Page 55 of Straightened Out

“You’re all in,” I repeat.

“Yeah, and you should probably warn your mother too. If the woman thinks she hates me now, she’s gonna fucking despise me when I pick you up for dinner on Saturday.”

For some odd reason that makes me smile. It also makes things real because if he’s willing to go to war with my mother, he’s serious. I don’t know the reason behind his change of heart, if it has something to do with whatever went down tonight or what, I just know that I’m not going to let this chance slip by us.

When you want something so bad, you find a way to make it work. Even if what you want comes with a side of organized crime. The only hiccup I foresee is my brother. Rocco’s loyalty to him runs deep and right now he’s not thinking about Joaquin and what he will ultimately think about us being together.

“What about my brother?”

“He’s dealing with his own shit right now. When the time is right, we’ll tell him.”

I bite my lip. I want to believe this is real, that he’s not feeding me lines and stringing me along.

“Any more questions?” he asks.

I decide to let the issue of my brother slide and live for the moment. I replay his words in my head and even though it’s a long shot, I ask, “What changed your world tonight?”

“You mean aside from you?”

“Nice try,” I retort, rolling my eyes. “I guess I’m just wondering why the sudden change of heart.” I pause, reading the blank expression on his face. “You’re not going to answer, are you?”

“No,” he confirms and sits up. Licking his lips, he looks away for a moment. Then he brings his eyes back to mine and says, “There are going to be a lot of times where I won’t be able to answer your questions, Violet, and you need to get used to that. You need to understand that I’ve taken a vow of silence and if I betray that promise the consequences are grave—for me, but more importantly, for you. The less you know, the safer you are.”

Someone else might’ve heard those words and thought about the girl who died in front of her eyes. She would’ve taken it as a warning and fled, but I didn’t even bat an eye.

Behind every great man, is a woman who makes him great.

She knows the good.

The bad.

The ugly.

She reminds him of who he used to be.

Well, beneath the fancy suits Rocco has a heart of tarnished gold and I’m the girl who is signing up to polish it and make it shine again.

Chapter 18

Violet Cabrera

“Heel forward, shoulders down. It’s very simple Violet,” my instructor, Ms. Beechers, chastises.

If it was up to her, she’d have me exiled from the academy. My scholarship would be revoked and instead of training for a one of the most prestigious productions to hit Lincoln Center's stage, I’d be dancing on a corner.

I swear some days I think she’s right, that I don’t belong here. It’s usually after a long day of classes, when I stay late to practice. I slip my ballet shoes off and stare at my bruised and bloody feet with tears in my eyes. The dream of one day holding the honor of prima ballerina feels so out of reach.

“That’s enough,” Ms. Beechers announces.

I square my shoulders and slowly bring my arms down to my sides, ending my routine fluidly and gracefully. However, judging by the look of disdain radiating from Ms. Beecher’s eyes, it safe to say she doesn’t agree. Feeling discouraged, I cross the room and grab my bag.

Today normally would be one of those days where I stay behind to work on all the things Ms. Beecher’s critiqued, but I don’t have it in me.

To be fair I’ve been off my game since Tuesday and it has little do with Ms. Beecher and everything to do with Rocco. Our relationship was off to a rocky start and that was putting it mildly.

He dropped me off a little while after we forced ourselves out of bed and promised to be in touch. I climbed up the fire escape wearing a shit-eating grin, one that was quickly smacked off my face when I crawled through my window and found my mother sitting on the foot of my bed.

Literally, she smacked me across the face. I don’t know how she knew I had spent the night with Rocco, but she did, and she called me every filthy disgusting name imaginable. The tears I held in my eyes were not a result of the slap, but rather a product of the words she spewed at me.

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