Chapter 41 #3
“Wakey, wakey, sunshine.” She threw the cutters down on the table with a clatter and pulled my lighter back out.
“Now, are you going to talk or is it time to light you up?” she toyed with the flame, running it along his skin.
He shook his head in exhaustion. Anyone could see that he’d had enough but Bella was good to her word.
If he didn’t talk, she’d set the fucker alight.
“Suit yourself.” She blew out the flame, clutching the lighter in her fist as she picked up the bottle of lighter fluid.
Bella forced his head back removing the rag before she squirted the fluid down his throat.
“That fluid will start to burn your insides, your throat may even start to close up making it hard for you to breathe.” Tears soaked the fella’s cheeks now but it was clear he wasn’t going to speak, the time for talking was done.
“Before I do this, I just have one question?” She flicked the lighter’s flame to life once more time, pausing an inch from the remaining cloth in his mouth.
“Was it worth it?” A flash of fear filled his eyes as she brought the flame to the cloth.
Void of emotions, Bella stepped back and watched the scene before her. In a hail of blood thirsty screams, the man’s life faded away in front of us. When his bellows started to quiet, Bella stepped back, her body colliding with mine. She jumped a little but for my eyes only.
“Let’s go, there’s nothing left for us here.” she ordered as everyone stood open-mouthed.
“Isabella—”
“Don’t, Pa. I’m tired, dirty and I stink of gasoline. I just want to go home, shower and sleep.” Her voice was shut off to any emotion, yeah, she might be strong, but deep down I knew how she was feeling. I had felt the very same way after my very first kill.
“Okay, let’s go.” Lorenzo led Bella from the outhouse. The smell of salt cleansed the scent of burning flesh from our nostrils. “Red, Ty, once the fire’s out, clean that shit up.”
“Boss.” They spoke in unison.
The whole ride home, she didn’t say one word. I was about five seconds from asking her if she was okay when a sleepy looking Luca stumbled into the garage.
“Bella, you’re home! Where the fuck have you been?! And— Wait, why are you covered in blood?” I glared up at him as his eyes widened in shock.
“Why? Does it bother you seeing your sister covered in another man’s blood?
You knew the things I’d have to do when you stepped aside.
” Bella seethed, sidestepping him. “You knew the lives I’d have to take so you could play happy families, and not once did you come to me and ask me how I would feel about all of this. ”
“Bella, I had no choice.”
“You had a choice to talk to me! To explain how you were feeling before you ripped away any chance I had to do what I wanted with my life. Did you assume I wouldn’t listen?
Do you honestly think I would have stood in your way of being the best father you could be?
” She let out a steady breath. “Of course I wouldn’t.
I would have supported you as I always have… ”
“Bella, please, it doesn’t have to be like this.” Luca pleaded.
“You should have thought about that the other day when you yelled at me like I was nothing. How fucking dare you tell me I haven’t suffered.” Bella snapped, anger consuming her. “Fuck this, I’m going for a shower.”
The garage door banged as she fled up the stairs. Dumbfounded, Luca stood there frozen, unable to form a coherent thought.
“I don’t get it, Pa.” he huffed, fisting his hair, “Why’s she being like this?!” I couldn’t help but scoff at his question. Narrowing his eyes, Luca turned to glare at my, teeth clenched together. “You got something to say, Arturo?”
“Nah, mate, nothin’ at all.”
“Luc, your sister needs time. She’s had to take on this role pretty fucking quick, and you know she didn’t want it.
” Lorenzo sighed. “I may have shattered her world, but what hurt her the most is that you did this without even talking to her. She’s your sister and you couldn’t take one second to talk it over with her or explain the pain you were going through. ”
“Pa, it wasn’t like that.”
“Stop it, Luca. Just stop.” Lorenzo’s considerate care and patience for his son’s plight had finally snapped.
About fucking time. “Stop painting yourself the victim all the time. You know you had it all. You had all my attention, all the damn time, and I stupidly gave it to you. For years your sister needed me. Needed me to be her father and spend time with her, and I couldn’t give her it because I was with you, helping to mould you to be the next me. ”
“I lost the love of my life, and since Bella has taken my place, she’s forgotten that.” Luca yelled, rage making his neck flame red.
“Peyton was my daughter’s best friend before she was ever your girlfriend.
A little fact you seem to have forgotten.
” The air left Luca’s lungs and he sighed.
Lorenzo’s voice became quiet and regretful.
“This is my fault, my mistake. I should never have made you my successor. You took her place, Luca. I know deep down you knew that, but it was always meant to be her, and I think you always knew that.” Lorenzo continued.
“Son, I get that you lost the love of your life and I can’t bring myself to understand how much that hurt, but Peyton was Bella’s whole world too.
And despite all that, she put yours and Theo’s needs before any of her own time and time again.
She put plans to study and travel on hold to raise your son when you couldn’t. You seem to have forgotten that.”
“I don’t need you to remind me of that.”
“It seems like you do. Buck up your ideas, Luc, your sister is one hell of a woman and did things tonight that I don’t think I could have done, and that’s saying something.
But do you know why she’s doing it?” Lorenzo paused as Luca shook his head.
“For you, Luc, she’s doing it because she loves you. ”
Luca said nothing else, he just turned on his heel and stalked up the stairs.
Nicely done, Lorenzo. You finally grew some balls.
“Night, Lorenzo,” I smiled, making my way into the house.