Page 113 of Heartless Mafia Prince 2: Rocco & Ryah

“Fuck him. He brought this on himself,” I growled, as I climbed out of my tank top and shorts.

Clutching the bottle of Jack Daniels, I flipped on the piping hot water.

The water pelted my skin. A smile curled at the ends of my lips. I loved how the water heated my skin. Maybe that was why I slept here. Because the water lulled me to sleep. I retreated to the corner, leaned against the cold wall, and stretched my legs out. Wiggling my toes under the water, I turned up the bottle of Jack.

Images of Dad lying on the porch hit me hard.

“Why! Why!” I screamed.

My father severely fucked me up. All he had to do was let me live my life. Not try to control me and kidnap my boyfriend.

I took another swig of the brown liquor and basked in the burn swirling its way to my belly.

Maybe I could sit out for the rest of this semester and travel. No, Ryah, you only have two months left of school.

I looked through the glass shower door and thought of an old memory of dad and me that brought joy to my heart.

I wrapped my arms around mom’s waist, pushing her back a bit.

“Someone’s happy to see me.” She squeezed my tiny frame.

“I missed you.”

“It’s only been three days, Ryah.”

“Happy to be home.” I peered into her dark eyes.

Dad stepped inside, closing the door behind him. “Looking good, Melanie.”

“Thanks, Luciano.”

Mom kissed the top of my head. “Bath time.”

I turned to dad. “Are you leaving?”

“No, I’ll be here when you get out of the tub. I’ll read you a bed-time story. And I’ll drive you to school in the morning.” He winked.

“Great!” I smiled from ear-to-ear.

Tears streamed down my face.

After he read the bed-time story, he kissed my forehead and told me how much he loved me.

I wanted to hold on to that memory forever and forget what had gone on in recent weeks.

The heaviness of my eyelids took over. That was the last thing I remembered.

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