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Staring at my phone wasn’t going to make it any easier. I needed to call Dante. I knew in the back of my mind what the outcome was going to be, but I needed to try. I’m positive he knew that he would be hearing from me.
On the third ring, a thick Italian accent could be heard. “Speak.” Pausing at first, I just had to go for it. I was never afraid of anything and I wasn’t going to start being fearful. “Dante?”
“Well, if it isn’t the selfish bitch herself. What do you want? You have no more business with any of us. You’re Father banished you from the family.”
The sting hurt. Everytime I heard about the banishment I hurt all over again. “Dante, please let me talk. I have honored his wishes and now I find out that the very person who exiled me has passed away. Even though he did what he did, he’s still my father. It makes me sick that I have to seek permission to come back for his funeral. But here I am asking you for approval. So, Dante, I ask you if I may be granted this one exception to come back? Besides I want to see my son.” Dante’s heavy breathing told me what I already knew. “Raine, you have got some nerve you fucking buchiach. You were told to leave since you were a whore. My whore to be exact. I will never forget your disloyalty to me. Don’t get me wrong you were a great fuck, but that was the extent of it. I remember quite clearly telling you to keep your fucking mouth shut. You waited until my wife passed away to go to your father. I had to answer for your bullshit. He did allow me to live, but I was given a clear message. If you weren’t who you were I would of killed you. Now you have the tits to ask me if you can return. I’m sure you know my answer by now. No, bitch you stay gone. I don’t want you here and if I find you anywhere near here, you will be dealt with immediately. I’m not putting up with your shit. Capisce?” I was so angry with him. I purely hated him. “Sì, capisco.” My blood was boiling that I just ended the call with him. I was sick to my stomach. That fucking Stronzo. I started screaming and crying. I just wanted to hit something, destroy everything around me.
Tim stood in the doorway of the bedroom, blankly staring at me. I could tell that he wanted to solace me. He always had a way of wanting me to feel loved. Full of sadness, I slowly walked up to him. Nothing was said between us. He just took me into his arms and let me cry some more. The harder I cried the tighter he held on to me. Stroking my back was so comforting. After about twenty minutes I finally calmed myself down long enough to get it together. I assured Tim that I was okay for now. “Don’t go too far, baby.” Jokingly I teased him. With a laugh he just shook his head and walked away.
That night, I had a talk with Bobby about what I should do. I wanted to know what he would do if he were me. “Baby, I’m hurting in so many ways. I go from sadness, to anger, back to sadness. It’s a vicious circle, and I can’t wrap my head around it. I want to defy Dante and go back home to say goodbye. Then I have his words playing in my head over and over again about how I’m to stay away. How could this be happening? Please tell me what I need to do.” Listening, intently, to what I had to say he stayed quiet for a few moments. I knew he was gathering his thoughts. I was a fragile delicate flower that needed to be handled with care. I had second thoughts about going to him with my issue. He was the type of guy that wouldn’t sugar coat it for me. Tim was more of the type of person that would coddle me.
“Raine, you know I’m not going to sit here and baby you. It’s not going to happen. You want me to tell you what to do, and that’s something I’m not willing to partake in. But, if I was to give you my opinion, it would be to stay away from it all. Those people are bad news. You haven’t been around your family in years. Now all of sudden you’re going to show up? Come on honey, you’re a smart girl, think about it.”
I didn’t want to hear what he was telling me. I wanted him to just say pack and let’s go. It all made sense and I knew deep down he was protecting me. “Yes, Bobby, it makes sense. You know you didn’t make this any easier on me. I really want to go, but Dante means business and I have seen what a sick fuck he can be when crossed. Maybe, I should let the water settle and then approach him again. If he tells me to fuck off, then I know to quit.” Bobby always had a way of giving me a dose of reality. I swear, sometimes I can’t stand him because of it. I wasn’t raised that way and things were done my way. After all these years, I still had to learn my lesson. His muscular arms swallowed me up, with a hard smack on my ass, “that’s my kitten.”
It was then that I made a decision to stay home. My father turned his back on me. Why should I go and grieve for a man that would do that to his flesh and blood? Hopefully, within time I would be able to return for my son, Marcello.
