Page 15 of From My Past
I climbed up the stairs to the second floor and walked to our apartment. Thankfully, I had hidden a key in the fire extinguisher right across from our front door, otherwise I’d be sitting out here all-night waiting for Luca to get home.
* * *
After I wiped off the seemingly endless layers of foundation and cover up from my deeply purpled, swollen face, I pulled on my favorite sleep shirt. It was an extremely oversized, white t-shirt that I’d saved from five years ago. I didn’t wear it often, only when I really needed comfort, and tonight was definitely one of those nights. His smell had long since been washed away, but it was enough.
Kieron had left the next morning in such a rush that it wasn’t until later in the day that I found his undershirt under my desk, hidden from view.
I kept it. It wasn’t like I could call him and give it back to him anyway. Even when I started dating Luca, I just pushed it to the back of my closet. Always there, but out of sight.
I let my blonde hair flow freely down my back as I went to the large window in the living room. It was dark out so I needed to close the blinds, but I couldn’t help but think that as I looked out into the vast night sky, that this life had to get better. I had to hope that my life wouldn’t always be like this. I wouldn’t always have to sit and wait in fear for being an individual. I wouldn’t always have to pay for doing what I had to do to protect my sister. I would be able to be with someone that I truly loved and felt loved by.
My true partner was out there somewhere. Either staring at the moon and stars like I was or waiting for the sun to come up. But they were out there somewhere and all I had to do was find them. Hopefully, before Luca kills me.
With that thought, I pull the blinds shut and sit on the couch waiting for Luca to do what he was going to do for me ‘embarrassing’ him by falling asleep.
Chapter Five
Kieron
“What up, Trenton?” I put the cell phone on my shoulder to hold it to my ear. I was working on my Harley Davidson bike, my pride, and joy that I’d built from nothing. I blew the strands that had fallen free from the bun that held my wild long hair so that it was away from my face while I was trying to work with the small pieces necessary to fix the drive chain.
I was thankful that my garage was air-conditioned because, holy fuck, it was hot as Satan’s asshole. I set my phone to the side and put it on speaker as I pulled the white t-shirt over my head to wipe the sweat off my brow. Stray curls were sticking to my neck.
“What was the name of that girl that you could not get out of your head a few years ago? The one that totally screwed you up?” My best friend was never one for small talk. His voice was different this time from his normal aloofness though, it was urgent and pushy. I pushed a hair behind my ear to keep it out of my face as I leaned back over my bike engine. My hands were already covered in grease, as per usual.
“Talia. And you know it.” I chuckled towards the phone.
Talia had been one of the most unique, most genuine people I had ever met. She was true to herself and went after what she wanted, regardless of other people and their fucking assumptions and judgements. I could tell that even in the few hours that we shared. She had been tipsy, but stone-cold sober when we had sex, showing me just how amazing she was inside and out.
I had thought about that night and her many, many times over the years that have passed. She was the one that got away, for sure. No one has ever come close to making the same impression as Talia. I sighed deeply with regret.
Trenton knew that too; he had picked me up after too many drunken nights that I had tried to drink myself silly to not go out searching for her. She had so many dreams that she had worked so hard for and I sure as shit wasn’t going to hold her back from them. Besides, my job, the grunt work at that time wouldn’t have allowed me to have a girlfriend. Not to mention, I literally wasn’t allowed to have a girlfriend or any attachments.
When we met, I had been working my way into the Irish Mafia here in Boston, the same group my father and grandfather had been Skipper, or the Leader of, for generations. All my life I had been groomed to take over once I was old enough and that meant sacrifices, it meant being shown the ugliness of the world and becoming part of it.
“I found her. And it’s bad.” Trenton said through the phone, those six words shocking me through and through. I stood upright quickly and braced both hands against the workbench right behind me. It felt like all the air got sucked out of the room.
“You what?” I choked on my breath, dropping the nut I was holding. “Shit.”
“I found her. She’s passed out at this bar I’m meeting Luca at right now. She’s here in town still and man, she’s in trouble.”
My world stopped. Everything zoned into the last words he said. I picked up the phone in my hand, anger and fear causing me to grip it tighter than it could withstand.
“How do you know it’s her? What do you mean that she’s in trouble?”
“Well to start with, she looks like she hasn’t aged a day. The short black hair and piercings are gone though. But she still looks just as smoking hot as she did back then. Plus, you’ve described her enough times for me to recognize her anywhere. Then to hit the nail on the head, she told me her name was Talia. That’s not exactly a common name.” He explained.
My heart started to beat faster.
“And what do you mean she is in trouble, Trent?” I walked over to the other side of the garage, tossing the precision tool on it and grabbing a rag to roughly wipe my hands off. In the second drawer of the shelving unit is where I kept spare t-shirts, I pulled one out and slipped it over my head. Like I said, I’m usually covered in grease, so I learned to keep spares.
“This guy she’s with, he’s bad news, man. He’s high up, way high up, in the Italian mafia and from the looks of it, he’s beating her. Badly. I came to the bathroom to call you when I figured it out.”
I stopped, frozen in my tracks.
“What?” I growled.
“She’s here at the meeting, you know the one your father wanted me to sit in on.” Trent explained.
