Page 14 of Orlando

“Orlando, I shouldn’t… I can’t be here,” she says.

“Relax. I’m not going to do anything to you, Aleeka,” I tell her. “Well, not anything you don’t want me to do anyway.”

“I need to go,” she says.

“I want a reset,” I tell her.

“What?”

“That morning. I woke up and you were just… gone. I want a reset. I want to wake up and you still be here.”

“We can’t undo the past.”

“We can reset it, though.”

“Why would you even want to do that? So much time has passed,” she says.

“Because you’re my fucking ghost, Aleeka. I can’t live another sixty years with you haunting me. So I want a reset. I want to know what would have happened if you didn’t disappear,” I admit.

“We can’t just reset, Orlando. Too much has happened. There are things… There’s something… I need to tell you,” she says, her voice shaking.

I’m about to ask her what she’s talking about when my bedroom door opens and my father fills the threshold. “Orlando, there a good reason you’re skipping school again?” he asks me.

“I… ah… I should go. I’m sorry. It’s my fault, Mr. Valentino. I asked him to give me a lift home. I just meant my home, not his,” Aleeka tells my father.

I don’t correct her. He knows she’s lying to try to cover for me. The question I have is why? Why would she care enough to try to cover for me?

Chapter Nine

Ineed to get out of here. This was a mistake. Why the hell did I get in his car? The better question is what was he thinking bringing me back here?

The room looks exactly the same as I remember. The big, king-sized, dark-wood bed and dark linen. It’s the same. Everything right down to the smell.

Memories of that night assault me. Memories I’ve cherished yet tried not to think about. I’ve never thought that night was a mistake. If I could go back and change it, I wouldn’t. I loved being with Orlando. I wanted him to be my first. And let’s face it, my only. And being back here, it makes me want to relive that night.

He wants a reset, but that’s not reality. We can’t erase the past and we can’t take back what I’ve done. Right now isn’t the time to tell him, though. I need to get out of here, and I’d be running down the stairs if Mr. Valentino wasn’t blocking the doorway.

Orlando’s words from earlier play back in my mind. “My pops… ah… got a promotion.” How does one get a promotion in the mafia? Not that Orlando ever admitted that’s what his family does. It’s kind of just common knowledge around the city.

Does that make him the boss? I have no idea, but I’m guessing pissing off a mafia boss doesn’t bode well for anyone. I take a step backwards, closer to Orlando’s side. I’m way out of my element here.

Mr. Valentino looks at me briefly before turning his focus on his son. “Orlando, take Aleeka home. Then come and find me.”

I want to tell him that he doesn’t need to take me. Except I can’t. My mouth is suddenly dry. Did I just lie to a mob boss?I’ve been lying. For the past year and a half. I have Orlando’s son, a son I have no doubt his family will want to know about.

“Sure. You going to the game tonight?” Orlando asks his father.

“No, I have a meeting. Aleeka, it was nice seeing you again,” Mr. Valentino says before turning and walking away.

“Are you okay? I know you have a crush on my old man. I just didn’t think it’d turn you speechless.” Orlando chuckles.

My arm snaps out, my hand hitting him across his stomach. “I do not have a crush on your dad. Oh my god,” I groan.

“Sure you don’t. Come on, I’ll drive you back to school so you can get your car. I’ll take a rain check on the reset,” Orlando says.

I don’t agree or disagree. I follow him out of the house and keep quiet.

A few minutes later, Orlando parks in the student lot. “You sure you don’t want to come to the game? I can pick you up from your place.”

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