Page 49 of In My Blood
Gia just growled as she pushed up from the stool she’d been sitting in and started to storm away angrily.
“Gia. Every item you bought needs returning today. Dario will go with you to make sure everything is refunded. If he discovers you kept even one item of the things you purchased, I’m taking your mobile phone from you for two weeks,” Rafe warned her.
“Fuck off, Rafe! You’re not my Dad. Remember him? You should! You killed him!” With those hate-filled words Gia stormed off slamming the door into the wall once again as she went.
For a moment I just sat in stunned silence, as did the others, it seemed. You could have heard a pin drop around us. Of course, I had suspected when Rafe told me Marcello was dead, that he would have been the one to end the old bastard. It made sense,since Rafe had taken over the business and changed just about everything, but to hear it confirmed…it was a lot.
Finally I managed to take a breath and turn to my brother. I placed my hand over his where it sat on the counter and met his gaze.
“Can we talk about this here?” I asked, my voice wavering just a little. Rafe looked around him, then back to me and nodded just once. “Is it true?” I asked.
“Yes. I killed him not long after you and Mum disappeared,” he confirmed.
“Good,” I told him confidently. “You did the right thing.”
“Cara…”
“I don’t need to know the details, Rafe. Marcello was no father. He was a monster and I’m glad you saved yourself and Gia from him. You did the right thing,” I told him again.
“He did,” Dante spoke up, “And Gia knows that too. She’s just angry, but she knows you’re all so much better off without that monster in your lives.”
“I’m sorry she spoke to you like that, sweetheart. She just seems so angry right now. I can’t do anything right, and it looks like she’s gonna blame you too now,” Rafe told me.
“She’s sixteen. Teen girls can be crazy. Believe me, I know. And if she wants to throw that anger at me, then I can take it. We’ll get through this with her.” I squeezed his hand underneath mine and hoped he believed that I would do all I could to help him with our sister. Clearly she needed some reality checks in life,and I’d give them to her if that were what it took for her to realise how lucky she truly was.
“I can’t even put into words how happy and relieved I am to have you home, Cara,” Rafe sighed.
“We all are. A piece of this family had been missing without you, for too damn long Cara. Now we can be whole,” Dio told me.
“You guys have to stop,” I declared as I swiped a rogue tear from my cheek. “I told myself I wouldn’t fall apart today, but you’re not helping me keep it together when you’re all being so nice.”
“People being nice to you should not be making you upset,” Dante said, as if I was crazy for even saying it.
“You’re totally right,” I laughed tearfully. “I’m acting crazy. Sorry about that.”
“You be as crazy as you like, sweet pea, as long as you eat some breakfast too,” Terza told me, reminding me about the now cold plate before me.
“Sorry,” I told her. “The French toast is so good. Just the way I remember it,” I added, relieved when she beamed a smile my way. I tucked in and ate what I’d put on my plate, partly because I didn’t want to offend Terza, and partly because it was too good to allow to go to waste. I couldn’t remember the last time I ate anything so tasty.
“What are your plans now that you’re back, Cara? You’re nineteen, aren’t you?” Callan asked once we were all seated and eating once again.
“Yep. I’ll be twenty in a couple of months,” I confirmed. “And as for plans, a job, I guess? I’ll have to update my C.V. Is theresomewhere I could look online at job listings?” I asked looking to Rafe.
“I’ll set you up with a laptop as soon as possible, sweetheart, but you can’t get a job right now. There’s too much danger surrounding us with what happened in Chicago, and the issues I’m having here with one of my so called partners. Any job you got would mean Arran, Dante, or both of them being with you, and no workplace would be happy with that. I’m sorry.”
“I understand,” I told him, not wanting him to feel bad. It made sense I needed to be cautious after those assholes who had hurt and tried to kidnap me fromJewels. Just because we were in London, didn’t automatically mean that the people they had worked for, wouldn’t try again.
“Have you thought about a degree? University? I attend one not far from here, and they’re fine with me bringing security. Maybe you could consider taking a course that interests you?” Callan suggested.
“That’s not a bad idea, Cara. You have no need to work now that you live here with us. Maybe you could train to do something that truly interests you,” Rafe agreed.
“I have no idea what interests me,” I shrugged. “But…I wouldn’t mind taking my GED. I never finished high school and I…I’d have more opportunities if I could get that,” I admitted. I hated to show how stupid I truly was, but the idea of actually achieving a high school diploma was exciting to me. It had never been a possibility before, but maybe it could be now.
“Why didn’t you finish high school?” Dante asked, and I smiled at him and his directness. It was refreshing and I liked it. He didn’t seem to hold back any of what he was thinking.
“I had to work. Our Mum was sick, and she couldn’t, so I had little choice. A roof over your head is a lot more important than understanding Shakespeare,” I joked, trying to make light of things.
“I don’t know what a GED equates to over here, but I can look into it. Maybe see if it would be possible for you to take some high school level courses at one of the local colleges. I’m pretty sure they would teach GCSE classes,” Callan spoke up.
