Page 76 of Unruly Obsession
I push to my feet, yet again finding the courage to face him. I’ll try to convince my mother one more time to leave him, and if she chooses not to, then I have to finally accept that that’s her choice—and I have to make my own. It feels ridiculous how closely I guarded this ugly secret, and now that I’ve exposed it for what it is, I feel liberated. It’s not over, but baby steps.
My phone buzzes on the nightstand, my brother’s name appearing on the screen. It’s six in the morning, so I’ve had a few hours of sleep at least. I take a deep breath and answer it, taking the yellow silk robe that’s hanging inside the wardrobe. Half of my clothes have since been moved from my apartment to Lorenzo’s place. I prepare myself, whether for Vince’s scolding or encouragement.
“Dad’s dead.”
My body goes stiff.
Dad’s dead.
Dead.
“Lily?”
“I’m here. I— I?—”
“You need to come home,” he says. “Do you need me to pick you up?”
A dark laugh creeps from me, and it’s so unhinged, I begin weeping instead as my heart shatters into two. Oh God, he didn’t listen to me. Lorenzo went behind my back, and I know deep within my heart that my father is dead because of the only man I’ve ever loved.
I thought last night he understood that we’d created a pocket of peace and a safe space where I could decide how I’d pave my next step forward with his support, but instead he… betrayed me.
“I can manage.” I clear my throat. “I’ll see you soon.”
I hang up the phone, my hand dropping to my side as I numbly walk toward the bedroom door. When I open it, he’s there, almost as if waiting, sitting on the floor, back against the wall, his head hanging between his shoulders.
I stand at the door, facing the man I genuinely thought I loved only moments ago, but when he raises his head to meet my eyes, I see the answer before asking the question.
“Did you kill my father?” I ask with an eerie calm that terrifies me. Because only I can hear the breaking of my heart inside.
“Yes,” he replies clinically.
I slowly nod, finally acknowledging the decision he’s made. I might’ve hated my father, but it didn’t mean I necessarily wanted him dead.Did I?
Lorenzo didn’t give me time to fight this, to make decisions of my own. He took that away from me, even when I asked him not to. “I specifically told you not to kill my father. You’re fucked-up, you know that? You’d rather choose murder over us?”
His betrayal hurts, cuts deeper than any knife. Another boundary broken, another request ignored. Lorenzo will never hear me, and a knot of shock and pain twists in my stomach as it slowly sinks in that my father is dead.
“I choose your safety over us,” he says without remorse.
“Oh, you’re so fucking high and mighty, aren’t you?” I scream, hating that superior air he holds around himself like fucking armor. My fists tremble as tears tumble down my face. This is so fucked-up; I’m mourning him more than my father’s death.
“Don’t hate me for having the courage to do something you could never have done.”
My eyebrows practically hit my hairline, and I storm forward. “Oh, so you think because you murdered my father, you’re in the right now?”
He stands, matching my pose. “I know you’ll hate me forever, and I’ve come to terms with that. I’m not going to fight you.”
I scoff. “Are you out of your fucking mind? You sweep into my life for a hot minute and think you know me, know my wounds, know my family. You fucking know nothing!” I shriek, everything falling apart around me.
He’s the first person I let in, even when I knew I shouldn’t.
The first person I’ve laughed so freely around.
The first person who made me feelsafe.
And I hate the fact that none of these things change, even now.
“You betrayed me.” My voice trembles.
