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“I’ll talk to you tomorrow then,” I tell him. “Bye, Lorenzo.”
“Bye, Vi.”
Those are the last words I hear before a beep sounds in my ear as the call disconnects. I turn my phone off and sit down on the bed, yawning. He’s right, I need sleep. Whether I admit it or not. I’ve done a lot of things already today. The plan is set, I just need to talk to Oliver about arranging a meeting with Vid Vibez myself tomorrow. Then, all I can do is hope both of them are as money-driven as they should and are expected to be.
Chapter 29 – Cinquantasei
Elias
I hate all this. I despise it. Times like these is when I rethink what I say about fame and success. It’s a curse. It’s a threat. It makes people do things you never thought they’d ever do. It brings out a part of a person you never thought existed. It brought out a part of my father I never wanted to see.
I’m not even angry about our departure. I could’ve easily told him I stopped talking to Violet; he wouldn’t suspect a thing as long as I didn’t text her. But that wasn’t the point. The point was his controlling self keeps asking for more. I give him everything he asks for, but the one time I do something wrong, it all cancels out. It’s all for nothing. It’s like can never do enough. Not for him at least.
“Hello. Earth to Elias,” a voice says, waving their hand close to my face. I return to the present reality, looking back at Lorenzo sitting in front of me. He drops his hand, looking at me with a pitiful face. “You still depressed?” he asks.
“I’m not depressed, I’m upset. There’s a difference,” I tell him. He backs up to align his back and the chair’s.
“Same thing. Anyway, if you were listening to me, you’d know that Roland might actually stay. There is an ongoing planin the making, and I have faith it will work. I won’t tell you how until it does, though.”
Not this again. I told him to leave it. If it had been anything else, I wouldn’t have denied help. But this time, he’s solid on his choice. My dad won’t change his mind, and I know he won’t like anyone who tries.
“Enzo, I told you to leave it. He’s not going to listen, and you’re going to end up insulted or worse,” I remark, which causes his face to slump. He overlaps his hands on the table.
“For one, Roland won’t do a thing to me because, unlike him, my dad cares about my wellbeing—no offense,” he grins. I blink at him, and he widens his eyes as if demanding an answer.
“None taken,” I assure him, letting him continue without guilt.
“For two, I know two people who are just manifesting his head getting smacked into a wall, and if he does anything to me, they will not hesitate to do so. And three, my mom will have his head on a stick. Need I continue?” he asks, tilting his head to the side. I just look at him, pursing my lips. I don’t want to have to talk about this. Or my dad. It’s tiring and gives me a headache.
“No, don’t,” I tell him, placing my elbows on the table and letting my head drop into my hands. Lorenzo doesn’t talk after that, but it just leaves me to focus on the chatter of noises around me. After a while I lift my head and look at Lorenzo.
His arms are still both on the table, but he’s laid back a bit. His black curls cover his forehead, almost blocking his eyes. However, their dark green color gives them strength, lighting up his face. Although I can’t see much of what he’s wearing, and I wasn’t focusing on it much when we entered, I know it’s better than anyone else in this café. He designs clothes for a fashion company, his style is bound to be great. Lucky him. He does something he wants.
“Come on, we have a good plan. It’s going to work, and you’re going to stay here in Los Angeles. Most importantly, Roland will be humbled,” he tells me, a genuine look on his face. No smile, however. A sign that he’s being serious.
“It’s not about that. Moving isn’t the problem. I mean, yes, it’s dumb and useless, and of course I don’t want to leave, but staying doesn’t change anything,” I explain. His brows furrow slightly. I don’t expect him to understand. I don’t expect anyone to honestly. “It’s nothing, don’t worry about it,” I add, closing my eyes while saying it.
“No, I’m going to worry about it. Come on, you’re my friend, Elias—never take that lightly, that means you are more than a great person. Anyway, I’m here to listen to you. That sounds cringy as hell, but you get my point,” he says, and the corner of my mouth tips up slightly at his words. He smiles at that, flipping both his hand as a gesture.
I take a deep breath. “I don’t know. I think I’m just annoyed at him right now. In a way I never have been before. I always listen to him and do everything he tells me, and suddenly it’s not enough because of one small act of disobedience.
“It’s tiring, do you know that? Doing everything he tells me to do. All these courses and workshops I take are for the business, which I don’t even want to run, but I have no choice because running the business is all know to do. It is all I have known to love. Yet I still do them, because he asks me to. Because I’m grateful I’m not going through the tragic things other kids go through. But it all cancels out, apparently, and I’m just a useless son who isn’t doing enough,” I rant, dropping my gaze to the table. My words are low and calm, but the heart is beating faster, and my chest closes tightly around it.
Lorenzo looks at me for a while, not saying anything. No comments. No jokes. Nothing. Just plain, serious Enzo. He presses his lips into a thin line, and also looks down at the table.
“Roland sucks,” he tells me, eventually. “Sometimes, I feel like when I say that you think it’s because he hates me or because he cares for money. It is far beyond that, and sometimes I hope you never know why I hate him because once you find out, I know you would view him differently and that’s a lot of pressure. But Roland is dumb. He’s arrogant, not because he loves his money, but because he trusts only himself. He is driven by his emotions too much, even though he doesn’t show it.”
He says this like his been holding this in since forever.
“You do not deserve to have to be his punching bag. No one does. However, disowning fathers isn’t really a thing, so you have to deal with it because of how cruel this world is. So, ignore him. I know it’s hard, but you can’t really do much more than that. Or tell him you don’t want to take over the business, which is a much greater solution in my opinion.” His smile is soft, calming, when he finishes.
My chest breathes out, releasing all the tension built up inside. I return his smile, realizing that, although most of what he said is negative talk about my father, they are things I needed to hear.
“Did the speech work, because I feel like I just blurted out nonsense.”
I nod at him, almost laughing. “Yes, it did.”
A server then comes and places our drinks on the table. Lorenzo immediately takes a sip out of his smoothie, but I leave my mug on the table for a while before raising it to my lips.
