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Nina doesn’t say anything as she rubs my back. She doesn’t have to. Just having her with me is enough.
CHAPTER8
Nina
Every day is slowly killing me.
It’s been a week since my father asked me to kill Antonio, and I’ve been paralyzed with fear over it. Antonio clearly knows I’m in a mood, but he’s a kind enough man to not push me, which only makes it harder on me. If Antonio were horrible, maybe then …
No. I’m not a killer. I don’t know how I’m going to do this.
Antonio has been distracted with his plan not working out, which has made him less observant when it comes to me and helps slightly. I just can’t help but feel guilty when he tells me he tried to blow up Franco’s drug shipment, but no one was there.
I know the reason; my father and Franco are working together. My father must have warned Franco about Antonio’s plan and interfered, making it impossible for Antonio to complete his work.
Of course, I can’t tell Antonio any of this. Every time I open my mouth, I think about Anna and how much my father could hurt her if I don’t play by his rules.
I can’t stand not knowing if she’s all right, so I take a visit to my childhood home. Father isn’t home, which I knew. Antonio told me he was meeting with my father today. Perfect time for me to talk to Anna.
I still have my key, so I use that to let myself in. The condo feels instantly lighter without my father’s presence darkening it.
Anna is in the living room, scrolling on her phone. She barely glances at me when I sit down beside her. “Oh, hey, Nina. What are you doing here?”
“Just wanted to come visit; that’s all. Can’t I see my sister?”
Anna shrugs, still keeping her eyes on her phone. “Yeah, you can. Nothing exciting is really happening, though. I have homework to do, but I really don’t want to do it, you know?”
“So, you’re procrastinating by …” I grab her phone from her. “Watching people do weird dances?” The screen of her phone is filled with young, hot people doing strange dance moves.
“Hey!” She grabs her phone back. “It’s a dance trend, ok? And it’s fun. I wanted to try it someday.”
“I doubt Father would let you. I’m amazed he even gave you a phone.”
“What Father doesn’t know, won’t hurt him.”
As a memory of his belt flashes through my mind, pain grips my heart. “Anna, you know he’ll find out. Especially if you go plastering that all about the internet. He won’t be happy.”
She snorts. “What’s Father going to do? Ground me? I can handle that.”
I grab her arms and shake her. “He’ll do more than that, ok?”
She looks so startled that I immediately let her go. “Jeez. What the hell?”
“Anna, I’m sorry. Just … just listen to me, ok? Father is not a good man. He will hurt you if you don’t fall in line, do you understand?”
“Hurt me how?” For once, she actually puts her phone down.
“I’m … not sure,” I admit lamely. Judging by Anna’s expression, she doesn’t believe me. She huffs and settles back onto the couch, acting like she doesn’t have a care in the world. It’s good Father hasn’t hurt her yet, but if I don’t kill Antonio soon, it won’t be long before he sets his sights on Anna. “I just know he has a mean side. I’ve seen it.”
“When? What did you do?” She returns to scrolling through videos.
“I …”I caught him cheating on Mom. I don’t have the heart to say it, though. I can never forget the time he took me aside to tell me to keep things a secret between us.
“Nina,” he’d said, calling me into his office. As a twelve-year-old, I was terrified to step foot in there, even though I wasn’t quite sure why. The memory of him having sex with another woman on my mom’s bed was burned in my mind. “Shut the door behind you.”
I did, even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
“Listen, Nina, I need you to understand you can’t tell your mom about what you saw. Do you understand me?”