Chapter 3
A few months have gone by since the passing of my father. My thoughts seemed to run with a lot of what ifs. Bobby and Tim just let me have time to work it out on my own. I could see the frustration building in Bobby since it was affecting other areas in our relationship. His sexual appetite was quite large and after a day he starts getting cranky. It had been three days since any connection between us.
Tim’s behavior changed with Bobby’s. I could tell that it was becoming quite tense in the home. When I become fearful, I do the one thing that I have always done. Calling my sister seemed to relax me. She had a way of setting me straight while putting things into perspective. As annoying as she was most of the time, I was very fortunate to have her as my sister. Her loyalty to me was great. I know when she came home from the funeral she updated me on everyone, especially Marcello. She even captured a few photos of him to give me. I cried so hard that night. My boy has grown up to be such a handsome young man. She did let me know that he was thinking of joining the military. That was a huge relief to me. I feared he may want to join his father’s business.
“Hey Sis, what’s going on?” I knew that my sister could sense that I wasn’t myself. “Wynter, I don’t mean to bother you, but I’m just having a hard time with everything. Through the years it was hard, but I always learned to manage. Now with father dying, all these feelings are resurfacing. The one thing that is haunting me the most is Marcello. Wynter, I want my son back in my life. That family has taken years from me and I will never be able to get them back. Plus, I don’t know what they told him about me. Do you know? I guess I’m asking what you would do, if you were me?” The hurt was causing my throat to close up and tears to stroll down my cheeks. “Raine, you have got to pull yourself together. You know what Dante told you. Accept it for what it is and just live your damn life. As for Marcello, I’m not sure what they told him. He was five the last time he saw you. A lot of time has passed and I know it hurts, but you have to know by now that any memory of you has faded. You know that our parents took care of him, giving him a pretty good life. In a lot of ways, he got a better life than we did. So, Raine, if I were you, I would just leave it. I know you’re not going to settle for that answer. Give Dante another call and see what he says. If he tells you to stay away, then do as he says. I have to go as our mother is calling on the other line.” Hanging up the phone, I felt defeated. No one was giving me the answer I wanted.
My phone started ringing. Wynter was calling me. What could she possibly want? We just spoke to one another a few minutes ago. “Yeah, Wynter, I just spoke to you. You really love your sister?” She gave me one of her chuckles. “Cut it out princess. Today may be your lucky day. I just spoke to mother and it appears that father left us, kids, some money. Yes, even you Raine. Mother wanted me to talk to you about signing some paperwork so you can collect your share. Only problem is that you need to sign the document in person. You know what that means?”Excitement in my sister’s voice got my attention. “Wynter, are you telling me that the man who exiled me from all that I know had the nerve to leave me money? I guess I don’t understand why he would do that.” “Raine, I swear to god you can be so difficult. Yes, he left you money. Did you ever think, he didn’t banish you because he hated you? Maybe he did it to protect you from Dante.�
� Anger was getting the best of me. “Wynter! Stop it! You know father never did anything for anyone else unless there was something in it for him. Protect me? Yeah what the fuck ever. So now what do I do?” Waiting on her response, I was getting butterflies in my stomach. “You need to just touch base with Dante so there isn’t any problems. Mother knows what needs to be done. Now don’t get ahead of yourself. Marcello may not be there when you arrive. I can almost guarantee that Dante will have him away from the area.”
“Fine, I will call him and see if I can’t get this taken care of. I don’t want to spend a lot of time there. Sign paperwork, hopefully see my son, and get the fuck out of there. I will talk to you later once I find out what’s going on.”
Chapter 4
Crawling into bed that night my mind raced. I had spoken to Dante briefly a little while ago. He was curt and to the point. I was ordered to sign whatever needed to be signed and leave. The one thing I hoped for was not going to happen. He denied me an opportunity to see Marcello. When the conversation ended I chatted with Wynter for a few. We planned to leave over the weekend. I was able to talk Bobby and Tim into coming with me. I needed their support now more than ever. Even though they promised to be there, I could tell that they weren’t happy.
