Page 20 of Remember When We
I had to hold back though, because of Dad. Dad had told Gio to stop seeing me, but he didn’t listen to him, and … I knew Dad knew we were together. I had missed calls on my phone too that night. I had missed calls from my dad and messages of him asking me where I was. Besides, I hadn’t come home and usually if I was going to be staying at Carla’s for a sleepover, I’d tell him. I’d always told him where I was so he wouldn’t worry.
I was never the girl to cause him unnecessary stress, but damn was I ever furious at him for telling Gio to stop seeing me.
Gio stood over him, but Dad was still in the same position. He’d gotten that way after we’d met up with him and came back to the house. The police said it was probably, because he had to identify Marshall’s body.
“Paul, do you want something to eat?” Gio asked. No answer from Dad. “or drink, can I get you something? Anything?”
At the mention ofanything,Dad actually moved his head. He moved his head and looked full on at Gio, eyes flat and cold, almost expressionless.
I thought he was going to say something, but he kept his silence. He just stared at Gio holding his gaze and I realized the answer was there.
Anything …
He wanted Marshall back the same as me. He wanted Marshall back and he blamed Gio for his death.
The thought gripped me. It crushed me and made me feel guilty, because all the happy memories I had of us as a family were mostly before Gio had been a part of our lives. Before Gio had an influence on Marshall. There was no way in hell that I blamed Gio for anything. It wasn’t his fault. Dad though, yes … blame was in his eyes.
I’d never seen Gio cry until these last few days that we’d been in this nightmare.
My heart squeezed when a tear trickled down the side of his jaw and nestled in his beard.
He opened his mouth to say something, but stopped and just walked out back. He didn’t see me, not even noticing me standing there.
I followed him into the garden where I saw him grab one of the glass bottles from the recycling bin and launch it at the tree. It smashed and shards of glass splattered everywhere.
He grabbed another and another until the bin was empty. He growled and cursed taking out all his frustration. It looked like he wasn’t done either.
It was only when he saw that the bin was empty that he whirled around and saw me, standing on the terrace.
I went over to him and he hung his head down. Not wanting to look at me. He’d been doing that too, trying his best not to look at me.
“Gio, please … calm down.”
“I can’t Lyssa, how can you tell me that? Calm down? Marshall is dead.” He cried.
I held him. I continued to hold him, so he knew that I was here for him. I wanted him to be there for me too. It was only in these moments that I felt like I had hope. Just the slightest touch from him gave it to me.
I pulled back so I could look at him and he looked at me. Shame filled his eyes, but he was looking at me.
His hand just skimmed over my cheek when Dad’s voice echoed over us.
“Leave her alone.” Dad wailed making us jump apart.
Dad who hadn’t moved or spoken much in the last two weeks seemed to take on a new life.
He marched down to where we stood and pushed Gio, shoving him hard in the chest.
Dad was the same height as Gio, but Gio had muscle. He was the whole package that screamed he wasn’t a man to be messed with. I got the feeling though he’d allow Dad to beat him up and not do a damn thing about it. He’d stand there and take it—just like he was now.
I screamed when Dad threw a punch to Gio’s face and split his lip.
I really thought Gio was going to hit him back, but he just took it.
“Dad stop.” I grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back.
Dad wouldn’t look at me, just like Gio. He’d avoided looking at me this whole time like he was ashamed of me.
“You son of a bitch, don’t you touch my little girl. Don’t you dare touch her. Fucking bastard. It was you. Your fault Marshall’s dead. You may not have shot him, but you put him there. You changed my boy into something I didn’t even recognize. All your fault!” Dad was screaming and crying, all the while Gio just took it. He watched Dad and took it. “Get the fuck off my property and leave my child alone. I won’t allow you to take her from me too. LEAVE!”
