Page 18 of Priest

Nonna had never liked my father, and it was obvious that after losing her daughter in that fiery crash, it wasn’t going to change anytime soon. She hated him with a vengeance, and she’d often tried to convince me to come and live with her. I knew that my father would only make things difficult for her if I left the family home, and now I was betrothed to that awful Leonardo, I literally didn’t have a life of my own any more.

I was to act and play the part of a good daughter of a wealthy man, and not bring disgrace on the family.

“Nonna, you’re scaring me,” I whispered.

She cupped my face with one hand; it was cold and I shuddered slightly. She was dying. This was probably going to be the last time I saw her.

“You must always do what’s in your heart, Isabella. Never settle for anything less than you deserve.”

I shook my head, my eyes cast down. “I don’t know how to break free.”

She smiled, her blue eyes like mine, her smile holding so much sadness and pain. “Yes, you do. You have the spirit and heart of your mother. She was a fighter. A Romano. We’re survivors. You will survive this, Isabella. You have your mother’s blood running through your veins.”

My eyes clouded over as I rested my head on her shoulder. “I have nobody left except you, Nonna.”

She kissed me on the head. “And even after I’m gone, you’ll still have me. Whenever you need me, and your mother, you just have to ask. They can take many things from you, my sweet girl. But they’ll never take the pureness in your heart. You know what you have to do. You’ll find your opportunity to make a new life, and you’ll take it.”

Nonna had never been a rich woman, but she’d always given me love; the biggest gift of all. I got everything I needed from her emotionally, but what was I going to do without her?

“I want to come with you. I can’t do this alone.”

She held me for the longest time. “But it’s not your time, my sweet girl. You have a long and beautiful life to live, and you must make good choices. Marrying Leonardo is not one of them.”

“But I can’t fight my father.” I looked into her eyes and she smiled softly.

“You’re smart. You’ll find a way to break free. And when you do, I will be there, looking down on you so proud.”

“I can’t…”

“Yes, you can. I know you can. I have faith that this life you were given was to do very important things.”

“I want to make you proud, and Mama too.”

“You already do, just by being you.”

I looked down for a moment. “Why are you giving me this key?”

She took a few moments to answer, then regretfully, she said, “There are things to do with your mother’s past that I wanted no part in. And she wanted me to pass this on once you were old enough to understand with specific instructions. This is in your hands now, child. Just know all she wanted was for you to be happy and safe.” She paused. We both know that while my family home is like Fort Knox, but that doesn’t mean the monsters inside it are good people who care about me. I’m a commodity to all of them, nothing more. “In the end, that’s all that matters.”

And those are the words I will carry with me forever.

In the end, that’s all that matters…. She’s right. Everything she ever told me came from the heart, but now I have to be smart. I have to follow my heart, and also listen to my head. I have to run…

“You got a light?” the guy asks as I wait in line to get into the Soup Kitchen, a cigarette dangling between his lips.

I shake my head.

“Too bad. What’s your name?”

I don’t like people talking to me. “Sarah.”

“Nice to meet you, I’m Rueben.”

He looks shady; and I get the feeling that he’s a wheeler and dealer. Not just because he keeps glancing around, then looking back to me with a cocky look on his face, but his whole vibe is off. But I smile politely, then cast my eyes down to the floor. Hopefully he’ll get the hint. I need to get inside. Helping out at the soup kitchen and being around Stella and Priest has become my lifeline. I look forward to every single evening, and I’ve been making it a regular thing. Enjoying the company of others is a foreign concept to me.

“Seen you around a couple of times. I sometimes help out at the drop-in center.”

I’ve never noticed him before. I know he’s just trying to be nice, but I don’t need people noticing me.

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