Page 34 of Heartless Heathens

She was a tiny thing, and her presence was even smaller. Like someone had stamped out all of the fire inside of her a long time ago and she was just making do with whatever small flickering she could get going that day.

“What the fuck does that mean? Why was she in my room?” I asked, starting to feel my heart pounding louder and louder in my chest.

“We’re about to find out, aren’t we, Pet?” He turned to her, grabbing her chin between his fingers. “Why were you here Romina? I’m getting tired of asking.”

She murmured something quietly though her gaze didn’t meet his.

“And I’m supposed to trust that the archbishop’s little toy wasn’t breaking into our home?” Sonny asked her and her face got real pale and she shrunk back a bit.

Her breathing got shallow and she looked like she was gonna hurl all over the place.

“She keeps doing that,” Sonny added.

“She looks fucking scared,” I told him, stepping slowly towards her.

She looked up at me and when the light hit her just right I could see the purpling shape of my hand decorating her slender neck. She inched backwards until she hit Sonny’s chest and he wrapped his fingers around her shoulders.

“You scared ofhim,Pet?” he asked her and she didn’t hesitate to nod.

Sonny let out a dark chuckle and even I knew the girl must have been deranged to think Sonny Santorini was a safer choice than me. But I didn’t know who the fuck she was or what she was doing here. Sonny was like picking up a glass of poison and drinking it, with him you at least got a choice. The mark around her throat was a reminder that was a luxury she wouldn’t get with me.

“Don’t you have class?” I asked him, trying to push back the anxiety that itched its way up my throat and threatened to break out in the form of another black out.

“She got sick in class, had to take the rest of the day off, at least till Felix gets back,” he said, pushing her into the room and guiding her to the couch.

“Well, I’m awake now. You can go back to class,” I told him and the bastard actually choked out a laugh.

He never fucking laughed, unless it was the psychotic-break type of laugh before a murdering spree.

“No fucking chance.” His expression sobered. “If you lost it again you would probably fucking crush her, have you seen the size of her?”

I crossed my arms over my chest, sitting down on the lone pew behind the couch.

“Whatever.”

Romina.

I kept hearing her cries in the pitch black of my nightmares, always struggling for air under the vice grip of my fist. I didn’t want to be this animal, this senseless beast who could just black out when the bad inconvenienced him.

It was a cop out.

You were supposed to live with your regrets.

To be haunted by your own ferocity.

I got a free pass every time.

And then the weirdest fucking thing happened.

The door opened and Felix walked in. Before he even had a chance to open his mouth or look around, she had pranced to his side and pulled him in for a hug. He gave a smug smirk and smoothed down her hair before returning the embrace.

“Did you have an exciting day, pretty girl?” She shook her head in response, beckoning him closer.

He leaned down and she whispered something into his ear while they both stared daggers straight into Sonny.

“You fucking made her sit on the ground in class?” Felix yelled out, sounding more upset than I would have imagined over this girl.

“There weren’t chairs.” He shrugged and Felix stepped up to him.