Page 50 of Pain and Pleasure

“You’ve never met him before this?” I shake my head and he blows a whistle out.

“And here I thought that I was the one with, what do you Americans call it? Daddy issues?” He lights a cigar and I notice Dante’s demeanor shifts back to anger, but I laugh at Oscar's comment.

He’s funny and even though he’s a tad bit weird, I find that I sort of like him. Dante raises an eyebrow at me and I shrug. I see Oscar ponder what I’ve told him as Gabriela looks up from the floor and at me, her eyes still holding a small bit of venom in them, but they’re not nearly as lethal.

“Tell you what, since I’ve been too preoccupied with my own shit, I think it’s time for my brother and I to catch up. Gabriela, why don’t you and Esmeralda go upstairs and talk about dresses or whatever the fuck girls have to gossip about.”

“It’s Emmie,” I correct him.

“Emmie,” he says with a smile and Gabriela huffs.

“I’m sure there’s not much she and I have in common, brother. I’d rather stay and discuss family matters.” She sneers, looking away from me. I try not to let it hurt, but it does.

“You will go, and we will call you when we finish up,” he orders and she shrinks back.

“Plus, I’m sure we can find something in common, and even though I don’t like spending other people's money, I seem to have been forced into doing so since knowing your brother,” I say and Dante laughs. Gabriela huffs as she stands and I let go of Dante’s hand, standing up to follow her out of the room as the men begin to chatter.

This ought to be fun.

* * *

Dante’s sister hasn’t said a word since we’ve arrived in my room, but I pay no mind to it as I walk to my closet to change. I throw on the new set of beige loungewear Marianne brought me and walk out to find her eyeing my room with scrutiny.

"Up to your standards? I say rudely.

I know this is Dante's baby sister, but she's also a total bitch. An outwardly expressed, total bitch. She flips her perfect and shiny hair over one shoulder. It's pin straight but thick and so healthy looking. This woman is a literal goddess and it's a shame that she hates me.

I walk to my bathroom and grab a hairbrush. When I walk back in my room, I notice that she's now sitting on my bed, looking uncomfortable and quiet. Even though she's beautiful, I pity her. I saw the way both of her brothers treated her, and I can tell that she's been silenced by men and authoritative figures for the majority of her life. That's enough to make anyone turn a blind eye to things and run away, but it's not an excuse for her to treat me like scum.

"I know what you probably think of me. I know that I'm the daughter of the enemy and that's a perfect reason to hate me, if I really had any knowledge of your war before I was kidnapped by your brother," I say bitterly, brushing the knots out of my hair as I take a seat on my velvet loveseat.

She looks over to me, her eyes narrowed, but curious.

"My mother lives here. It's the reason why I'm even here. He's been watching us my entire life. Since the night my father killed yours. Since that same night he raped my mother and made me." I stare into the fireplace, my eyes getting lost in the flames.

I look back to Gabriela. She's quiet, but not staring at me as darkly as she has been. I almost see a little...empathy in her eyes.

"That's true?" she asks, her voice low.

"It'd be a little fucked up for me to make it up, don't you think?" My tone is clipped.

I'm not trying to be a complete bitch to her, but I'm so tired of not being trusted. My whole life I've done whatever it took to be kind and compassionate, a good girl. A woman with morals. Everything has been blown to shit since I've been here. I love Dante, but this wasn't a choice. None of this has been a choice.

It's almost like Gabriela can see this in my eyes, because her features soften. The silence stretches for a little while longer. I sit cross legged on the loveseat, letting the fireplace warm some of the tenseness from my body. The room feels lighter, even though I spoke nothing but darkness. I feel like being up front and honest right out of the gate with Gabriela, and try to ease a lot of the strange tension she put between us.

I also feel less intimidated. At the end of the day, my own family and hers have done nothing but cause me trauma while I was minding my own business. There have been some wonderful experiences and I've fallen in love, but it is not a fairytale. It's not what I had envisioned for myself. It's not what I worked my ass off for. I'm still learning how to navigate it all.

"I was only four when he died," she murmurs quietly. "I don't remember much about my father honestly, just that he was intimidating and never really home. Always too busy with my brothers. My whole life has been with my mother." She looks at me and when we lock eyes, we share a lifetime of understanding.

"What's your mom like?" I ask and she smiles at me.

It's the first time she's done that, and she looks incredibly young when she does it. She's only four years older than me, but her youth and own innocence radiates when she lets her guard down. I think she and I share a lot more in common other than our "daddy issues".

"She's got a heart bigger than any castle, but it's guarded with barbed wire. She tries to stay out of the...business as much as she can, but as you can guess, it's a hard thing to ignore." She stares at her hands and is quiet for a moment.

"She's tired. You can see it all over her face. She's been that way my whole life. Loving, but so, so tired." She sighs and stands up, adjusting her form fitting dress and dark hair.

"I believe you, after what you've told me. But I'm not going to apologize for having my guard up. The men in the world are dark and untrustworthy, as I'm sure you know now. And even though Dante is my brother, he is a man in this world. Take that as you'd like."

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