Gabriel I returned to school on Monday.I didn’t care how I looked. I couldn’t stay cooped up in the dorm for another day. My bullshit excuse to the office would require a visit by medical if I stayed out of class longer and that I would avoid. My ribs continued to hurt but not as bad as they had. The pain was more centered to the injury and not exploding throughout my body. I’d live.The cut below my eye was deep and would take some time to heal. The butterfly bandage didn’t do much considering it should have been applied immediately. Thankfully beauty contests weren’t my thing.Getting dressed was the hardest. I had a few ties in my closet that were pre-tied so if I was in a rush, I didn’t need to deal with the damn things. I was very good at being late to school and needing them. Today was one of those days.I hadn’t spoken to or texted Rosa since Friday. Why that bothered me I didn’t know but it did. Armando was running his mouth in school and I wouldn’t be able to hold Brando ba
RosaI wasn’t stupid. I knew exactly what I was doing. Flirting with Gabriel was dangerous and I was in way over my head. He also knew I wanted him. How could he not? I practically drooled when he was around. This was dangerous and went against every reason I’d stayed away from him the past two years. He would still marry Isabella and I would be nothing more than a notch on his bedpost.Damn, I wanted him. Gabriel would break my heart. That was a given because I would cry his entire wedding day. Why didn’t I pick someone unattached to fall in love with? My hormones were also in overdrive. He turned his head and I clenched my thighs. The small sexy grin appeared on his lips and my nipples tingled. I’d tossed and turned in my bed all night and that was after I desperately used my fingers to take the edge off.My fingers were no longer doing the trick. I couldn’t help looking at Gabriel’s lips and thinking about what they would feel like, there.In fourth period we had a test. I couldn’t
RosaAnd really, did I need a smart guy? Gabriel wasn’t dumb; he just wasn’t school smart. My sister would never understand street smarts because she took our way of life for granted. Since we’d become part of the Laterza family, our circumstances had improved substantially. I remembered when our father was in prison and it had been very hard on my mother.It was almost like my sister didn’t grasp the life we were born into. She also wasn’t dumb. She saw it through rose-colored lenses where I saw it with non-tinted Rosa lenses. Gabriel was exactly who he needed to be for the life in front of him and I resented my sister for thinking otherwise.“Having a fiancée is not his fault,” she rebuked.“Fault has nothing to do with it.”“I don’t understand why it bothers you,” she said. “I’ve hooked up with plenty of guys and have no plans to marry them. It’s your senior year of high school. If you don’t get Gabriel Caruso out of your head now, you’ll be miserable after graduation. Enough is en
GabrielI left Rosa in the bathroom and went to speak with Brando to find out what the fuck happened. Blood pumped through my brain so loudly I could hear it. The phrase seeing red was accurate. I was there.The guys were quietly drinking beer and talking about Armando. They were furious but then so was I.“She okay?” Brando asked after I left the room.“You tell me!” I exploded and swiped a bunch of shit off the coffee table, sending it crashing to the floor. “What the fuck happened?” My anger was off the rails and I knew it.The guys stayed seated and simply watched me.I took a breath. “Rosa is in the shower. I’m losing my fucking shit and need to know what happened.”I also needed my hands around Armando’s fucking throat. I wanted him covered in blood and for his life to be nonexistent.“We’ve been patrolling like you asked,” Brando said carefully, finally understanding I was not in a good place.He glanced at the guys before looking back at me.“I keep a close watch between Isabe
GabrielThere was no hesitation. She walked into my arms and I pulled her firmly against me. I rested my forehead against her chest. She released a long breath and sank further against me.“Tell me what happened.”“I don’t want you getting into trouble over Armando,” she said softly.I pulled back, lifted my chin, and locked eyes with her.“I will deal with Armando and nothing you say will stop that. I need to know what happened.”Her head dropped and she remained quiet for too long. I had no idea what she was thinking.“I will deal with Isabella,” she finally said.That was not happening. I didn’t want Rosa anywhere near my future bride and it was not to protect Isabella.“She is my problem,” I said decisively.Rosa’s lips set in a stubborn line. She tried to pull back, but I didn’t release her.“You think she’s your problem, but she isn’t,” she said. “She is not a child. Using Armando for her dirty work was malicious. I can’t challenge Armando and he wouldn’t accept if I did. I will
Rosa“Let Isabella off the hook for the remainder of the year. She deserves to spend her last year of freedom any way she chooses.”I was defending the last person I wanted to, but their relationship was screwed up. I was also solidifying my thoughts of sleeping with Gabriel. For that to happen, Isabella had to be out of the picture.He squeezed my hand tighter. “There’s nothing between us. We’ve known each other since we were babies and that’s it.”I wasn’t getting through.I lay back in bed, staring at the ceiling, trying to think of something that would make him understand. He lay back too, and I turned on my side so we were facing each other.“Isabella is no one’s property. Even after you’re married.” I gulped at that one. “She will be her own woman. I don’t care about the warped way your lives have been brought together. I care about you. If you want a one-night stand, I’m not the girl. If you want to see where this leads, Isabella needs to be out of the equation.”He went to his
RosaWe weren’t waiting. The payback needed to be unexpected. My sister gave me clothes and I changed. I would shower when this was done. We gathered what we needed and walked as a group to my dorm. I unlocked the door and stepped through first. Isabella’s entire crew was sleeping on the floor and couch. I walked to her room and saw her on the bed with another of her crew sleeping beside her. I lifted a chair from the four-person dining table and set it in the middle of the living room.Donya would help me with Isabella and the remainder of her crew would handle the girls in the living room. I took the side of the bed Isabella was on and jerked her head up by the hair. I had a solid chunk in my fist and she would lose it if she fought me.She screamed first which didn’t surprise me, and then she tried to twist away which had to hurt. I wasn’t letting go. My sister took control of the girl beside Isabella but she didn’t fight. I pulled Isabella out of bed.“What are you doing?” she scr
GabrielI hadn’t expected to see Rosa at Isabella’s dorm but I shouldn’t have been surprised. It was also better for Isabella to hear what I said in front of her crew. Maybe it would sink in that I was finally done with her shit.The destruction of Armando and his crew was going down tonight. Brando arranged four vehicles to transport seventeen of us. I would be breaking lockdown rules and the consequences would be dire if I got caught. The consequences for murder were worse and I was worried about neither.Armando Franko put his hands on my woman and he would know exactly why he deserved his punishment. I continued to see red when I thought about Rosa’s fear. I gave Rosa time to do what she needed to do to Isabella before I texted her.“You okay?” I asked.“I’m good. Isabella is bald.”Priceless. I couldn’t think of a better punishment and it actually made me smile.“I have things to take care of today but spend tomorrow with me, please?”“What are we going to do?”“Spend the day on