Ronaldo looks at my wrists before shifting his eyes up to meet mine. “Better?”
“Much better.”
“Don’t get too comfortable,” he says as he lies on his back and stares up at the ceiling. “They never leave you alone for long. Welcome to hell, Gia.”
Chapter Four
Day 3
I was only twenty-two when Toni told me he loved me. It was random but I will never be able to forget it.
“Gia baby…you know you’re my world. My girl. My giiirrrlll!” Toni’s voice screeched as he played his acoustic guitar. He sounded terrible with his deep, gravelly voice. I laughed so damn hard, and he dropped his guitar so quick, it seemed unreal. His face turned serious, but his eyes were still playful.
“What?” he asked rhetorically. “You don’t like my song, Gia baby?”
“You sound like road kill,” I teased.
“But you love this road kill’s cock, huh?” He stood up from the recliner in the corner of my bedroom, walked towards my bed where I was sitting, and slid between my legs.
I glanced at the door, giggling as I pushed his chest. “Toni, stop. Daddy is right downstairs.”
“So what? I’m tired of fucking hiding this, Gia. You’re my fucking woman. I fucking love you and I shouldn’t have to pretend I fucking don’t.”
My eyes grew as wide as discs. I studied his face, searching for the bullshit behind his statement. But his face was so damn sincere and his blue eyes were so clear. There was no trace of a lie. No shame. He meant it.
“You love me?” I asked, stroking his cheek.
“With all of my fucking heart, baby. And I’m going to marry the shit out of you one day. You hear me? I mean it. I want you, baby. You.” He kissed me on the lips. “Nobody else but you, Gia baby.”
“Wake up. Eat.” The tip of Axe Man’s boot nudges me in the ribs. I roll over weakly, focusing on the slop on the plate.
“What the hell is this?” I hiss. I don’t even sound like myself anymore. I sound disgusting.
“Food, bitch. Now eat.”
I glance at Ronaldo. He shakes his head and I take that as a sign not to argue right now. Instead of doing what I feel deep in my soul—which is grabbing a handful of the pig slop, tossing it in Axe Man’s face, and then kicking him in the balls before making a run for it—I sit up and study it.
It’s brown and pink in some places. Corn sticks out of it, as well as some other shit I don’t want to know the name of. On the side is a slice of dry sandwich bread and a half rotten apple.
Axe Man walks back to the cell door and stomps away.
I watch him until he’s disappeared. I hear the door creak on its hinges and then slam shut, echoing through the hallway.
“Hope you’ll enjoy drinking your spit after eating that,” Ronaldo says.
I press my dry lips together. “Do you want some?”
“Nah, I’m good. You shouldn’t eat it either. I know you’re hungry but it’ll give you a serious case of the shits.”
I groan, shoving the tray away. Scooting towards the wall, I rest my back on it and stare up at the window above. It’s too high to reach. Even if Ronaldo gave me a boost, I wouldn’t be able to get a good look.
I try and imagine the beach. I bet it’s lovely—a shimmery, turquoise blue with seagulls and white sand. I hear the gulls often. It’s like they talk to me sometimes—demanding that I find a way out of this shithole.
“I need to get out of here,” I murmur.
“You and me both.” Ronaldo drops his head, focusing on the loose hay on the floor. “You asked me about my family. Did you have a lot of family and friends where you came from?”
I laugh. “Well, my mom and dad died not too long ago. Mom passed away first. Never had any siblings. I had a ton of friends—but I wouldn’t exactly call them friends. More like…acquaintances.” I clear my throat. “All I really needed was Antonio. He was my best friend. My lover. Protector…for a while anyway.”
“Marriage is a fucking joke,” he states with snide.
I frown. “No it’s not. Marriage is beautiful. It’s two spirits coming together and bonding into one.”
“All smoke and mirrors. Straight bullshit.”
I cross my arms. “I take it you’ve never been in love.”
“Oh, I have.” He looks up at the ceiling. “Loved her for eight years. Asked her to marry me, she said she couldn’t because I was too unpredictable. What the fuck did she expect after knowing me for eight years? She was a waste of my goddamn time.”
“That’s only one woman and she clearly didn’t love you if she said something like that after you asked for her hand in marriage. There are plenty of other women out there—”