by Ivy Knight
"I think we should talk," he says.
"About what?"
"Everything."
I look into his eyes noticing the loss of emotion in them.
"Since you came to me, why don't you start?"
"How's Luciano?" he questions. His voice much heavier as he speaks his son's name.
"He spoke his first word two days ago, mom. I'll send you the video," I hold back any emotion in my voice. I can't let him see the guilt dwelling within me and I know he doesn't need to see it, to know that keeping Luke away from all of us is just as hard on me as it is on him.
"Thanks," he words distantly.
"You're welcome, but I'm sure that's not all you want to talk to me about."
"You're right," his head slightly rises in confidence. "Your brother said something odd to me today, Anthony. He said that if we were all stuck in a burning building, he wouldn't be one of the first people you'd go in to save. I asked him why he was telling me that and his response was, don't you ever think about how much you mean to a person that seems to be so distance from everything and everyone else? I thought about it. A part of me thought I was foolish to even think that you'd save me, but the other couldn't stop considering the possibility."
"See, the problem in that, is not that you don't know me, but that you don't even know yourself. Do you think you are the type of person that should be saved?" I query.
"I don't know," he admits.
"If you had asked fourteen-year-old me, I'd say no, but I've been through enough to know that everyone can be saved. So if everyone I knew was stuck in a house fire, I'd save you Kai and only because you're already so deep in with me that I'd want you to stay there forever. Call me selfish, but I'd want you to suffer so that you'd finally realize you're not the only one there."
"Every fucking time," he shakes his head letting out a cold laugh. His jaw clenches in anger as his eyes start to match the hollow skies above. "Every time I wanna believe there's more to you than this coldhearted, narcissistic bitch you prove me wrong. Why do you do this? Do you like being alone?"
"I'm sorry that I don't know any better."
"For fucks sakes, Summer! This is exactly what you do! You think you conquer every obstacle that comes your way, but you don't. You hide behind this face of yours and act like you don't care. You push everyone away so that you can prove the people that think you're better, wrong. Because you know, in one way or another, you'll end up hurting them anyway. It's easier to do it purposely and get it over with, isn't it?"
"Are you done? Because I'm really not in the mood to listen to you break apart everything that you dislike about me."
His eyes deadly, in a swift move he closes the distance between us grabbing my arm and pulling me closer.
"Tell me that if I walked away today, that you'd never give Luciano back to me. Tell me that you are so heartless and unforgiving, that you'd let a child grow up without his father when that is all his mother's last words were."
"Kai, stop," I try to pull my arm out of his grip, but he just tightens it. "Kai."
"Tell me, Summer. Are you, who you make everyone believe you are?"
"I am. I will kill Luciano the second you step back from the contract you signed," I look him in the eyes as I speak each word. My eyes brim with tears but I hold the gaze challengingly. the air in my chest feels heavier once I comprehend the words I've spoken.
"Then you kill him," he breathes taking a step back. He takes one last look at me before turning around and walking away.
"Where are you going?" I question.
"Away from you and this bullshit," he yells.
"Kai, he'll die," I warn.
He stops in his steps.
"Just another death on my hands, right?"
Without saying another word, I pull out my phone and call Elenora. My hands tremble hoping that I don't have to continue, that Kai will stop me from going any further.
"Put the phone on speaker, I wanna hear Lucas' voice," I order once Elenora picks up. I put my own phone on speaker and seconds later, I hear Luciano giggling.
"M-ama," I hear his sweet voice. I watch as Kai turns around looking at the phone in my hand. His eyes red, I can tell Luciano's voice has broken him.
"Kill him," I speak looking directly at Kai.
"Don't," Kai challenges.
"I said kill him," I speak again. Before I know it, Kai knocks the phone out of my hand and I feel a sting on my left cheek as my ear starts to ring.
Leaning to the side, my tongue darts out moisturizing my lip. The metallic taste of blood takes over and I swallow it. I breathe out and close my eyes telling myself not to break down before I stand up facing Kai.
"I have never met someone as revolting as you and that's a lot considering I grew up with Nicholas Black as my brother," Kai spits.
"Anything else you wanna test or say while we're at it?"
He shakes his head in shock as his hand cuffs the front of his face and he stands there with tears endlessly streaming down his face. There's a hard look on his face, telling me he's having a hard time distinguishing his thoughts.
"This is not the girl I remember, and this is definitely not the woman I fell in love with," he breathes. "You are not who I fell in love with."
My heart skips a beat at his words. Left speechless, I stand there still.
"I'll give you exactly what you want, but don't you ever do that again," Kai warns. "I know the games you play, but you can't play me as easily as you think. It's you, me and my brother. All of us equally as coldhearted, cruel and ruthless as the other. You made a wrong move today and you'll pay for it if you're not already," with those words, he turns around leaving behind the darkness.
I hold it together long enough for him to disappear, but once I can no longer see him, my legs cave and I finally take in a deep rigid breath breaking down into a million pieces onto my knees.
Whimpering, I feel my stomach clench in pain. Everything has stopped moving except for me. It's like I'm moving so fast no one sees me. I wanna get up, but my muscles feel numb. My heart heavier than I've felt it before, I wanna rip right it out of my chest as I scream in pure agony.
