Chapter 4: GABRIEL

“Have you heard? Three people got expelled this morning.”

“Really, who?”

“Victoria Fontane, Jessica Adler, and Amber Vaughn.”

“What the heck happened?”

“I’m not sure, still waiting for the details, but apparently, it had something to do with Gabe Russo.”

“Whoa, they messed with him? Are they dense? That guy is like Loki.”

“Shh, he’s right over there. He’ll hear you.”

Loki? Have I been too soft? How dare he? Still, I had to hide a smile. Nana works fast. I kept my eyes closed, and my head leaned back against the chair in the dining hall where the others were eating lunch at my table. It was more crowded today than any other, but I didn’t complain because they were here to see Gianna.

I know she heard the whispers because her body tensed up, and I felt her head swivel in my direction. When the shakes started, I covered her hand on the table with mine but didn’t open my eyes. I was too busy navigating my thoughts around what I suspect would be Victoria’s next move. Now that she was off school grounds, Gianna would have one place free of her and could see the sun now that she was out from behind her damn shadow.

The twins and their friends carried on their conversations, mostly about the party or Gianna’s transformation, without missing a beat, and she soon settled down again. “Has everyone found their dresses yet?”

“Girl, please, is that a question?” Tasha answered Rosa.

“I haven’t. I only just got my invite. What about you, Emily?”

“No, what’s everyone wearing? I never even saw the invitation, it went to my mom’s inbox, and she called me squealing. I don’t think she ever got around to telling me the dress code.”

“It’s formal with a princess theme. Everyone is wearing ballgowns from Chic boutique in New York, or CoutureCand.”

“Gia, did you get your gown yet?” One of her two new acquaintances asked.

“I’m choosing her gown.” I just dropped that in there because I could and because I knew it would cause a stir. I’m sure every word, every move, will get back to the right people.

Victoria’s two friends who hadn’t been in attendance for this morning’s theatrics were sitting across the room looking scared, as they should.

“I can’t stand the cuteness. Who knew Loki could be so sweet?” Obviously, Tasha had overheard the conversation at the table next to ours.

“Yo Loki, does Thor know you borrowed his hammer?” Lance, the shit-stirrer, plopped down on the other side of me. “Did you guys hear the news? Victoria got the boot.”

“You’re like two hours late.” Tasha threw the piece of paper from her straw at him.

Gianna had gone quiet, so I peeped my eye open to see that she was done eating. I knew she was uncomfortable with all the attention and couldn’t blame her; these girls are all social butterflies, including the shy one, Emily, who, unlike Gianna, had a strong family backing. Yes, I checked. I’m not about to let anyone near her that doesn’t deserve to be in her orbit.

“We’ll see you guys later.” I stood and helped her up from her seat, keeping her hand in mine as we walked through the dining hall and out the door. I should be checking on my little scheme against the one in Sicily, but I didn’t feel right leaving her alone just yet. “You wanna ask me something?” I felt her looking at me and looking away again as we walked, so I figured she was dying to ask me a question.

“What happened to Victoria?”

“Do you really care?”

“No, it’s just… my dad and her mom are going to be really angry; they’ll probably blame me.” I pulled my phone that I had yet to give back to her from my pocket. “Call your dad.” She bit into her bottom lip, looking embarrassed.

“I don’t know the number off-hand. I have it written down….”

“And you don’t see anything wrong with that. Why do you care about people who care nothing about you? Don’t you cry, don’t fucking cry, or I’ll go find your father and separate his head from his neck.” Shit, fuck, she wasn’t supposed to see this side of me. How did she pull that out of me so easily?

I was shook for a few seconds while I struggled to reel myself back in. That went from zero to a hundred real quick. She looked shocked, her eyes wide in that way only the innocent could pull off. All I needed was for her bottom lip to tremble so I could lose my shit.

“Don’t look at me like that. It’s best you know right now who I really am.” The cat’s already out of the bag; what’s the use of struggling to put it back in? Apparently, Sofia isn’t the only one I’m willing to commit murder for. I didn’t even know until I saw the sheen of tears in her eyes over that piece of shit who doesn’t deserve someone as beautiful as she with that pure heart to care for them.

