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“Are you okay?” Melony’s concerned voice broke through the pain-filled fog.
If she knew what had happened, she’d tell Giancarlo. “I’m fine.”
She didn’t look convinced. Melony bent over and picked up my now cracked phone. “Here you go.”
“Shit.” I must have dropped it when my dad yanked me into the alley. Giancarlo bought it for me, and I went and broke it. Today wasn’t my fucking day.
“Why don’t you come to the clinic with me?”
“I’m okay, really,”’ I rushed out.
She nodded. “Okay, but you might as well know where the clinic is just in case you ever get hurt out here or need some medical attention.” It didn’t seem like she would take no for an answer.
I walked with her for another block before we came upon a small brick building. The sign read, “All welcome clinic.”
“Catchy name, right?” Melony laughed.
“Simple and to the point.”
She nodded, turning on the lights. I followed her to the back, where there was a small room. It looked like any other doctor’s office. She grabbed some clothes and started to change. I turned to face the door to give her some privacy.
“I can step—”
“What’s happened?” Melony asked, interrupting me.
I shook my head, unsure if I should say anything. My head was a hellscape. No matter how hard I tried to clear it, it wasn’t happening. My father was to blame for five percent of my torment, and even with the encounter, the one man who dominated my thoughts was Giancarlo. It was like he was implanted so deep in my psyche that no matter how I tried to ignore him, he just kept buzzing around.
“You look like you watched someone get murdered.” My head snapped up, and Melony sighed as she rested her face on her hand. “If that’s the case, it didn’t happen.”
“How do you get over it?” I turned back around and faced Melony. “Not that it happened.” I wasn’t okay with people getting murdered. At least, I didn’t think I was, but more than that, I didn’t want Giancarlo to get in trouble.
Or taken away from me.
She shrugged. “You accept it.”
That’s it?
“Everyone chooses what they can and cannot handle. Some of us choose to be blind to it, and some choose to embrace it.” Melony sighed. “It’s not easy, but it all comes down to what you can live with.”
Could I live with Giancarlo knowing his hands were drenched in blood? I wasn’t naïve. That couldn’t have been Giancarlo’s first time, and it wouldn’t be his last.
Melony clapped her hands together, dragging my attention back to her. “I didn’t think the day would come when Giancarlo had someone around him longer than a night again.”
“Again?”
She nodded. “He had a girlfriend a few years back. She split, couldn’t deal with, you know, everything.” Melony waved her hand around. “Thought she was a forever type. She even designed his entire house. But not everyone is built for this life.”
The idea of Giancarlo having a girlfriend sent an uncanny rage through me. I wanted to march back home and demand he never thought about her again and toss out everything she’d installed. I resisted the urge, folding my arms over my chest to contain myself.
“Do you think I’m built for it?”
Melony slipped on a white coat over her banana-patterned scrubs and tied her pink curls up. “Ash, do you think you can accept the man and his deeds? There is no dividing someone like the Vitale brothers. They are who they are. Can you live with that darkness?” She lifted her hand before I could answer. “Think about it. If you say yes, there’s no going back.”
I shut my mouth and mulled it over. Melony had a point; it wasn’t something I could decide right now. Not when I was so indecisive. On top of that, I was easily pushed into things. No, I needed time to think until I wasn't paralyzed by the thought of making a choice.
We made our way into the main area with multiple chairs lined up. An older woman walked through the door.
“Afternoon.” She smiled at me, and I waved in greeting. She went behind the glass panels and started to set up.
