Page 2 of Vigilante
“What exactly do you expect me to say?” He questions, “I don’t have the lung capacity for it anyway.” He chuckles briefly.
The painful reality hitting me again. “Don’t do that,” I murmur.
“Son,” the breathing tube that rests under his nose lifts as he smiles softly. “You are, other than your mother, the greatest gift.” He begins, and all I do is sigh. “You will listen to this.” His voice turns stern. “I don’t have much time left…and I am…still…your father.” Taking another deep breath, he continues. “Take care of your mother, finish your education, and always remember…ti amo.”
“Ti amo,pop,” I repeat back to him. My eyes are burning from the deep-rooted sadness within me, clawing away at the fact that soon enough, my father will be dead, and I will be without a man that I hold in such high regard. A man and father who was everything one should be.
My mother walks back into the room, planting both coffees on the bedside table. I watch as my father turns his head to face her.
“Mio cara…have I…told you today…how beautiful…you look?”
My mother rolls her eyes. “Even with everything happening, you still find the time to lie, but I love you…so at least there’s that.”
“I love you…too.” He replies faintly.
And that’s when I hear it, the screaming of the alarm as my father goes into cardiac arrest. Nurses rush into the room, and I move from the chair to give them space, taking my mother in my arms as she begins sobbing.
“No! Gio!” My mother cries out in devastation. “Stay with me, please!”
“We have a cardiac arrest, page Doctor Cooper and Doctor Forsyth.” The blonde nurse speaks to the other as they lower the bed flat. My mother’s screams permeate the room as they work on bringing my father back. And as I hold her, I offer a silent promise to both of them…the actions of the uncaring will be rectified.
CHAPTER 1
Julia
PRESENT DAY
I’m only an hour into my shift, and my non-slip shoes are already digging into my aching feet. Only seven more hours to go, and then I can go home to finish binge-watchingStranger Things. A host of regulars have been buzzing about, ordering their usual beverages and getting their caffeine fix. My blonde hair is loosely tied into a braid to keep it out of my face, but several flyaway pieces come loose as I pump out another order. Christmas music plays in the background, but with every new order, it’s drowned out by the mechanical whirring of the coffee machine.
The line at least has died down enough that I’m not running at full tilt and have a moment to breathe. Just another day in this dead-end job, but it brings me a much-needed paycheck. Especially since I’m still paying off all my mother’s medical debt, I might be stuck working here until I’m eighty to pay it all off.
“You going out tonight?” Ned, my manager asks. His moppy brown hair is smooshed down by a hairnet, pulling his bushyeyebrows taunt. He’s been angling for a date since I started, and it’s become annoying. There’s only so many times a girl can say no politely, but as he holds the strings to this job I desperately need, I can’t tell him to fuck off. No matter how much I want to.
“Yeah, I have plans.” I lie, feeling my face tighten into a fake smile, hoping he’ll drop it.
Thankfully, the next customer steps up, cutting off any retort from Ned. I silently thank the universe for its intervention when I notice the customer is wearing a hooded jacket and a blue medical mask.His build is large and he has broad shoulders that could envelop my body easily. His dark eyes sparkle with a playful energy that has my palms feeling clammy. Even though his face is partially covered, his inviting presence piques my interest. I bet there’s one hot man hiding under that mask.
Having dealt with my mom being sick for the last year before her death, I know all too well the lengths I would go to so she wouldn’t contract anything that could make her worse. My heart pangs at wondering what he must be going through to be wearing a mask. Too many people act cruelly at the sight of a mask, snickering and judging, not understanding that they’re to keep others safe. As he comes up to the counter, I can’t help but wonder what he looks like because those dark eyes pin me with the most intense stare. I can feel it all the way to my bones. It sends a shiver over my skin, and a nervous flutter breaks out in my stomach.
“How can I help you?” I ask, feeling like my voice is coming out in a higher pitch than normal. Get it together, girl. You deal with hot customers all the time. But I can’t help but know that there’s something different about this one.
“Can I get a medium caramel mocha, no whip, with an extra shot of espresso?” Those dark eyes of his crinkle like he’s smiling under his mask.
“Sure thing.” I type in his order. He pays with cash, and I give him his change, having to count it more than once to make sure I didn’t fuck it up by mooning over this guy. “Name?”
His eyes dart around like he’s suddenly nervous. He clears his throat, and it sends a rumble through my chest.
“You can call me Max.” He seems almost shy about giving me his name, and I find that endearing. Maybe I’m affecting him like how he’s affecting me.A girl can dream,I think as I go to make his drink.
As I move, I feel his eyes on my body. Watching me with that same intensity, I felt earlier.
I don’t hate it.
With him paying attention, I put an extra sway in my step, feeling emboldened.
“I haven’t seen you in here before. Are you just visiting?” I ask as I stir his drink, making sure all the flavors meld seamlessly. This may be a shit job, but I still take pride in my work.
He puts his hands on the counter, leaning closer. So close that his subtle pine and fresh laundry scent hit me. “I haven’t really decided yet. Maybe you can help me with that.”
