30. Claudia

Chapter 30

Claudia

H e drives me back to my place that night. We hold hands on the way—a small, normal gesture, but it feels somehow even more intimate considering we spent the afternoon having sex, eating delivery, and having even more sex. I don't think we used every surface in his house—but we sure as hell tried.

I've been trying to imagine what it would be like to stay with him. I've only ever lived with Serena, my parents, and my uncle, so I don't really have a good baseline. Angelo's attentive, surprisingly gentle, though he can be grumpy and moody sometimes. Today felt good though, it felt right, and not just because his house is an enormous upgrade from my comparatively crappy apartment.

We mesh. It's strange. We fit together and even our silences are comfortable. At one point, we sat on the couch together, tired and spent from fucking again, and he did nothing but rub my feet and watch the fan spin. I watched him, the pulse on his neck, the way he licks his lips, his eyes opening and closing in slow, sensual blinks. I could trace his ear with my tongue and never get bored.

"I'll walk you up," he says, and we head into my building together.

"I'm surprised you still came around after you saw all this." I'm joking around, but I'm really not.

He seems amused. "I was in prison for five years. Your apartment building is pretty fucking nice compared to that."

"Yeah, but where you grew up?—"

"Doesn't matter. I barely spend time at home. It's just a space, baby."

"Right. Just a luxurious, gorgeous space." We reach my hall and I slow to a stop, staring at my door. He grunts in surprise, and for a second, neither of us reacts.

Until he's moving forward, a gun in his hands. Where did that gun come from? The door to my apartment is slightly open, but there's no sign that someone broke it open. It looks like whoever is inside used a key and forgot to shut it behind them. Which makes no sense. Unless?—

"Angelo, wait," I say, hurrying after him, but he holds a hand to keep me away.

"Stay there," he commands, hesitating next to the frame.

"No, listen, I think?—"

"I said, don't move," he snarls at me. All gentleness is gone. He's business, and he's terrifying.

I stay still and let him go into the apartment first, gun drawn and ready. I hear a muffled grunt of surprise and a voice I completely expected. I hurry in behind him and find Serena standing near the couch, looking surprisingly calm despite the gun pointed in her direction.

"It's okay," I say, lowering it down to the floor. "I gave her a key." I glare in her direction. "She must've left the door open by mistake."

Serena seems bashful and rubs one elbow. "Whoops. Sorry. I just wanted?—"

"I'm going to check the rest of the apartment," Angelo says and storms off down the short hall.

I stare at my sister. She looks back. Her eyes are glassy, but not too bad. She's high, but not wasted. There's a glimmer of her old self behind the drugs and I don't know what she's doing here, but this is a first.

I'm nervous. I'm scared, and I don't know why. I should be elated—she's never been interested in coming here before, even though I gave her a key a while back. This could be the moment I've been praying for.

So why am I afraid?

"Place is empty." Angelo returns, gun shoved away. I don't know where he keeps that thing. "What are you doing here, Serena?"

"Please," I say, putting a hand on his chest. "Let me talk to her."

"It's not safe." He remains by my side.

"Go into the hallway, okay? If I need you, I'll yell."

"The door remains open."

"Just a crack." I touch his cheek. "Please, Angelo."

He looks reluctant, but he turns and walks away after giving Serena one last hard look.

I turn to my sister and walk over. She brushes her hair from her face, and that's when I notice the dark circle around her eye, lightened by makeup, but I know her too well not to see it now that I'm closer. It's an ugly, shiny bruise, and my hands fly to my face in surprise. Her smile is rueful as she prods at the edges.

"I knew you'd notice. I never was good at makeup."

"What did he do?" I'm tempted to grab her arm. I'm so angry I could scream. In all this time, despite all the drugs and the partying, Tommy never once put a hand on her in anger.

But doubt creeps in. Suddenly I'm wondering. I missed Uncle Rodney—I never knew he was abusing Serena like that and we lived together—and maybe I missed this too.

"I wasn't talking like he wanted." She sinks down onto the couch and curls her legs under her. I sit next to her, leaving a little space. "It wasn't his fault. He just wanted me to tell him things I didn't know."

"Serena. You have to leave him. You can stay here for as long as you want, Angelo will make sure you're safe, and?—"

"No, it's not like that," she says, shaking her head. "I know what you're thinking. A guy hit me, right? But he never did it before."

"You can't be serious."

"I can handle him. I've been handling him."

"You have a black eye . Please, you know Tommy's dangerous?—"

"I'm not here for this." Serena gets up suddenly and paces away. Her hands twist at the hem of her sweatshirt. "Can you just listen? He was asking about you and Angelo. He wanted to know what you two have been up to, and I honestly didn't know. I told him the truth, and I guess he didn't believe me, which is why he hit me. It's not going to happen again. But Claudia, he's paranoid. He's really paranoid."

I watch her, feeling disgusted. Tommy has every reason to worry. Angelo's coming for him. But Serena's getting caught in the middle and I'm terrified the next time he won't stop at hitting her in the face.

"I know you feel like you need him," I say, desperation oozing from my pores. I know this isn't the best way to approach her, but I don't know what else to do. "But please believe me, Tommy's going to hurt you again. This isn't going to stop."

"You have no idea." She lets out a frustrated sigh. "God, Claud, you're already like this. I'm the one trying to warn you , and you somehow manage to turn it around on me. I'm not in danger. You are."

I let that sink in. Serena ran away from Tommy and came here, not because he hit her in the face, but because she's scared for me.

"Angelo's watching over me. I'm safe, but you?—"

"Then we're fine. I can be done here." She turns to the door.

"Serena, wait." I get up and move to stop her. "You can stay here. Or we can take you to the oasis. Angelo?—"

"Just stop, okay?" Serena shakes her head. "I love you, Claud, I really, really do, but just stop. We're not the same person, right? I'll never be like you and that's fine with me. I realized that a while back. But I needed to come here, you know, because I feel like I owe you that much at least. Don't come back to Cage. Tommy's going to hurt you if you do."

"You're just saying that." Tears fill my eyes. I feel irrational and totally out of control. "He hit you, and you're still going back. It's the drugs, isn't it?"

She laughs, shrill and ugly. "Obviously, it's the fucking drugs. It's also the dancing, the partying, the money, and the sex. It's all of it. Just listen to me and forget about Cage. Tell Angelo he should stay away too. Tommy's cooking something up and it's not going to be good for either of you. Just… just be careful, okay?"

Tears stream down my face. This isn't how it's supposed to go. Serena finally saw what Tommy is, and instead of getting away, she's digging herself in deeper. I hate him, and I'm so sad for her, and I don't know what to do.

She walks away. Back into the hall and down to the steps. I watch her go, and then I'm sinking down to the floor, sobbing.

Angelo's there. He pulls me against him and holds me tight, not saying a word, just being there with me. I burrow into him and cry until my stomach feels sick, and I don't know how I'm supposed to come back from this. There's no easy way out, no plan, no answer.

My sister's trapped, and I'm finally beginning to understand that I'm powerless to help.