7
Willow
“Where are you going?”
Ricky and I had spent the majority of our day by the pool. Apart from being constantly interrupted by Alessandro’s incessant gifts, we were having a great time.
I didn’t realize Ricky had such an active dating life, given he’d pitched a tent far up the Varassos’s asses. Apparently, he’d come close to getting down on one knee for one woman until she discovered who he worked for and hit the bricks. Can’t say I blame her. Who would want to stick around knowing they could be raided or killed at any given moment? No one wanted to live that life, and I told Ricky so. As long as he stayed leashed to the Varassos, nothing but pain and loneliness were in his future.
“I forgot I have a date,” Ricky obviously lied.
“Oh, yeah?” I asked, watching him get up off of the lounge chair he was on. “What’s her name?”
Ricky looked at me. “R-Rachel.”
I tipped my sunglasses down the bridge of my nose to peer over the lenses at him. “Veronica, what?”
“Rachel…Greene.”
“Oh, Rachel Greene, of course. Did you meet her at a coffee shop?”
Ricky’s lips poked out, and his eyes turned to the sky. “Oh, shit.” He started to laugh, and I joined him.
“Why are you lying? Where are you going?”
Ricky was really the only reason I was still in Philly at all. My mom had flown the coop immediately after the funeral was over. It probably shouldn’t have offended me so much that she decided to leave for her monthly vacation during the one week I was in town, but I was a little frustrated. After everything we’d been through, the least she could do was make an effort to try and spend some time with me or be marginally apologetic for the compromised parent she’d become. That said, it wasn’t like I was jumping through any hoops to hang out with her, either, so maybe I was hypocritical. I was supposed to be the kid, and she was supposed to be the parent, but I was only setting myself up for failure with that thought process. She hadn’t been the parent since the Varassos started padding her bank account. I’d stuck around to catch up with Ricky, so to say I was annoyed when he suddenly jumped up, saying he had to go, would be an understatement.
“I gotta go see Gabriel,” Ricky replied.
“Oh.” My head fell in disappointment.
“Yeah, I mean, I know how you feel about ‘em, so…”
I readjusted my gaze back to him. “Yeah, but I don’t want you to lie to me about what you’re doing. In fact, when you’re dealing with them, that’s the exact opposite of what I want you to do. I need you to be honest with me about what’s going on. What if something happens to you?”
Ricky walked over and knelt next to where I was laying. “Hey, what would happen to me? I’m Teflon.”
“I’ll admit you’ve found girth from god knows where, but you’re not bulletproof, Ricky. Neither are any of the Varassos.”
“You mean like Sandro?”
My heart backflipped at the mention of his name. “He is one of them.”
“You knew that when you started dating him, you know?”
I pulled my glasses off of my face so I could look into Ricky’s cerulean eyes properly, eyes reflecting my own. “I’m aware, but I got smart.”
“You also got lonely,” Ricky volleyed, shocking me. “Come on, don’t act surprised. I know you, Willow. I’ve never seen you happy the way I saw you when you and Sandro were together. I named all these chicks I’ve been dating. Who’ve you dated in the past six years?”
I didn’t like being ironed so flat. I appreciated a billowed cover that hid all of my feelings. “I’ve been busy with my career.”
“Sure, that’s why you’re laying poolside with not a care in the world.”
“I’m on vacation!” I stood up from my lounge chair. “I didn’t come here for you to rake me over the coals. I wanted to spend time with you, but if you’re going to judge me, then I’ll go buy a ticket home right now.”
I took off for the door to the house, and I could hear Ricky’s feet on the pavement behind me. He took hold of my arm and flipped me around. “I don’t want you to go. I want you to be happy.”
“I’ll be happy when I’m back home,” I replied.