Page 63 of Nine Years Gone

I text Dom.

Massimo:Where you at? I’m at Taverna—come have a few drinks

Dom:Can’t—with Luci tonight

Massimo:Luci? Lena’s Luci?

Dom:Yeah =)

Dom and Luci? When did that happen? I’ve been caught up in all my drama. I had no idea. And Dom is so chill, he’ll just let me sulk, bitch, and be miserable and not say anything about it. That’s why he’s my brother. He’s always there for me, no questions asked. I decide to text Benny. I need some company tonight. Drinking Jack solo won’t cut it.

Massimo:At Taverna—drinks?

Benny:Be there later, 9ish

It’s 9:15 p.m., Kelly dropped the check on the last table in the dining room, and I’ve sent the other servers home. “Antonella, pour me a Jack, neat, please,” I ask, as I’m sliding onto the stool near the front window. I remove my phone from my back pocket and see one missed call from Lena and two text messages.

Lena:It’s been 4 days. We need to talk

Lena:Please stop ignoring me

She’s been calling and texting since I stormed out of The Vault last week. I’ve ignored her because I’m not in the right headspace to deal with it yet. My fingers hover over the keypad, on the fence whether or not I should respond. I know I have to; I can’t put it off much longer.

I wanted an explanation, and the moment she gave it to me, I didn’t want to hear it. There must be more to the story. Part of me is still wicked pissed. Pissed that she made such a colossal decision for me, ruined my life, and ripped my heart out. I had zero say in any of it. But, if I want to have a normal conversation with her, I need to chill out.

“What’s up?” Benny says, extending his fist, which I meet with mine.

“Antonella, another Jack, please. Then you can go. I’ll finish up.”

Benny slides into the stool next to me, drops his fedora onto the bar, and says, “What’s going on?”

“Did you know Dom and Luci are dating?”

“Yeah, he mentioned it a few weeks ago.”

“I must be the only one who doesn’t know.”

Antonella places two tumblers in front of us, each half full of whiskey.

“You’ve had a lot going on the past few weeks. You know how Dom is. He’ll never let you in on what’s going on with him if he knows you’re going through something.”

“Speaking of, I saw Lena last week. She finally told me why she left.”

“Oh yeah, how’d that go?” he asks before sipping his drink.

“Terrible, that’s how. As usual, my temper got the best of me, and I stormed out before I said things I would regret.”

“Some things never change.”

I side-eye him for calling me out, but it’s what I need right now.

“Why’d she do it?” he inquires.

“She can’t have kids.”

“That’s fucked up!”

“That was my exact reaction too. I don’t understand why that would make her leave.”

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