Page 47 of In My Blood
“They’re really pretty, but they’re not really clothes I’d choose. Honestly, I’m happy in leggings or jeans, and a sweater.”
“And the shoes? They were too big too?” Dario pushed.
“She must have gotten mixed up with the sizing. Like I said, it’s fine, but you should definitely return it all, Rafe. It had to cost so much money,” I worried.
“What are you thinking?” Rafe asked, looking to Dio.
“That our precious little Gia went shopping for herself and put it in Cara’s wardrobe, assuming when none of it fit, she’d get her pick out of it,” Dio answered with a scowl.
“She wouldn’t. Not when she knew it was all for Cara,” Rafe denied.
“She would. You took her credit card from her last week after she snuck out. She saw her opportunity to get the clothes she wanted for that trip to Germany with school anyway.”
“How did she think that she would get away with that? Surely she realises I’d just return the clothes when they didn’t fit Cara?”
“Who knows? Maybe she already took what she wanted from the wardrobe, sure we wouldn’t notice, or maybe she planned to take it later hoping Cara either wouldn’t notice or mind. I doubt she expected Cara to say anything about the clothes not fitting.” Dio looked pissed as he produced more theories and it was making me feel uneasy.
“Maybe I shouldn’t have said anything. I can keep the clothes. If Gia needs them that badly, she should have them. Just let her take what she wants. I don’t mind,” I tried to argue, but when I glanced to Rafe he looked pissed too.
“I mind, Cara. I asked Gia to get you clothes that would fit and toiletries you would like, so that you would feel comfortable and have the things you needed when you got here. Now you don’t have anything to wear because she was being spoiled and selfish.”
“Rafe’s right. The only reason Gia doesn’t have her credit card to buy whatever she wants, is because Dante caught her sneaking back into the house at four A.M. last week. She’d been out drinking all night, with no one even knowing where she was. She could have gotten herself hurt or killed,” Dio explained further.
“I know that might sound unfair, Cara, but it’s who we are. We’re the children of Marcello De Santis. That means that regardless of the path I took the business in, we would always face threats from past enemies, as well as those in power now, many looking for a straightforward way to take more power. The reason I still keep my foot in the illegal dealings is to keep us all safe. As long as I have power, our enemies, and sometimes, our allies too, areless likely to make moves against us. Gia knows all of this. She knows it’s not safe to leave without security and yet she keeps pushing against all of us.”
“I understand, Rafe,” I assured him. Look how out of the loop our mother had been, and they had found and killed her anyway. Gia was not safe and at her age she should understand that. “I agree that it’s not fair, but as you said, this is the life into which we were born. And regardless of any of that, it’s not safe for any sixteen year old to be out drinking until the early hours of the morning, anyway. Gia should understand that too, and if she doesn’t, then she needs to face consequences, but is taking away her credit card enough really? It sounds pretty tame. What would she even need a credit card for when she lives here, all of her food and every other need given to her so easily?”
“Gia is obsessed with shopping and eating out with her friends. Taking her credit card puts an end to her social life, and to her that’s the worst punishment ever,” Dio explained.
Rafe sighed deeply as he pulled his phone from the pocket of the jeans he was now wearing and started texting.
“She needs to explain herself, and one thing is for sure – she won’t be keeping any of the clothes she obviously bought for herself,” he said.
“Did anything fit, or did she buy everything in her sizes?” Dio asked.
“The socks are good.”
“Christ,” Rafe groaned. “I’ll have Arran or Dante take you to the shopping centre later so you can buy what you need. It’s a better idea for you to choose clothes you’ll be comfortable in anyway.I’m just now starting to understand how different you and Gia really are.”
“She’s young, and she’s lived a sheltered life. I’m not saying that’s a bad thing, but it is if she doesn’t understand how dangerous the world can really be.”
We all stopped talking as Terza and Callan started laying down huge plates and bowls piled high with food. There was bacon, eggs, and sausages. Toast and crumpets, with every different flavour of jam imaginable. Terza had made my favourite from when I was a kid – French toast. And it didn’t stop there. There were croissants and a whole host of freshly baked pastries, along with cereal and a plethora of fruit juices and other drink options. By the time she was finished laying it all out, the huge centre island was covered and I sat there trying not to judge. But that much food would have fed me for a month before, and I didn’t even want to let myself think about what it must have cost.
“Do you guys eat like this every morning?” I gasped, looking up at Rafe.
“We only usually have cooked items on the weekend, but Terza always has a good continental spread for us each morning. If there are specific things you would prefer, just let her know,” he explained.
“Continental spread? I don’t even know what that means, but for future reference I’m good with a cup of black coffee.”
“No one leaves my house without eating something for breakfast, Cara. That rule has never changed. Now eat. You’re too thin!” Terza scolded me.
“I warned you my Mum would be trying to fatten you up,” Dio laughed when I looked to him with shock.
“Best not to try and argue with her, I always find, Cara,” Callan added.
His plate was already overflowing with food as he stood to reach to the items he hadn’t yet gotten. Dio was doing the same, but Rafe was sitting back, just watching me. Knowing he was worried that I hadn’t eaten, as he’d told me earlier, I leaned in and took a slice of French Toast and two rashers of bacon. I poured myself a mug of black coffee from a carafe that had been set out, then looked to Rafe again, relieved when he smiled a little. I looked away as he picked up his plate and started to fill it, finally. I needed to find a way to stop him being so worried about me if I was sticking around, I realised.
CHAPTER 13
