Chapter 15
Luna
Damion had internet hooked up at the apartment for me so I could spend more time at home with Davey. I was thankful for that. I couldn’t thank him enough. I haven’t wanted to go anywhere. I haven’t wanted to see anyone. I’m just numb.
I’ve never been the stupid girl. Never the one who did all the stupid things, but I am now.
I’m her. I’m the girl who fucks up and ruins things.
I’m the girl who does stupid things for other people, knowing they don’t care about me anymore.
But the thing is, I’d do it all over again.
I’d blow those bastards to hell one more time if it meant seeing Marco.
He hasn’t come around. He hasn’t texted me. He hasn’t called me, and he’s been scarce when I’m around. Tears burn the back of my eyes, but I refuse to let them fall. I can’t. I can’t do this. A knock on the door pulls me out of the daze I’m currently in.
I shove off my bed and walk over, pulling the door open to see Tony standing there, grinning at me.
“What?”
“Damn, that’s rude.”
“Why are you here?”
“Came to see you,” he says casually as he walks in and closes the door.
“Since when?”
“Since Marco is a fucking mess without you and taking it out on everyone else.”
“And that’s my problem?”
“Go talk to him, Luna,” he says now. I bark out a laugh and shake my head.
“He’s the one who left me.”
“You fucked his brother,” he reminds me.
“First of all, it was one time, it was a mistake, and I didn’t know he had a brother!” I snap at him this time. Tony nods his head, seeming to understand what I’m saying.
“He’s hurting.”
“He doesn’t care that much,” I tell him as he follows me into my room, where I drop onto the bed. He sits next to me and pulls out his phone, showing me a video. I take the phone, he presses play, and my heart stops.
“What’s he doing?”
“Underground fights. You know how dangerous those are?”
“I’m well aware. I did a few back in Chicago. Why is he doing that?” My heart breaks in my chest when I see him get hit in the face and stumble. I shove the phone back into Tony’s hand, not wanting to see any more; it hurts too much.
“You know why. There’s another tomorrow night,” he informs me.
“What can I do? He doesn’t want to see me, Tony.”
“Not in a ring, he wouldn’t.” Now I get it.
He wants me to fight. He wants me to show up there and try to stop his fight.
While that isn’t a bad idea, I haven’t trained in a while.
I’m rusty and would probably get my ass kicked, but maybe that’s what he needs to see.
Maybe he needs to see me like that to forgive me.
“You think he’d forgive me then?”
“You love him?”
“More than I can say.”
“Then let’s get your man back,” he declares. I nod my head, a smile that hasn’t been there for weeks crossing my face. I’ve been locked away inside and haven’t seen him or the fucking sun for that matter. I haven’t wanted to.
“Fine. Get me in,” I tell him. He pulls out his phone and sends off a few texts before he lays across my bed.
“You know, I’ve never seen him like this over a girl.”
“Crazy?”
“Yeah. Marco is a lot of things, but he doesn’t do this shit. He doesn’t go out looking for a fight like he’s been doing. It’s like he needs to feel the pain to know he’s still alive.”
“Sadly, I know how that feels. I miss him, Tony.”
“I know, Luna. I know. And we’re going to fix this,” he says.
“I really mean it. I didn’t know Damion was his brother.”
“They parted ways a long time ago. Damion used to be crew. After what happened to his mom and brother, Damion lost it. He couldn’t stick around,” he tells me.
“What happened to them?”
“Macro didn’t tell you?” I shake my head. “His mom killed his brother and then herself. Damion and Marco found them dead. She hated that he wouldn’t talk. Hated he was the way he was,” he says, shaking his head as my eyes fill with tears.
“That had to be bad,” I whisper.
“It was worse than bad. Marco still wakes up having nightmares about finding them. It’s broken that man.”
“He hates me.”
“No, Luna, he doesn’t. He loves you. He just has a hard time showing it. He’s going to come around, I know he will.”
“And if he doesn’t?”
“Then you move on. You do better things with your life. You’re smart. You have more opportunities now.”
“Because of Damion?”
“Yeah.”
“Yeah, but at what cost? The cost of losing Marco? Those aren’t the odds I want.”
“Then let’s spin the odds in your favor, Luna. Marco’s smart. He could do something with his art that no one else could. Bring him along for the ride.”
“What about crew?”
“What about it? We aren’t shit in the grand scheme of things, and we all know it. Yeah, we’re here and not going anywhere, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take your man and live a good life.”
I snort a laugh now because I can’t picture it in my head.
“Could you really picture Marco living in the big city?”
“In the suburbs with the van,” he laughs, causing me to laugh. Then it all stops. The laughs stop because there’s no way we could do that. Neither of us belongs there. Neither of us would make it.
“Don’t sell yourself short, Luna. I can see the look in your eyes, and you deserve more than this. Your mom fucked up with you and your brother. You both deserve more.” I turn and pull him into a hug, and he hugs me back.
“Thanks, Tony. I mean it. And thank you for coming over. It’s been so fucking lonely here.”
“Yeah, sorry about that. We’ve been busy and shit. You know how it is,” he says when he pulls back.
“Yeah, I get it.”
“So we’re going to do this?” he asks, rubbing his hands together as he licks his lips.
“Yeah, let’s do this. It might do me some good to get my hands dirty anyway.”
“I know that’s right! And I want to watch you fight. I haven’t seen you really get down,” he says.
“You fight?”
“No, just Marco.”
“You should try it. It’s such a rush, and you get all that frustration out of your system.”
“You talk like fighting is a good thing,” he laughs now.
“You’ve never watched an MMA fight? You’re missing out, Tony. They make thousands of dollars doing that shit.”
“No shit? Maybe I do need to learn. You going to teach me? We can get all sweaty?” Now I laugh again.
“You’re crazy. I’m not teaching you shit.”
“That’s my thanks?”
“You got a hug. What more do you want?” I tease him when Davey comes strolling in. He climbs into my lap and wraps his arms around my neck, clinging to me. I wrap my arms around him and hold him close.
“He’s a good kid,” Tony says, nodding toward my brother.
“Yeah, he is. He’s a smart kid, huh, Davey? You’re smarter than me,” I tell him, and he grins. I can’t help but smile along with him. I love him. If anything in this life is worth anything, it’s Davey. I would do just about anything for this kid.
“So tomorrow night, will your mom be here?”
“It’s hard to say. You have someone who will watch him?” I ask. He nods.
“Yeah, I’ll get someone here.”
“Are we just not telling Marco?”
“Fuck no. He’d beat my ass for even bringing it up to you. We’re sure as hell not going to tell him ahead of time,” he says.
“Not like he talks to me anyway,” I mumble.
“He’s going to come around, Luna. It was all a shock.”
“It’s been weeks, Tony.”
“And? That means shit, and you know it.”
“Maybe. Now get out so I can get to work and not have anything left for tomorrow,” I tell him. Tony grins and stands, leaning down to press his lips to the top of my head, which is something he’s never done before.
“I don’t care what Marco says, you’re crew. You proved it that night, Luna. And I’ll protect my crew.” With that, he turns and walks out of my room.