Page 12 of Redeem
You took away someone who hurt me. He was a monster, and he was going to kill me.Her words replay in my head, as though I’ve pushed play on a recording. I was so worried about how she’d think of me after what I did. There are only six people who know what went down in that room. One of them is now six feet under. Emilio taking the blame doesn't change who really pulled the trigger. But she doesn't see me any different. I saved her and that feels good.
The bass rumbles through my body the farther we move inside. There’s a massive birthday sign for me draped from the ceiling with black and blue streamers. Madden fades into the crowd, and I follow him. A few girls rub up against me, trying to grab at me, asking for a dance. But I ignore them and just keep moving, trying to find the familiar mop of blond hair.
A girl places a crown on my head and a kiss against my cheek, and Emilio laughs.
“Happy birthday, brother.” Emilio grins, passing me a shot. I throw it back just before another one appears. Well, I won’t say no to this.
Five shots later, I’m starting to feel a buzz.
Leaning back against the bar, I watch the sea of people dancing, laughing, and having the time of their lives. Emilio surprises me by moving into the crowd and throwing his hands up in the air, dancing. I laugh. Someone is drunk, and I don’t blame him. After all the shit he’s gone through lately, he needs one night off. One night to fuck shit up and forget the hell we live in.
An arm wraps around my waist, and I bite down on my lip, knowing who it will be. I look down to find a familiar set of coffee-brown eyes. I step back, eye fucking her from head to toe. She’s wearing a gold sequin skirt that sits just below her perfectly round ass and a long-sleeve sheer black top, showing off her black bra. I bite down on my lip, shaking my head. Fucking hell, there’s no one like this girl.
“Happy birthday, Keegs,” she says before claiming my mouth in a sweet kiss.
Whistles sound around us, but I drown them out as I bend her back and kiss her as hard as I can.
Tonight just got a hell of a lot better.
CHAPTER11
ADDIE / ISABELLA
The line to the bathroom goes down the hallway, and finding a spot at the end, I lean against the wall. Tonight has been fun. I was dreading coming alone, since Serena and Stella still aren’t talking to me. But I thought,fuck it. Keegan wanted me here, so here I am. He seems to be back to his goofy self tonight, and even Emilio is enjoying himself. Maybe a little too much, but it’s been very entertaining watching him dance. Sober Emilio would never shake his ass out there. Who knew he had moves?
“Isabella, there you are.”
I cringe at the mention of my real name. Olivia and a couple of her friends slide in next to me.
“It’s Addie now,” I say, lifting out my phone from my gold sequin clutch, pretending to look over some messages, but there’s nothing new. I’ve tried to message Arrow to check in on him, but they all go unread. My father called me yesterday, asking if I’ve seen him, which I haven't, and if my father is calling, that’s a bad sign. Arrow is clearly taking the news about his parents badly. I wish he would reach out to me.
I quickly shoot off another message.
Me: Call me ASAP
Olivia laughs. “Oh, well, I like Isabella much better. It’s elegant, and your father gave it to you.”
I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek to stop myself from replying. It’ll only add fuel to the fire, and I just can’t be bothered with someone like Olivia. I knew girls like her from back home. She only wants to be my friend now because I can give her the connection of my family name.
Her father probably insisted on it, like most. No one wants to be the enemy of the Romano family; they want to be friends. But Olivia has been a fake bitch since the moment I met her. Even if I don’t have girlfriends anymore, I’d rather be alone than have her.
“So, are you and Keegan a thing now?” Olivia asks, applying lip gloss.
I ignore her because, honestly, I have no idea myself. I like Keegan and he likes me, but we haven’t put a label on anything yet. Just seeing what happens, I guess. It feels nice knowing that I don’t have to marry Adrian anymore, but that doesn’t mean my father isn’t already signing me over to the next best thing. Girls in our family only have one use and that’s an arranged marriage. Business deals, as they like to call them. But they’re really signing away another’s life like it’s nothing. I have no idea how to cut cords from my family or if there’s even a way to do it.
“Oh, well, maybe I’ll give the birthday boy a night to remember, then,” Olivia says with a smirk.
I shove my phone back into my bag, leveling her with a deadly stare. “Don’t touch him,” I growl, and she laughs.
“Ohh, I will. Once he’s had me, he won't ever want you.” Olivia chuckles.
I can’t stand to be around her any longer. One minute she’s wanting to be my friend because of the Romano name and when I rejected her friendship offer, she’s being a bitch. I kick off the wall, heading straight past the line of people and into the stall. A few people bitch and moan, but when they see me, they quickly stop.
After finishing, I head back out into the chaos of the dance floor and run straight into Keegan, Emilio, and Madden. Emilio is stumbling, and Madden’s holding him up.
“Izzy.” Emilio grins, opening his arms wide.
I giggled. “I’ve never seen Emilio drunk. This is something else.”
