ElevenAfter I talked with Nero, I didn’t go to the apartment. Instead, I took a bus home and texted Laura that I would be staying with my mom. When I got there, I told mom everything. She hugged me, pulled me inside, and then made me some Ribollita. I sat with her on my old bed and cried into her arms.“You know, your father wouldn’t have wanted this,” said Mama, “you going after that boy…”“I know,” I said, “I shouldn’t have done it…I shouldn’t have been with him. But I was so angry after he died…nothing made sense anymore. That accident took away the last part of my senior year. It should have gone so differently. When I saw Cesare at that welcome back party, all I could think about was revenge.”“So, you let him take your virginity as what? A consolation prize?” Mama said.I glared at her. “I didn’t plan on getting pregnant. I’ve been on the pill since I was a teenager because of my acne. Tori just…happened.”Mama sighed. “I know. I love my granddaughter too, don’t for one second
TwelveI stayed at my mothers for a few days. When she went to work, I studied, and did work online. I cleaned up a little. I cooked and made her dinner when she came home. It had been almost a week and I hadn’t answered any calls or messages from anyone. Finally, one afternoon, there was a knock on the brownstone’s door.I flinched at the sound of it. “Shit.” I went to the door and I peaked through the hole. I opened the door and realized that it was actually Nero. “What are you doing here?”“You wouldn’t answer,” he said, “I’ve been trying to get in touch with you for days.”I gripped the door tightly. “I’m sorry. I wanted to stay away from the drama. I thought that it was better that I not be around the two of them right now.”“Call Laura,” he told me.I blinked. “Um…okay. Why?”“Because she’s worried about you, and just because her brother is an asshole, that doesn’t mean that you should be pushing her away. She’s good people.”I glared accusatorily had him. “Did you do something
ThirteenI was in a moving car. That was the first thing I noticed when I woke up. I looked out the window, trying to figure out where I was. I heard music playing on the radio, a song I didn’t recognize. I glanced over to the side and my heart pounded against my chest when I realized that I was with Cesare.“Hello, Emmilia.”I shivered. “Cesare…” I blinked. “What happened?”Cesare smiled. The kind of smile that made him look like the devil come to collect. “You’re running away from me, Emmilia. I can’t let that happened.”I groaned. “I already told you…I don’t want you.”He laughed. “You’re lying.”“I’m not,” I insisted.He reached out and traced my arm. I shivered again. Fuck. He smiled even wider. “I barely did anything that time. Imagine all of the noises that I could have you making if you let me.”“Where are you taking me?” I asked.“I’ve already taken you there.”“What are you talking about?”“I wanted alone time with you to talk. So, I took you to my family’s house in The Hamp
FourteenThe car had been a dream.Or a nightmare. I wasn’t sure anymore. Laura took me back to our dorm, with Billy and Giovani driving us. Mama said she would give me time to think about what I wanted to do. When I was alone with Laura at home, she asked, “Did my brother hurt you when you two were together?”I glanced at her. “What? Why would you think that?”She sighed. “Nero stopped by. He wouldn’t tell me everything that happened, but I knew it had something to do with that damned picture Cesare posted. He thinks because he’s named after an Emperor that he rules the world… he hasn’t yet learned that he doesn’t. It’s only that most girls when they see Cesare, they want him to fall in love with him. He’s totally helpless when it comes to you but you don’t seem to want anything to do with him.”“It’s not him,” I admitted, “It’s the underworld. You know what it’s like. You had to change your whole life because your family gets death threats…if you had it your way, would you even be h
Fifteen“I want you to come with me,” said Donatello.I couldn’t wrap my mind around the news that he had told me. How had he been my father this whole time? I suppose it explained why I could never seem to escape the underground. I was exactly like Laura. A mafia princess. I didn’t like thinking about that idea.At least, when I had thought The Fixer was my father, he had been someone from the outside.“But…the man that I thought was my father…”“He’s your uncle,” Donatello said, “he stopped working for the mob a long time ago. He went freelance because he didn’t want to be associated with our family. I cleaned up the business a lot. It took time and he was part of that.”“What about the woman I thought was my mother?” I asked.Donatello walked over to the kitchen table and sat down without being asked. He gestured for me to sit down next to him. I did as told, the same way I always did for as long as he had been in my life. He was the kind of figure that you simply didn’t say no to.
Sixteen“This is your security guard.” I looked from my father, Donatello, to the ‘security guard’ standing in front of me. It wasn’t Cesare. No, he would never stoop so low to be a security guard. He was a business man. He had to be the top dog. The president of the frat or CEO or whatever it was. But Galileo, his brother, was used to being second. He was okay with standing in his brother’s shadow. Especially if it meant tormenting the girl that his brother was in love with. I glared at Galileo, then back at my father. “No. I don’t like this.” “Then, you’ve got to marry Cesare.” I stiffened. I glanced back at Galileo. “Did your brother put you up to this?” Galileo smirked. “I was offered a job that paid better than the one that I had. I took it. It just so happens to put me in my brothers favor.” I glared at him. “You and your brother both suck.” He laughed. Then he glanced at Donatello. “You were rig
Seventeen Laura glared at her brother who was standing outside of the apartment. She then turned to look at me. “I don’t know what’s going on, but I don’t like this.” I sighed. “This is my punishment for not marrying your brother.” She raised an eyebrow. “My other brother is your punishment for not marrying your brother?” I nodded. “My father, who oh yeah is alive, and is the man I thought was my uncle, has decided that he wants me to come forward as his daughter. He said that I either had to marry your brother, who he’s been working for years with in Italy, or have a security guard. Galileo somehow got offered the job.” Laura made a face. “Gali!” Her brother came into the apartment. “You know I work for her and not for you, right?” “I know,” said Laura, “I still have questions. Why have you suddenly decided to become my best friend’s bodyguard?” Galileo looked me up and down, and licked hi
EighteenIt was bad enough having one Luna brother to deal with. Having both of them around was an absolute nightmare. Cesare had suddenly decided that he needed to spend as much time with Laura as possible. He was always at the apartment. Fixing a bookcase that didn’t need fixing. Moving in random furniture, half-shirtless, when I knew full well that he had enough money to hire someone to do it. Hell, that Laura definitely could have paid for on her own.He lurked.He lurked at the college around my classes. He lurked at the coffee shop that I went to. If we happened to brush past each other in the hallway, he found any excuse that he possibly could to touch my hand. Or an arm. My cheek. My ass.If he even so much as grazed me, my whole world lit up in colors that I hadn’t seen before. It was as if I had only been painting in muted colors my whole life, only to have everything be in neon.Bright. Colorful. And loud. My heart raced, my cheeks flushe