by Anna Brooks
“His dad’s name is Nervetti.”
“But he looks just like my dad. All that dark hair… Do you remember what he looks like from when you talked to him in the lobby all those years ago?”
“Vaguely, but not enough to make that connection.”
She kicks the ground. “I need to go talk to my mom.”
“Of course.”
The drive to her place is quiet, although I can hear the wheels spinning in her head. Could it really be possible they’re related somehow? Is there some weird twisted fate thing going on here?
I walk her to her door but don’t go inside because I know she needs to talk to her mom. “Call me, okay?”
“I will. Thank you.”
Gently, I kiss her lips and wait until she’s inside before going back to my car. I know it’s none of my business, but I’m making it mine, so I drive straight to Nik’s place.
Ruby
“Mom, wake up.” I shake her shoulder and her eyes blink slowly a couple of times before she stretches and sits up.
Please, please, please be with me.
“Hey, what’s up? Everything okay?”
“Tell me about my brother.”
The shock hits her face, and I know I’ve caught her at the right time. “Please, Mom.”
She pulls the sleeves to her nightgown up to her elbows and sighs. “Your father saved me from the streets and decided that I would be his wife. I married him and did whatever he said, because if I didn’t, I knew where I’d end up. And as bad as having him control my every move was, not knowing where I would sleep was worse.”
Okay, I wasn’t expecting that. “Jesus, Mom. Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this before? Why did you let me grow up like I did without acting like you gave a shit about me?”
“Because it was how Daniel wanted it. At least I knew you were safe, or I thought you were.” She gives me an apologetic smile, and we both know she’s talking about Stan. She hadn’t known, because I never told her he used to hit me. But when we drove for four days from Vegas, I told her everything about him.
“So you were a prisoner just like me then, right? You were just as miserable?”
She shrugs. “Yes, but I accepted my fate a long time ago. What I didn’t expect was to fall in love with Danny’s brother, Dominic.”
“Oh shit.” I sit on the bed next to her, and she reaches for my hand.
“He came to visit his brother in Vegas one day and all it took was one look, one night, to know that he was the one I was supposed to be with. We had a heated affair. He visited a few times, I got pregnant, your dad found out, and I was forced to hand the baby over to Dominic.”
“My God, Mom. Why didn’t you tell me any of this before?” I stand and pace in front of her bed. “And how did Dad know it wasn’t his kid?”
“Because Danny Nervetti can’t have kids.”
“What do you mean, Danny Nervetti? His name is Daniel Russo.”
“It didn’t use to be. He changed it when he left the Midwest and moved to Vegas. Wanted to start a name for himself.” She takes a deep breath and closes her eyes as one tear rolls down each cheek.
Her words, the confusion, the questions all swirl around in my mind, and I suddenly find myself frozen for the third time tonight. “Mom … what do you mean he can’t have kids?”
A sob tears through her throat and she shakes her head. “I … I-I’m sorry.”
“What, Mom? Just tell me. What!”
“Stan … Stanley.”
“What about him?”
“I’m so sorry, Ruby. That’s why I wanted you to go with Edward. I knew he was a nice man, and it would get you away from Stanley, because for what he did to me I was scared what he would do to you. I tried to keep him away, but Danny wouldn’t have it. He said it was Stanley’s responsibility to keep you safe. He trusted him.”
My feet suddenly unfreeze, and I’m at her side of the bed. “You need to tell me right now what the fuck happened.”
She steels her spine, sitting up straight, and wipes her eyes. “Danny wanted a protégé. Even though Nikolas would have been the perfect thing, he was disgusted that his brother could have a baby and not him. Enter Stanley. Since Danny knew I’d had an affair with his brother, he wasn’t shocked when Stan told him I seduced him. Which is not what happened.” She takes a deep breath, reliving the memories. “He raped me and threatened to hurt Nikolas if I told the truth. I had to admit to it … just another strike against his whore of a wife, I suppose. Still to this day I have no idea why the hell Stan did what he did. I try not to think about the why. When you came out a girl, Danny was disappointed and was going to continue trying until Richard Tellano struck a deal with him when you were three. I’m so sorry, Ruby.”
