Page 18 of Driftwood Daffodil 3

“Shut the fuck up Nova!” Gio barked out so loud that his voice echoed in the air. “This doesn’t concern you.”

“It doesn’t concern his wife either.” I pointed out.

They needed to leave her out of it.

“When I want your opinion, I’ll ask for it.”

That was it.

“Oh I’m sorry.” I snapped back, despite the bite of Romeo’s fingers digging into my shoulder. “I was confused by the use of my name.”

I didn’t see any other Novas here. Besides, I was so done with assholes and idiots and people who took things out on people who didn’t deserve it. What gave them the right?

One look.

That’s all it took.

Gio’s eyes met mine, and my mouth clamped shut faster than a virgin’s legs on prom night. There was a darkness in his stare. A threat so cold I could feel a chill in my very soul. But it was too late. The tone of his voice told me that.

“You want me to leave his wife alone, fine.”

Gio looked back at Marty as I gulped down a heavy swallow.

“Which hand did you hit her with?”

I didn’t like the sound of that, and neither did Marty. He looked from Gio to his dad and back again, before shakily holding up his left hand.

There was no hesitation. No warning or sign other than the pounding pulse in my chest as Gio moved the gun to Marty’s hand and pulled the trigger.

I clamped my palms over my head to muffle the loud bang ringing through my ears. It took a second for my brain to register the blood dripping on the floor from Marty’s ripped and torn flesh.

He shot him!

Gio actually shot him.

NOVALEE

When someone got shot in movies, it was simple and clean. A bang, some blood seeping from the wound, and then they fell back and it was over. Nice and easy. Well, big surprise, movies lied. The first time my brother took me hunting I figured that out.

That was the one tradition our father had. Or at least the one I could remember. Every year he took both Veda and Kato with him. He’d passed away before I was old enough, so Kato took on that responsibility.

Apparently, I handled the experience better than my sister, even though I shot him in the foot. Kato was missing his baby toe, but he still took me with him every year. Veda was more than happy to let me take over the hunting partner role. She wasn’t much of an outdoorsy person, whereas I enjoyed the bugs and dirt.

So, seeing something shot wasn’t a new experience for me. One would think I would’ve handled the situation with Gio and Marty pretty good.

Was it really any different than hunting? The answer to that question was yes, yes it was. There was a big difference between an animal and a human. Only one of them stained your soul.

I dipped my hands in the full sink and splashed more water on my face.

No matter how many times I scrubbed my skin, I couldn’t get rid of Marty’s blood. Tiny specks and dots from the night before stained my cheeks. I couldn’t see them anymore, but I could feel them. They were digging into my flesh like little beads of guilt.

Then there was the smell. Burnt flesh mixed with gunpowder had been following me around. I couldn’t mask it with perfume or soap. It lingered in the air, waiting to slap me with the consequences of my actions. If I hadn’t been difficult, then Marty would be okay.

“Novalee.” Maw Maw knocked on the door. “What are you doing in there? You’re gonna be late for school.”

Two words rang through my head as I stared down at the soapy water. My fault.

Maw Maw knocked again. “Novalee.”

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