Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Penn
“How’re you feeling?” I asked Matteo as he swung lazily on the hammock next to me.
“Fine.”
“No headaches or anything?”
“Nah.”
Rita and Dean were having a date night and after a few weeks under Rita’s watchful eye, she’d finally relinquished her hold on her son and let him sleep over.
“Anything you want to talk about?”
Matteo dragged his gaze from the sky to me. “Do you think I’m traumatized or something?”
“Well, are you?”
He chuckled. “No.”
“It’s okay to be scared, Matteo.”
“You’re not. Not ever.”
I sat up, scooting my body on my hammock to better face him. “It’s because I can’t be. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be.”
“I wanna be like you, though.”
“A freak?” I joked. I’d long stopped believing I was a freak or a monster. Gideon had made sure to drill that into my head.
“Nothing can stop you. You’re indestructible.”
“Matteo, you and I both know that’s not true. If you get hurt, you feel it, seek attention, get help. If I don’t know about it, sometimes it could be too late by the time I realize.”
“Is that why my mom makes you get those X-rays?”
I snorted. “Yes. She’s relentless.”
“Still, it would be cool not to feel fear, though.”
I shrugged. “The ability to feel fear triggers your fight-or-flight reflex, and sometimes flight is the safer option. I don’t always make the right decisions because of my inability to be afraid.”
“I dunno…I still think you’re fire.”
“And I think you’re fire too.”
Matteo snorted. “It sounds so weird when you try to sound like me.”
“Shut up. I sound dope!”
He rolled his eyes. “Stop, please.”
“Nope. Never. Now I will torment you forever.”
He was quiet again, his eyes back on the sky, so I relaxed in my hammock. Birds flew overhead, and autumn smells begin to mix with the breeze. October would be here in a week, and I loved decorating the house for Halloween.
“How’s school?”
“Fine.”
Typical response. “Make any new friends?”
He sighed. “I already have friends.”
“I know that, dork, I meant have you made any new ones?”
Matteo gasped. “You wound me with your words.” He cackled but eventually answered me. “There’s a new kid I started talking to—seems nice.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“He’s older, though, but like, he’s sort of awkward, you know? I saw him at lunch eating alone, so I sat with him. He’s all right.”
“That was nice of you.”
He brushed the compliment off. “Being the new kid is hard. But now a couple of us sit with him at lunch. He’s quiet mostly, but I can tell he likes that he’s not alone. His sister is in one of my classes, he said, but she’s the opposite of him.”
“Popular?”
“Oh my God, yes. Kind of obnoxious. Crazy how they’re related.”
“Your birthday is at the end of the month; you should invite him to whatever party your mother makes you have.”
He laughed. “Yeah, maybe I will.”
We headed inside for dinner, which was controlled chaos with Matteo and the twins.
Gideon and I were the only adults, so it was a little crazy.
Afterward, we all gathered in the living room and turned on a movie that was some animated adventure.
I’d lost interest and had started playing a game on my phone.
“Twins fell asleep.” Gideon nudged my foot.
“Oh, you stay with Matteo and finish the movie. I’ll get them in bed.”
He didn’t argue. I carried them up one at a time, got them into comfy clothes, and they each fell right back asleep once their heads hit the pillow.
I went downstairs, and I was relieved to see the credits rolling. Matteo had moved from the floor to next to Gideon, and the two of them were talking so I left them alone and grabbed a drink in the kitchen.
“Night, Penn!” Matteo waved at me and ran up the stairs.
“He knows he can stay up later, right?”
Gideon shrugged. “He said he’s gonna go online, some game he plays with kids from school.”
“An MMO?”
Gideon shrugged. “Sure.”
“Maybe he plays with that new friend of his.”
“New friend?” Gideon opened the fridge and grabbed a beer.
“Yeah. Some kid at school. Matteo said he was awkward and was eating alone at lunch, so he befriended him.”
Gideon smiled. “Sounds like him.”
Gideon’s phone buzzed in his pocket. He put his beer down and read whatever text was on there.
“Everything okay?”
“Toni found the guy.”
“The man who bought the car?”
He nodded. “He works for Benito’s campaign.”
While it was no shock to anyone that Benito was involved, still, hearing it ignited that anger that had simmered slightly.
“Can they get to him without any of Benito’s people seeing?”
“He’ll make it happen.”
“Let’s hope it’s soon.”
He slipped his phone into his pocket and grabbed his beer. “You heard Amy was found guilty?”
“Mmhmm. Total bullshit.”
“I’m seeing what I can do, but with the new commissioner and Yolanda’s family being threatened if she didn’t follow through, it’s proving to be a little more difficult.”
I walked into the living room and sat on the couch. “What do we know about the kid she supposedly sold to?”
“Because he’s underage, they’re keeping the records sealed. I’m sure I can get into them, but I’m not going to threaten some kid.”
“Pfft, you think the parents aren’t involved?”
“Look, what happened to Amy is unfortunate, and I can likely fix it. I’m just not sure I can by elections, and I need all my manpower focused on Benito.”
“Babe, if you can prove that someone on Benito’s team not only orchestrated the car accident, but also set up the commissioner, Benito may not make it to elections.”
He pursed his lips. “Good point.” He gave me a quick kiss. “You’re so smart.”
“Mmhmm.”
“Let’s shower and go to bed. I’m sure it’ll take some time for Toni to arrange to pick up the guy.”
I raised my brows. “Just shower?”
“And things.”
“Ha. No things. Matteo is still up, and I will not be the reason he has nightmares.”
“He’s lived here before while we were definitely doing…things.”
I put my water down and stood. “Maybe little things.”
He beamed. “Nothing little about you, baby.”
“I’d tell you to behave, but where’s the fun in that?” I pulled him up when he offered me his hand. “Wash my back, and I’ll wash yours.”
“Oh, I’m gonna wash your front too.”
We cackled all the way to the bedroom, only stopping to peek in on the kids. The twins were out, Matteo online with headphones on. We were good and had plenty of time for things.