Laying in bed, cuddling with Bobby, Tim approached our bedroom. Giving me the look that he wanted to say something. I just returned his look, with a ‘well what is it?’ look. Tim had a way of always interrupting my Bobby time. He made the suggestion that if we fly out we can then drive back home. It would take a little while for us to return. Of course, Bobby rolled his eyes and chuckled, blurting out his usual saying “beautiful.” Tim was so excited. Over and over he kept saying that he needed some time off of work. Bobby and I gave each other the look of disbelief. I blew off his suggestion, but in the back of my mind I kept thinking that it would be quite interesting. Personally, I wanted to give it a little more time, to think it all through.t I know that if I stalled, I would never jump at the opportunity. When in doubt I would talk it out with Bobby. He was always my person to go to whenever I questioned anything. The guy had an amazing head on his shoulders and that’s probably why he made a great cop. That is just a part of why I’m so in love with this man. There I said it. I was in love with Bobby. I have even revisited the idea of marriage and more children. I was sure that my thoughts on the subject were negative in every way. He filled a void that Dante could never fill. I always thought that Dante was the answer to be completely happy. The only thing he ever brought me was misery, fear, pain, deceit, anxiety, darkness. For the first several years after moving here, I bed hopped with many men. I even attempted the relationship thing and, well, that didn’t turn out good for me. Things started changing when Bobby entered my life. The light was ignited and darkness was a thing of the past. I assured Tim that I would think about it and let him know in the morning. This whole idea needed to be given serious thought. Was I strong enough to mentally revisit my past? Especially, a past that I was away from for so long. I could tell the look on Tim’s face that he wasn’t happy with me. He wanted a decision right then and there.
Bobby sensed that I was anxious. He did what he does best, he wrapped his massive arms around me. Laying his head against my ear, slightly kissing me. It was his way of letting me know that everything was going to be okay. A slight tingle was felt between my legs, grinding my ass against him. His cock got hard. Oh, how I missed him. Slowly, I slid my hand down the length of my body until I reached my peak. Emerging myself between my folds, wetness met me at my opening. Bobby took my hand into his, guiding it to my clit, together we massaged it. My breathing was much more rapid as I could feel myself closer to release. My body began to shudder violently. He let me continue as he placed his face between my legs. “Your so close baby, I could smell your sweetness.” One touch of his tongue through me over the edge. The honey spurted out of me with such force, filling his mouth.
Comforting me, he laid next to me, holding me in his arms, kissing my head ever so gently. I felt safe from all of the bad that existed in the world. A heaviness swallowed my eyes. Sleep took over, releasing me from my pain.
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Walking down a dark street, fear set in. I caught glimpses of black shadows off to the side. I knew I had seen this place before. But where? It was from back home. I could feel the pain coming from the shadows. There was a sinister presence lurking. I was so afraid, but felt something pulling me forward. A little further, I came to another street. There was a voice instructing me to go right. The deeper I walked into the darkness, the more alone I felt. Something didn’t feel right, I needed to get out of here. No matter how much I attempted to leave, I was frozen. In the shadows, an transparent being appeared in front of me. I had to focus to see whom it was standing before me. The more I focused the clearer they became. It was my father, he was stuck in this dark place. “Father, is that you?” Questioning him as I wanted to be sure that I wasn’t be tricked by evil. His eyes were black in color. This wasn’t the man that I knew all of my life. He was omitting a smell that told me he had malevolent intentions. This being standing in front of me was the sinister being I sensed. An eerie expression on his face instilled alarm. “Raine, I’ve been watching you the last few months. I will never forgive you for what you have done. I’m ordering you to stay away from the family. I have ways of destroying you. Even in death I will see that you stay away. You’re not my daughter. No daughter of mine would ever be such a whore. Dante will pay for what he did. Don’t think you’re the only one that I’m paying a visit too. His hell will be a lot worse than what yours will ever be. I’m giving you the opportunity to obey. If not, then I will unleash an evil that you will never be able to escape. Oh, and Marcello doesn’t know who you are. As far as he is concerned he just thinks that you left him. Stay away you selfish bitch.” He was gone. It finally dawned on me as I stood there. This was his personal hell that I was in. My father was alone, paying for everything he’s done, suffering an eternity of darkness.
