Chapter 5
By the time I walk through my front door, I’m fuming. Yup, I’m beyond pissed. I’m actually fuming. How dare he! Who the heck does he think he is that he can tell me to stay away from his club?
I have more than enough men in my life dictating my every movement. I don’t need to add to that list. Not only am I angry, I’m also humiliated.
It’s not a place for girls like you. Antonio’s words repeat over and over again in my head. What does that even mean? Girls like me.
“Argh, asshole!” I scream. The cuss word feels more than a little foreign on my tongue as I throw my clutch on the entry table.
“Who’s an asshole?” My father’s voice has me jumping out of my damn skin.
“What? Oh my god, don’t sneak up on me like that,” I tell him with a hand pressed firmly to my chest. When I look past him, into my apartment, I realize it’s not just my father who seems to have helped himself to my place. My mom, my uncles, and my nonno are here.
Without a word, I storm down the hall, into my bedroom, and shut the door. I want to slam it. I really do. I want to release the anger that’s raging inside me, but I don’t. Because that’s not who I am. And that’s not what good girls do.
I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower. I need to wash away the remnants of last night’s humiliation. I drop Antonio’s jacket to the floor and then his shirt. Maybe I’ll burn them later, since he saw to it that my Halloween costume was destroyed without my consent.
“Jerk,” I mumble as I step into the stall and stand under the spray. The freezing water has me jumping back a step and waiting for it to warm up before I move under it again.
Why do they all have to be here right now?
I lean my head against the wall. Forcing my limbs to finally move, I cover my body in suds and wash off. The sooner I face the firing squad, so to speak, the sooner they’ll leave.
I pull on some yoga pants and an oversized sweater. When I look at my reflection, I see myself and not the daring woman from last night. Just plain old Matilda. I smile. I happen to like the person I see in front of me now. I shouldn’t need to change to get the attention of a man. Not that my plan worked.
Sure, I went home with him, but not in the way I imagined.
I walk back out to the living room, where I find my father pacing in front of the fireplace. My mom looks at me with a mixture of sympathy and something else I can’t pinpoint. I avoid looking at my nonno. I don’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.
“Where the fuck have you been all night?” my father asks, and I’m immediately taken aback by his tone. My dad never loses his temper with me. With Dante, sure, but my brother usually deserves it.
“Papa, I’m fine,” I tell him.
“I can see that now. Do you have any idea what it’s like to wake up to a phone call from a friend telling me my daughter was arrested? And for prost…” He bites his tongue and shakes his head.
“Obviously I wasn’t doing that. It was a mistake.” I roll my eyes.
“I know that,” he says, running a hand through his hair.
“Sweetie, how about you start at the beginning? Tell us what happened last night.” My mom comes over and wraps an arm around my shoulder. “Sit down. I made you tea.”
“Thanks, Mom. I’m fine, honestly. It was Halloween. I went out with Kinsley and Rosa. Popped outside for some air, and some cops showed up and just assumed I was a streetwalker.”
“What were their names, bella?” Nonno asks.
“I don’t remember,” I lie, because I know exactly why he’s asking, and I refuse to be responsible for any amount of bloodshed.
“Why would they assume you were a streetwalker, exactly?” This question comes from my Zio Theo.
I look at him and smile as a single shoulder lifts into a half shrug. “No idea.”
Zio Matteo laughs. “Okay, obviously, I’ve had the charges dropped, and we all know she’s innocent. So let’s just cool our heads and calm down a bit.”
“Calm down? Try having your daughter arrested and then tell me to calm the fuck down,” Dad grunts.
“Oh, it’s coming. Don’t you worry your pretty little mayoral head about that.” Zio Luca laughs. “No way his daughter is going through life without ending up in her own pair of silver bracelets.”
“Fuck off. Aurora is a fucking angel.” Zio Matteo shoves at Zio Luca’s chest.
“Okay, well, as great as this whole family reunion’s been, I’m kind of tired. So can we continue this at Sunday dinner?” I suggest.
“Yes,” my mom says at the same time my dad says, “Absolutely not.”
“Romeo, let’s go.” Mom stands from the sofa and grabs my father’s arm.
He takes a step before pivoting his glare back on me again. “Wait… Where did you sleep last night? It obviously wasn’t here.”
“At a friend’s,” I tell him.
“What friend?” he counters.
I blink at his question. Darn it, I’m a terrible liar, but no way am I going to tell my father I spent the night at the Gambino house.
“Romeo, leave her alone.” Mom is quick to come to my defense. “Come on, we’re leaving. Tilly, I’ll call you later, after you’ve rested.” She kisses the top of my head.
“Thanks, Mom,” I whisper.
“Okay, we’re going, but this conversation isn’t over, Matilda Olivia,” Dad huffs.
Oh shoot, he’s mad. He used my full name. He only does that when he’s mad. I nod my head and wait for all of them to leave. Except they don’t all leave. My nonno stays behind.
“Tilly, you know you can talk to me. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you,” he says.
“I know, Nonno,” I tell him. Because I do know that.
“Want to tell me where you were last night, then?”
“Not particularly.” I shrug while twisting the fabric of my shirt between my fingers. It’s a nervous habit.
“Why?”
“Because there are some things a girl doesn’t need to share with her father or her grandfather,” I stress.
“I don’t like it. I don’t like that you’ve grown up to be a beautiful young woman. But you have, and Nonna says I need to accept that.”
“Nonna is a wise woman.” I laugh.
“Yes, she is.” He leans forward and kisses my forehead. “I love you, Tilly.”
“Love you too.”
I swipe up my phone, click on the video chat icon, and dial Kinsley and Rosa. They both answer like they’ve been waiting for the call.
“Thank god you’re alive. What the hell happened last night?” Kinsley is the first to get a word out.
“Argh, you wouldn’t believe it if I told you.” I rub a hand down my face as I sit on my bed and get comfortable. I have a feeling this is going to be a long conversation.
“Try us,” Rosa says.
“I got arrested for prostitution.” I sigh.
They release a collective gasp. “What?” Kinsley chokes out.
I go through the whole story of how I ended up in the alley while I was looking for the bathroom. And then how the cop arrested me.
“So, did you call your mom?” Rosa asks.
“Nope. Someone stormed into the station and hauled me out.”
“Which someone?” Kinsley presses.
“Antonio,” I whisper his name, as if saying it too loud will somehow cause him to appear.
“No freaking way.” Rosa’s eyes widen and her jaw drops in shock.
“Yes way.”
“And then what happened?” Kinsley does a twirling motion with her fingers, her subtle way of telling me to get on with it.
I give them all the not-so-dirty details about what didn’t go down at his place before I finally stop for a breath.
“So you just slept in the guest room? Nothing happened?” Rosa attempts to clarify.
“Nothing. And it’s not going to. When he dropped me home this morning, he told me not to go back to Sin, that girls like me didn’t belong there.”
“What the fuck? No way. Asshole,” Kinsley hisses. “Oh, we’re so going back.”
I shake my head. “No, I can’t handle any more humiliation.”
“I agree with Kinsley. We’re going back. Friday night. And you’re going to pretend that Mr. Doesn’t-Know-A-Good-Thing-If-It-Bit-Him-In-The-Ass doesn’t exist. We’re going to dance and show that prick what he’s missing out on.” Rosa nods. Like it’s decision made.
“I don’t know.” I chew on my thumbnail. I don’t hate their idea, but I don’t love it either.