The portly soul began to scold me for falling off the face of the planet. I chewed on my lip and let him speak his piece.
“And not even so much as a ‘How’s it going?’” he pouted.
Only a big teddy bear like him could pull off sulking and make it look cute.
“Sully, where is Ella?” I insisted as he set down the knife he’d been slicing vegetables with to come and give me a side hug. “It’s important,” I added in a whisper.
Those brown eyes softened. “She’s been crying all morning. I tucked her in the office twenty minutes ago and sent Giana in there with a cup of coffee.”
“Thank you,” I breathed and gave him another small hug before hurrying into the back hall.
After knocking on the office door, I let myself in before Carmela could answer. She shot from the rolling chair, which scooted backward, and rushed into my arms. A fresh burst of tears streamed from her eyes, making my shoulder damp.
“I’m glad you know,” I whispered.
“It was horrible. Mama’s face—the way he tugged her hair!”
I brushed my hand up and down her spine. There wasn’t much else I could do. Telling her it was going to be alright was a fucking lie. Our father was abusive. He was rotten mean, and hewould hurt her. Insisting that she couldn’t say anything wasn’t fair. She should be able to speak up.
So, I just let her cry. It was a luxury that I never had. I comforted her how I would want to be comforted. Twenty years old, and the life she thought she knew showed her the ugly truth.
The office door flew open and banged against the wall. Carmela jumped, but I wrapped my arms instinctively around her, protecting her against the danger.
But there was no protection on earth that I could offer from the vile bastard who stood in the doorway.
“You!” Our father spat on the floor. “Don’t touch her, spawn. You’ll rub your wicked ways on her!”
I winced, but for my sister’s sake, I found the strength to push her away. Papa must be very agitated to talk to me like that in front of witnesses. He used to call me names when no one else could hear.
Something’s happened.“She’s having a bad day. I was just making sure she was alright—”
“Shut the fuck up,” Papa fumed. “Carmela, get back to work. You’re fine. Quit embarrassing us with your feminine sensitivities.”
I gave my sister a hard look.Don’t let him know what you saw!
If she understood, I wasn’t sure.
The moment she scampered away, the room grew smaller. The angry energy rolling off my father teemed with danger. There was nothing exciting about it. Fear froze me in place.
This man would hurt me.
I saw it the moment before he barreled across the room, kicking the door shut, and raised his hand. I dodged the blow, but he grabbed my shirt and pushed me down.
“Where’s your phone?” he snarled, shoving me hard.
My side hit the desk as I scrambled to my feet. “It broke.”
“Clumsy, stupid girl!” he bellowed.
Papa caught me by the hair. I saw the fist coming.
“If you leave a mark on me, my husband will know!” The threat was out of my mouth before I could decide if invoking the devil’s name was a good idea.
Papa paused.
His eyes narrowed to slits.
Breathing hard, I forced myself to stay very,verystill. This wasn’t a game with a predator. This was a brush with evil.
