Chapter 10 #2
“No. I had it towed to a friend’s house for this very reason. I had a feeling she’d do something like this,” I answer, pocketing my phone and pushing back my chair so I can stand.
“Where are you going?”
“To the house to sort this shit out once and for all.”
“Are you going to whack them?”
I chuckle at the enthusiasm I hear in her voice. “I’ll try not to.”
She puts down her Kindle and scrambles to her feet. “Let me get my shoes.”
I reach for her elbow as she goes to rush past me. “No offence, Luc, but I think it’s better if I handle this on my own.”
“I’m coming with you, Romeo,” she growls. “I can help.”
“Help?”
She shrugs. “I can be your lookout … your wing woman. Hold your mother back while you beat the shit out of that cocksucker.”
A smile tugs at the corners of my lips. “I appreciate your offer, but this isn’t my first rodeo. I’m more than capable of handling this on my own.”
Her lips thin into a straight line, and I already know she’s not going to let me leave here without her.
“We are in this together; you’re not facing them alone.”
We?
When did we become a we?
The unwavering support this woman shows me is humbling. I don’t deserve it, but I’m not stupid enough to push her away.
“You can come on one condition.”
“I already have pants on,” she deadpans, making me laugh.
My eyes dart down to the leggings she’s wearing, and the way they hug that tight fucking body of hers. They’ve been driving me crazy all day.
“I was going to say that you can come as long as you stay in the car.”
She stamps her foot against the tiled floor like a child. “That’s not fair.”
“I mean it, Lucia. No matter what happens, promise me you’ll do as you’re told.”
She tilts her face towards the ceiling and blows out a puff of air before following it up with an audible sigh.
“Fine,” she mutters.
My leg starts to bounce as we turn onto my street. I’m not nervous about being here; I’m trying to rein in my anger. My mother is fifty-one years old, for fuck’s sake, and way too old to be doing this kind of shit.
She needs to grow the fuck up, get her life together, and take up knitting or something.
“You okay?” Lucia asks from the passenger seat as her small hand moves over to rest on my leg.
“Yeah,” I reply, dropping one hand from the steering wheel to rest it over hers. “I hate that you have to see this side of my life.”
It’s something I’ve worked hard to hide from the rest of the world.
“I grew up with a crazy parent, remember? You got front-row seats to that disaster, so it’s only fair I get to see yours in return.”
I chuckle. “I guess that’s only fair.”
“Damn straight it is.”
I wrap my fingers around hers, giving her hand a light squeeze. As much as I hate that Lucia’s witnessing this shitshow that is my mother, there’s something comforting about not having to face it on my own. If anyone understands unhinged family members, it’s her.
A low growl builds in the back of my throat as I pull up outside my place and see the front gate kicked in. My mother and that dick she was with are nowhere in sight. I swear if I find them still on my property, I’m going to lose my shit.
Lucia gasps before stating the obvious. “They kicked your gate in.”
“I can see that.” I bring the car to a screeching halt and turn off the ignition.
“Obviously, they couldn’t crack the code.”
I release a sarcastic laugh. “The funny thing is, the code is my date of birth.”
“Your date of birth? That’s a little reckless.”
“Not really, since I’m the only one who knows when that is.”
“Your mum would know it.”
“My mother never once acknowledged it, so I doubt she even remembers when it is.”
“She’s never done anything special for you on your birthday?” Lucia asks, and I hate the pity I hear in her voice.
It’s just another day. There’s nothing special about it. I curse the day I was born, so why would I want to celebrate it?
“On my ninth birthday, she OD’ed, does that count?”
I glance towards the passenger seat when Lucia doesn’t reply to that, and find her lips pulled into a thin line. “I know she’s your mother, and I shouldn’t speak out of line, but that woman is the worst.”
I lift one shoulder. I can’t really argue with that. “It is what it is.”
“If it’s any consolation, my father didn’t know my birth date either. Well, I don’t think he did. I at least had Arabella to celebrate it with.”
“My birthday is not something I ever wanted to celebrate. For me, it signified the day I was condemned to the hell that is that woman.”
“When’s your birthday, Romeo?” she asks.
“It’s not important.”
“It is to me,” she declares, and those words put another fucking dent in the carefully constructed armour I erected over my heart many years ago.
“Lock the doors when I leave,” I say, unbuckling my seat belt and shutting this conversation down. “And for fuck’s sake, stay in the car.”
