Page 154 of Hexed
VENESA
I feel betterafter talking to Enzo, but there’s still so much weight sitting on my chest with all the things Ihaven’ttold him. But I don’t know how to make myself say the words, and the longer I take to get them out, the harder it is.
I’m a coward, allowing myself to settle into this new feeling of being in his arms, of being shown just what it’s like when Enzo Marino looks at you like you hung the moon. I’ve never been someone’s choice before, not like this, and the feeling is intoxicating, but it also makes me terrified of it slipping away, and I know after I tell him what I need to…I’ll lose it. Lose him.
The thought makes my stomach drop.
We’ve been in the back of his car for an hour; traffic in New York City is no joke, and I glance out the window, realizing we’ve finally made it out of downtown and are clearly in another area.
The buildings are older, the signs worn and faded, the streets filled with people hanging outside at round tables and kids playing on the sidewalks. Suddenly, I’m interested. I hadn’t expected to come to a place like this, and the familiarity of a community that feelslivedin, cared for, reminds me of the Southside of Atlantic Cove.
It’s comfortable here.
Scotty and Bastien are both up front, bickering like brothers. I can’t tell if they enjoy the back-and-forth or if they genuinely hate each other, but either way, it’s amusing to see someone else giving Bastien shit.
“I thought you were taking me out on the town,” I say.
Enzo lifts a brow. “Does this not look like a town to you?”
“You know what I mean, smart-ass.”
He grins. “We’re meeting my guy here, Gio. And I wanted to show you where I grew up.”
The car slows down before halting when we hit a stoplight, and there’s an elderly woman on the corner of the street, struggling with paper grocery bags in her arms as she tries to open her trunk.
Enzo notices. “Scotty, pull over.”
“You got it, E.”
The sound of a blinker comes on, and then Scotty’s parking right along the sidewalk, and before I can say a word, Enzo’s popping out of the car.
There are a few stagnant moments where I think about staying in and watching from afar, but when Bastien messes with the radio and Scotty smacks his hand, I get out, not wanting to listen to them argue like a married couple.
This is a whole new world for me. It’s like when I got to New York, I stopped being the girl everyone looked at as an obligation and started being more.
I still miss Fisher, though. I glance down at my phone, seeing that he still hasn’t texted me back, even though I’ve messaged and called several times.
When I catch up to Enzo, he’s already at the elderly woman’s side. “Mrs. Coppola, it’s been a long time.”
She’s beaming at him like he’s the best thing since sliced bread, and he smiles back, grabbing the groceries from herhands and putting them into the trunk of her car before closing it.
“You’re such a good boy, Enzo,” she croons, patting his cheek like he’s a child.
“You shouldn’t be grocery shopping on your own, Mrs. Coppola.”
She scoffs. “Oh, I’ll be fine.”
“Do you need a ride home?”
She laughs and waves him off. “No, no, but it’s good to have you back here. It’s been a while since we’ve seen you around.”
He runs a hand through his hair and grimaces the slightest bit. “Been busy.”
“Hmm,” she hums, looking at him, then glances at me for the first time. “I can see that. Is this your new girl?”
He smirks, and I expect him to say no, because how bad would it look for him to be seen with me when he and Aria were the it couple, and very media friendly, for the past year? But he surprises me by wrapping his arm around my waist and tugging me into his side, pressing a kiss to my temple. “She’s theonlygirl.”
“She’s much better looking than that last one you had.” She winks at me. “Enzo’s a good boy. He’s the whole reason my Donny could go to trade school and make something of himself. This community doesn’t know what we’d do without him.”
