It didn’t seem bad. He would be trying to help, but she needed to do it on her own. She was so used to doing everything that she didn’t know how to let someone else do something for her.
That had been one of the nice things that came with being with Dante. He was always doing sweet little things for her, giving her things and experiences that she wouldn’t have had without him.
But that was in the past. Besides, the more time she sat with it, the more she didn’t know her true feelings on being with a mobster. Part of her believed it was hot. But that wasn’t the logical rational part of her. That part knew it was dangerous and that she shouldn’t have moved past a booty call with him once she found out. But by then she was already in too deep.
She realized the tears had stopped flowing and she picked herself off the floor and looked at what she needed to do. She needed to dip into her savings for Henry’s burial. She would need to win at fashion week. With the surgery and fashion week the next week, she and Dante had decided for her to stop dancing so she could recover and focus on the competition.
Now that they weren’t together, she didn’t want to go back to il Signore even just to bartend, so that was out for her. She needed this job to be able to survive. Madison looked at her phone. She had texted Sabrina, but hadn’t gotten a reply back from her.
She ignored the missed calls and messages from Dante asking where she was. There was nothing from her mom or dad. She needed to call and at least speak to her dad to see if he had anything he wanted done for Henry’s funeral.
She dialed his cell. “Hey, Dad.”
“Madison.” Her dad sounded tired. She worried this was too much for him.
“I was calling about Henry. I was going to make the arrangements, and I, uh, wanted to know if you wanted anything special done?”
“I hadn’t…I didn’t think I was going to be burying my only son.” Her dad choked out on a sob.
“I know, Dad. It’s ok. I’ll take care of everything.”
“Thank you. I’m just not in a place to do anything right now.”
“I know, it’s ok.”
Madison’s mother’s voice was in the background. “Milford, ask her for some money. I don’t have an LBD to wear to the service and you’ll need a new suit.”
“Dad, do you need me to buy you something?”
“We do need help with a few bills.”
“Ok. I’ll come over tomorrow.”
“They’re”—he coughed— “going to cut the power.”
“Dad, this is serious. You should have told me sooner. I’ll be over to pay the bill and see what else is outstanding.”
Madison ended the call. This was another reason why she shouldn’t have been with Dante. He had become her whole world and she had forgotten her real responsibilities, like making sure her dad was ok. She set Henry’s things down and left to catch the bus. Her parents lived farther out so she would need to take the metro and then another bus to get there.
She sat down and the bus moved but stopped and opened its doors. A man in a nice suit got on. Madison noticed that it wasn’t just the style of the suit, but the cut of it was well done. Like it had been tailored for this man’s specific measurements. And it looked expensive too. He walked past her and she looked at his face. What was his story? She had seen him several times before. She remembered thinking the same thing when it came to his suit.
She figured he had spent all his money on clothes and had to take public transportation to get to and from his job.
Chapter 18
Madison stood outside her parents’ place and waited for someone to open the door. She didn’t know why they kept this big place. Well, she did, because her mom wanted to. But they needed to downsize. A cute condo would work well for them and be less expensive than the four-bedroom three-level house. They didn’t even need the big yard.
“There you are, dear. We’ve been waiting ages for you to show up.”
“Mom, you know I don’t have a car. Besides it didn’t take too long.”
Her mother looked behind her. “Where is your nice young man?” Her mom slid her hands down her body-hugging dress. “I assumed he would bring you so I dressed up. Don’t want him to think everyone in this family doesn’t take pride in their appearance and wears handsewn clothes.”
“Mom, all clothes are either hand or machine sewn. Everything is handmade.”
“Yes, but it depends on the hand that makes it. One wants an important hand.”
Madison didn’t bother responding. “Where’s Dad?”
