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“Here.” I picked up my book bag and grabbed him by the elbow. “Come with me.” I squeezed past a bunch of students to get out of the line and headed toward the bathroom. Once we were inside, I checked all the stalls. When I confirmed we were alone, I locked the door. “He’s not a predator like you said.”
“What?” He squinted at me. His cheeks were so flushed, I’d bet all he saw was red. His jaw flexed, then he continued, “The guy targeted you when you were fifteen. He was your teacher, and he didn’t care. He had sex with a minor. I get that we’re mobsters, but there’s got to be a line, Donata.”
“We didn’t have sex.” My heart raced because I realized the time to come clean had arrived. I knew at some point I would have to tell my best friend about what happened with Luca Gallo. But if I were being honest, I’d thought we’d be old by then, like very, very old. Fuck. “Hear me out.”
“No, Donata. It doesn’t matter. He was in the wrong.”
“I lied.” I looked over my shoulder, even though I knew we were alone.
“What do you mean? What did you lie about?”
“Um,” I inhaled. “Everything? Um, I’m still a virgin. And Luca and I never had sex. We kissed. Well, I kissed him. He didn’t kiss me back. He pushed me away. I was angry that he shut me down, I, um. You know.”
“No, Donata, I don’t know. Say the words.” He cocked his eyebrow.
“Don’t hate me.” Tears streamed down my cheeks. “I know what I did was terrible. Inexcusable. That’s the word Aunt Vittoria used.”
“Say it.”
“Luca never tried anything with me. He’s innocent.”
“Are you saying you made up the whole thing? You lied about him taking your v-card in his classroom. On his desk?” He glared at me with so much disgust in his eyes. “You tried to have sex with me last year. Jesus, Donata.”
“To make you feel better. You’re my best friend.” I pressed my hand to my forehead. I messed up big time. I knew that. “I’m so sorry. I took it all back. That’s why he got his job back at the school.”
“I harassed him about it all of senior year.” He pursed his lips. “He never defended himself. Now I know why. He was protecting you.”
“I apologized to him. And Aunt Vittoria promised to make it worth his while if he didn’t say anything.” I wiped my cheeks. “I know now how bad that was. But he rejected me and I was so hurt.”
“You are the definition of a raging bitch.”
“Enzo.”
“Stop talking.” He put his hand up. “So that’s why he’s here? Signoria Vittoria got him into Columbia to teach.”
“You don’t know that.” I crossed my arms over my chest. “Maybe he got in on his own merit.”
“Maybe. But because of you, he’ll never know. Jesus Christ.” He strode to the door and flipped the lock.
“Where are you going?”
He was so mad. I was afraid he might go into the city and just start punching people to ease the pain. I should’ve told them all the truth right when it happened. But I was a coward. I didn’t want them to look at me the way Enzo was glaring at me right now. Yeah, the irony wasn’t lost on me—I didn’t want my lies to ruin my reputation the way they had ruined Luca’s academic career at our high school.
“To class.” He smirked at me. “Isn’t that why we’re here?”
“I’m not going in there.”
“Yes, you are, my sweet Queen Bee. And I’ll be right there with you. This is Luca’s chance to make your life miserable. I’m not going to stand in his way.” He opened the door and gestured for me to go on.
“You can’t pull your Batman shit on me. Luca doesn’t need you to stand up for him.” I stood my ground.
“If you don’t go in there, you and I are no longer friends.”
“What? You’re being unfair.”
“You.” He reached for my elbow and pulled me toward him. “Ruined the man’s life. His reputation. His dignity. That’s unfair. You going to his class right now is justice.” He headed toward the auditorium with a firm grip on my arm.
“You mean vengeance.”
