Page 34 of Bad for You

What would Dr. Phil say?

The drive is long, but I’m not anxious. Gianna has taught me that all good things come to those who wait.

Like all good predators, we must wait for the perfect moment to strike. Premature action can be costly, and there is no room for error.

We arrive at a large white mansion lit up by lights. A party is being held within the extravagant walls. Many expensive cars are parked outside, and the guests who arrive wear nothing but the finest threads.

Our driver pulls up behind a line of cars.

Gianna adjusts her pearls and exhales softly. “Italian only.”

Both Lenny and I are fluent, thanks to her teachings.

We both nod.

She doesn’t say another word as she exits the car. We follow, knowing better than to ask questions.

Being out in the “real world” is still foreign to me. I’ve taken comfort in being inside my home because I never had a desire tosee what was outside the walls. I’ve been out there, and all it did was cause me pain.

But being here now, among all these people, I wonder if perhaps I’ve missed out on all these years.

All the teachings I’ve learned have been through books and Gianna. I never felt disadvantaged. But was that because Gianna taught me that she was all I needed to survive?

I quash down such thoughts because I don’t like them. Despite Gianna’s detachment, she has still been the kindest human. I accept what she offers because a starving dog always does.

Another lesson she taught.

But as I look around, I realize that perhaps I only starve because she never feeds me enough. I took what she offered and appreciated it because I had nothing else. But I guess any meal appears appealing if you’re always hungry, and I’m always hungry for more.

Lenny towers over the men double his age here, and I notice the heads of many women turning as he passes them. I barely suppress the urge to snap their necks.

Gianna air-kisses the cheeks of a man who smiles, but it’s not a pleasant gesture. It’s that of a predator, one I have seen before.

He does not recognize me.

But I recognize him.

He sat at that poker table the night I met Aldo. But unlike Aldo, he is a bad man, one who was there to engage in illicit acts against children who needed his protection, not his vile hands on their innocent bodies.

“You’re always full of surprises,” he says, eyeing me hungrily.

I’m going to rip out his eyes and feed them to him.

Just as I step forward, fingers wrap around my wrist, fingers I’ve not felt in a very long time.

The electricity radiating from Lenny’s touch will surely set me on fire. He has read me better than I thought, but I shouldn’t be surprised. He’s always known me better than I’ve known myself.

The move was discreet, so no one saw. Well, no one but Gianna.

This is a test, and I failed.

It won’t happen again.

Subtly removing myself from Lenny’s grip, I smile and fake innocence, just as any normal young girl would.

The man makes clear what he wants, and when he whispers something in Gianna’s ear, she looks at me as if weighing over his request.

Eventually, she nods.

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