Chapter 4

• Aaliyah looked at me crazy when I barged into our room holding my stolen goods to my chest.
• “What the hell? What’s chasing you?” she asked in concern, craning her neck to look outside the door.
• I slammed the door shut. “I wasn’t running.”
• “But you are banging doors all around the hostel. Everyone is going to start talking about that.”
• I huffed. “You saw that?”
• “Kieran did, I heard him talking about it when I went outside to see what was going on. Please don’t tell me you and Rhys fought again? It’s barely been an hour since we resumed.”
• “Fine we didn’t.”
• She arched her brow. “You know everyone is going to talk about it. At this point, why even bother continuing with whatever it is you guys are even doing? It’s not like you are going to get married to each other after school?”
• I pressed my lips together.
• Aaliyah didn’t have to know that I hoped that Rhys and I would in fact end up as a couple. A mafia princess and a prince.
• It would be my perfect ending.
• I love Dad and I am not ashamed of anything he was before he married Mom and had me. Without his powerful connections I wouldn’t even be here but no one, not even Aaliyah and Monica knew about the stigmas I had to endure growing up.
• Dad may be respected and feared in Italy but I know first hand what it is like to be his daughter and not have him there to protect you.
• It was more than 15 years ago, Dad was still settling in as a retired mafia don. He had established his empire in LA but all that crashed and burned when his brother, Giovanni turned against him, creating a crack in his empire. That crack worsened and Dad lost everything he ever built.
• My Uncle Alfio, New York’s mafia don, came to his rescue, buying the Villa in Dad’s name, giving him a place to start afresh but it took a while before Dad could find his feet again.
• Those were dark years.
• He had enemies, many who thought he was too broken to rebuild all that he had lost. They wanted to finish him off.
• But Dad didn’t care about the mafia anymore. He had Mom, he had me and we were the only things he cared about.
• When new enemies came out of the woodwork, I was 3 when this happened, I was sent away to convent for my protection and there, for 2 years, I saw first hand how cruel the righteous treat the spawn of sinners.
• Dad may be respected, revered, but I was not.
• Marrying into a family like Rhys will change that once and for all and I will do anything to make that happen.
• But Aaliyah didn’t have to know that.
• She eyed my hands again. “So did he send you off with snacks as compensation this time?”
• I looked down at my hands as if I was seeing them for the first time and once again that feeling returned, the thrill down my spine when I turned and saw Nolen again for the first time in years.
• Wow.
• No wait, not wow.
• “Lucy!”
• I snapped out of it. “What?”
• “Are you drooling?”
• What the hell? I licked my lips, horrified that my wayward thoughts were plastered on my forehead for all to see.
• “Just kidding,” she laughed.
• I glared at her. “Haha,” I said sarcastically.
• “But you looked like you were about it. Hungry much?”
• “It’s not about being hungry.” I tossed the snacks on the small coffee table. Aaliyah was sitting on the floor with a small box in front of her. Beside her was an open bag of underwear and socks, which she arranged neatly inside the box. “I met the new kid.”
• She stopped what she was doing. “Nolen?”
• “Yeah. He said he arrived yesterday.”
• She scoffed. “Someone’s a little excited for school. So what, he’s just handing out chocolates and chips?”
• “I stole them.” I bit my lips.
• Aaliyah raised her brows. “And?”
• “And he caught me. Oh my gosh Liyah you should have seen how – how angry he looked. One minute I was helping myself to some chocolate, the next thing he was right behind me, silent and creepy as hell!”
• “Creepy? In his own apartment?” Aaliyah laughed. “Girl please you’re lucky he didn’t scream or drag you out and embarrass you in front of the whole hostel,” but then again, she grinned mischievously, “I mean who wouldn’t want you to steal from them?”
• “Him, obviously. I don’t think you get it. He didn’t have that stupid look on his that Phil has when he’s talking to me. He genuinely looked pissed like he couldn’t wait for me to get the fuck out of his apartment. Even when I apologized, he didn’t seem to care, he just told me to take the snacks and leave.”
• “Ohhu that’s cold.” She put the box of neatly packed undies and socks away. “I thought you said you knew the guy?”
• I flung my arms in frustration. “I thought I did! Dude didn’t even blink when he saw me, I don’t think he remembers me because if he did and he acted the way he did then he’s a jerk.”
• “You’re sure he’s not blind or something.”
