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Alex opened the car door for me, and I slid inside before he climbed into the driver’s seat silently. I fidgeted uncomfortably with my fingers on the hem of my shirt for a few awkward moments before he finally spoke.
"We need to be on the tarmac in three hours.” His voice was formal and felt tense.
"Okay."
"You want to tell me now or wait for the plane ride to explain how the fuck your father knows Emiliano Manetti? And why didn't you think it was important to mention?" Alessandro's voice was even, more so than it should have been considering the words that he was saying.
I glanced over at him in surprise at the abrupt change in topic. He wasn't looking at me, his eyes were glued to the road, his bruised and cut hands turning white at the knuckles from gripping the steering wheel so tight.
“I didn’t see a reason to mention one of my father’s old acquaintances.” I did my best to keep my voice calm.
“An acquaintance who was the don of the Manetti crime family for fifty years before his son took over.” Alessandro slammed on the breaks in the middle of the empty street, looking at me with anger and something like betrayal burning in his eyes. “An acquaintance who he is familiar enough with that he felt comfortable using him as a threat.”
“My father has dementia. He also mentioned my mother and she’s been dead for years so tell me how an empty threat from an old man is reason enough for you to act this way?” I snapped back.
“Tell me this. Did your mother ever get upset at your father for coming home late?”
I hadn’t been expecting such a random question and I stuttered. “Sometimes. I mean, on occasion.”
“Your father wasn’t making up stories. His mind was regressing back to an earlier time. He’s got connections to Manetti. Is that why you’re so against working for the Venturi’s? Because your father is already in the life?”
“He’s not. They were just old friends from school. They would get together on occasion. We had dinner with them a time or two. That’s all.”
“Manetti is dangerous, and his son is even worse.”
The way he was talking about my father and his friends, like he was actually better than any of them, made my blood boil. I finally had all I could take and snapped.
“And you aren’t?” Alessandro’s eyes widened in surprise, but I kept going. “You sit here talking like you’ve got the higher ground, but you don’t. The Manetti’s are dangerous? They’re not the ones who kidnapped me, held a gun to my head, took me away from my home, then tried to flip things to show me howgoodyou are? That’s a lie. You and yourfamilyare nothing but criminals and gangsters. There’s nothing good about you or them.”
I wasn’t sure what I expected after such an outburst, yelling, maybe even violence? Instead, Alessandro just cast me an icy glare before hitting the gas, flying down the road so fast that the force jolted me back against the leather seat.
He drove back to my apartment in tense silence.
Alessandro and I hardly said two sentences to each other while we packed at my apartment, not because we were acting like immature children giving the silent treatment, but more because we had resolved to the fact that there was nothing more to say. Neither of us was going to see the other’s side. I just had to make it through the next two weeks without incident, then I’d return home for good.
Alessandro insisted on sitting next to me on the plane and the nurse accompanied my father in the seats across from us. I placed a set of headphones on, to listen to whatever on-flight movie they might have available in the Venturi’s personal movie library before Alessandro had a chance to talk. It wasn’t that I really expected him to, but it somehow felt better to not give him the chance instead of knowing it was his choice.
Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Alessandro glancing in my direction as if he wanted to say something but thought better of it each time. It was the longest two-hour flight in history, and I was actually grateful to be back. At least when I was around the others I would have something to distract me from the uncomfortable tension.
I hoped we would make up before too long, to somehow find a way to accept the fact that we weren’t going to see the other’s side. If not, it was going to be a long two weeks.
The movie ended and I checked the time. We still had nearly half an hour before we’d be landing. I looked over at my father and the nurse who were working on a puzzle together. I then cast a quick glance to Alessandro who was scrolling through something on his phone. With the way things were with us, I had no intention of sitting there making small talk with him for the rest of the trip. I also didn’t want to give him the chance to strike up a conversation with me so I quickly selected a new movie and began watching even though I wouldn’t be able to finish it before we landed, at least I would have the allusion of being busy so he wouldn’t bother me.
It wasn’t long before I found myself completely engrossed in the movie in front of me, a few quiet chuckles even slipped past my lips on occasion. I enjoyed losing myself in another world even if it was just for a little while. My mental escape was interrupted by the captain’s voice coming over the speakers, alerting us that we would be landing soon.
I turned off my movie and removed my headphones before making sure that all my things were secured.
Alessandro only spoke to me when it was absolutely necessary as we transferred from the plane to the car, and I wondered what was going through his mind.What reason did he have to be angry?I never promised to tell him everything. I never promised to tell himanything. I was the one who’d been kidnapped. If anyone should be mad, it was me.
The sudden tone of Alessandro’s phone ringing interrupted our silent car ride, causing both of us to jump.
“Ciao?” He answered gruffly and waited for a response that I couldn’t hear. “What? You’re kidding...shit. Yeah, I’m heading back from the airstrip. I’ll head that way now. We still have our guests with us…okay, thanks.”
He ended the call and suddenly took a hard left turn that made me slide in my seat. I gripped the side of my seat and glanced in the backseat to check on my father and the nurse.
“What the hell is going on?” I said, no longer thinking about the silence between us.
“We’ve got some business to take care of.”
