AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So,” my mother said, jumping into the conversation, “I heard that you’ve never been to New York.”
Carla shook her head. Her blonde curls caught the last bit of sunlight as it streamed in through the large windows. My aunt and cousin were both blonde, as were Ingrid, but Carla’s color was different. The strands were closer to red than yellow, and when the light shined on them, I realized that there were even small strands of hair so blonde they were white.
The color played well on her golden complexion.
“Eli will have to take you around.” This time it was my father who spoke.
“I wouldn’t want to put him out.” Her eyes looked over at mine, and I knew that my coldness hadn’t gone unnoticed by her. She knew that I did not want her here. Not that I’d tried to hide it.
“I hope you like boring shit,” Matteo said with a laugh. “Eli’s likely to drag you to some historical site and give you a long lecture of why some brick was important to the development of America.”
This time I rolled my eyes.
“Don’t listen to Matteo,” Ingrid said. I glanced over at her. She was giving me a small smile, which I ignored. She was Luca’s now. There was no point in getting attached to her in any way. My cousin would likely gut me if he thought that I was too close, and I had enough problems. “Eli is very smart, and he’s lived in the city his entire life.”
“We all have,” I reminded. I didn’t like that everyone’s attention was on me. “Besides, I don’t think that I’ll be able to show you around the city. After all, don’t you have school?”
Carla stiffened, and I hid my smile as everyone’s attention turned back to us. Though my father’s eyes flashed, I knew he wouldn’t say anything to me at the table, especially if he thought it would embarrass Carla.
“Are you taking classes?” Fiona asked. She’d been quiet during this entire dinner, but that was Fiona. She played the part of careless society girl, but I knew my cousin well. She missed even less than her brother, and she’d sat back and watched Carla with the same intensity I had. “I didn’t know that the school even had summer offerings.” She snorted. “I would have taken them had I known.”
“It’s summer school.” Carla’s eyes were on her plate. “I failed senior year, so if I want to graduate, I need to pass.” She looked over at my father, a tight smile on her face. “They don’t normally let seniors in, but I’m assuming some strings were pulled.”
Carla was sitting next to my father, and he reached out to take her hand. There was a softness in his eyes, which I was not used to seeing. As the enforcer to the Blanchis, my father was hardened by his position in the family. He might not have meant to do it, but he passed that hardness onto me in preparation for my own role. Now though, he looked at Carla with kind eyes as he squeezed her hand. “I was happy to do it.”
“We should go shopping,” Fiona chimed in. I suspected that she sensed the tension and unease my question created. “Auntie Ivy said that you only brought one suitcase of clothing with you.”
Carla nodded. “I wasn’t sure how long I’d be staying.”
Not long,I thought. Carla would be gone by the fall, and I’d be going to Harvard. Already, I’d formulated a plan to get rid of the girl who’d be hung like an albatross around my neck.
It didn’t take a genius to realize Carla had secrets, and I wanted to discover what they were.
“Even if you are staying for a week, we should go,” Fiona said. She turned her attention to Ingrid, turning up her nose slightly. “We could all use a new wardrobe.”
“I think that sounds wonderful,” my aunt said. “Ivy and I bonded over shopping when we first met.”
My mother snorted. “You bonded with me when you took me hostage. I don’t think I’d ever met someone who could spend money as quickly as you.”
Everyone chattered around the table, laughing and talking about summer. Everyone but Carla. Who looked like she wanted to be anywhere else.
CHAPTERSEVEN
“You can walk to the school from here.” Eli’s strides were so long that I was practically running to keep up with him. I was grateful that I was wearing sneakers instead of sandals or heels, because Eli was walking as though someone lit a fire under his ass. “It’s just a few blocks, so there’s no point in you taking the car.”
I nodded. Eli’s father had suggested having their driver, Simon, take me to class every day, but I’d balked at the idea.
I didn’t like being dependent on anyone. Part of my plan to get away required me to learn the city, and I couldn’t do that if the Blanchis’ driver was escorting me around. As it were, I could not seem to shake Eli.
“You didn’t need to walk me,” I said, lifting my phone. “I have GPS.”
I’d been with the Blanchis’ for two days, and they’d mostly left me alone. Which I was grateful for. The family dinner I participated in was enough social interaction for one lifetime. The size of the Blanchi family rivaled my own, or rather the family I once had.
Sitting at the table while they all laughed and chatted made the hole in my heart fester, and I’d needed the weekend to recover.
“You might not have realized this, but my father isn’t going to just let you wander the city without an escort.”
I froze. What.