Suddenly feeling like I’m going to vomit, I lean forward and suck in air then blow it out through my nose. “So Stanley is my real dad? And I have a half-brother?”
“Yes, I’m sorry.”
Without a word, I leave her room and grab my keys, then get in my car to get the hell away from her — from the lies, from all of the fucking secrets. From the pathetic realization that the deplorable childhood I had was tainted even worse than I could have ever imagined.
Pierce
Nik doesn’t answer his door, so I use the spare key I have and let myself in. As I suspected, he’s sitting on his couch with a bottle of Jack, his new best friend.
“I didn’t answer because I don’t want company.” His voice echoes in the bare apartment, but I walk in and lean on the wall. There was an accident last week at the bar, and Lisa has memory loss from it. Nik’s been a wreck ever since. He doesn’t have to tell me they had something going on; I knew it right away. The way she’d avoid him at work, the way he stared at her, how he clenched his fists together whenever a guy flirted with her at the bar.
Nik’s not the kind of guy who’s going to talk about his problems. He wallows in misery and keeps everything to himself. I wouldn’t normally bug him about his personal life like this, but when it involves Ruby, all bets are off.
“Where’s your side piece?”
“Friend or not, Nik, I already warned you not to talk about her like that.”
“Who the fuck is she anyway? Oh wait, she’s my sister.” He takes a long swallow directly out of the bottle and sets it on the floor. “Fucked up thing is I believe her. I don’t even need proof, because she looks like the one picture I have of my mom. Dad refused to talk about who my mom is, so I don’t even know if she’s alive.”
“She is,” I answer.
He sits up and tilts his head to the side. “You met her?”
“Yep, this morning. Had no clue, man. This thing with Ruby’s still pretty new and—”
“Who the fuck is this chick?”
“It’s her.” It only takes a moment of recognition for it to sink in before he replies. “No shit?”
“No shit.”
“How?”
“She came here to find me. I didn’t even find out about her mom until recently ’cause, uhh…”
Shit, I don’t want to tell him about her being sick, and we don’t even know for sure yet if she’s really his mom.
“Let me call Ruby. Maybe you can stick around to talk this time ’cause I’m about as clueless as you are. Ruby’s been through a lot, and I didn’t want to push her too hard to talk. It’d probably be a good idea if we figured all this out together so she doesn’t have to explain everything twice.”
A twitch in his cheek is the only indicator that he heard me. “Fine. But I need to talk to my dad first. Drive me?”
“Sure.”
* * *
Another silent car ride and I hesitate before exiting the car with Nik.
“Come with. You wanna hear what he has to say just as much as I do.”
Dominic Nervetti is a hard man. He’s cold and rough around the edges. His body’s big and strong from his years of working for the city doing manual labor. Not necessarily an asshole, just unfriendly.
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Nik knocks then walks right in through the unlocked door. “Pops,” he shouts through the house.
“In the kitchen.”
When we arrive in the kitchen, Dom’s sitting at the old wooden kitchen table, reading the newspaper, while a baseball game plays on the small black and white TV that’s propped up by old phone books.
“Where’s my mom?” Nik gets straight to the point.
Dominic stills and folds the paper then sets it on the table. “Why do you ask?”
“Because I met a girl tonight who says she’s my sister. And unless you can tell me that my mother is dead, I think I’m gonna have to believe her, since she looks exactly like this.” He pulls a picture out of his wallet and tosses it in front of his dad.
Dominic’s face falls; his tough guy exterior crumples right before my eyes. His shoulders shake as he picks up the photo and holds it to his chest, eyes closed. Tears roll down his plump cheeks and land on the newspaper, blurring the ink. “My Violet, my beautiful girl,” he mumbles to himself and falls forward, his breaths becoming labored.