• I laughed. “Okay it’s not that bad. I mean I wouldn’t be happy either if I caught someone stealing from us but if it was someone I knew, or thought I knew, I would have said, ‘hi’, you know? Tried to be nice.”
• I hadn’t realized that Aaliyah had stopped packing and had not stopped to look at me with her hands on her hips. A slow smile spread on her lips.
• I eyed her. “What?”
• “You like him.”
• “Ew what?” I laughed. “Did you hear anything I said? He didn’t even remember me!”
• “And guess how you feel about that if you’re going on and on about him like this.” She started to hop playfully toward me. I moved away from her before she could catch me.
• “Stay away,” I laughed.
• “Nuh uh, not until you tell me the truth. Damn if you’re this hurt that he forgot you then I guess he must be really hot yeah?”
• I shrugged. “He’s alright I guess.”
• “Uh no ma’am, you’re not going to give me that and think you’re free.” She caught up to me before I could step away and before I knew it I was on the floor with her, trying to slap her hands away. “You’re not going anywhere until you tell me.”
• “Oh my gosh, fine, yes he is hot! Better looking than that picture Monica sent of him okay?”
• “Oh damn, look at you Miss Sneaky.”
• “What the hell? I thought you said you wanted to get to know him?”
• “Knowing him, not stripping him naked which it seems like you want to do.”
• I tried to groan but it came out as wistful sigh instead. “He was wearing sweatpants.” When Aaliyah’s eyed widened I clarified, “Black, not gray.” Her face fell. “And he was shirtless.”
• “Oh my goodness. Should we take a trip to his room right now? I think I need to see for myself.”
• I laughed and pushed her off. “I told you, he’s weird and apparently rude. Must be some rich so and so if he’s getting a whole new apartment to himself.”
• “Oh he’s the owner of that one?”
• “Sure is.”
• “Wow.”
• “Whatever, he came keep his apartment and his attitude. I’ll still have the snacks thought but I wish you good luck with him if you’re still thinking about talking to him.”
• “Eh, give him some time. He is after all still new and he’s probably shy. I bet you he’ll come around and when he does he’ll be trying to catch your attention. They always do.”
• I snorted. “And he’ll be disappointed because I only care about Rhys.”
• Aaliyah rolled her eyes and started to groan when the door opened and Monica stormed in a flash of short red hair and turquoise blue gown.
• “Hello my favorite bitches!”
• I didn’t even know when she swept me off my feet. I ended up on the floor once more in a tangled mess between she and Aaliyah.
• “What the hell, Moni, did you have to tackle us to the floor just to say hi?”
• “I’ve missed you girls so much!” she shrieked, kissing both me and Aaliyah on the cheek.
• Aaliyah laughed. “Okay get off now. Oh God, you’ve crumpled my neatly ironed uniform.”
• “Oh shut up, like you care about that.”
• We laughed and hugged, shrieking excitedly as our friend group was now complete.
• “Have you arranged your stuff?” I asked.
• “Nah. I came to see my girls first,” she said, green eyes twinkling mischievously and hoping beg you guys to help me out in that department.”
• “Oh hell no!” Aaliyah declared but before she could pull away Monica pulled her back.
• “Please please please. Come on, guys! You have each other but there’s only me.”
• “You chose to stay alone.”
• “Okay I’ll help you guys and you’ll help me, how about that?”
• “Fine. As long as you actually do help us out and not spend the entire evening sitting and talking.”
• “Yay!” she cheered. She spotted the snacks on the table and immediately grabbed a snicker bar. “Oh my gosh, I heard someone talking about you and Rhys, Lucy. Did you guys fight again?”
• I rolled my eyes. “Not you too.”
• “Of course they fought. That’s all they ever do.”
• “Liyah!” is shook my head at her. “We didn’t fight. It was a misunderstanding. He wasn’t talking to me during the holiday, I asked why and he explained. When I was about to leave his apartment, I slammed the door a little too hard. We are good.” I lied.
• Aaliyah made a face at me. “You’ll cook excuses up your ass for Rhys.”
• “I’m not making up excuses!”
• “Wait wait wait,” Monica interrupted us, her eyes wide in amazement. “Rhys told you that he and Olivia were engaged and you are okay with that?”
• “I – ” I sputtered. I thought I had heard wrong but when I looked at Aaliyah and saw my shock mirrored in her eyes I realized that I truly heard what I thought I did. “Engaged?”
• Monica threw her hands over her mouth when she realized what she had just done.
• “Oh shit.”