Plus, the more she sees of the real me, the less likely she’d be to fall in love. On the heels of that thought was a strong sense of loss and a loneliness that I’d never felt before. I’d programmed myself to be present in life without really being there, even with family and those closest to me. But each moment spent with her brings a kind of longing that I cannot control. She confuses the hell out of me.

I watched her struggle to compose herself, watched the sadness slowly leave her eyes as she called on whatever she needed to, to pull herself together. “You good? You’re not gonna cry?” Yeah, you might not wanna do that shit in front of me ever again. She nodded her head that she was okay, but she looked spooked. “Let’s take a walk around campus. You’ve probably not seen much of it since you’ve been here. Those friends of yours, Emily and Rachel, they board here?”

“Why do you wanna know that?” Her petulant outburst surprised both of us, and I just stared at her in shock. She looked flustered the longer I stared and tried in vain to disappear behind her hair. There was jealousy and a hint of fire behind those words, and I didn’t know whether to be proud or amused.

She makes me want to laugh. I didn’t recognize the sensation before since it’s so foreign to me, but she tickles something inside of me that had lain dormant for a very long time. “You’re cute; you know that. Sheath your claws and stop hissing; there’s no need to be jealous.”

“I’m not.” She mumbled the words and went back to hiding again.

I retook the hand she’d pulled away from me in her little show of pique, feeling a kind of warmth that has been missing from my life forever. I realized now that I had removed one of the obstacles from her path that I was actually looking forward to the next step. There was still a long way to go, but I no longer felt detached, like I was just doing it to do it like I would for any stranger in need.

I was willing to admit, at least to myself, that she was more than just a chore or one of my projects. In short, I think I like her, which is a big step for me. “What’re you smiling about?” She’s getting braver with the questions.

“Am I? I didn’t realize it.” I didn’t take her to my hiding spot or to an out-of-the-way place away from prying eyes. I had the insane urge to walk in the sunshine with her. Wait, sunshine, shit. “Are you cold?”

It’s freaking fall, and I forgot to get her a coat or jacket. I’m so used to wearing just sweaters this time of year that I forget most people are usually freezing by now. At least that’s what the women in my family claim when I turn the AC on in October. “I’m not too cold to walk.” She said the words in a rush as if she thought I’d turn back, and something about her wanting to stay made something inside me soften.

Her eyes, those eyes that first caught my attention and reeled me in, gazed up at me now with longing and hope and just a sad hint of fear. See, this is what I was afraid of. Exactly when did I cross the line? I never meant for her to see anything in me or want anything from me other than what I am willing to give.

But when she looks at me like that, and her being her, with all the baggage that she comes with, something in me wants to hold on, to shelter, to protect. “I’m going to get you a pair of the darkest shades on the market.” She squinted at me like I’d spoken a foreign language.

“Why?” Because your eyes could be my downfall. I didn’t answer; of course, I just held her hand a little tighter and carried on walking.

***

BECKY

***

I need a cigarette or something much stronger. My nerves are shot, and no matter what I do, I can’t beat the shakes. I’ve grown hoarse from yelling; now I’m just sitting here waiting for the other shoe to drop. I dread having to tell Felix about this, I don’t have the face, plus lately, he seems to be pulling away just here in the last couple of days.

When I first got the call to come to pick Victoria up from school, I thought she’d fallen ill or something less stressful. I never would’ve thought in a million years that it would be over something like this. And now she’s not even talking, just locked herself away in her room, so I have no idea what really happened. All they’d say is that she bullied some other kid, and they have it on film.

I can’t believe Victoria could be that careless; she has never been before. She knows as well as I do how much our livelihood depends on us showing the world and Felix, especially Felix, the innocent face we’ve both worn for the last decade or so.

I’ve worked too hard, endured too much, for it to all fall apart like this. Something tells me this has something to do with Gia. The little bitch is turning out to be just as much of a pain in the ass as her mother, the perfect saint with the gold spoon in her mouth.

Thinking of her brought to mind that picture, the one they claim is Gia, but I know better. There’s no way two people could look that much alike unless they were twins. Someone had found an old picture of Adrienne somewhere and, with technology being what it is, had placed her there at that table with those people.

