Page 81 of Unruly Obsession
“He was probably trying to get the money so we weren’t at risk of losing everything,” he continues.
“What do you mean? Can’t we use money from the businesses or try to sell or?—”
“Don’t you think I’ve already tried those things?” he says defensively, then flinches under his own raised voice. His hand slides to mine. “I’m sorry. It’s been a hard few days. I’m looking into it. I’m just worried, that’s all. Do you have any money saved up?”
I look at him quizzically. Sure, I’ve saved a large amount of the monthly allowance I was given since I didn’t need it. I depended on the earnings from my shop. Yet I’m resistant to mention it since that has always been my backup plan. Something doesn’t feel right about this entire situation.
“It’s a mess. I don’t know what else to do,” he says, shoving his hands through his hair. “Can’t you ask your boyfriend for a loan or something?”
“He’snotmy boyfriend, or did you miss the part where he beat the shit out of our father?”
Vince’s knee starts bouncing. “Yeah, well, he was just protecting you, right? He has more courage than I ever did. If anything, I’m envious of him. I wish I were the one who'd beaten the shit out of the old man.”
“Vince,” I whisper-shout, shocked by his confession. The bouncing of his leg stops, and he looks at me, as if remembering where he is.
“I’m sorry. I just… He wasn’t a good man, was he? And now I have to clean up this fucking mess. What if they take the house? What if they put Mom on the streets?”
I grab his forearm. “Look, we’ll figure this out, okay? Don’t you have any money? Maybe if we tell Mom about this, she?—”
“We’re not telling Mom about this. Look at her. She’s hardly spoken or eaten in a week. We have to fix this.” He looks to me then, almost pleading, “We have to fix this family.”
Fix this family.
Something I’ve yearned for, for so many years, and now that it’s here, it feels almost too good to be true. Maybe I hadn’t realized that I’d long given up on it. Then again, I did finally decide I was ready to cut ties with my father. But now that he’s gone, shouldn’t I give my everything for my mother and brother at the very least?
“I’ll give you some money. It’s only a few million. Can you get the rest to cover it? Maybe we can sell some of Dad’s car collection?”
Vince shakes his head approvingly. “We’ll make this work, Lils. We’ll create a new chapter for all of us.”
A new chapter.
I’ve prayed to hear those words for as long as I can remember, yet as of late, that new chapter had very little to do with my family and more to do with a man I put all my trust in, only to be betrayed. Maybe a reminder that blood runs thicker than water.
I push away the thought of telling my brother about recent events and confiding in him about the attempts on my life. It would only stress him out further, and right now, I want to believe we can fix this problem, especially for our mother's sake.
Because if I can't trust my brother, then who can I trust?
35
LILY
The vibration from my phone ringing on my bedside table wakes me. I stare at the ceiling of my old childhood bedroom. Not much has changed over the years, except it all feels a little smaller.
I groan as I look at my phone. Four missed calls from Sienna, and it's only seven in the morning. That can’t be good. She’s never awake this early.
I call her back, noticing the cool drift of air seeping in from the window. My eyebrows furrow as I walk over to close it. I’m certain it was closed last night.
“Oh, thank God, Lily. It’s bad!” Sienna says in a rush. “It’s Romi. I need you here. It’s an emergency.”
My heart stops. “Is she okay?”
Please, don’t be so cruel as to take one of my best friends. Is this a punishment for not feeling guilt over my father's death?
“It’s her roommate. She’s dead,” Sienna tells me.
Everything stops.
“What?”
