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“Gio!”I called.
He stood, talking to others already seated.
“Gio,” I called again, catching the flinch before his spine straightened. But he didn’t turn my way, couldn’t even give me the goddamn respect of looking me in the eye.
“Look at me.”
The others glanced my way, two guys I barely knew. Anger cut through me like a goddamn razor at their gazes, and I tasted the burn.
“You don’t want to talk to me, fine,” I hissed. “Goddamn spineless asshole.”
“I’m the asshole?”His voice was thick and slurring as he turned to me. He tried to find my gaze, blinking thick tears that he wiped away with a tissue.
“What about what your fuckingbrothersdid to me?”
I froze, stunned. He was a goddamn mess. I didn’t know where to look. Bloody lips. Swollen eyes. Ugly, deep purple bruises that covered one side of his face.
Knuckles.
That’s what had done that.
“You want to talk aboutspineless?”He stepped forward. “How about two on one? You wanna talk about that? No…I bet you don’t, you fucking hypocrite.”
“Okay, settle down,” the teacher called as he strode into the classroom. “Mr. Romano. It looks like your weekend was…interesting.”
Gio glared at me before turning and pushing past to take his seat at the edge of the classroom and far from me. I couldn’t move, even as others slid into seats around me. All I could see was Tobias’ ruined knuckles…and my own cruel words.Did you hurt him?
Yeah,Tobias' answer followed.
Good…
Good.
I turned, slipping into the vacant seat in front of me, my movements in a fog. Voices came, the teacher speaking words I couldn’t hear. Gio glanced over his shoulder, that squinted, painful stare finding me before he looked away.
They'd beaten him…
Bad.
Because of me.
I sat there in stunned disbelief, unable to hear a damn thing the teacher said, and when the bell rang, I was one of the first to move.
“Gio,” I called and pushed my way toward him.
But he was already leaving, shuffling his way out of the classroom in an effort to get away from me. I swallowed hard, catching stares from the others in the class fixed on me. Heat burned in my cheeks and for the first time in days, I tugged my hair down, covering the side of my face, and walked out, desperate to get away from them.
THIRTY-THREE
nick
I turnedat the sound of the Mercedes pulling into the driveway. The engine died before thethudof the driver’s door carried inside the house.Goddamn bastard.I clenched my fists, waiting for the front door to open before my father walked through, his head hanging low.
He stopped just inside and lifted his gaze to mine before a pained expression cut across his face. “Don’t, okay, just…don’t.”
“Don’t?” I cut across the foyer, standing in front of the man I called father. “That’s all you’ve got to say?”
“I’m sorry.” He shook his head.
