Page 14 of Don't Let Go

“She has a right to be. I’d be furious too. When is he coming?”

I rolled over onto my back, following the thin crack on my ceiling with my eyes. “In a few days, maybe a week. His dad still needs to have a funeral, and I guess other things need to happen first. My mamma wasn’t big on the details.”

“Do you think this has anything to do with the Russian mafia coming closer to Phoenix? That’s the rumor anyway, with all these new drug deals popping around town.”

I chewed on my bottom lip. “I’m not sure. I mean, the senator’s human and humans die every day.”

“True. Just a thought.” She sighed. “Damn, that’s crazy. I wonder if Tyler’s hot.”

I draped an arm over my eyes. Of course, that thought would cross her mind.

“I have no idea. Look him up.”

“I will.” I heard more typing. “Oh… he’s pretty cute. He’s a basketball player, and according to this, he’s a damn good one. Paolo, eat your heart out.”

I sat up, feeling nauseous. “Shit. Paolo didn’t even cross my mind! What will he do when he learns about Tyler moving in with my family?” I rubbed my temple, feeling a headache coming on strong. “Why is my life always a mess?”

“I wish I had an answer for you, hon. Just think of this as a social experiment. Like how college will be, living in a building with strangers.”

“Thanks. I’ll let you go. I just wanted to complain to someone.” I ran my hand along my sheet. “Seems life is going to be quite interesting here soon.”

“I bet. He does look hot. He has dark hair and eyes to match. He’s tall and ruggedly handsome almost in a bad boy way. I wonder if he’s boring and all into politics like his dad. That’d be a drag.”

“Who knows, he’s from Scottsdale. You know the type. They glare down their freshly fixed noses to judge the rest of us while they sit on their piles of money.”

Chloe exploded into laughter, the kind that made her lose her breath for a moment. “Damn,” she gasped, “Girl. You’re savage.”

I picked a speck on my jeans. “Always.”

“Well, even though he’s fromSnobbsdale I’ll still give him a chance. My mom’s calling me, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow.”

“Okay, bye.”

I stared at my phone’s screen and decided to look Tyler up online as well.

Damn, Chloe wasn’t lying. He was cute with his dark locks, intense eyes, strong jawbone, and a sinner’s smirk. He looked like trouble and that was the last thing I needed.

All I wanted was to graduate at the top of my class, get into college, not have the mafia pin a permanent position on me, and somehow break things off with Paolo.

Now I had some basketball star with devilishly good looks and a tragic background story moving in with me.

Why did I feel like the universe had pulled some mean prank and was laughing at me right now?

7

Tyler

Three days ago, we were in Washington DC to allow the entire country to mourn for my father with a national memorial service. The United States President and a few members of Congress spoke of their favorite memories of my father. I, of course, had to stand in front of the hundreds who gathered to say something with all the reporters pointing their mics and cameras in my direction. I glanced over my shoulder at my father’s casket with the giant American flag draped over it, and all I felt was anger. Why did he leave me when I still needed him?

Since coming home from DC, my father had been lying in state inside the Rotunda of the Arizona State Capitol for an entire day. After a private ceremony, members of the public were invited to pay their respects.

Today was the personal funeral for close family and friends at a church in central Phoenix. It was quite a sight watching the Arizona National Guard carry my father’s shiny oak casket from the capital building to the hearse. Citizens who adored my father lined the streets holding candles, mini-American flags, flowers, and posters as the motorcade slowly drove past. Even though I was pissed my father picked politics over me, I could see that the people loved him. They lost a good senator. I lost my father to them, but I never imagined I’d lose him forever.

The church’s pews were filled with people I was mostly unfamiliar with. I usually met my father’s friends at social gatherings but never remembered their names. All I could do was smile and nod when they spoke to me. Thankfully, I was allowed to invite personal friends of my own. As for family, I didn’t know them either. Most of my mother’s family lived in Chicago, and what little remained of my father’s family lived in Tucson. We exchanged Christmas cards every year and ghostly followed each other on social media, but wasn’t that how most families worked?

The only family member I remembered was my Uncle Morgan, whom I hadn’t seen since last Thanksgiving. “Hey, Tyler. You’re looking good.” Uncle Morgan hit me on the back. “Sorry about your dad. I still can’t believe it. He was so young and to die by ill-prepared seafood.” He let out a low whistle. “What a way to go.” He shook his head and grasped my forearm. “Your father was a great man and I’m sure he’s very proud of you.”

I did the signature nod I’ve been doing for almost a week. I was turning into a bobblehead. “Thanks, Unc. How have you been?”

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