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“We should go swimming.”
“You’d drown.” I keep pulling her to our destination. Just as we left it earlier, her bedroom window is open a crack. Enough for me to pop it fully open.
It’s a good thing her room is on the bottom floor; otherwise, we’d have to go through the front door. No way would I chance her getting hurt by climbing a tree. I go in first before I pick her up and pull her over the ledge.
She hiccups, and I know what’s coming next. In a fraction of a second, I cradle her in my arms as I run for her bathroom. On cue, she throws up, and I hold her hair out of her face.
“This is horrible. I’m never drinking again,” she moans into the toilet.
I’m a moron. I should have never caved to her.
She continues getting sick, and I know it’s a matter of time before someone finds out. Luna’s going to be hung-over tomorrow. I can’t see her getting out of bed until dinnertime.
A light from just outside her room turns on. My heart jumps, knowing this is the moment I have been afraid of. Not wanting her hair to fall back into her face, I separate it in two and tie a knot. Then I attempt to place an elastic on the end. It looks more like a bird tried to make a nest more than anything else.
She moans, and I place a towel on the ground. She rests her cheek on it, her eyes staying closed.
I can do this.
I walk out of her bathroom, and her brother is standing in her room, his eyes on Luna. He turns on her bedroom light as I close the door behind me.
“What the hell is the matter with your face?” Luca asks in alarm. “And why the hell is Luna puking?”
The moment of truth. It’s all I have. “She dared me to drink vodka, and I’m allergic to it.”
“You sound like you can’t even breathe.”
“It hurts.”
He curses, shaking his head. “What about my sister?”
“I made sure she was safe. She drank a little too much.”
His lips purse. I’m imagining he’s contemplating what to do with me. “You honestly have no backbone when it comes to her. This is what we’re going to do. I’m in a hurry and need to leave. You need to stay here and make sure she stays safe. If she can’t get up for church tomorrow, I’m going to let Nicoli find you in her room. Thenhecan deal with your dead body.”
“You have my word.”
“Fucking kids these days,” Luca mutters, leaving the room and closing the door behind him.
Looks like I might get to survive a few more hours after all.
Present
Unlikethepast,herfamily no longer shows me kindness. I sit in the back of a restaurant, waiting for Luna’s brother and Father to arrive. After fifteen minutes, Luca finally appears. Her father is nowhere in sight.
“Where is Nicoli?” I ask but already know he’s not coming. They don’t even respect me enough to have Nicoli sit in on our meeting.
“He was busy. What did you want to meet about?”
I gesture for him to take a seat in front of me. He crosses his arms instead. With a strained half smile, I state, “I want to marry Luna.”
“No,” he barks, loud and hard.
I take a few seconds to comprehend his answer. My fingers tap on my lower lip. “I don’t think you heard me. I think our families can become great allies, and a marriage would solidify my peace offering.”
“Listen, Fin. Luna isn’t the marrying type. I’m saving you the mistake. I love her, but she would destroy you.”
An insulted scoff fires out of my throat. “Excuse me?” My hand skims over my gun. I can feel my pulse rocketing out of control. I don’t fail.