He said he loved me.
I said I'd kill his son.
In fact, I was seconds away from getting it done.
Why?
...♛...
"He said he loved me," I blurt the second I walk into my father's office. His head tilts up looking at me and immediately, his face hardens.
"We're making progress, I see," he says. Not being able to say a word, I bob my head instead, agreeing with him.
"Oh, mea infantem puella," he gets up from his seat and engulfs me in a tight hug. Without wasting another second, I break down letting my tears soak his suit.
"I can't do it, father. I thought I could, but I can't. He hates me."
"Love does this to you, Summer. We both knew the risks."
"I thought it'd be easier."
"It only gets harder from here, Summer. It only gets harder," he words, rubbing my back.
I signed up for this knowing the consequences. Love is an unknown territory for me, but I decided to dive in head first. Now, I must explore deeper into it because if I end up gaining nothing, then I'll lose everything.
Chapter 54
I never thought life could be so complicated, yet quiet at the same time. As I sit at the table with Donte, his friends and some cheerleaders, my mind is focused on the table on the other side of the room.
Kai sits there, smiling and laughing with the rest of the gang but even then, seems a bit lost. His smile is forced, because I can tell every now and then, when his eyes flash up to mine, his smile falters.
"Summer, are you coming over tonight?" Donte questions.
"Uh- no, I have work," I let him know.
"Okay," he smiles back understandingly. The bell rings and everyone starts to get up. I get up as well and swing my bag over my shoulders. When I look back at the gang's table, it's completely empty.
>
"What do you have?" Donte asks.
"Calculus," I inform.
"Okay," he says, "I have strength and conditioning, so I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Yeah," I reply watching him walk away.
...♛...
"Wait, so you sent Alessio home?" Amelia questions as I lie down on the table.
"Yeah, he had work to do and he felt obliged to stay. I told him he could come back when he's done it all," I say as I unhook my bra.
"How long is that going to take?"
"He'll probably be back two weeks before the wedding. Until then, we'll just coordinate the plans over the phone," I inform.
"Ready?" the tattoo artist questions.
"Mm-hm," I bob my head.
"Okay, what did your dad say?"
"Nothing, he understands Alessio has his own business to run, wedding or no wedding."
"I guess, so have you even tried on any wedding dresses?"
"No, we still have like two months."
"Dude, finding the right dress can take years. We'll go dress shopping next week."
"Whatever you say," I reply.
"So, what's Alessio's opinion about the tattoo?"
"What do you mean?"
"What do you mean, what do you mean? Did you not tell Alessio that you're getting this?"
"Uh... no. Was I supposed to?"
"Oh, my God, so you told no one?"
"I told you," I state the obvious.
"I guess that counts, well are you ever going to tell people you got this tattoo?"
"I don't think so, I mean they'll see it when I wear like a low back dress or shirt, but I'm not gonna go out of my way to tell people."
"You are getting it because your mother had the same one, shouldn't you at least tell your family?"
"Nah," I shrug.
"You're so complicated."
"I think we have already established that by now," I laugh.
...♛...
After five hours of lying down on the table, the tattoo was finally done. It turned out great, but the healing process is being a bitch.
I can't wear a bra for the next two days and on the ride back home, I couldn't lean my back in the seat.
"Did we miss a party?" Amelia questions as she notices all the cars parked outside.
"Um... I didn't know we were having a party," I state. Once she parks behind another car, we head into the house.
The house is empty, but the music can be heard from the backyard so we head out there. As we enter the backyard, there's people everywhere and lanterns hung around, lighting the whole yard. There's loud music, people in the pool and a huge congratulations sign hung up on the house.
"Who are we congratulating and for what?" Amelia screams into my ear through the music.
"I have no idea!" I yell back. We both walk around and I spot a bunch of people crowded around my brother Anthony.
"Hey!" I turn my head to talk to Amelia, but she's no longer there. I look around to find her, but I can't, so I walk up to Anthony.
"Hey," I smile at him. My eyes then fall to the beautiful woman standing next to him. "Zoe?"
"Summer!" she engulfs me into a tight hug.
"Fuck," I hiss in pain and she steps back.
"Sorry, did I hurt you?"
"No, um... I'm just really sore from all the training, but what's going on?"
"Oh, uh..."
"We're engaged," Anthony steps in.
"Oh... oh! OH MY GOD! Congratulations!" I give him a quick awkward hug so that he doesn't have enough time to wrap his arms around my back. "I didn't even know you guys were still dating."
"Yeah, she just got back from Australia. I convinced her to take a semester off so that we could travel, but I had something else planned," he smiles looking at her.
"That's great, I'm really happy for you guys," I smile.
"Yeah, thanks Summer. Where were you though? I was calling you all day, I wanted you to be here with us," he says.
"I'm sorry, I had some tests I needed to catch up on," I lie. "But when's the wedding? Have you chosen a date?"
"Well, I was persistent on having our wedding as the same day as yours, but father mentioned that the earlier it happens, the better it'll be since Zoe and I still have to figure out what we'll be doing after with her studies and my work."
