Page 111 of Useless Love

“Forever,” I whisper back, so proud and happy to be this man’s wife.

***

We arrive at the hospital a little while later, and Carmine seems to have regained some of himself. He spent the entire ride here holding me but remaining silent, just dealing with his own thoughts. I want to know what happened with Sal, but I sense he needs time. I trust that he’ll tell me when he’s ready.

When we reach my father’s floor, I practically sprint off the elevator. When I get to his room and see him sitting up in bed talking to Mother, everything feels right with the world again. No surprise to anyone, I start crying as I run into his embrace.

“I was so scared,” I tell him like I’m a five-year-old child. But I don’t care; my daddy is alive.

“Scared of what?” he asks.

“Scared that I’d never see you again. They had me tied up and…” I swallow the rest of my words, unable to tell Father how Sal had touched me. That man is dead now, so I don’t ever have to think about him again.

Father sits up straighter. “What? Tied up? Who?”

I glance around. My entire family is here and they’re all avoiding eye contact. Nico finally says, “Sorry. Gaia was kidnapped. But she’s here now so it’s all fine.”

“It’s not fine!” he booms. “No one fucking told me my princess was in danger?”

Carmine steps forward and bravely says, “I rescued her. I would never let anything happen to my wife.”

“Father,” I backtrack, “I was never in any real danger because I knew Carmine would come.”

My father still looks like he’s ready to plant a bomb somewhere, so Mother steps up and starts doing her best to pacify him.

Finally, he waves a hand. “Enough. We’ll talk more about this later.” Then his eyes dart to me, then Carmine. He looks back at me. “I think you should tell your husband the truth now, princess.”

I glance at Carmine, who is frowning. “Um, Father…He already knows. You missed a lot, but everything is okay now.”

Father sighs, looking at all of us like he doesn’t even know who we are anymore. “So it seems,” he says. “So it seems.”

Arianna

I’m driving back into the city heading toward the hospital to see Father. My stomach is unsettled. Since I've never gotten along with Father, I don't know how this interaction is going to go. I don’t know when or why it happened, but somewhere along the way I fell into his shadow. I used to join Gaia in worshiping him when we were little, but as I got older and I saw clearly how she was his favorite, I guess I grew bitter.

All I know is we’ve been oil and water for years. I’ve acted out and gotten punished every fucking time. After a while, it became obvious that Father no longer wanted me anywhere in his vicinity. Then he was shot. Who would think I’d ever live to see him weak like that? Anyhow, now the strong man I’ve known and despised has returned. He sounded happy over the phone, but Father’s temper often changes suddenly. I need to face him, but I’m terrified.

Getting off the elevator, I’m disgusted at my own nervousness. This is my own father, yet, I’m dragging my feet towards the door. As I get closer, I hear Victoria giggling. It’s good to hear her sounding happy again.

“Everything is handled,” Nico confirms loudly.

“Kitten you are hurting your father don’t lean on him.” Mother begs Victoria.

“Leave her.” Father orders in a croaky voice.

I’m near the door now and my feet have stopped. Mother is promising to cook all of Father’s favorite foods. Father is asking his men when he can leave the hospital. I hear Gaia chime in, “No, you must stay until the doctor gives you a clean bill of health. Don’t make us worry.”

I smile. My family, it seems, is back to normal. But does that normal include me? It usually doesn’t.

“Where is the troublemaker?” my father says. “Call her security to see why she isn’t here by now.”

I step into the room, softly saying, “I’m here, Father.”

I lock eyes with him and his expression is unreadable. Then, Gaia jumps up to hug me. Like usual, she looks like she’s about to cry, but I just hug her back.

“I’m happy you’re okay,” I whisper so only she can hear.

“I’m happy you’re okay, too,” she whispers back. We smile at each other for a moment, looking at each other like looking in a mirror.

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