21. Isa
ISA
I walked through the dark and empty house.
I didn’t know where Dad went off to. I was just thankful he was still out. Probably playing poker with his buddies and complaining about how he couldn’t find a husband for me because of Valentino and blah, blah, blah.
My heart felt heavy, and I didn’t know what to make of it.
I didn’t want to be in this house anymore. I didn’t want to have Elio drop me off by the tree out of view from all the windows.
I didn’t want to see my father anymore.
Perhaps I should have done what I wanted and stayed at Elio’s house. But it hadn’t felt right to be there, knowing he wasn’t.
So I had him drive me home, and now, I just felt like I was being drowned from the inside out, and there was no help in sight.
I walked up to my room, and it was dark.
Everything was how I had left it, which was why I didn’t realize I wasn’t alone until I flipped on the light and turned around. I let out a scream as my heart went into overdrive, as my mind tried to process the huge figure sitting on my recliner sofa near my window.
“Tino? What the hell are you doing, sitting in my room in the dark? Jesus, you almost gave me a heart attack.”
He looked up and met my eyes, his expression grave. I shifted nervously on my feet when he didn't answer me, not knowing what the look on his face meant.
“Tino?”
He leaned back against the recliner and looked out the window. “I think the question should be, where were you?”
“What?” My heart picked up speed once more, but this time for a completely different reason.
“Where did you go? Who were you with?”
I crossed my arms over my chest. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. But I’m tired. Can we talk about this next time?”
Like never.
“No, we can’t talk about this next time. Do you know what time it is?” he asked. I looked over at the clock sitting on my dresser. Past midnight. Where had the time gone?
“So I’m going to ask again. Where were you?”
I scowled at him, not liking the tone of his voice. “I’m twenty-four years old. Did you have to tell anyone where you were going when you were my age?”
“That’s different, and you know it,” he said, standing up.
“How so? Because you’re a man and I’m a woman?”
“Isa—”
I shook my head, cutting him off. “The only difference is that people don’t give a damn about your virginity.”
“That is not what I’m saying at all,” he replied, sounding surprised.
“We’re not talking about this anymore. I don’t want to talk about it with you. It’s none of your business.”
“The fuck it isn’t. Everything you do is my business. I don’t want any other fucker to take advantage of you.”
“Do you really think I’m so stupid that I can’t make decisions for myself?”
“Of course not. Just tell me who the fuck it is that hurt you.”
I laughed. There was nothing humorous about the sound. “Hurt me? You make it sound like I had no say in the matter.”
He shook his head, but even he didn’t have the words for it now.
“I’m not telling you who I spent my time with.”
“Because it's someone I know?” he asked.
My expression didn’t change, but I could feel my face getting hot, which obviously told him the answer.
“Does he want to marry you?”
I felt my face crumble for a fraction of a second. Not knowing where I really stood with Elio and our future had been weighing heavily on my mind.
Valentino’s face hardened. “He doesn’t want to fucking marry you?”
“It’s not…”
“Don’t lie to me, Isa. I can see it on your face. And the fact that the fucker doesn’t want to marry you is hurting you.”
“It’s not like that.”
“It isn’t?”
“We haven’t talked about it.”
“Did you sleep with him?”
I could feel the flush on my cheeks growing hotter. “That’s none of your business.”
“Oh, yes, it is.” He looked off to the side for a brief moment. When he turned back to me, there was a strange expression on his face. “I can always have a doctor come over to check for your virginity.”
My eyes widened. I never thought Valentino was capable of hurting me like this, but his words hit their mark.
It didn’t matter that I could see the instant regret in his eyes. My hands moved before my brain caught up, and I grabbed the first thing I touched—my straightener—and threw it at him.
He ducked out of the way in time, and it ended up hitting the wall and breaking.
“Get out.”
“Isa—”
“Get the fuck out of my room. I don’t want to see you right now!”
He made a move toward me, and I screamed.
“Okay,” he said finally, sounding defeated. “I’ll leave.”
I turned away from him. I didn’t want him to see the tears streaming down my face. My bedroom door quietly opened and closed, and I could feel it the moment I was in the room alone. I climbed onto my bed and pulled the covers over my body, shaking a little.
A part of me was still in disbelief. I never thought Valentino would say something like that to me. It would have hurt less coming from Dad because that’s something I would have expected from him.
But my brother?
I closed my eyes and wished this night would soon be over.
It was early in the morning when a sound coming from downstairs woke me up from my sleep.
I was still wearing the same clothes I had worn the night before.
I didn’t even remember falling asleep, but I must have at some point, and my phone was still in my pocket.
When I pulled it out, the battery was nearly dead, but there was just enough juice to let me see one missed call from Elio and a dozen from Valentino, including some texts.
I didn’t bother reading them. It wouldn’t have mattered. I was still angry and hurt, and the last thing I needed was to hear any excuses he might give me.
I checked the time—barely five in the morning.
It was early, and the sun was almost peeking through the clouds.
Another sound came from downstairs. I didn’t just wake up randomly. Something had woken me up.
But what?
Dad?
He usually didn’t wake up this early.
I climbed out of bed and headed out of my bedroom door.
I wasn’t thinking. It must be the exhaustion getting to me; otherwise, I wouldn’t have been curious enough to go and check anything out, let alone a mysterious sound coming from somewhere in the house.
I shivered when my feet hit the cold hardwood floor.
There was a familiar voice coming from the living room.
