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15
Shaye
“Baby, what’s wrong?”
Sirens blare through the phone lines, and my pulse picks up speed with each passing second that Nico doesn’t respond.
“Nico, what—?”
“It’s my dad.” His voice shakes like I’ve never before heard it. “He’s..he’s been hit.”
“Hit? Hit by who? Where are you?” I tug on the ends of my hair. “Babe, just calm down for a second and talk to me.” But I’ve already realized there is nothing I can do to soothe him, at least not from my parents’ kitchen.
After a pause that knots my stomach like a pretzel, he finally speaks. “I went to the house this morning to talk to him. He’s been holding out on me for years, and today he decided to fill me in on everything after all this time. He knew something was happening. He must have. And we argued. I lost my shit with him. Shaye, I told him things, things I never should have said. I was angry and I…I…”
“Take your time,” I whisper, tears springing to my eyes. His words are tumbling out faster than I can process them, and all I want to do right now is wrap my arms around him and squeeze, to tell him everything will be okay.
But I don’t know if that’s true.
Maybe nothing will be okay again.
I try to follow Nico’s jumbled thoughts and then just wait for him to finish. I’ll piece it all together soon enough. I furrow my brow as his voice grows more and more faint. The line cuts in and out, and his words are drowned by the sirens.
“…red light…truck…smashed…internal bleeding…coma…”
An icy hand squeezes my heart. “Oh my God, Nico,” I gasp, my fingertips gripping the back of a counter stool. “Is he…is he—?”
Footsteps clomp down the stairs, and I clap a hand over my mouth, tears spilling from my eyes when my father appears in the doorway. I expect him to mouth something to me, to ask what’s wrong, who I’m talking to. But his eyes just narrow and he grabs his cell phone, charging into his office and slamming the door shut.
I swallow hard and wipe away the tears. “I’m so sorry, baby. Tell me what you need. I can go to your house and talk to your mom…”
His voice is clear now. “No, I have to tell her.”
A lump lodges itself in my throat, and I can barely take in enough breath to speak. “Of course.”
“I fucked up, Shaye. I keep fucking up, and people keep getting hurt. Or killed.” His voice cracks again, muffled by background noise.
“Stop. You can’t do this to yourself. You have to stay positive right now.”
“Everything I’ve done…or haven’t done…is to blame for this. I let this happen. I told my dad he was weak, but I’m no better,” he says, his voice hollow. “I’ll never forgive myself if he doesn’t make it.”
“Don’t even say that!” I snap. “Never, ever say those words. They won’t help anyone.”
“I didn’t take care of what I needed to. I should have done something.”
“Nico,” I say, struggling to keep my voice even. “You did what you thought was best. Please don’t blame yourself. You can’t—"
“I let Luca get away with too much. I waited too long to make a move. I’m the fucking reason why my father is lying on that gurney and why Carlo is dead. Who’s next, Shaye? Because you know this isn’t over. I know it isn’t over.”
A sob lodges itself in my throat, and I swallow hard to keep it from bursting forth. “Then end it, Nico. It’s up to you to stop this bastard. You have the power to take him down, so do it before anyone else gets hurt.” My fingers tremble, my grip tight around the phone. “Just…do it.”
He’s silent for a few seconds, and when he speaks again, his voice is hollow. Flat. Empty. “I’ve got to go. Stay at your house. Don’t open the door for anyone. I’ll call you when I get more details about my dad.”
“Nico, please. I want to be there for you. I’m not staying here. I’m worried about you, babe.”
“I’m worried about you, too. I can’t protect everyone, Shaye. That fucker has already proven it. The only way for you to be safe is to stay away from me.”
“Don’t be ridiculous! You shouldn’t be alone right now. I can be at the hospital in twenty minutes. Please let me be there for you.”
