Page 96 of Broken Deal

For the first time in my life, I see red. My pulse pounds in my ears, every beat sending a rush of heat straight to my head. My hand moves on instinct before my mind can catch up, and the next thing I know, my palm connectswith her cheek with a sharp, unforgiving slap. The sting radiates through my fingers, and the sound of it echoes in the tense air between us. A suffocating silence follows, but the throb in my hand keeps pulsing. I ball my fist as tightly as I can, trying to stop the shaking that’s overtaking my body.

I’ve never lost my cool with Amelia like that. But I’m so fucking frustrated. Hearing her say those things, the same thoughts I think about myself more often than not. Iamunlovable. My scars are too many to count. My heart refuses to be beaten again, and that’s what, at the end of the day, makes me incapable of being loved. But she should be the last one to look down on me and judge.

Miles gets between us, pushing me. “What the fuck, Sophia!?” he yells, getting in my face.

“I suggest you take a step back,” Lorenzo’s icy and sharp deep voice cuts through Miles’s yelling.

And even in the warm summer daylight, it feels as if my surroundings drop a few degrees. Shivers run down my spine as Lorenzo eats the distance between us with menacing strides. The air is charged with a strange, dangerous electricity as Lorenzo’s hands find my waist, gripping my hips possessively as he gently pushes me behind him.

“Control your bitch, because she hit my girlfriend!” Miles spits, getting in Lorenzo’s face.

Before Miles can utter another word, Lorenzo’s fist flies hard and fast, connecting with his jaw. Mile’s head jerks back with the impact as blood starts rushing out of his mouth.

Before he can recover, Lorenzo grabs him by the collar of his shirt, shaking him like a rag doll. “You really need to learn when to shut the fuck up,” he says through grittedteeth, his fist meeting his face again. “But don’t worry, I’m more than happy to give you a lesson.”

I reach for his shoulder, trying to ease the tension. “Lorenzo, forget it. It’s not worth it.”

His eyes snap to mine, wild and unforgiving, with a simmering anger that rattles every bone on my body. “Stay back,” he orders gruffly. After a beat, his eyes soften, scanning my whole face. “Please.”

I raise my hands in surrender and nod, taking a step back. My stubborn self, who loves to be proud and prove to the world she doesn’t need anyone to take care of her, is nowhere to be found. For once, I want to rely on someone, and there’s no one better than him.

He snaps his head back to Miles, his tone unwavering. “This is for calling her a bitch.” His fist connects with his stomach. “This is for not knowing your place.” His knee connects with his groin. “And this is for cheating on the most wonderful woman in the world and making her feel like she’s worth nothing when we both know the only piece of shit here isyou.” He finishes, his fist connecting with his face one last time, right on the nose, landing with a loud crack. He pushes Miles, letting him fall to the ground.

Miles lets out a pained groan, blood dripping down his nose as he tries to control it with his ragged shirt. I can hear Amelia yelling at the top of her lungs, but I’m in a trance. Having an out-of-body experience as everything unfolds before me.

“You’re going to pay for this, mark my fucking words!” Amelia yells, trying to push Lorenzo, but his towering build makes it impossible for her to do any sort of damage.

I step closer to her, ready to unleash my frustration all over again, but more than anything, I want to settle this before Mom returns. “You need to leave, Amelia. I don’twant you to show your face ever again. Consider me and Mom dead. I’m done cleaning up your messes. I’m done doing favors for you when all you’ve done is take advantage of my kindness.” My tears of anger start to come out, and even though I hate every second of it, I can’t make them stop. “I will always love you because you’re my sister, but you’ve done enough damage. Go live your life, and we’ll live ours. Please,” I say through a resigned sigh.

She gapes at me, fury flashing in her eyes.Funny. I thought she was incapable of feeling anything. “You think you’re so much better than me, don’t you?” she spits, her nostrils flaring. “You and I come from the same fucked up background, Sophia, so wake thefuckup.” She flashes me a smile that is straight updiabolical. “Before you keep looking down at me, get off your high horse and realize that this”—she points between me and Lorenzo—“will be over in no time. He’ll get tired of you, because no one wants to love someone like you.” She sneers, that diabolical grin still playing on her lips as her words gut me, knifing my already beaten heart. “Good luck with your miserable life, sister, because you’re going to need it.” She grabs Miles’s hand and drags him to their car and they bothfinallyleave.

As soon as their car is out of view, I drop to my knees, my chest tightening as I struggle to breathe through my tears. Lorenzo drops next to me and brings me in for a hug.

He kisses my forehead and brushes my hair with his strong, big hands over and over again in a soothing motion. “You’re okay, baby. You’re okay. I’m here.” His voice is soft and reassuring.

When I finally calm down, I whisper, “Lorenzo, you can’t tell Mom what happened.”

“Sophia,” he says through a pained groan. “You can’t keep pretending everything is fine.”

My gaze snaps to his. “Promise me.” It’s all I manage to say. I need him to understand how important this is. I want him to understand where I’m coming from, but the words just get stuck, refusing to come out.

He rubs the back of his neck, his lips twitching in doubt. “If that’s what you want.”

I rise from the ground, brushing the dust from my knees. “Thank you,” is all I say before turning around and walking back inside the house.

The rest of the night goes like normal. I put on my fakest smile and I laugh like everything is perfectly fine, even though the cracks of my heart are barely hanging on. And I take in every moment I can with my mom before I have to get back to reality and deal with the rest of my shitty life.

“Spill the beans,” Aria says, crossing her legs underneath her and taking a sip of the margaritas we just made.

I start speaking fast, wanting nothing more than to get this off my chest. “Lorenzo and I are fuck buddies. It was my idea, not his. I don’t know what the fuck I was thinking. Well, yes, I do. I was thinking,hey, wouldn’t it be nice to have fun this summer?But I think… I think I like Lorenzo now. And I don’t know what to do with that information.” I inhale, trying to catch my breath. “Who am I kidding? There’s nothing I can do. I think we’ve established I don’t do well with relationships.”

Aria and Isabella look at me expectantly, not saying a word. I reach for my margarita that has been sitting on the coffee table, waking Isabella’s dog Marley in the process, since she’s been sleeping in my lap. There’s an unspoken agreement that when we’re hanging out at my place, Isabella must bring Marley. She’s the sweetest black lab, and I love cuddling with her. I drink the whole cup in one sitting, waiting for them to say something.

“Have you talked to him about it?” Isabella asks.

I shake my head. “I think we both sort of felt how the vibe changed when he went with me to Kentucky.”

“And how did that go?” Aria asks softly. She knows enough about my family and all my problems, and she knows how much I hate sharing that part of my life.

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