Vinny didn't talk about himself. Not really. Most of what I knew about him came from observation. The grief hanging off him like a second skin. The way he carried guilt around like religion. He definitely was not an open book, so I was surprised.
"You don't talk to them?" I asked carefully.
"No."
I watched his face while he stared at the screen like the movie was still playing.
"Haven't in years."
"Why?"
He let out a dry laugh under his breath. Not amused. Just tired.
"Because everything I touched turned radioactive after Sophia died."
Vinny rubbed the back of his neck before speaking again, like he already regretted saying this much.
"My parents had a normal life before Sophia died," he muttered. "House in Jersey. Family business. Spent holidays on vacation. All that shit."
I just listened.
"My mother liked hosting people," he continued quietly. "Always cooking. Always decorating for something. When I killed Bellamy's son…" He swallowed hard. "That was it for all that."
I stayed still beside him.
"They had to disappear because of me," he said. "Move. Change everything. People connected to me became targets."
I looked down at the blanket pooled over my lap.
"I don't even know where they're at."
He stared ahead when he shared that part.
"I made sure I didn't know."
Something twisted in my chest.
That kind of love was foreign to me.
Parents worth missing.
My father would've sold my location himself if the price was right.
"You lucky," I said before I could stop myself.
Vinny looked over slowly, confused.
I shrugged one shoulder. "To have parents who actually acted like parents."
Something shifted in his expression when I said it.
I hated quiet looks from men.
"So they liked Sophia?" I asked, mostly because I wanted the attention off me.
His entire body changed.
"Yes," he answered flatly.
