Page 15 of Shattered Echoes

“Come on, don't listen to Dad…”

I cut him off immediately.

“Don't listen to Dad?” I scoffed in frustration. “Henry, he's selling me off like fucking cattle.” I tried to keep my voice down in order to avoid any more problems.

“That's not what's happening here,” he replied defensively. “This is different.”

“But is it, though?” I pulled my head back dramatically. “Because this looks a lot like what happened with Leo and Antonio's sister.”

He frowned at me. “Don't go there, Colette,” he warned.

“I'm pretty sure she would understand what I'm going through right now. At least her own family wasn't to support of their dad selling her off! What's my brother doing to dissuade my father from this madness? Oh, that's right…nothing!” The words burst out of me in an angry rush.

“I'm not doing nothing, Colette, I'm trying to protect you,” he replied.

I snickered in disbelief.

“Yeah, you're doing a pretty good job at it. You know what? Maybe I should I just take the easy way out and just kill myself? That would end my misery. It sure ended hers.”

Furious, Henry raised his hand, threatening to hit me, and I instinctively turned my cheek, terrified.

Seconds later, he still didn't strike, and I slowly looked in his direction. He was fuming, with his hand hanging in the air. Tears had welled his eyes. I knew I had crossed the line because I knew how much Henry loved the Amato brothers’ sister, even though she was way older than him.

It was insensitive of me to have said what I did, but I couldn't help it. I apologized to Henry, and he did the same with tears in his eyes.

“I'm sorry for raising my hand on you. But don't say such things to me anymore.”

My trip down memory lane is cut short when my phone rings in my hand. Looking at my lit screen, I realize that it’s Henry.

“Hey, Henry,” I answer.

“Hey, are you doing alright?” he asks.

“Yeah…” I drawl lazily as my mind flashes back to my encounter with Antonio. “Hey, did you know your bird-brained friend is back in town?” I ask.

“Who?”

“Who else?”

“Are we talking about Antonio?”

“Yes,” I respond sharply.

Henry laughs.

“Let me guess, you two ran into each other, and it didn't end well.”

“He's the one always getting on my nerves. Argh!” I snap. Just the mere thought of him is annoying me.

“Yeah, if you say so,” he replies. “Don't worry, though. I'm sure you two won't run into each other that much.”

I sigh heavily, unsure of how realistic that statement is, and I can't shake off the feeling that he just jinxed this for me.

6

Antonio

Standing in my kitchen, I groggily shuffle toward the cabinet, envisioning a cozy breakfast. I'm really famished. With a half-opened box of cereal in my hand, I reach for a ceramic bowl, take it out, and head to the countertop, where I set it down, ready to pour in some cereal. However, my plans are thwarted as I discover the box is empty.

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