Dad was up this early, or perhaps he just got home.
I never did hear him come home last night, and it had been late when I finally succumbed to sleep.
Now he was on the phone with someone. I didn’t know why, but my guess, it was probably someone from the traditionalist group.
My heart seemed to slow down as I walked closer along the wall to listen, not sure what was making me do it.
I usually followed my good sense and ignored anything he said to other people, especially when it involved “business,” but I didn’t walk away now.
My resolve to stay only cemented when I heard my name.
I strained my ear, trying to catch his words. He was slurring them a bit, either because he was drunk or… injured? But then he moved on and talked about something else.
“How the fuck did they know the shipment was going down?” He paused, waiting for the other person on the line to speak.
“I don’t know, but we’d better find out soon.
They want answers… No, don’t worry about that.
I know what to do to appease them… Yes, her.
” Another pause. My breath caught in my throat.
Why did I feel like I might be her he was referring to?
“I showed the bastard her picture. She’s part of the bargain.
The other part rests on you. I need more information about De Luca’s recent operations…
because I was forced out of it. I doubt the information I have is even up to date.
You know how paranoid the De Luca spawn can be.
I wouldn’t put it past him to change up everything. That would be just my luck…”
His voice trailed off as I tried to piece the information together. Was Dad…
Was he going to betray Massimo?
That would be a death sentence.
It could be my death sentence. Our people didn’t look too kindly on the daughter of a traitor.
I shook my head.
I needed to tell someone.
Elio and Valentino. They needed to know.
I moved back, trying to get out of there before I was caught, but when I stepped back, a creak came from the floorboard beneath me.
I froze as everything in me went into fight-or-flight mode.
Dad’s voice cut off sharply. Then, “I have to go.”
He hung up the phone. I told myself to run out of there and looked at the front door.
I could make a run for it. Would he be able to catch up to me? Or was it better to pretend I didn’t hear what he had been saying?
A shadow loomed over me.
Too late.
I looked up to his dark eyes, a small gasp escaping my lips when I got a good look at his face.
He was injured. There were scratches on his face, and they looked new, like they had happened last night. But what was more unnerving was the stench of alcohol on his breath.
I blinked.
“What are you doing here, you little bitch?”
My mouth opened, but nothing came out. I couldn’t seem to make the words form and just shook my head.
He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me back into the living room. I let out a scream in pain, my hands coming up to his grip, hoping that would get him to loosen it. It didn’t.
He threw me on the floor in the middle of the room.
“How much did you hear?”
“Nothing, I swear,” I cried out.
“You dirty fucking liar!” he screamed, pulling his leg back and kicking me in the stomach. I doubled over, the air expelling from my lungs.
I let out a pained groan as Dad bent down until his face was mere inches from mine. “Let’s try this again. Tell me what you fucking heard? I thought I raised you better, girl. Don’t you know not to fucking eavesdrop?”
I shook my head. “I didn’t?—”
He slapped my face.
A ringing sounded in my ear, the sound sharp and incessant.
My vision blurred, and my mind became fuzzy.
“Don’t fucking lie to me,” he said, his eyes wide and bloodshot.
He was going to kill me.
He looked like he wanted to kill me, and there was no one here to stop him.
This was it. I was going to die.
He straightened and kicked me again. I curled into a fetal position, trying to protect my stomach as I begged him to stop.
Just stop.
Please just stop.
He was past reasoning with.
The few times I caught his eyes told me that the anger, the frustration of the past few years, had finally caught up to him, and I was just unlucky enough to be caught in the cross fire.
Tears streamed down my face.
I no longer knew where he was hitting me.
I hurt everywhere.
Once he was done, he knelt down where I was lying and pulled my head up by my hair so that I was looking at him. I winced at the sharp pain.
“I can’t wait to get rid of you, you little bitch. I already found you a husband who is willing to take the headache that you are off my hands. Don’t worry. He’ll teach you with a firmer hand than I ever did. Maybe then you’ll learn to behave.”
“Valentino—” My voice cut off when I felt pain in my ribs. “Valentino would never allow that to happen.”
He laughed. “It’s a done deal. And even your precious Valentino can’t protect you now.”
Who the hell did he make the deal with if Valentino couldn’t protect me? I thought.
I never got the answer. Dad pulled his hand back and punched me square in the face.
Everything went black.
By the time I came to, the night sky was dark.
And I was alone in the living room.
I lifted my head and looked around, but even that took too much effort.
My head hurt.
My face hurt.
Everything hurt.
And Dad had left me lying there… What had I ever done to him? Why did he hate his children so much?
I didn’t know the answer, and a part of me didn’t fucking care anymore.
I was done protecting him and my reputation.
I was done feeling ashamed for his actions. It wasn’t my fault.
I repeated the mantra in my head.
It wasn’t my fault that he hurt me.
I was going to Valentino with this, I decided.
There had been some abuse in the past from Dad, but it had never been this bad before. He was escalating, and I didn’t want to stay here and wait for the day he would kill me.
Slowly but surely, I dragged myself up from the floor.
My head spun, and I could taste a tangy, sour taste on my tongue.
Blood?
Maybe.
I used the walls to help trek up the stairs and to my room. I didn’t know where Dad had left off to, but if his patterns stayed the same, then he was done with me for now.
Still, I locked my bedroom door before I collapsed on the bed.
I closed my eyes.
It’ll just be for a little bit.
I just needed some rest, and then I would deal with everything later on.