It’s been years since I’ve seen Gia’s body, but I’m sure there’s no way she could have the same shape, height, and physical makeup as her long-dead mother. But why would someone do this? And who? What do they know? I bit my nails down to the quick as I slouched over in the chair, rocking from nerves and anxiety.

If I had someone to turn to, someone who could give me some kind of guidance in my moment of need, I wouldn’t be feeling this bereft. But there’s no one. The women of this town have never quite accepted me as one of their own. When Adrienne was alive, they’d tolerated me for her sake, but I didn’t mind. It was better than nothing.

After her death, that had come to a sudden end, and even the ones who’d still given me the time of day had dropped me like a hot potato once the rumors started. Those stupid rumors that have followed me for the last decade. At least Victoria had made a place for herself among their daughters, but that too may have come to an end.

That Adler bitch had blamed my kid in the principal’s office for the girls getting expelled. I’ll never forget her words or the embarrassment they caused. ‘I should never have let my daughter keep company with someone like yours.’ Just what exactly did she mean by that? Our house is as big as hers, and Felix makes more money than her husband, the drunk, so how is my kid any different from hers.

Are they still looking down on us because we weren’t born into money like the rest of them? If that’s not bad enough, the principal, someone I’d known and worked with when I worked for the school years earlier, refused to hear any argument. The expulsion was permanent, with no room for discussion. But how could that be? Felix still makes a hefty donation to the school every year, and now he’s out over fifty grand because tuition is nonrefundable.

If my kid can’t go, then I must find a way to talk Felix into taking Gia out of there as well. How would it look to have one daughter attending a prestigious private school while the other goes to a public one? I’m sure I can get him to see my point. Just a few weeks ago, I could’ve played the sisters card, and he’d have fallen for it.

But with him acting the way he has been, I’m not sure it would work. Whatever happens, if I don’t make this right, Victoria is going to cause trouble. She hates losing to Gia, and I seem to have lost control of her, so there’s no telling how she’d react if things don’t go her way.

The phone rang, almost making me jump out of my skin. The number looked vaguely familiar, and I couldn’t be bothered, but I can’t afford to let any calls go unanswered, not with things so up in the air like this. “Hello.”

“Yes, I’m calling about the car. Have you given it some more thought?” Oh hell, I’d forgotten all about that. The first time he called, I’d been tempted but knew Felix would not be pleased, and it might lead to more trouble than I needed if I sold the car that rightfully belonged to his precious daughter.

But now, after today, in fact, these last few days, I’m not sure I can afford to pass up a deal like this man was offering. “How did you say you heard about the car again?”

“I checked the registry and found one registered to this address. Look, if you’re holding out for a better deal, I have to tell you, you won’t find one. There aren’t that many people willing to pay three hundred grand cash upfront. I don’t have much time for you to make up your mind; if you’re not interested, I’ll look elsewhere, have a nice day.”

“No, wait, wait, let me think a minute.” I bit my nail until it bled. “I’ll do it. How soon did you say you can get me the check?”

“As soon as you give me the okay, I can have someone in your area pick it up and drop off the check.”

“How do I know you’re legit?”

“It’s a cashier’s check., directly from the bank.” I don’t know much, but I know you can’t be swindled that easily with one of those.

“Okay, that’s fine, then; you can pick it up any time before six, anything later, and you’ll have to wait until tomorrow.”

“I can bring cash if you’d prefer.” The magic words. I don’t know much about cashier’s checks, but I know plenty about money. “I would prefer cash if you don’t mind.” He must be loaded if he can come up with that kind of money on such short notice.

“I can have someone there in half an hour. Make sure you have the papers ready.”

“Sure, everything will be ready when your guy gets here.”

I hung up the phone and ran upstairs to the safe, where I knew Felix kept the paperwork for the car.

How is this person to know that my name isn’t on the bill of sale? I doubt he’d be asking for ID. Felix hardly ever looks in the garage, so it might be a while before he notices the car missing. In the meantime, I can wait until some time has passed and report it missing, while I have a nice little nest egg in case Felix wises up before I’ve got all my ducks in a row.