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JEWEL
One fight.
One. Fight.
We had one itty-bitty argument, and the guy jumped ship like I was the Titanic. It was demoralizing on a level I hadn’t experienced since my dad got arrested.
Cat and I were back at the Hungarian Pastry Shop, which was fitting since this is where the craziness of the past forty-eight hours had begun. It was the bookending to one of the worst episodes of my life. That’s why love sucked. When my father was incarcerated and Mother disappeared like she’d only been a figment of my imagination, I swore to myself I wouldn’t be emotionally vulnerable again. I’d made an oath and stayed the course, but being with Nicu was like slipping into a dream state where the rules no longer applied.
Well, this is what you get for forgetting how bad things can be.Because right now, my life was dreary and depressing. I glanced over my shoulder, peering out into the cold, rainy late-autumn day. Through the rain-smeared windowpane, I squinted down the street, hoping for a glimpse of that familiar figure.
Nothing.
There were only pedestrians clutching their rickety umbrellas as they rushed by. I went on to study the façade of the cathedral across the street. Again, nothing.
Just like my parents, Nicu had disappeared as if he’d never existed.
With a frustrated little shake of my head, I tore myself away and morosely stared down at my tall glass of iced cappuccino, the whipped cream with the dusting of cinnamon on top untouched.
Disappointment settled in my gut.
I’d waited for him to show up, but there was no doubt about it.
He was gone.
It was a shock, because everything I knew about Nicu dictated that he would’ve beaten down the door of my dorm room or blown up my phone by now. Threading my fingers through my hair, I allowed a bitter, knowing smile to coat my lips. I knew it wouldn’t last. Nothing good ever did.
Cat fidgeted in her seat; eyebrows drawn together. Her lips pressed in a flat line as she kept her eyes on me.
“Stop it,” she demanded in a soft tone.
“Stop what? You look like you have to say something, so out with it,” I grumbled.
Taking a huge breath of air, she launched in, “Could it be you’re pushing Nicu away because of what happened to your father? You know, because he abandoned you?”
She held up her hand as I opened my mouth to interrupt. “No, let me finish. Even if it wasn’t on purpose, your father did abandon you, Jewel. He left you, and then your mother left you, so now you feel the need to push Nicu away before he has a chance to leave you.”
“That’s…” I sputtered. So true. Instead, I finished with, “…absurd.”
“Is it, though?” she persisted. “At school, there were more than a few guys who were into you. You’d only let them get so close. When things got real, you’d feel threatened and ghost them. The thing is, you didn’t really care about them, so it was okay not to lead them on. But you feel deeply for Nicu, and I would hate—I mean I would really, really hate—it if you tossed this away out of fear.”
“You’re the one who told me he was too selfish and wasn’t worth my time,” I argued.
“Hmm, I might’ve been wrong,” she observed. “I was watching him carefully. The guy couldn’t keep his eyes off you. He wore his emotions on his face, and he was torn up about what happened. I can honestly say I’ve never seen Nicu upset. Nothing fazes him, but he looked shell-shocked after you were done with him.”
I dropped my head, staring down at my fingers, interwoven in a tight grip. I pursed my lips and scrunched my forehead, looking inward and thinking hard.
“Granted, he acted badly when he crashed into my house, but he did it because he’s crazy about you. He knew the consequences, but he didn’t care. That was an act of selflessness,” she concluded. “Selfless because I can only imagine what Alex did to punish him.”
She gave a little shudder. “Romanian mafie clans are loving, family-orientated people, but when you cross a line, they’re quick to teach you a lesson. Whatever your worst nightmare is, they recreate it without mercy. Think about that.”
“Is that statement supposed to entice me to join your world? Because if so, it really isn’t succeeding,” I snipped.
“No, it wasn’t, but I assume you wouldn’t hold our way of life against him. I assume you would join my world because you love him. I don’t know…maybe you’re willing to throw it away because you had it easy when it came to love,” she pondered. “Instead of realizing how precious it is and knowing it’s worth the fight.”
Her words stung.
I sputtered, “Hey, that’s not fair. My parents’ love wasn’t easy.”