"Oh, true. Good thing you had father to help you out, but I'll leave you two, to it. Have fun, I'm going to head in, it's been a long day."
We say our goodbyes, and I head upstairs with a bottle of vodka in my hands. Once I enter my room, I sit on my bed and take off my shoes before lying down on my stomach and closing my eyes.
A few minutes later, I hear a knock on my door.
"Who is it?" I question. Instead of hearing a response, I hear the door open and close.
"So, this is where they're keeping the princess locked up, huh?"
My eyes snap open at the sound of the voice and I sit up straight looking at Nicholas Black standing a few feet away from me dressed in a simple grey t-shirt and black jeans.
"What are you doing here?" I question, slowly climbing off the bed.
"I just thought I'd visit and check up on how my girl is being treated at home," he words as he roams around my room curiously looking at the paintings.
"How'd you get in?"
"It was easier to get in than you think," he words.
"Well, are you just going to stalk my room all day or are you going to get to the point? You didn't break into my house for nothing, knowing very well that you'd be killed the instant someone else notices you."
"You're absolutely right, Summer," he says as he turns around to face me. "I heard you're getting married."
"I am," I reply as my eyes drop down to the diamond ring on my ring finger. When I look up, I find Nick's eyes on my ring as well.
After he brings his eyes back up, his tongue darts out licking his lips.
"I imagined Alessio Tieri would have done much better than... that. I mean if I knew a small ring would've gotten you to consent, then I would've went with something small myself."
"Please," I scoff. "You and I both know the size of the diamond, wasn't the only problem between us."
He mumbles something under his breath, but it's too incoherent for me to understand.
"So I heard everyone got their invitations, I thought I'd come and ask you myself if mine had gotten lost in the mail?" he speaks as he closes the distance between us.
When we're only a foot apart, I take a step back against my will.
Fuck Summer, stop fearing him.
"You not getting an invitation was intentional," I retort.
"Yeah? And was fucking around with Kai just as intentional?" he questions stepping forward.
I slowly back into a wall and close my eyes when Nick doesn't waste a second trapping me between the wall and him, caging me in with his arms.
"I don't know what you're talking about," I reply.
"I taught you this game. I know exactly what you're doing."
"Then you should have no problem winning."
"Yeah, and what is the prize if I win?" he smirks.
"The trophy is standing right in front of you."
"Oh, yeah? So if I win, I get to do whatever I like with the trophy. Right?"
"Like hold it and touch it, proudly," he adds. His stubble scrapes my cheek as he whispers into my ear. Without a warning, his hand slips under the hem off my shirt. Firmly on my hip, his thumb creates small circles on my skin.
"Or I could just leave it in a corner, let it lose its shine and worth," he says more coldly. My hands fisted at my sides, Nick's hand slips out from under my shirt and grabs a hold around my neck.
Forcing me to look at him, his minty breath fans my face.
"I warned you from the start. This game is dangerous, but you chose to go your own way. It was a mistake and I won't hold back proving that to you. I'm warning you, you're the one bringing in more people. The collateral damage that's going to be caus
ed from now on, isn't going to be on my hands. Instead, it'll be on yours," he warns.
He takes a step back and tightly grabs my wrist. Pulling me across the room, we stop at my window getting a full view of the party going on in the backyard.
"You see that," he says pointing at a sniper stationed in the woods aiming at Zoe. The sniper is only visible for few seconds before he sinks deeper into the woods causing my heartbeat to rise in fear.
"What are you doing?" I speak through gritted teeth. "Don't you dare do something stupid right now."
"I'm showing you, Summer. I'm showing you that it is so fucking easy for me to get to you. To your brothers, to your father, to Kai. It is so fucking easy for me to kill everyone that you lo-"
Before he can finish his sentence, my hand meets his cheek sending an echo through the room.
"After everything I've put these people through, and everything I've done, unlike you, I still have people that I can say love me more than themselves. At least I'm not alone, and if you think I'll let you come into my house and threaten my own family, you're fucking mistaken. Let me warn you, Nicholas Black. I'm no longer alone. You are not just fighting me. You are fighting me and my family. I promise you, I will do anything, to make sure that you pay for what you did to us."
His eyes darker than the deepest parts of the ocean, he straightens his posture. The sides of his cheeks dipping in as he clenches his jaw holding himself back, he takes a deep breath noticeable through the large rise of his chest.
"May the best player win," he says, extending his hand.
"May the best player win," I say shaking his hand.
"I'll see you soon, Summer White," he says before making his way out of my room.
"I'll look forward to it," I reply cockily. Once he's out of my room, I wait a few seconds before I lock my door and let out a shaky breath.
Tightly holding onto the knob, I drop my head and take in a deep breath.
I can still feel his breath on my face taunting me, his cold hand on my bare skin feels imprinted and the stench of blood from his clothes is still fresh in my room.
Feeling sick, I run to the window and let in the fresh air. That's when I finally feel like I'm not suffocating, that maybe I'm breathing again.
A few minutes pass with me staring out the window before I take a seat on my bed and take the bottle of vodka in hand unscrewing it.
