Page 45 of Ruthless Consequences

Thesomething elsehad almost driven me insane for that month. I wasn’t sure if something bad was going to happen or not. I didn’t tell anyone. I just let the uncertainty eat away at me. Until Molly noticed. That was when she took me with her to church. I had never gone and actually paid attention. But as I sat in the pew, I’d asked God for a favor. I asked Him to send me a message letting me know my sister was going to be okay. If the weather would just turn warm…maybe the dream would break.

That night, after I got home, Sonny came out of his room, looking for dinner. He’d stretched his shoulders and said to me, “We’re supposed to be getting warm weather soon. Odd for this time of the year.”

That was it.

I hadn’t said a word about the weather to him, but out of the blue, he told me that.

That was the moment I knew I had to let go. I had to have faith that Ava would take care of herself. Or maybe someone was looking out for her. I would always worry about her—she’s my sister—but that moment was life-changing for me.

She kissed me hard on top of the head and secured Mooch’s leash around my wrist. She started to rush off but stopped, turning back to me. “About Saturday.”

“What about it?” My eyes narrowed. If she was the one who’d told Lilo something, we would fight. Right here in front of Mamma’s.

“I think he knows.”

I stood, about to fling a hundred questions at her, but she rushed off, disappearing in the hustle and bustle of midday foot traffic. Just like our mom, the last I saw of her was her back.

I moved in a daze back to Valentino’s, remembering what he’d said during Sunday dinner. Mooch walked in a steady stride next to me. Lilo wasn’t outside of his parents’ place, and I didn’t want to interrupt his time with Carine or go back inside of the bakery. So, I took a seat on the stoop, closed my eyes, and let the music floating from inside carry me away.

FOURTEEN

LUCILA

THE PAST

Music playsin the background while I scrub the house clean. It’s Saturday and I’m home alone. Sonny left to go who knows where. But he’s been going out a lot lately and not coming home until the middle of the night or late morning. Ava thinks he’s been going with prostitutes lately, so there’s that. Ava took off too. No telling where she is. Out running down leads to the Fausti family. The proof of that obsession tacked to her wall.

It makes me worry, but I think about the dream and what happened after—I need to let go.

Now if I can only let go of what’s eating me…I scrub a little harder. The house is old, but it feels better to live in it when it’s clean. Especially since Minnie is so little and I don’t want her in a dirty place. She’s spending the night at Molly’s. Molly took her to her great-niece’s birthday party, and Minnie knocked out before they were even home.

I push back my bangs with an arm and think of Lilo. I’m always thinking of him. Even now, a smile is on my face. I can’t seem to help it. It’s been a month since our date on Coney Island, but the butterflies are even stronger in my stomach. I’m sure if years and years went by, I’d get used to seeing him every day, but it’s still hard to imagine.

It’s hard to imagine anyone getting used to someone like him.

He’s like the spinning ride at the park. I don’t pass out every time I see him, but I do get dizzy and have a hard time catching my breath.

He told me he’d be sticking around, and he has. We spend every day together. He got a job in a meat-packing company. We both have a schedule. He keeps me busy and happy.

Even Sunday dinner over at his parents’ place seems a little…less tense. There’s something new and fresh between him and Michele. I have a feeling it has to do with Lilo’s focus. He doesn’t say as much, but I think he used to spend a lot of time on the streets. The darkness hasn’t disappeared in him. I don’t think it ever will. But he’s definitely stepping into the light more. Carine has noticed too. Last time I was over, she kissed my head and told me how relieved she was. She had never seen Brio so happy. He was living up to his name, she said. Then she looked between her son and her husband, and her eyes glistened.

It would have been nice to see him tonight, but he told me he was going to have beers with the guys from the meat-packing company after work. I figured I could use the extra time to clean.

Here I am. Cleaning to some pop song on the radio. Trying to make an old house feel new. But no matter how hard I scrub, it can never erase the memories. Never erase the sound of her voice. Or even the scent of her perfume. Maybe because we didn’t have a lot of money, she used to buy it from the drugstore. It was cheap but pleasant enough. Flowery. I smell it sometimes, but it only makes my stomach hurt.

Or maybe it’s something else that does. I don’t want to concentrate on that, though. So, I think about Lilo some more.

An hour or so later, a knock comes at the door. Hoffa, the kitten some dangerous guy gave Ava as a gift, runs toward it. She’s not a dog, but it seems like she thinks she is. If it’s someone dangerous, I hope she’ll act like a watch dog and scratch the person’s eyes out.

The thought makes me laugh as I open the door. My breath catches and I drop the dirty rag in my hand.

Lilo.

He’s standing under the light. He’s in a white t-shirt, dark jeans, and boots. His hair is freshly slicked back, and his cologne lingers in the air. When he looks up, his eyes are hard. Maybe he wasn’t expecting me to open the door?

“You didn’t even ask who it was,” he says.

“What?” The question comes out breathy because my heart grew wings at the sight of him. My stomach goes queasy and my palms tingle, but in a nervous way. Like looking down the tallest skyscraper, knowing there’s only one way down.

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