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The punch eventually caught up to her, and she excused herself to use the restroom. She was washing her hands when the door opened, hostility filling the confined space as Lisa walked in. There was no way to leave without walking past her, so Haven shut off the water and took a deep breath. After drying her hands, she took a few steps in her direction.
“Excuse me,” she said, hoping she would let her go without trouble, but Lisa didn’t move an inch. “I’d like to leave.”
“I’d like you to leave too,” Lisa said. “Leave town, and leave Carmine alone.”
The way Lisa leered, getting pleasure from her pain, reminded Haven of Katrina and all the times she had kicked her when she was already down. There hadn’t been anything she could do about it then, but she didn’t have to take it anymore. Not here, not now. She wasn’t going to hand over control to people who wanted nothing more than for her to hurt.
“I said excuse me.” Haven took another step forward. Lisa didn’t move, so Haven bumped into her and grabbed the door. She swung it open and stepped out as Lisa gripped her shoulder. Haven turned around in enough time to see her make a fist.
Before Lisa could attack, arms jerked Haven away, and Nicholas absorbed the force of the punch in his chest. “Whoa, Laila Ali, watch where you’re swinging!”
Lisa sneered at him. “What did you call me?”
“She’s a boxer,” Haven said. “Muhammad Ali’s daughter.”
“Why are you talking?” Lisa asked, taking a step toward her. “Nobody asked you.”
“Hey now.” Nicholas tried to come between them, but he wasn’t quick enough. Lisa gripped Haven’s arm, tearing her corsage off and hurling it onto the floor. Nicholas intervened again, and Lisa stomped away as he picked up Haven’s flower.
She took it carefully as he smiled, but something was off about his expression, something that spiked Haven’s anxiety. “Is something wrong?”
“I’ve known the DeMarcos for a long time, you know,” he said. “We used to be close, and when you spend a lot of time with people, you learn things about them. Like . . . some of the stuff their family does.”
Her brow furrowed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I’m not an idiot, Haven,” he said, his voice low. “I have no intention of dying any time soon, that’s for sure. I know how to keep my mouth shut, but I can’t hold it in anymore. You told me you were from California, when not long ago Carmine said you were from Chicago. And they don’t just invite people to live with them. They don’t let anyone get close unless they can control them some way, and it freaks me out what that means for you.”
She felt queasy. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you aren’t some friend of the family. I think you had no choice whether you came here.”
“I had a choice,” she said, remembering Dr. DeMarco’s words that first day. “We always have a choice.”
“Look, it’s not like I can do anything. I’m just a kid, and I don’t know your situation. For all I know, you could’ve been kidnapped and are being held for ransom, or, hell, maybe you’re in hiding. I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t feel bad knowing you might be trapped.”
She was nervous to talk about it in public. “They’re nice to me.”
“I’m sure they are, but that doesn’t make it right, and it makes me sick that Carmine’s taking advantage of you.”
Her fingernails dug into her palms as she tried to keep from reacting. “Carmine loves me.”
“I have a hard time believing he loves anyone.”
“I love him.”
“Let me guess, he’s the first person to treat you that way? He smiles at you and whispers sweet nothings in your ear? He speaks Italian and makes you swoon? Yeah, he did that to every girl in this building at some point. That’s who he is.”
“Nothing’s going to change my mind.”
“Fine, but like I said, that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. If you need to talk, I’m around.”
“Why do you care so much?”
“Because somebody should.”
She opened her mouth to tell him Carmine cared, but before she could, Carmine’s seething voice rang out behind them. “Leave her alone!”
“Nicholas helped me,” Haven said right away, not wanting him to get the wrong idea.
