I looked at my irate daughter, more than a little pissed at her as well. “Why couldn’t you stay away from her at school? I told you not to do anything to her away from the house, especially not where others may see you.”
“What’s the point of bringing that up now? What’re we going to do about my car? It’s bad enough I never got the car I wanted, now the one I got is destroyed. It’s not even been a year yet.”
“The car you wanted was left to that little bitch by her mom. There was nothing I could do about it since her grandmother threatened to sue.”
“Does Felix even know she has it? She’s not eighteen yet; how did they get it anyway? Does that have anything to do with the counterfeit money you had?”
“No-no, that’s two separate things; one thing has nothing to do with the other.” She didn’t look like she believed me, but I wasn’t very interested at the moment. I had bigger things to worry about than her temper tantrums.
I thought that kid was harmless enough; I mean, he’s only eighteen, and from a preppy stuck-up family, how much trouble could he be? But the way he brought the car and dumped it, the look in his eyes when he looked at us, I’m not so sure. I legit felt a shiver down my spine. That added to the pressure in my head from everything coming at me so fast is almost too much to handle.
I feel like a cat on a hot tin roof waiting for the other shoe to drop. “Oh, hello, yes, I need someone to tow an old car. Do you do that?”
“We do. What’s the address, ma’am. Three oh two Sycamore Lane. Hello, hello.” I looked at the phone in disbelief. This is the third and last towing company in the area, and they’ve all had the same reaction. If I didn’t know better, I’d swear it was some kind of conspiracy.
“MOM!”
“Victoria, will you shut the fuck up?” We both stopped at my outburst.
“I’ve lost too much this week. First getting expelled from school, now this. While Gia is at the Russo mansion living like a queen, and I’m stuck in this dump.” She kicked the wall before running from the room in hysterics.
GIANNA
I woke feeling sore and a bit disoriented. My eyes came open slowly until I realized Gabriel was not in bed beside me, and everything came rushing back. I wish my mind had stopped on the beauty of what we shared, but no, it went back to my meeting with Greta. It’s weird how I could hardly recall much about her before; her face was usually just a blur whenever I tried to think of it.
But within seconds of seeing her, I wanted to run into her arms. If not for Gabriel, I might’ve. If not for him having my back and me no longer feeling alone in the world, I would’ve spilled my guts all over that poor woman the way I used to as a child. I remembered us baking cookies together, her patience as she answered the questions of an inquisitive child. And most of all, I remembered how kind she was to my mom.
I’d always been a bit angry with her, I realized, for leaving so soon after mom passed. But her guilt and tears placed me in the position of having to take a step back as a seventeen-year-old who now knew a little bit more than the abandoned five-year-old me did.
I felt sorry for her and a whole lot of other emotions that I couldn’t name, and things only got worse when she told me what she remembered about my mom’s passing. I’d gone numb after that. It’s as if my whole body shut down, and I just needed to get to Gabriel. He was like a beacon in a storm.
As much as I’ve told myself lately not to lean on him too much, that he’s too young to carry my burdens, he’s all I wanted when her words tore away the last shroud of innocence I had left and left me feeling raw, like an open wound.
Is that why I wanted to make love with Gabriel? I don’t know. I have no idea where that savage need came from. Should I be ashamed that upon hearing about my mother’s death, the only thing I wanted was to be close to Gabriel? I’m sure there’s a name for what happened to my emotions, what made me feel as if I’d die if he turned me away, but it’s not really important right now because those feelings have not yet left me.
Where is he? I’ve been awake for a few minutes, and already it feels as if I’d go insane here by myself. I don’t want to be alone, why would he leave me alone after…? I hopped down off the bed and felt a pulling between my thighs and a twinge that went all the way inside. My face went up in flames, and it only got worse when I saw the blood on his sheets. Mortified!