“I’ll keep lookout,” she replies so eagerly. I can’t help but roll my eyes.
“No need, sweetheart. Just be a good girl and read your Kindle.”
Lucia pulls it to her chest and hugs it. “I love my Kindle.”
“I’m glad.”
For once, it appears I’ve done something right where this woman is concerned, but the million-dollar question remains … does she really love me?
When I reach for the door handle, Lucia grabs my arm. “If you need me, just call out and I’ll come.”
My eyes briefly skim down the length of her petite body. “No offence, babe, but I’m not sure how much help you would be.”
“Hey,” she grumbles, narrowing her eyes. “I may be scrappy, but I’ve got spunk.”
I bark out a laugh. “You sure do,” I reply as I alight from the vehicle, close the door and jog around the front of the car.
I’m pissed that I’m even here. My fucking mother is constantly pushing the boundaries with me because she knows I’d never hurt her.
She may not deserve my loyalty for all the things she’s put me through over the years, but she has it. That asshole she’s with, though? That’s a different story. I’ve warned him more than once to stay the fuck away from me and my things.
I guess he’s hard of hearing.
The only reason he’s still breathing is because of her. He’s the longest relationship she’s ever been in, so he must mean something to her. And for that reason alone, I can’t bring myself to end him.
Since my uncle died, I’m the only family my mum has left. My grandparents disowned her when she got pregnant out of wedlock and then decided to keep me. In the Italian community, dishonouring the family is a big deal.
In the end, her brother was the only one who stood by her. Now that he’s gone, I feel like I’m all she’s got. And that asshole she’s with? He definitely doesn’t have her best interests at heart.
When I see the front door is still intact—unlike my gate—I stalk around the side of the house.
For their sake, I hope they’re long gone, because the rage flooding through my veins right now makes me worry for their safety.
As soon as I round the corner, I stop dead in my tracks when I see my mother shifting from foot to foot beside the garage. There’s currently a light coming from inside, which I definitely didn’t leave on, and the side door is now hanging off its hinges.
“What the fuck, Mum?” I growl as I storm towards her.
Her head swings around, and her face pales when she sees me.
“Shit, Romeo,” she says, rushing in my direction and holding her hands up in front of her defensively. “Please don’t hurt him; it was my idea.”
“I don’t give a fuck whose idea it was,” I roar, not even sparing her a glance as I move past her.
I don’t know what hurts more, the fact that she’s continually betraying me by doing shit like this, or that she’s trying to defend him, because that’s a luxury she’s never afforded me.
“Don’t,” she pleads, reaching out to grab hold of my elbow, but I shake my arm from her hold.
“Would you like me to call the police instead?” I bluff because that’s exactly what I should do.
They’d both get locked up for this, but even though we have some of the local cops on our payroll, the last thing I want is them sniffing around my place.
“We will leave … okay? We won’t come back. I was looking for my car. I need it, Romeo.”
“And I told you that you could have it when you got your licence back.”
“That could take years.”
“You should have thought of that before …” My words die off because I’ve had this conversation with her too many times to count.
There’s no getting through to this woman, so I’m just wasting my breath.
Anything I say will fall on deaf ears like always.
“You know what, I’m not doing this with you right now. ”
I continue moving, and when I reach the entry to the garage, my fury only amplifies when I see that goddamn fucker gathering up my tools and anything of value he can pawn into a nice little pile by the door.
“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I roar.
He looks up, and the terror that flashes across his face when he sees me in the doorway makes the corners of my mouth curl into a slow, sadistic smile.
“Fuck!”
“Yeah, fuck is right, motherfucker,” I growl, closing the distance between us in a few long strides.
I grab a fistful of his shirt collar and slam him back against the wall.
He might only be a few inches shorter, but he’s no match for someone like me. Not when he’s staring down a storm he clearly never saw coming.
“Romeo, please,” my mother begs, reaching for my arm again. “Please don’t hurt him. Look, I’m sorry, okay.”
“You’re sorry?” I ask in disbelief, glancing at her over my shoulder.
Those are two words I’m not sure I’ve ever heard her mutter, but that’s when I notice her face, specifically, the bruise on her left cheek. I hadn’t seen it earlier outside in the dark.
“What happened to your face?”
“I …” She glances down at her feet before saying, “I … umm … fell.”
She’s lying.
I turn my attention back to the motherfucker who I still have pinned to the wall. “Did you do that to her?” I growl, getting up in his face.
“I …”
“Don’t you dare fucking lie to me.”