let me enjoy this trip for two days.

     And then I'll return to the manor as promised. I'll return to the hell which I can't seem to run away from. I'll return to the master who has chained me with iron that I can't seem to break. I will return...because my fear will bring me back like he already predicted.

     "Shall we go?"

to be continued...