Page 104 of At The End Of The Day

A brow arching, he strolled to the island and tossed the phone to it, stomping his foot to the side to lean that way, his fingers tapping the surface. “I can honestly tell you, sis, I ain’t got no clue what’s going on. I just walked in the fucking door. Dash, you wanna fill us in on something?”

“Uh.” I gulped, wringing my hands together. “What’s, uh, going on?”

“No clue. Piera just called the kids on my phone, and now they’re all screaming and all pumped up making all kinds of plans. What the hell happened?”

I pulled my nape and grimaced. “Uh, T-Tiny? Is, uh, b-bitch there?”

“Yup,” he snickered in the background, sounding as if he already knew exactly what the hell was going on.

“Oh, uh, h-hey.”

His voice was louder, indicating he was closer to the phone. “Hey, Dash,” he sang with a taunting inflection. “Why don’t you tell Letta what’s going on?”

“Wait, do you know what’s going on?” she asked.

“Possibly. We had a little chat back in Georgia. I have my suspicions.”

She gasped. “Shut up!” she cried, followed by a distinct slap. “Uh, so, um. Vinny.” She cleared her throat. “I may not live there anymore, but I’m still your best friend, you know. You can tell me anything.”

I cast a nervous glimpse his way, recoiling further at his expression. He was seriously twisted up and pained over this, sweating bullets and practically hyperventilating. Seeing how hard he was struggling, I cupped the side of his neck and stepped closer, lifting my brows.

“Hey, hey. Take a deep breath. Look at me, okay. It’s Tiny. She loves you, man. She ain’t never gonna stop.”

Repeatedly gulping, his eyes were wide and flickering with panic. “Sis?” he croaked, a palm slapping to his chest. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to calm himself down.

“Hey, look at me.”

“Oh, my god,” she whispered with a faint chuckle from the bitch. They whispered amongst themselves for a moment while I tried to soothe Vincent.

“You know what, I’ll just say it, okay? Would that be better?”

His throat jerking, his head bobbed eagerly, tears welling in his eyes.

My chest twisted, my thumb stroking his jawline. “Oh, shit, babe, don’t do that.”

Another gasp from the phone, their snickers suddenly silent.

“Okay, band aid. One, two, three. Vin and I are together. I just moved in with him. We’re gonna raise the acorn together. See?” I whispered after my blurt. “It’s all over, babe. Look at me.”

He was trembling, full blown hyperventilating now. Fisting the front of my shirt, a tear rolled down his cheek, his complexion turning green as if he’d be sick.

“Shh, listen, it’s all over. Nothing left to hide. It’s all over, baby. You’re still standing, I’m still here.”

“I’m still here, Vinny,” Violetta offered with a gentle tone. “And I still love you just as much. That hasn’t changed.”

His focus snatched to the blackened screen and he stopped breathing. “You okay with me being in love with Dash?”

“Love?” she shrieked to which Tyler interjected with, “Hey, it’s fine, dude. We’d already suspected this, anyhow.”

“What?” he bellowed, shoving me off to grab the sides of his head. “What the fuck you mean, you knew?”

“Look, Vinny, it ain’t no big deal. Remember my uncles? I can see the signs—”

“Signs?” He was in hysterics, pacing, choking on breaths. “There ain’t no signs. I hid it, I hid it from everyone. Oh, shit, there can’t be no signs—”

I grabbed his elbow and pulled him back, wrapping an arm around his waist and cupping his cheek. “Look at me, Vin. Look at me!” I barked when he continued to panic.

His frantic, hazel irises landed on mine, another tear slipping out.