Sitting straight up in bed I was relieved to have escaped the nightmare. There was so much suffering. I had assumed that the shadows I was seeing were victims of my father. Everyone knew who my father was and his capabilities. Many lives were affected by his malicious personality. Rustling next to me, Bobby moved around. I knew what needed to be done. A trip back home was in order. Fear was not going to deter me from taking what was mine, even if it cost me my life.
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Morning arrived quickly, I was thankful to see the sun shining. The night before left me feeling uneasy. I wasn’t going to share anything with Bobby, Tim, or Wynter. They already think I’m quirky. Telling them would discredit me, and then the eye rolls and jokes would follow. My sister would be encouraging me to see a doctor for medication. Maybe it was just a dream, but it felt so real.
Tim was standing in the kitchen. “Looks like you had a rough night, Honey.” Stopping, I just stared at him, “Tim, you wouldn’t believe the unsettling night I had.” Giving me a hug he just stayed quiet. “Oh, Tim I thought about what you asked last night. I can’t believe I’m actually going to agree to this. But, I think we should go. I still need to tell Bobby.” A smile on his face told me that he was extremely happy. He kept going on about being exhausted and this would be a perfect thing for him to get away. Rolling my eyes, I headed for the coffee pot. A boost of caffeine is what this gal needed. Bobby approached me from behind. “Good Morning, Beautiful! How’s my kitten?” A smile across my face, warmth in my heart, and a strong sensation between my legs was what this man did to me. I slowly turned towards him. “Good Morning, Sir. I’m doing good. I have given it much thought and I have decided that we need to take the trip back home. I can’t continue living in fear. As long as you’re by my side then nothing bad can happen. You have to agree to it since I’ve already told Tim. He happily left for work. Silly man is more excited for this trip than any of us.” Sighing, “If this is your final decision then it’
s what we will do. The first sign of distress, I’m pulling you out of there and we return home. I will not allow anyone to hurt you; emotionally, mentally or physically. I’m proud of you. I know this is a big step you’re about to take. I will stand by your side and you know Tim will be standing on your other side. We will protect our girl.” I didn’t say anything, just jumped into his arms. Putting me down, he grabbed his lunch and out the door he went to protect the city from the very thing that I’m running towards. Criminals.
The house fell silent. I knew what I needed to do. Calling Dante was never easy no matter what it was about. The man instilled fear, hate, anxiety. It needed to be done so I could take care of this legal matter. Looking down at my phone, I hesitated, courage overcame fear and I pressed the call button. With every ring I got sick to my stomach. The ultimate blow was his voice responding to my call. “Raine? What do you want now?” Stuttering over my words, I got it together. “Dante? Yes, it’s me Raine. My sister called me last night informing that my mother has requested that I come back home to sign some paperwork with father’s attorney. I ask that you please let me finish before you deny me. I’m trying to seek permission from you to arrive, meet with the attorney and leave. I won’t even ask if I may please see my family. But the one thing that I do plea with you is to see my son. Dante, I’m hurting for my child. I want to see Marcello. Please. I beg of you. You have to have some values deep down.” I started to cry again. His voice was curt and to the point. “Listen, I told you once and I won’t tell you again. You will not see Marcello under any circumstance. You have created all of this and maybe you should of kept your mouth shut. As for the attorney. You have my permission to come back. Listen closely and I mean closely. You are to sign the paperwork and leave the same day. I want you out of this fucking place. If you defy me you fucking buchiach, you will pay the ultimate price. I don’t think you need me reminding you of what that is.” Frustration and anger was the only feelings I was capable of experiencing at that point in time. I have learned to truly hate this man. He was everything that I hated and more. The more I thought about it, the more I became confused on how someone could be so hateful and sinister. Then it dawned on me that he was my father’s best friend. After the dream I had the night before, it all made perfect sense. “Fine, Dante have it your way. This will be the last time I call you.” Feeling defeated he had to go the extra mile and insert the knife deeper into my back. “One last thing, Princess, don’t try anything funny. I know everything that goes on around here. I will know; and don’t think for one minute that you won’t be watched.” Click. The phone clicked in my ear leaving me there in shock.
Tricks or Treats: An Anthology for Charity Page 35
