Page 9 of Forbidden Pregnancy
I look terrible, especially since I lost an eye. Judging by the way she’s staring at me right now, she has no clue I lost the eye and clearly, she finds me utterly hideous for it. Momentarily, I drop my confrontation with my younger sister.
“Myra Brent. I didn’t expect to see you here.”
I try to remain calm and centered, but internally a hurricane brews inside me. How can she justsit therelike nothing happened between us and stare at me like I’m some sort of gargoyle instead of…
It was so long ago. She probably feels nothing now. She’s probably married.
“Hello Michael,” she responds stiffly in a voice sexy enough to get my dick hard even if I want to remain steady and calm infront of the woman who left me in such a calloused manner all those years ago. “I ran into CC here and we were just catching up.”
“Perfect. Wonderful. CC, you need to come home. Now.”
“I’m twenty-three, turning twenty-four. I don’t have to do anything.”
“I have been more than generous with you. Do you know what the fuck dad would do to me if something happened to you?”
“You’re boring, Michael. All you do is go to the gym and jack off alone in your room.”
“Listen, you petulant little brat. I donottouch myself. At all.” I glance nervously at Myra and then back at my sister, who clearly wants to push my buttons so I lose my temper in front of Myra. I don’t think she knows our history. I kept the truth from my younger sister to protect her from… this.
The fact that I’ve never managed to keep a woman in my life. The last one I really loved sits right here in front of me and there’s not a hint of emotion on her face. Does she even remember who I am, or does she only know because Cosima reminded her that she has a loathsome older brother…
”I’m not going home with you,” CC insists. She’s one step above stomping her foot in this stupid fucking tantrum. I glare at Myra, halfway blaming her sudden appearance on CC’s behavior as her very presence transports me to some of the most frustrating times in my life.
Dad always made me responsible for CC so she wouldn’t end up like my sister Ruby, so she could be spared her twin sister’s fate, and so ultimately, she could have more freedom in the long run. CC doesn’t see it, but my guiding hand has kept her safely protected from an unhappy marriage to a much older Italian brute.
What CC views as my “overprotective” nature has given her the freedom to dress like…that.Some type of emo goth wearing the dirty-looking clothing trending amongst her peers.
“Yes,” I growl. “You are…”
Myra interrupts. “I’d better head out.”
“NO!” CC says. “You arenotheading out.”
My sister’s hands shoot out in either direction. One hand holds onto my forearm and the other holds onto Myra. CC is the only connection we still have thanks to the way Myra disappeared from my life. Even the way she looks at me now fills me with outrage. There’s no emotion behind her eyes. No desire.
“I’ll wait for you outside,” I growl at CC. “If you’re not out there in ten minutes, I’ll call Peter and we’re going to drag you out of here with our hands around your neck so you can never show your face again.”
Myra’s face contorts with disgust and I derive sick pleasure from provoking some reaction out of her, even if it’s negative. I want her to pay attention to me. Icraveher attention. But right now… I need to get some fresh air and take my sister home. I can’t indulge in my ghosts.
She doesn’t even care.My eyes flicker towards Myra again as I feel some strange temptation to say…everything I wanted to say to get her back.It’s too late. Twelve years is enough time for chemistry to fade. The emotions we had for each other are nothing more than memories now, and nothing worth dredging up.
I have even more going on now than I did then. I’m not the handsome, foul-mouthed scamp I used to be. Life hardened me the way I knew it would back then. Maybe that’s why I let Myra go in the end — I knew I would become a monster. I couldn’t risk turning her into one too.
Despite my frustration and anger with her, I can’t help my feelings.
“You look incredible, Myra. After twelve years, you haven’t aged a day.”
It’s not much, but it’s the closest I can muster to expressing my feelings for her. I bend my head and turn my back on them, walking into the fresh air to wait for my runaway sister. I hope she comes back with the slightest touch of humility…
This sucks. I lean against my truck, fighting the temptation to have another smoke. I know those things will kill me, but there’s nothing as easy to access in this country for stress reduction that doesn’t turn you into a dysfunctional drooling mess. I stick a cigarette in my mouth and before I know it, CC runs through her ten minutes and I don’t realize how late she is until my hands are cold and I burn through to the cigarette butt.
After crushing the orange butt beneath my feet, I glance at my phone to see if CC messaged me. Also, I clearly need to call Peter.
I send my younger brother a text.
Belladonna’s. CC loose.
Unfortunately, it’s not the first time it’s come to this with my sister. She doesn’t get it. Ever since Uncle Carmine died, dad has been entirely on edge, questioning everyone in his life, including his long-time best friend Leandro Taviani and more worthy of his distrust, Carmine’s right-hand man down in Pittsburgh, Maury Gravina.