“Dad.” Nik kneels in front of him and puts a hand on his shoulder. “Dad, talk to me. What the fuck is going on?”
Dominic catches his breath and sits up, eyes now bloodshot, the picture still tight in his grip. He begins the story of a brother who was always greedy for money, who left and changed his name, and who abandoned his ailing parents. “I went out to Vegas to tell him our mother had passed and I ran into this beautiful, majestic woman. Violet, she said her name was. It only took a moment of looking into her eyes for me to know she was it for me. When my brother walked into the lobby and put his arm around her and introduced her as his wife … I, well, my heart dried up right then and there.”
“Jesus, Dad. Why didn’t you ever tell me any of this?”
“Because I’m not proud of my behavior. I’m not proud of the fact that I kept going back there just to look at her, and that we had an affair. That she loved me just as much as I loved her, but we could never be.”
“Why not?” Nik asks, clearly pained by hearing his dad tell this story.
“Because Daniel is a bastard. He’s rich and powerful, and he could have ruined her life. Mine? I didn’t care about mine. But her, I just wanted her to be happy. Vi told me being with me made her happy, so we continued our affair until she got pregnant with you. Daniel can’t father a child, son. So once she gave birth to you, I raised you by myself to keep her safe. It was Daniel’s condition to me; he knew it would tear me apart to be without her and raise you alone.”
Nik stands and pulls out a chair to sit on. His pale face reddens when he scrubs his hands up and down it.
“I sent her pictures, though, and told her all about you. She was so far under Daniel’s thumb, though, that I don’t know if she ever got any of them. I tried to hide them in her favorite magazine, hoping she’d see.” Dom shakes his head, a reminiscent smile on his face. “I should have told you. I’m sorry I didn’t. The thought of admitting how badly I failed you and wondering if you’d ever want to see me again weighed heavily on my mind every day, Nik. You have to believe that. In the end, I thought it easier to pretend she didn’t exist to you because I knew Daniel would never allow a relationship.”
“Fuck him. If I wanna see my mom, I’ll fucking see my mom.” Nik pushes the chair back and it slams against the refrigerator.
“Nikolas, stop. You don’t know what that man is capable of.”
“Wait,” I interrupt. “You said he couldn’t have kids, right?”
“Yeah, he got into an accident when he was younger.”
“What the fuck?” I say to myself, trying to figure everything out. “I need to talk to Ruby.”
“Who’s Ruby?” Dom asks.
“My girlfriend.” I cut a look to Nik. “And from the sounds of it, Nik’s sister.”
Dominic nods, then his eyes nearly pop out of his skull. “Sister? That means …”
“Your Violet had a baby girl twenty-one years ago, Dom. And I’m going to marry her.”
I get to my car before Nik, since I wanted to give them a moment alone. I cannot believe how small the world is. My girl is my friend’s sibling. The woman who I haven’t been able to even blink without thinking about is more ingrained in my life than I could have ever thought.
While I’m waiting for Nik to come out, I unlock my screen, scroll through my recent calls, and press on her name. After a few rings, she picks up.
“Hello?”
A man’s voice takes me by surprise and I double check to make sure I called the right number. I pull the phone back and her smiling face illuminates the screen, so I know it’s the right number.
“Who the fuck is this?” I growl into the phone.
“Uh, I’m a bartender over at Kelly’s—”
“Zack?”
“Yeah? Pierce?”
“Why the hell do you have Ruby’s phone?”
“It’s sitting out on the counter and she’s passed out next to it. I was waiting for her to come around so I could call a cab, but when it rang—”
“I’ll be right there. Do not let her out of your sight.”
Nik walks down the steps as I’m tucking my phone back in my jeans. “Hurry up, dude. Zack just answered Ruby’s phone. Apparently, she’s passed out at the pub.”
His steps quicken, and as soon as his ass is in the seat, I take off.
“This is some fucked-up shit, man,” Nik says as he rolls down his window to get some fresh air.
