AllFreeNovel
Share Us
He stops pacing and stares me down with his intense eyes that are identical to Gia’s in color but much harder and more apathetic. “You clearly have no respect for other people’s possessions. I can’t trust you inmyhouse withmythings! So, you are no longer welcome here.” He walks away like he’s done with this entire conversation, then stops himself like he’s just had a thought and turns back.
“You know, Florence did this exact thing all the time when we were together. She took my things with no care for how she returned them,ifshe even returned them at all. She had no regard for anything or anyone. This isjustlike the time she threw out my Wayne Gretzky rookie card because it was ‘stupid’ and ‘taking up space.’ Do you evenknowhow much that card is worth right now?”
“I—I don’t—”
“Two hundred thousand dollars! It’s worthtwo hundred thousanddollars now, Siena!”
I can’t help myself from saying, “I feel like we’re getting derailed from the actual issue here . . .”
He points an accusing finger at me. “Theissueis that I hate your mother, and quite frankly, I hateyou, Siena.
You look like her, you act like her, youareher. In fact, you’reworse, because I don’t even think you’re doing it on purpose. Just looking at you makes me physically sick.”
I didn’t expect his words to sting so much, didn’t expect tocareabout anything Dario said to me, but those words are a slap across the face followed by a swift kick to the stomach. They hurt so much I actually stumble back on the stairs and have to grip the banister to steady myself.
I hear myself say, “I’m sorry.”
His expression doesn’t soften, and for a moment I feel like I’m seven years old and disappointing my father seems like the end of the world.
“You have ten minutes to get your stuff and get out of my house.”
My heart stops. This is really happening. He’s really kicking me out. This is one of my worst fears. As much as I dislike Dario and don’t feel like this is my real home, I never really wanted to leave.
I feel something wet trail down my cheek and lift my hand to discover a tear has escaped. My voice is a whisper when I say, “But where will I go?”
Dario isn’t moved by my emotion. If anything, his face hardens more. “I don’t know, and I don’t care. I’m going to pour myself a drink and call that mechanic to figure out what the hell is going on with my car, and when I get back, you better be gone.” He pauses, his eyes scanning my face like he’s revolted by the sight of me, and he finishes with the parting shot, “You don’t belong here.
You never have.”
He storms into his office without a backward glance, slamming the door behind him. I sink onto the stairs and take a deep, steadying breath. I’m not entirely shocked by his reaction. What I wasn’t expecting, however, were the words he threw at me, and how deeply and immeasurably they impacted me. They sank deep into my bones and embedded themselves into my skin, making me afraid to look in a mirror for fear I’ll see them etched there.
I’ve never been wanted, not when Florence was pregnant, not when they lived together, not at Aunt Julie’s, and definitely not here. I’ve never been wanted anywhere I go.
I don’t belong anywhere, and that is a knife to the heart.
“Siena?” Gia’s voice is a hoarse whisper, and I look up to see her head peeking out over the second-floor banister.
“Are you all right?”
I wipe any residual wetness from my cheeks, glad that I’m not actually crying.
“I’m fine, Gia,” I answer, standing and joining her at the top of the stairs.
Her face is pale, and she seems just as shaken as I am.
“That was . . . rough,” she says, wrapping her arms around herself. “I don’t understand what happened. I’ll talk to him again, get him to see it was me and let you stay.”
“Don’t bother, there’s no point,” I say, heading to my room, which I guess is no longer my room. “He’s never going to believe you no matter what you say, and I don’t want to come back anyway. There’s no point in you ruining your relationship or chance to live here over me.”
Gia trails behind me. “What do you mean you don’t want to come back? Are you really leaving?”
I find a duffel bag stuffed in the back of my closet and unzip it, then place it on the bed. It’s ironic how less than twenty-four hours ago, Gia was the one packing to leave this house, and now I’m doing the same. “He made it pretty clear I’m not welcome here.”
She watches me travel from my drawers to the bed, stuffing the bag with random clothes I’m not really seeing but probably wear the most.
Gia chews on her lip. “But isn’t he like, legally responsible for you? Maybe just spend the night away and he’ll cool off and you can come back.”
The bag is completely full, but I still remove my underwear drawer from the nightstand and turn it upside down to empty its contents into the bag. “I don’t think I’ll ever be welcome back, Gia. I was never wanted in the first place.”
