Chapter Twelve- Snow #3
Despite my feelings, I began to remove her clothing, knowing Buddha would have never done it. Taking Ciara’s wedding ring off her finger, I slipped it into my pocket. Just as I did, her phone that I had in my pocket went off. I took it out and stared at the reply message from her mother.
I told you so many times that man was no good. He already had you using drugs; now he made a baby on you. You deserve better. Take all the time that you need.
I read that message twice because what does she mean, I had Ciara doing drugs? She believed I’m the one who had her daughter using. I shook my head before shoving the phone back in my pocket.
“I’m done,” I said to my brother. Putting Ciara’s clothing to one side.
“You shouldn’t stay for this part. I got it,” Buddha said, coming over to me. He placed both hands on my shoulders, and I nodded my head in agreement.
“This is the right thing? Tell me this is the right thing,” I said, looking for reassurance before I left.
“You’re doing the right thing, I promise. We’ll tell Mamma and Tomasso about this tomorrow. Before you go, I need to talk to you about the deal with the Russians tomorrow night,” Buddha said, taking a step back from me, shoving his hands inside his pants pocket.
“What about it?”
“We gotta keep a close eye on Francesco and Luca,” I frowned, confused at what Buddha was getting at.
“I don’t understand what you mean.”
“I gotta tell you something,” Buddha said before he began to fill me in.
*****
I stood in the bedroom I once shared with Ciara, and my heart felt heavy. I knew we had our differences, but I didn’t like the way our marriage ended abruptly. I felt somewhat responsible; I shouldn’t have wanted to hurt her by saying what I did. I took it too far.
I rubbed my forehead as I walked to the bathroom to grab some Excedrin for the migraine I had. I looked at myself in the mirror above the bathroom sink and sighed softly. Popping two headache pills down my throat, I opened the faucet and washed them down.
Buddha said when he was done, he would let me know, so I was waiting patiently for his call.
I had also given him Ciara’s phone to dispose of.
I knew her mother would eventually contact me, and that’s when the real lies would begin.
I couldn’t think about that just yet; I’d deal with that when the time came.
All I wore was a pair of boxers. Buddha made me take my clothes off and leave them with him. There was Ciara’s blood on them, so he told me they needed to be burned.
I walked back into the bedroom and picked my phone up from the bed.
I hadn’t spoken to Angel since her father grabbed her from Buddha’s restaurant.
I got one text a few days after that, telling me that her father was pissed and trying to get her fiancé to reconcile with her.
She said there was no way she was about to marry him and that she would text me again soon.
I stayed away, thinking it would be the best thing to do.
What kind of life could Angel and I have if our fathers were sworn enemies?
However, after what Buddha told me a few minutes ago, it would be better if I took Angel away from Edwardo.
Taking a deep breath, I dialed Angel’s number, praying that she would pick up.
“Hello,” I smiled when I heard her voice because I hadn’t heard it in so long.
“Hey, how’s everything? How have you been?” I asked her.
“I’ve been really sick, throwing up every morning. I can’t seem to keep anything down. I miss you so much. My father has his men watching me every second of every day. I hate him so much.” Angel said, her voice cracked as though she wanted to cry.
“What if I tell you I can get you away from that life? I can take you away from it all, from Edwardo and your fiancé, from everything. Would you like that? Then you and the baby and I could be a family,” I told her, meaning every word.
“Are you fucking with me?” I laughed at what she said, because I knew she would find it hard to believe.
“Nah, I’m not fucking with you. How about I explain everything to you tomorrow?”
“I would love that, and I would love for us to be a family. I know I can be a bit much, but I promise I’d learn to be less annoying if we could be together.” I laughed again, because I honestly didn’t think Angel knew how to be anything else but annoying.
“Don’t change too much; I kinda like you like this.” I looked around the bedroom and knew I had to pack up Ciara’s belongings as soon as I could.
“Well, I’ll call you tomorrow, alright,” I told her, getting ready to get off the phone.
“Ok, bye, Snow.” Angel and I ended our call.
I sat and stared at the phone in my hand.
I was about to be a father to the baby I conceived with Angel.
Being a father was something I secretly always wanted.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to get any sleep tonight, so I stood and made my way to Ciara’s dresser.
Opening the top drawer, I stared at the contents inside.
Shaking my head, I took out the small packets of cocaine and pills. Walking over to the toilet, I emptied them into the bowl and flushed them. I had been clean for a couple of weeks, and I planned to stay that way.
As I watched the drugs disappear down the toilet bowl, I felt a sense of relief. It was almost as if I had gotten a fresh start; my life had reset. This was going to be the start of something beautiful. Or, so I thought.