“I know. I don’t even know what to say.”
“Fuck. My mom’s alive, and better yet, she’s here. Right, man? She’s in town?”
Still not ready to tell him his mom has dementia, I just nod. “You doin’ okay?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’m actually relieved. It’s good to have something else to focus on right now, actually.”
I stop at a red light and look over at him. “You mean other than Lisa?”
His head whips in my direction and he points at my face. “Shut up.”
Raising my arms in surrender, I nod my head. “All right, man. I’m always here, though. I understand what—”
“No. You don’t. You have no clue what it’s like to have someone who, for the first time in your fucking life, made you feel like you were more than just a friend of the family or muscle to break up a fight, or the third wheel, or the protector when all the ‘real’ brothers or boyfriends were too busy off living their lives … to have her consume every fucking breath, every goddamn living second, for her to forget everything about you. Like you didn’t even exist. That what you shared meant nothing.” He clenches his fists and looks back out the window. “You’ve got no clue what that feels like, and I hope to God you never do.”
Chapter 23
Ruby
“HEY, I JUST TALKED to Pierce. He’s on his way to get you, okay?” A voice that sounds far away but really loud at the same time says to me … at least, I think he’s talking to me. I regret taking four shots in a row right about now. I came here because I needed to think. I needed to be away from my mom and process what I just found out.
I peel my eyelids open to acknowledge him, but the light makes my entire body spin, so I slam them shut and turn my head so the other cheek rests on the cool wood.
“Hey, baby. You ready for me to take you home?”
Pierce is here already? My stomach coils at the thought of moving, so I can only nod. My body is lifted out of the seat, and I scramble to grab onto him.
The outdoor air hits my face, and suddenly bile crawls up my throat. I turn my head in the opposite direction so I don’t vomit on Pierce. He sets me on my feet and rubs my back after everything that could possibly come up sits on the cement inches from my feet. With my eyes closed, I rest my head on the brick wall and take a few deep breaths.
“Better?” My eyes snap open, and I slowly turn around and look into the eyes of a man who is not Pierce.
“Who are you?”
“I
’m gonna take you home. Ready now?” He grabs my arm, and although I’m nauseous from the alcohol, my stomach is churning for another reason.
“No, I thought you were someone else. Sorry.” I try to twist out of his grip, but he uses his other hand on my shoulder and pulls me off the wall.
“Oh no, you’re not gonna stand here and be a cock tease.”
He drags me, and my feet slip in my own vomit as I struggle against him. “Let me go.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
I open my mouth to scream, but he notices and releases my shoulder to slam his hand over my mouth. The sting of his palm slapping my face and the dizziness it brings to my already uneasy brain causes wetness to coat my eyes.
“If you want to walk away, you had better let her go.” That voice, I recognize that voice and I sob when I see him.
Pierce walks closer to me, unaffected, clearly not threatened by this guy even though I obviously am. Nik emerges as well, and when he looks at me and then at the guy holding me still, he squints his eyes and a murderous rage takes over. He steps toward me, my brother, but Pierce sticks a hand out, clearly having more patience and restraint than Nik does.
“What’s the matter, Nik? Just because that bitch of a bartender wanted on my jock and you got jealous don’t mean I can’t come have a drink and find a pretty lady to bring home.” He runs a finger down my cheek, and I dry heave.
“Yeah, but see, your hands are on my girl.” Pierce nods toward Nik. “And his sister. So, like I said, if you want to be able to walk out of here, I’d let her go if I were you.”
Without a warning, he pushes me toward the guys, and Pierce catches me as I stumble into him. Nik glances at me before he takes a couple of steps toward the guy who raises his hands. “I let the bitch go. Happy?”
Nik’s fists clench and unclench a split second before he decks the guy. Once in his jaw and another in his stomach. Nik grabs him by his hair, slams him into the brick wall, and says something close to his ear. I can’t hear it, but malice drips from the echo.
