AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“And Lou? What has my littlest girl been up to?”
I can’t help but laugh as I recount Lou’s victory over the bully. “You should have seen her, Nonno. She was like a tiny ninja!”
Zip roars with laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. “That’s my girl! I always knew Lou had it in her. Saldano women are fighters, through and through.”
As I describe the look on the bully’s face when Lou took him down, suddenly, unbidden, a flash of memory hits me. The resistance of Jonah’s flesh as my shears plunged in, the shock in his eyes. My stomach seizes, and I feel the laughter die in my throat.
Zip’s expression changes immediately. “Alright, Fee. Enough’s enough. Something’s eating at you, and I want to know what it is. Now.”
I glance at the door, making sure it’s closed. My lip trembles as I turn back to Zip. “Nonno, I… I did something terrible.”
Taking a deep breath, I confess everything. The confrontation with Jonah, the fear, the shears. As I speak, Zip’s face remains impassive, but I see his mouth tighten when I start to cry.
“Oh,Tesoro,” he says softly when I finish, reaching out to take my hand. “Come here.”
I lean into his embrace, careful not to hurt him.
“Listen to me, Fee,” Zip says, his voice gentle but firm. “You did what you had to do. Jonah was a threat to you and to Lou. You protected yourself and your daughter. There’s no shame in that.”
I look up at him, sniffling. “But I killed someone, Nonno. I’m a murderer.”
Zip shakes his head. “No, you’re a survivor. And a mother protecting her child. Jonah made his choice when he came after you. You just made sure it was his last bad decision.”
His words, so matter-of-fact, startle a laugh out of me.
“Now,” Zip continues, “what’s done is done. The important thing is to move forward. You’ve got Angelo helping you, right?”
I nod.
“Good. Trust him, Fee. And remember, you’re a Saldano. We’re survivors. We face our problems head-on and we come out stronger.”
I’m not sure if I believe him, but the fact that he’s not judging me or recoiling from me in horror helps a lot. “Thank you, Nonno,” I whisper.
Zip kisses my forehead. “Always,cara mia. Now, tell me more about Angelo. I think I need to have a talk with this young man who’s stolen my granddaughter's heart.”
I visitwith Zip for another hour until I can tell he’s getting tired, and then I take my leave. As I wait for the elevator, I text Angelo.
Leaving the hospital. I’m going to head back home.
I don’t expect a text back from him. Whatever was going on at the shop sounded important, so I call an Uber to take me back to Angelo’s place.
As the Uber winds through the city streets, I can’t shake the images flashing through my mind. Jonah’s face, contorted with rage. The shears in my hand. The sickening sound as they pierced his flesh.
Everyone keeps telling me I did the right thing. Zip, Angelo, even Jimbo in his gruff way. They say I was protecting myself, protecting Lou. That I’m not to blame.
But if that’s true, why do I feel like this?
The guilt is a physical weight, pressing down on my chest, making it hard to breathe. Every time I close my eyes, I seeJonah falling, the life draining from his eyes. I took someone’slife. How am I supposed to live with that?
I catch my reflection in the car window. The woman staring back at me looks haunted, her eyes shadowed with the knowledge of what she’s done. Is this who I am now? A killer?
The thought sends a wave of nausea through me. I’m the woman who preaches to Lou about non-violence, who believes in second chances. And yet, in one moment of fear and desperation, I became everything I’ve always stood against.
The car pulls up to Angelo’s brownstone, and I see Jimbo standing at the front door, his face set in its usual scowl. He’s a bear of a man, all broad shoulders and intimidating presence, but right now, he looks worried.
“Jimbo?” I call out as I hurry from the car.
He turns, his frown deepening. “Fee. Is Angelo home? I’ve been calling and texting, but he’s not answering.”
